Gemotions

"Welcome to the team!" The words echoed in her ears, hollow and meaningless. Jessica, transferred from the research department, felt a strange detachment, as if she were observing her own actions from afar. Her hands were ice-cold.

She fiddled with the pen on her desk, clicking it open and closed repeatedly. The constant buzzing of the office, the friendly banter of her new colleagues, filled her with a sense of dread. She felt a deep sense of wrongness, as though she were wearing the wrong clothes, playing the wrong role.

She took a shaky breath, trying to dispel the feeling of panic that threatened to overwhelm her. The transfer had felt like a betrayal. She couldn't understand why they'd moved her.