Gemotions

The new office was a fishbowl. She’d been nestled in the archives for a decade, surrounded by the comforting silence and the familiar scent of old paper. Now, she was to join the Public Relations department. The open-plan layout, the constant chatter, the pressure to network - it was all too much.

She found herself avoiding the communal spaces, opting to eat her lunch alone at her desk. The bright colours of the new office, the vibrant posters, seemed to press in on her, suffocating her.

When her new team tried to engage her in conversation, her voice emerged as a mere whisper. She clung to the edges of the group, feeling like an outsider observing a world she didn't understand.