She blinked like I wasn’t there.

Woke at 4:12. Listened to the barking.

Got to work early. Logged in. A motivational GIF had been pasted into the middle of my quarterly target spreadsheet.

The boss clocked me from across the room, then started walking over. I pretended not to notice. He asked how things were going with the review team.

I said, “Steady,” which sounded real enough.

He didn’t react. I think he’d already stopped listening.

There was a laugh behind. Not sure if it was directed my way.

At lunch, I went to Boots for a meal deal. Veggie BLT, salt & vinegar Hula Hoops, water. Splashed out on a Peperami for pudding.

Picked what looked like the fastest queue. Wrong.

Each customer took longer than the last with the girl at the checkout. Everyone was smiling. I couldn’t hear what was said, but they all seemed in on the joke.

The people in the other line sped through. Should I move?

I didn’t. Stood my ground. Stroking my sandwich.

When my turn came, the girl scanned, beeped, and blinked at me.

She gestured to tap my card.

Walked back to the office slowly. I’d eaten most of the food before I got to my desk.

Maybe the cashier didn’t like me. Maybe she didn’t like my meal deal combo.

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