The Apocalypse Survival Queen

Raising my paddle at the auction for Ming porcelain, my phone screen suddenly flashed wildly. It was anonymous text messages. 'Mom! Don't raise the paddle! The global deep freeze is coming in just over a month! Go buy coal! Buy diesel! Buy self-heating MREs! Sell Dad's luxury yacht and trade it for an all-terrain icebreaker vehicle!' My fingers froze, and the bidding paddle clattered to the floor. A soft scoff was heard from beside me.