Gemotions

He found himself pacing the cramped breakroom, the stale coffee smell doing nothing to improve his mood. The scent of burnt toast from someone's breakfast only added to the internal turmoil. David, formerly a lead software engineer, was now in customer service. He gripped the edge of the counter, his knuckles white.

"Did you get the memo about the new ticketing system?" Brenda, a chatty woman from the sales department, chirped as she joined him. He grunted in response.

He pictured his old office – the sleek monitors, the complex code he loved to navigate, and the quiet satisfaction of a successfully debugged program. Here, he had to endure a constant stream of complaints and technical ignorance. Each phone call felt like a physical assault on his patience. He wanted to scream.

He picked up a chipped mug and slammed it back down on the counter. The clatter seemed to release some of the tension.