Page 16 - LSFlipFinalV7

LESS STRESS: MORE “YES”
The laughter of her friends had sounded distant,
muffled by the internal static.
Later, in bed, sleep had been a battlefield. Her
thoughts had swirled, a relentless storm of worries.
Did she lock the front door? Had she paid that bill?
What if she messed up the presentation tomorrow?
She’d finally drifted off, only to be jolted awake by
the same gnawing anxiety at 3 AM. Staring at the
ceiling, the darkness amplifying her fears.
She looked around her apartment. Cluttered. Not
hoarder-level, but definitely… chaotic. Piles of laundry
waiting to be folded. Stacks of papers threatening to
topple over. A visual representation of the mental
clutter that filled her brain.
The buzzing intensified again. This time, it wasn't
just in her head. Her phone was ringing. Her boss.
She took a deep breath. The coffee hadn’t even hit
her system yet, and she already felt drained.
“Morning, Julian,” she said, trying to inject some
semblance of energy into her voice.
Julian’s voice on the other end was sharp,
impatient. “Billie, about the Phoenix update…”
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