The screen flashed to life: six tiny rectangles, each with a colleague’s face—bright, caffeinated, and ready to report.

Masti clicked “Join with Video” and pasted on her polite expression. It didn’t quite reach her eyes, but it was enough.

“Hey Masti!” chirped Priya from HR. “Love your new background!”

Masti blinked, glancing at her virtual backdrop—a tranquil Japanese garden she’d set weeks ago in a burst of K-drama nostalgia.

“Oh… thanks,” she said, mustering a smile.

Her team lead, Rohan, started in his usual clipped tone. “Alright folks, quick round. Just top-line updates for Q2. Masti, you go after Arjun.”

She nodded, pretending to jot something down.

While Arjun talked about user metrics and campaign wins, Masti’s mind wandered. She had updates—small ones—but none she cared about. The project that once gave her pride now felt like cardboard.

Her turn.

She sat straighter.
Professional voice: On.

“Uh, yeah. So I completed the draft user flow last week. Waiting on feedback from UI. I’ve also started outlining the test plan for phase two… which should be ready by Friday.”

She paused.

“That’s… mostly it from my end.”

Rohan nodded. “Cool. Sounds like you’re on track. Let’s make sure we align timelines during Thursday’s review.”

“Sure.”

On track. Align timelines. Buzzwords that floated above her like drones—hovering, empty.

The meeting rolled on. She smiled when others spoke, nodded at the right moments, even threw in a “Nice one!” when someone cracked a joke about Jira tickets.

But underneath it all, her brain throbbed with one persistent hum:

I don’t want to do this anymore.

When the meeting ended, Masti left the call with the same grace she entered it.

She leaned back in her chair, kicked off her slippers, and let the silence settle in again.

One thought bubbled up, uninvited:

What if I just… stop pretending?

She didn’t answer it yet.

But she didn’t dismiss it either.