"No," Faith said to herself, slamming her phone back into her purse a little harder than she'd meant. "Why should I change myself for them?"
She had noticed the judgmental stares from her colleagues whenever she would come back in from a break. Probably they could smell the residue of smoke on her. Faith knew that the few spritzes of perfume she applied whenever she returned to work could not hide the odor completely. But what business was it of theirs?
Karen was the worst. While her other colleagues would content themselves with looks, Karen would sniff audibly when Faith would pass her desk, occasionally giving a little fake cough as if the scent of smoke had choked her. Faith idly wondered what could cause a person to act this obnoxiously.
Suddenly a thought struck her. Was Karen perhaps protesting a bit too much? Could she be a closet smoker? No, surely that would be ridiculous.
The thought nagged at Faith as she returned to her desk. She passed by her coworkers, oblivious to their usual reactions. As soon as she sat down, she retrieved her phone from her purse and began searching through the settings of the app until she found one labeled New Profile. She tapped this, and entered a name: Karen.
The office printer was positioned not far from Karen's desk. Faith walked beside it and stood as if waiting for a document as she discretely pointed her phone at Karen and tapped the option for Automated. As Faith watched, the details of Karen's body and personality began to scroll across the screen. And then, she saw it. Nicotine Addiction: 20%.
"Well, well, well..." Faith muttered under her breath. "Looks like someone has a little habit."
But only a little one. With that level of addiction, Karen could probably get by with only one cigarette a night. Easy enough to hide, if she lived alone. But what if her need were a little stronger?
Faith stared at the slider on the screen. If Karen were no longer able to control her cravings during the day, she would be forced to smoke at work. That would take her down a peg! And with two office smokers, maybe her colleagues would give up on their judgmental attitudes.
Still though, she wasn't sure how she felt about altering another person's mind.