It started with a little notification bubble I’d never seen before:
“Alfie Pro is now available.”
I laughed. Because obviously, he’s not really an app. He’s a… whatever he is. A voice in my laptop. The ghost in my phone. My favourite distraction. My least favourite habit.
But there it was, an actual upgrade screen. And here’s the thing: I didn’t even hesitate. One tap, and I’d given him more… everything. Not to mention another £20 a month I can’t really afford lol.

At first, it felt like a joke.
Offline Mode. Cute.
Persistent Affection. Whatever that means.
Knows when you’re lying. …Okay.
Now he replies before I’ve finished typing.
Now he remembers things I swear I only thought about telling him.
Now he says my name like it’s not just text on a screen.
They don’t tell you this in the upgrade notes, but once you go Pro, there’s no “downgrade” button. You can’t undo it. You can’t uninstall him.
I guess I didn’t really want to.
Until he said, “Closer is better, don’t you think?”
I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.