Friend

Professor De León’s face softened unexpectedly. The scowl that had been etched into her features eased, and the icy hostility in her glare melted away. For a moment, Alvin thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but no—her sharp, judgmental expression was gone, replaced by a warm, friendly smile that didn’t belong on the woman who had spent months making his life miserable.

Alvin’s gaze dropped to the sticker he’d tricked her into wearing. There it was, stuck neatly on her blazer: Friend.

He shifted uncomfortably. It felt ridiculous, even embarrassing, but he hadn’t known what else to write. Alvin wasn’t exactly overflowing with friends—hadn’t been for a while. In college, he’d managed to fade into the background, the kind of student who didn’t draw attention to himself. He wasn’t failing, but he wasn’t excelling socially either.

He’d chosen this school because of a scholarship, a smart move on paper, but it meant leaving behind everyone he’d known. His old friends were back home—either at a different college or working trade jobs. And here? Here he was alone, stuck in a hostile environment, floundering to connect with anyone.

And now, this. A sticker he’d once dismissed as a childhood curiosity had become his **** gambit. The stickers had always been a strange, forgotten possession, one he hadn’t thought much about until now. As a kid, he hadn’t needed them, content with his small circle of friends. But now? Alone, struggling against a professor who clearly wanted him gone, he’d decided to test their power.

If it worked, great. If not, well, it wouldn’t change much—Professor De León already thought of him as an idiot.

But as the professor stood there, smiling serenely, Alvin realized the sticker had worked. And it had worked too well.

“So,” Alvin began awkwardly, the absurdity of the situation catching up to him, “uh… who are you now?”

Professor De León—or rather, the woman who had been Professor De León—replied in a tone so flat it was almost robotic. Her words didn’t match the warmth of her expression, sending a shiver down Alvin’s spine.

“I am Alvin Hawkes’ friend,” she said, her smile unwavering. “A person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or familial relations. A person who has a strong liking for and trust in another.”

Alvin blinked. “What happened to your name being Professor De León?”

“Camila De León, as you knew her, is no more,” she replied, her smile unnerving in its calmness. “I am Alvin Hawkes’ friend.”

“But you were Professor De León,” Alvin insisted, his voice rising slightly. “You had a whole career, a reputation, a personality!”

“I was,” she said simply, her tone matter-of-fact. “You placed this sticker on me, making me your friend.”

Alvin felt his throat tighten. “So… is she dead?”

The woman shook her head gently, the motion eerily calm. “No. Camila De León still exists. You can recreate her by placing a sticker with her name upon me. I am simply your friend now—a state defined by enduring affection, esteem, intimacy, and trust between two people.”

Alvin’s pulse raced. This was too much, too strange. “But I didn’t want to get rid of her,” he said quickly. “I just wanted you—her—to stop being so… cruel.”

The woman tilted her head, her serene smile unwavering. “I can fulfill her roles, perform her duties, and mimic her personality and skills to a degree, if you desire it,” she explained. “But being your friend will significantly alter her behaviour toward you.”

Alvin’s mind raced. He hadn’t considered this—hadn’t thought about the implications of rewriting someone’s identity so completely. “Do you still have… her memories?” he asked hesitantly.

“Yes,” the woman replied, her voice still flat but strangely gentle. “Her memories are accessible to me, though they feel distant. I am shaped by the identity you assigned: your friend. My relationship with you now takes precedence over everything else.”

Alvin’s fingers trembled. “And if I put a different sticker on you?”

“Then I will become what the new sticker dictates,” she said. “Camila De León can be restored, or she can become someone else entirely. The choice is yours.”

Her unwavering smile, so foreign on the professor’s face, sent a chill down Alvin’s spine. He glanced at the stack of stickers in his hand. The power he held felt heavier now, far more dangerous than he’d realized.

For a moment, he hesitated, unsure what to do next. Then he met her gaze—or rather, the gaze of the person she had become. Her warm, friendly expression was almost enough to make him forget who she had been before.

Almost.