Gemotions

The new office was a fishbowl. Every movement, every sigh, felt exposed to scrutiny. Sarah, now a member of the social media team, found herself picking at the skin around her nails, a nervous habit she'd tried to break years ago. The sunlight streaming through the windows seemed mocking.

She remembered the peaceful solitude of her old desk in the research lab. She missed the quiet hum of machinery, the comforting rhythm of experiments. Now, she was supposed to generate “buzz.” The very word felt like an assault.

She felt a hollowness, an echoing emptiness where the excitement and purpose of her work had once been. Her stomach churned. She couldn't focus; the screen wavered.