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Jeremy O’Riley, Sarah Watt, Axel Suarez and Michael Hersh were standing near a vending machine at the campus, outdoors. Jeremy O’Riley, Sarah Watt, Axel Suarez had dyed hair, but Axel and Jeremy’s hair colors were mild red and blond highlights, and Sarah’s was a three colored blue, green, and black swirl. Michael usually did not hang out with them all the time. They were all looking at the sunset a little bit. It was quiet, and still. Except the occasional slurp of soda. The dusk was a vibrant New York City flag shade of orange.

“So how do y’all feel about AI” asked Michael

Sarah Watt laughed a bit.

“I don’t like AI,” said Axel.

“I hate AI so much. It’s gonna kill art. ” said Jeremy

“I guess I think that it’s bad for artists too” said Michael

“I also love AI, and hate it.” said Sarah Watt

Everyone looked at her.

“Well I guess I should explain” said the grinning Sarah Watt “It is great and horrible. Like what I mean is that I have a fetish for being canceled. Right wing people love AI. Left wing people hate it. So I have to be canceled, so I go for both positions, so I can get canceled. I love getting canceled. Can-cel-la-tion! Woooo! So excited for the hate comments about to come in. It’s my absolute favorite. The idea is basically that right wing people love to cancel. They just hate calling it that. Can-cel. Left wing people love to cancel, and will call it that. So either way I get to be canceled. That’s why I love and hate AI.”

Internally she thought that “cancel” was a clever pun on God’s part. With the incel suffix, and all that jazz.

A shaky “Oh.” emerged from someone's mouth. Drinks were not being drunk. Eyes were unmoving. Everyone in a horrified and rapt trance state.

“I can give you persuasive arguments for my position. I will propagandize you! That’s what people do with political opinions. I basically think that being able to have free digital images for all sorts of artists, like novelists, is good. Like starving novelists don’t have to pay for cover art. Which is good. Youtubers for stock art in the back of their green screen videos. But also this is bad for visual artists. So it’s good and bad. Cancellation is so! ihebfihseeeeeeee!”

Michael had on a tilted look. Axel had a sort of forced line mouth, and was looking into Sarah’s eye’s without piercing through.. Michael did not know Sarah Watt well. To him she was the sort of friend that was best friends with some of your best friends. Axel nervously sipped soda and figured that they were wrong when they thought that they knew the ins and outs of Sarah’s soul.

Jeremy O’Riley was frowning, and gazing toes-ward. He hid behind his rectangular glasses’s glare, as intense as the glare that appears on sunglasses in children’s anime like Yu-Gi-Oh, or Pokemon. He had known Sarah Watt his whole life. They were like neighbors growing up. They went to different highschools. But are now attending the same art school. They both liked the same people here. They both liked to read. Now Sarah Watt needed to be abandoned. Needed to be left without friends. She was immoral. She ought to be canceled. Maybe that’s the wrong word, because of the negative connotation. But also she couldn't be. She somehow had a fetish for cancelation? To displease her you would not cancel her, and instead you would be nice to her which felt backwards. Jeremy clenched his jaw tight, each tooth to each other tooth. A small cavity in the second premolar.