She felt her shoulders slump. Again. The same thing, just a different day. Once more, she had come in with a cheerful, hopeful smile, but as she approached her desk, she felt the eyes of her boss bore into her. So she was a few seconds late. The buzzer had just sounded and she was not at her work station. She knew what was coming. A little throb of pressure began to make its presence known behind her right eye. She lifted her hand to her forehead, but was forestalled by a sudden monotonal drawl over her left shoulder.
"You forgot to blah, blah, blah," it began, followed with a "He had to blah, blah, blah." No smile, no pleasant "Hello!", nothing to indicate relief or happiness that she had come in at all. After all, another member of the department had called in sick, leaving the rest having to fill in for her. She could easily have done the same, considering the nasty cold she had been nursing for several days.
"You also were late. You're going to have to make sure you get here tomorrow on time." The veiled threat was pointless. She knew that there was only one thing that would happen, and it had happened more than once. After nine years at the plant, and proving herself more often than not, she knew they could not afford to just fire her. After all, she was at work, sick or not. And they knew she would call for a peer review if anything came of it.
Regardless of how protected she felt, she still was raw. So little positive feedback over the past few months left barely any cushion for the more negative punches.
She glared sulkily at the older woman's back as she glided away. The headache deepened as she punched at her keyboard, calling up the screens she needed to begin her work. It was going to be a long day.
