Gemotions

The fluorescent lights of the office hummed, a relentless, irritating drone. Sarah clenched her jaw, the muscles in her face tightening with each repetition of the training script. Across from her, the replacement, a chipper young woman named Emily, scribbled notes with an unsettling enthusiasm. Sarah felt a tremor of annoyance run through her.

Emily asked a question about the company’s data encryption protocols. Sarah, instead of answering, picked up a pen and began tapping it against the desk, a rapid, staccato rhythm that echoed the thrumming in her temples. She barely glanced at Emily, just pointed towards a dense paragraph in the training manual.

The coffee brewing in the break room smelled acrid, burnt. She could feel a knot twisting in her stomach.