“If we win, we divide it 50-50.”

This was the drama surrounding the photography competition Abu Dhabi Through Your Eyes. My friend and I were returning after taking pictures at Mina Port, and we had declared ourselves the runners-up already since we were sure the five top photos would be taken by people who had lenses big enough to zoom into a bathroom through an apartment window three blocks away.

We didn’t mind being runners-up, though, because even those lowly winners would receive AED 10,000 – which wasn’t bad for us – and even half that amount would be enough for me to buy myself a digital SLR camera.

But “I win” turned into “we win” when my friend lent me his SLR camera to take the photos to enter in the competition. If I had tried participating with the dinky little camera I have, the jury would have thrown me into the Mina water without hesitation. So I had no choice but to borrow the camera and split the prize.

It looked like a scene out of a soap opera as we haggled on the bus. People stopped talking just to listen to his winning – and my failing – negotiations. I mean, who gives a person AED 5,000 just for loaning them a camera? I thought it was a pretty good argument until my friend started talking about my camera, and to use the one I had would surely mean FAILURE.

The photo shoot went well. The afternoon I spent taking a look into the lives of fishermen was a really good experience. The fishing industry is the pride of Abu Dhabi, after all, after the camels and falcons. We even took to heart the prices of the hammour after visiting the fish market. Everyone was happy to pose with the fishes that would soon be on a plate with chips, and we left hoping those same fishes would mean AED 10,000 for my friend and me.

But my negotiations failed and I had to agree to a 50-50 split. While my friend dreamed of game titles, I could only think about the SLR I would buy if I won – and then maybe a goat for my family too.

Cruel world, indeed.

Syed Fasiuddin, age 15