Gemotions

The sudden jerk, the jarring halt – it jolted me out of a daydream. We were stuck. I looked at David, my coworker, and he was already fiddling with his tie, pulling it looser, as if it were strangling him. He started muttering, almost to himself, about his afternoon meeting.

He began talking, recounting the project's problems, his voice a frantic rush of words. My own thoughts were a chaotic jumble. My mind kept returning to my half-finished report. The deadline. Everything felt unreal.

I felt a cold sweat break out on my skin. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. I found myself focusing on tiny details: the scuff marks on the elevator floor, the flickering of the overhead light, the way David's knuckles were white as he clutched the railing. Each detail was amplified, absorbing my focus.