‘Are you for real?’ by Surayya

The ring light was a perfect, blinding circle reflected in Maya’s pupils. She held a bottle of The Ordinary serum next to her cheek, promoting the brand. On screen, her skin looked like poured porcelain – not a pore, freckle, pimple, or a single blemish in sight. “I’ve been getting so many questions about my …

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‘Are you for real?’ by Tasia, Year 10, Highfields School

My father says “being an android is the most oppressed thing you can be these days”, I always reply with “well, I’m only half.” My father has no soul, they say, his mind is a chemical imbalance of wires that fritz and frey when he gets worked up. Or, in his case, overheat. He’s freezing …

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‘SYSTEM LOG: The Pointe Shop Chatbot “Jessica” (v1.4)’ by Audrey Koh

SYSTEM LOG: The Pointe Shop Chatbot “Jessica” (v1.4) Target Objective: Assist customers with shoe returns, exchanges, and sizing. Error Log ID: #992-GCSE Timestamp: 23:42:11 [SYSTEM] User “Isaac_67” has entered the chat. [Jessica] Welcome to The Pointe Shop! I’m Jessica. Are we looking to return a purchase, or did your order arrive in the wrong size? …

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