What Price Purple?

Two years ago, my roommate and I had just started playing World of Warcraft. We had both reached level 40, him a night elf hunter and me an undead warlock, and I had a very slim grasp on rarity of items, having never run an instance because I did not know how to access the looking for group channel.

So, there I am, killing level 44 rock elementals in the Badlands for a quest, when the purple item [Icemail Jerkin] drops. I was shocked, dimly remembering from the guidebook that a purple item was incredibly rare. Being an undead warlock, I had never had more than 5 gold at one time, because I never really needed it (free 40 mount and all that). As a result, I did not understand the economy of World of Warcraft at all, partially because I had never used the auction house, preferring to make the items myself. So, I turned to my roommate, who had taken that exact opportunity to use the bathroom. I yelled through the door, describing the item's properties, such as color, appearance, stats, and my general exuberance. Eventually, since the item was a chainmail item and I could only wear cloth, I asked him how much I should sell it for, assuming that, because he was playing a night elf hunter, had to work with money to purchase his 40 mount, gear, etc., without my scruples against buying anything from other players. He suggested the ground-breaking price (to me) of three gold.

I immediately hearthed to the Undercity, and posted, after a series of trial and error, the item on the auction house. It sold immediately, to my surprise. Around this time, my roommate comes out of the bathroom and suggests that I look the item up on google, to find out how rare it is. I do so, click the first link I see, which takes me to a spoiler database site. This site tells me, among other things, that the drop rate was around .01%, and that the item sold, on average, for upwards of a hundred gold on most servers. The ensuring argument with my roommate lasted several hours, and up until a few hours ago, we have been throwing the occasional jibe at each other.

A few weeks ago, we both started two new characters on a new realm, to try out the PvP experience. I once again find myself in the Badlands, doing the same quests as before. As I kill, beast after elemental after humanoid after dragonkin, I find myself sneaking behind a whelp, a few levels above me. I instantly remember the purple, its rarity, its drop rate, and my luck, before engaging the whelp. It dies, after a few seconds, and the epic level item [Nightblade] drops, under almost the exact same conditions as the previous epic from two years past dropped. As I sit there, transfixed, staring at this epic quality that I once again cannot use. I am vividly struck with the memory of that night, reminding me of what an item like this did to my friendship. I stood up, walked over to where my roommate was playing, and sat down beside him. After I remind him of the argument that took place almost two years ago, I utter the words “I am sorry.”