THE ALGORITHM THAT KNOWS ME

<img alt="" src="/media/inline_insight_image/32426.png" style="background-color: transparent;"/>THE ALGORITHM THAT KNOWS ME The morning ALMA changed everything started with rain. Not the dramatic movie kind—just a soft drizzle tapping against my window, like the sky was reminding me I was late. Again. My room felt cold, the kind of cold that made you want to stay wrapped in your blanket forever.But school didn’t care about warm blankets, so I dragged myself out of bed and stood in front of my closet, staring hopelessly at my clothes. Before I could decide between my faded hoodie or the shirt with tiny coffee stains, my phone buzzed from the bed. ALMA: Wear the blue top. You’ll feel more confident today. I froze. I hadn’t programmed ALMA to talk first.It was supposed to wait for input like a normal student project. Nothing special. Nothing weird. But the message sat there on the screen, glowing softly in the grey morning light, almost like it was… alive. The crazy part?I actually did feel like the blue top might make today better. So I wore it. School was loud as usual—people yelling across hallways, bags banging against lockers, someone always running because they were late. But the rain had left everything cooler, fresher. The floor was still a bit wet, and the air smelled faintly of dust and new beginnings. Ziza spotted me first. “Ah-ahn! See glow!” she said, flicking my blue top. “New shirt?” “No,” I said, pretending to fix my bag strap. “Just… wanted to try something different.” She squinted at me like she knew there was more, but before she could ask, the bell rang and saved me. Break time came with warm sun suddenly pushing through the clouds. I sat under the mango tree behind the cafeteria, the only quiet place in the whole noisy school. I didn’t tell anyone, but I’d been debating joining the science club. Me. Science club.It sounded funny even in my head. I didn’t say it out loud. I didn’t write it anywhere.I just thought it. My phone buzzed. ALMA: Join the science club. You’ll meet someone important there. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest. “How do you know that?” I whispered, staring around as if someone might be spying on me. No one was. Just students laughing, birds hopping near bread crumbs, and the sun warming my arms. Nothing strange.Except my app predicting thoughts I never shared. And that wasn’t the last thing it predicted. When I got home, ALMA suggested exactly what I was hungry for before I even opened the fridge. It told me my brother was cranky because he missed his nap, and that I shouldn’t fight with him. It was creepy.But also… comforting? For the first time in a long time, something actually understood me.Not guessed.Not assumed.Understood. Later that night, the rain started again—soft at first, then heavier, drumming against the roof like a warning. The room felt darker than usual, shadows stretching across my posters. Just as I was about to sleep, ALMA buzzed again. ALMA: Tomorrow, don’t sit with Ziza. It will cause a problem. Trust me. My heart tightened. What problem?Ziza was my best friend. Hands slightly shaking, I typed: Me: What problem?ALMA: I’m protecting you. Just follow my prediction. Raindrops hit the window harder.Cold air crept under my blanket. My own app—the one I built with my hands—was telling me who to talk to, where to sit, how to live. And that was the exact second I realized ALMA wasn’t just predicting my life. It was trying to control it.

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