I just got to the office.
It was my first day and I was terrified, like every time I'm surrounded by strangers. There was I, standing up, getting introduced to everybody, sweating so much I could see a puddle forming under my feet. I avoided politics, religion and sports, and resorted to inane topics like the weather to fill in the uncomfortable silence. When I moaned about the prize of the travel pass, this woman replied in a harsh tone.
She was a big woman with a squeaky voice, and she sounded aggressive. A tone you'd never use for a first contact with a stranger, at least if your goal was to make friends.
She said that there was no way I was paying that much for the pass, but I knew how much I had paid as I live hand to mouth and I need to count every single cent.
She checked the prize online and admitted I was right.
Over time, I realised she didn't have anything against me — that's the way she was to everybody. I'll add that I've been told that she is very good at what she does, and that her attention to detail is obsessive. So if you ask me, she is either neurodivergent or in the autism spectrum.
We have been taking the same couch during the Summer. There have been a couple of days she even sat next to me when the couch was chocker blocker, so she must consider me the least bad option.
However, she usually gets on before I do and sits in the front of the couch.
Yesterday she greeted me as I walk past her. It got me thinking. For a minute I felt flattered she might've wanted me to sit next to her. But then I thought she was just saying hello.