Meeting Willow

As Willow wakes up, she struggles to fight the urge to fall back asleep. The night before, she had been scrolling through social media unable to fall asleep. She now regrets not trying harder; sleep deprivation making her body ache. Her office job isn't a very active one, so her energy remains dormant throughout the day causing her to be awake most nights. On top of that, she was diagnosed with insomnia at a very young age, which is causing her great struggle in her adult life.

She groans, forcing herself to get out of bed and prepare for another day of lousy work. Refusing to wear feminine formal wear, she slips one of her many black pantsuits on, playing with the collar until it lays perfectly. Willow strides over to her lengthy mirror, determined to make her tie sit evenly under her suit jacket. Feeling as if she is forgetting something, she takes one last glance at her dresser. She then remembers the previous night she was spending at her therapist's office. Her therapist is encouraging Willow to push her comfort zone. Her therapist created the goal that Willow should talk to a coworker from her office, and maybe even make a friend in the process.

Feeling nervous, Willow is still not prepared to meet her goal and avoids eye contact with the passing people as she makes her way to the elevator. Reaching her floor, Willow heads straight to the break room. The goal can wait. First, she needs some caffeine. As she begins heating water for green tea, some of her coworkers start piling in for the coffee pot. She grabs one of the paper cups with the cardboard sleeves and pours hot water into it before neatly dipping the tea bag in the cup. After closing the lid over the dangling string, Willow sits down at one of the break tables. It's a little too early for her to clock in just yet.

Her mind starts to wander as she imagines being back at home. If she were off today, she would be lounging on her couch binge-watching some cheesy rom-com on Netflix and devouring unhealthy snacks from the convenience store.

When she looks back up from her hot cup of tea, her coworker Alyx walks into the breakroom to make himself coffee. She proceeds to watch him, her eyes following his every move as if in a tiny trance. While the coffee brews, he throws a bagel in his mouth. He grabs the same type of cup Willow used and fills it up with steaming coffee, searching around what she could only assume would be creamer or sugar. He pulls French vanilla creamer out of the fridge containing a name tag with his name on it, topping off the rest of his coffee with a stir. Instead of leaving the breakroom like most other people, he decides to stay for a bit. Not only this, but he sits across from Willow; albeit, facing perpendicular to her and leaning his back against the wall.

Seeming the most approachable, especially given the opportunity, she figures this is her chance to talk to someone. "Hello," Willow almost whispers to her coworker, nervous thoughts beginning to cloud her mind. She searches his face for any expression signing that he heard her greeting.

Alyx shifts his head giving her a sleepy grin and mumbling "Good morning" back to her, then takes another bite out of his bagel. He makes eye contact with Willow for a split second before going back to staring at the other side of the room. Willow's face turned a light shade of pink, staring at this man who smiled at her. What was this feeling? Her stomach fills with anxious butterflies as she contemplates whether to engage in conversation.

The coworker glances at her once again, this time adjusting his seat until he's facing her, and places his coffee on the table. He sets his elbows on the table and links his fingers together forming a self-headrest of sorts, staring back at Willow. His gaze never left hers. Suddenly she finds more interest in her green tea, not willing herself to stare back at Alyx. "How's your morning been so far?"

What? Alyx is starting small talk with Willow. Her mind starts to race, panic setting in. She had not expected him to think anything more of her after saying a short hello, but now he's actually talking to her. Someone is talking to her. "It's.. It's been... Well, it's just started but not so bad so far I suppose. And yours?" Willow's heart races at the thought of making a new friend. She feels warm at the idea of finally having an office friend to fill the silence of her excruciating shift.

He smiles at her once more, taking in her presence and settling his gaze on her matching office cup. "Good, it's been good. Better now that I have my coffee though," he gestures to his coffee cup, lifting it, before taking a quick sip. "Do you prefer yours pure black or with creamer?" Willow's face scrunches up in confusion at his query, before she realizes he doesn't know she made tea.

She motions to the tag dangling from the string in her cup. "I prefer my caffeine to be the herbal kind, specifically of the green." What was she saying? It's as if suddenly she doesn't know how to talk to people. Instead of giving her a weird look like she expected, he chuckles at her phrasing.

Maybe friendship isn't too far out of her reach after all.