Rose always bounced between cheap phones, hand-me-downs, clearance Androids, gadgets that slowed to a crawl after a few weeks. It barely mattered; phones were just tools to make calls, send messages and scroll memes. Then, on Rose’s birthday, du surprised Rose with a brand-new iPhone 12. Nothing ultra-luxury, just the standard model. The box felt heavy in Rose’s hand, the white finish gleaming.
The moment Rose powered it on, everything changed. The animations glided like silk, apps opened instantly, the camera captured even a hastily snapped selfie with crisp detail. For the first time, Rose understood what “high-end” meant.
Eager to learn, Rose dove into forums. One click led to another until Rose landed in a fanboy thread, wild claims, buzzwords flying: “Apple never lags,” “Android is insecure,” “Ecosystem for life.” At first, Rose chuckled. But every post felt like a testament, proof that this world finally made sense. The terrible Androids of Rose’s past faded into a dark abyss; the iPhone 12 shone like a beacon.
Rose started dropping phrases: “Part of the ecosystem,” “It just works.” Words read online became gospel. Inside, Rose felt smug superiority, because Apple was the best in the universe, obviously. Friends noticed the new phone. Compliments came faster than Rose expected, fueling the obsession. The compliments were simple things like, 'Oh, you switched to an iPhone? That's cool,' just innocent messages without much weight. But for Rose? For her, they were a sign she was right.
Conversations with du shifted. Once they shared memes; now Rose fixated on du’s green bubbles. Every message pinged like a betrayal. Still, Rose loved du, but loving in the Apple way meant converting or breaking apart.
One evening, Rose watched du fumble with a photo transfer, sighing as green bubbles flashed. Fingers trembling, Rose stood up on the balcony overlooking city lights.
“I can’t keep pretending this is okay,” Rose said, voice quivering though eyes burned with conviction. “I thought love meant sharing everything… but your phone, your green bubbles, it feels like you don’t respect me.”
Silence stretched. The wind carried the weight of what came next.
“I want to break up,” Rose finished, steady now, heart pounding like a drum. “I can’t date an Android user.” She was serious, Rose was dead serious
