Gemotions

The notification buzzed on Maya's phone – "Hey, remember that cafe we were talking about? I'm here now!" She glanced at the screen, then back at the half-eaten sandwich. A shrug was all the reply she offered. It felt like one of those pre-packaged responses, a default setting she used on almost everything. After clicking the “seen” status, she went back to scrolling.

The cafe was a blur of mismatched chairs and the smell of stale coffee, but none of it registered with her. She looked up when she heard a voice calling her name, but all she did was give a slight tilt of her head, as if to acknowledge a vaguely familiar shape.

He was grinning, radiating energy, but Maya's lips just barely twitched in a semblance of a smile. He sat down, and she watched him without speaking, feeling the faint thrum of the overhead fan on her skin. She took another bite of her sandwich.