Gemotions

The air in the break room felt thick, heavy. Maria avoided eye contact as she showed the new hire, Jessica, the coffee machine for the third time. Jessica, bright and bubbly, kept interrupting with questions, each one a tiny pinprick against Maria’s already frayed nerves.

“What about this button?” Jessica asked, pointing to a setting Maria had spent months fine-tuning.

“It… it doesn't matter,” Maria snapped, the words escaping before she could stop them. Her cheeks burned. She regretted the outburst immediately.

She felt the familiar tightness in her chest, the pressure that always built when she felt like she was being pushed. She had worked so hard to get where she was, and now it felt as though she was being systematically dismantled. Her fingers traced the rim of her ceramic mug, each imperfection a reminder of the time and effort she had poured into her work.