Chapter 2: The Beginning of a Plan
March 20, 2000
San Francisco
Morning sunlight filled the hallway of Grove High School as students rushed between lockers before the first class.
Backpacks slammed shut.
Friends greeted each other loudly.
Teachers tried unsuccessfully to keep the hallways organized.
Among the crowd, Anshul walked calmly with a book in one hand.
To everyone else he looked like an ordinary student.
But his mind was focused on something entirely different.
The future.
Inside classroom 204, the teacher had not arrived yet. Several students were talking loudly while others copied homework from their friends.
Mia sat near the window.
Her curly hair looked slightly messy as usual, and her notebook was filled with half-finished drawings instead of class notes.
When she saw Anshul enter, her face immediately brightened.
"Ryan!"
She waved him over.
He placed his bag on the desk beside her.
"You look suspiciously energetic for a Monday morning."
"I have good news."
"That sounds dangerous."
She leaned closer.
"I passed my math test."
"That's good."
"I barely passed."
"That's still passing."
Mia smiled proudly.
"You should congratulate me properly."
"Congratulations."
"That was boring."
"What did you expect?"
"A celebration."
"We're in math class."
"Details."
---
The classroom door opened and the teacher walked in, ending their conversation.
For the next hour the class listened to a lecture about algebra equations.
Most students looked bored.
Mia looked confused.
Anshul finished the worksheet in less than ten minutes.
His mind wasn't focused on school problems.
It was focused on market charts.
Because outside the classroom, something important was about to happen.
The dot-com bubble had reached its peak.
Technology stocks had risen to insane valuations.
Companies with almost no revenue were worth billions.
And very soon…
That bubble would explode.
---
After school ended, Anshul and Mia walked home together.
Their neighborhood was only a few blocks away, so they had done this countless times over the years.
Mia kicked a small stone along the sidewalk as they walked.
"You were quiet today."
"I was thinking."
"You're always thinking."
"That's not a bad thing."
"It is when you ignore your girlfriend."
He stopped walking.
"Your what?"
Mia froze.
Her face turned slightly red.
"I meant friend."
"You definitely said girlfriend."
She crossed her arms.
"Maybe I did."
He looked at her for a moment.
Then he smiled.
"I don't mind."
That made her even more embarrassed.
"You're impossible."
---
When they reached their houses, Mia walked backward toward her front door.
"Don't stay up all night looking at stocks again."
"I don't do that."
"You did last week."
"That was research."
She pointed at him.
"Normal teenagers don't call it research."
"Normal teenagers also don't understand financial markets."
She laughed.
"Goodnight, genius."
"Goodnight."
---
Later that evening Anshul sat in front of his computer again.
The modem connected slowly, and after several seconds the market charts finally appeared.
NASDAQ continued climbing.
Most investors believed the boom would never end.
But Anshul knew better.
He opened his trading account and looked at the numbers.
Current Capital
$42,800
It wasn't a fortune.
But it was enough.
Enough to start the first step of his real strategy.
He opened a new order window.
Instead of buying stocks…
He prepared to do the opposite.
Short positions.
When the crash came, the market would fall hard.
And when everyone else lost money…
He intended to make it.
Anshul entered the first order and clicked confirm.
The trade executed.
Outside his window the city of San Francisco was quiet.
Most people had no idea what was coming.
But Anshul did.
And this time, he was ready.