Emma

I feel the thirst gnawing and impossible to ignore as I sit down, I just went out to grab a file I left in my car.

I drop it on my desk, still feeling thirsty. Then I push away from my desk, the chair scraping quietly against the floor, and walk toward the break room. 

The office is quieter than usual today, almost empty, and that silence unsettles me. 

I don’t want anyone to notice me right now. The last thing I need is another round of snickering laughter or whispered remarks behind my back, the way it happened before. The sound of it still lingers in my mind...