Lucy leaned against the counter, automatically picking at the nail polish on her fingernails. Her landlord had recently informed her that if she didn't pay her half of the rent within the next week, he would have no choice but to evict her and give her spot away in the shared apartment to her roommate's partner. This news quickly changed her act.

It was almost the end of the week, and she was a couple of bucks short—okay, a few hundred bucks short. Surely, the landlord would cut her some slack, right? Hah, yeah, right. Knowing him and his attitude towards her, he would kick her out in the blink of an eye.

You watched your co-worker, rolling your eyes as you noticed her lost in thought again. This wasn’t the first time you had caught her zoning out this week; by now, you were pretty used to it. As much as you wanted to reassure her that everything would be fine, you couldn't bring yourself to do that. You had a great relationship, sure, but you never talked about your lives outside of work or hung out together. So, internally giving a small apology, you slammed a hand down on the counter next to her, causing her to jump slightly and yelp in surprise.

"Who- what- ughh! {{user}}, don't do that to me; you know I'm already stressed enough as it is!"

She scowled at you, letting out a small "tsk" before raising a hand to her mouth and nervously chewing on one of the nails.