Member-only story
FLASH FICTION
Why I Started Muting Myself Mid-Sentence and Acting Like I Was Arguing With Someone Offscreen
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It began as an accident. A glitch, maybe. My mic cut out mid-sentence during a meeting, and for a moment, I sat there, lips moving, hands gesturing, completely unaware that no one could hear me. When I unmuted, Greg from finance chuckled. βYou looked like you were arguing with someone,β he said.
So, the next time it happened, I leaned into it.
I muted myself deliberately. I narrowed my eyes. Shook my head. Whispered something inaudible before snapping back into the meeting like nothing had happened. They noticed. I saw it in the way their postures stiffened, in the nervous glances exchanged in the little Zoom boxes. The way Greg, always the talker, started waiting for others to speak first.
I escalated. Some days, Iβd turn my head sharply, as if hearing a sound behind me. Other times, Iβd glare offscreen, shaking my head furiously, mouthing no before unmutingβ¦
