Gemotions

The cafeteria was loud. He had worked in shipping and receiving, where the only sounds had been the rumble of trucks and the metallic clang of loading docks. Now, he was in the human resources department, and the air was filled with chatter and laughter. He took a seat at a table, feeling exposed, watched.

He watched the other employees. He looked like them, but he didn't feel like them. He picked at his food, the meatloaf somehow tasteless. The HR director, a woman with a kind smile, approached him. "How are you settling in, Mark?" she asked, her voice gentle.

He swallowed. "Fine," he managed to say. He looked back at his half-eaten lunch.