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StatMan12

Not much. My stupid brain won't shut off.

Yoga4Lyfe

What's it saying?

StatMan12

I'm not good enough, I'm failing. Everybody's laughing at me. The usual.

My chest tightens. I know that voice. It's the same one that's been screaming in my own head since I woke up.

Yoga4Lyfe

Those thoughts are liars.

StatMan12

Knowing it and believing it are different things.

Yoga4Lyfe

Yeah. They really are.

I want to say more, to tell him I'm sitting here staring at a half-finished proposal and wondering if I should just give up now before I embarrass myself. That feels like too much vulnerability for someone I've never met.

StatMan12

What are you working on today?

I hesitate. My fingers hover over the keyboard.

Yoga4Lyfe

A project that might change things for me professionally. Or it might blow up in my face. Hard to tell which yet.

StatMan12

Tell me about it.

So I give him the basics. Not the whole story, just the outline.

StatMan12

Sounds important.

Yoga4Lyfe

It is. That's what makes it terrifying.

StatMan12

What's the worst that could happen?

I stare at the question. The worst that could happen? They say no. Coach Cross tells me to stick to coffee runs and copies. I prove to everyone, including myself, that I don't actually have anything valuable to offer.

Worse, I stay invisible forever.