Chapter 1

Friday afternoon, the project team was discussing a short weekend trip for team bonding.

"Any good spots nearby for a weekend getaway? It's been forever since we all went out together." Sophia scrolled through her phone as she asked.

I started to answer. "The road to the lakeside B&B..."

Claire's hand shot up. "STOP."

I froze, with no idea what I'd done wrong this time.

Mia and Olivia snickered beside her.

"Emma, do you have to jump in every single time?"

"We weren't even done talking yet."

This kind of thing had happened so many times before.

I used to wonder if maybe I really was too annoying. If I'd missed their point. If I was too slow to get my thoughts out and was dragging everyone down.

But this time, I was sure I hadn't done anything wrong.

Sophia had asked for travel recommendations. I was answering.

After they shut me down, the three of them went back to scrolling their phones.

"This B&B has great reviews."

"Too basic though. Let's go somewhere a little nicer."

They went back and forth, all excitement.

Before long, Claire lit up.

"A mountain cabin retreat. It's been blowing up lately."

They decided on it immediately.

But when I glanced at the listing, the cabin was at the top of a mountain, only reachable by a winding mountain road. I get severely carsick. There was no way I could make it up there.

I tried to mention it. "I..."

One syllable. That's all I got out before Mia looked straight at me.

"STOP."

I closed my mouth, put in my earbuds, and went back to organizing files.

Maybe they never planned on including me in the first place.

At seven that evening, the department group chat exploded.

Emma, what's your deal? We said we were all leaving together this weekend.

Everyone's planned around this. We're just waiting on you. Do you even care about the team?

Talks the most in every meeting, but drops the ball when it actually matters.

I picked up my phone and carefully typed out a reply.

I can't go. The winding mountain road to the cabin would make me extremely carsick. I tried to mention it when we were choosing the location, but I wasn't able to finish.

Less than a minute later, Claire called.

"If you get carsick, why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Why didn't you bring it up when we were picking the spot?"

For the first time, I didn't stay silent.

"When I started talking, you told me to shut up."

Claire scoffed.

"So you're saying this is my fault?"

"I'm not blaming you. I'm stating a fact."

"Emma, do you know why everyone keeps cutting you off?"

Her tone grew more and more impatient.

"Because every time you open your mouth, it's a bunch of nonsense."

I asked, "If I hadn't said anything yet, how would you know it was nonsense?"

On the other end, she went oddly quiet for a beat, then snapped.

"STOP. You're really impossible to deal with."

"Forget it. The trip is canceled."

Half an hour later, Claire, Mia, and Olivia came back to the office.

I was eating dinner I'd picked up from the shop downstairs.

Claire frowned when she saw me.

"Must be nice, already in here enjoying a solo dinner."

I looked at her. "Didn't you already confirm the plans?"

She rolled her eyes. "The cabin charges per person for the package. Without you, splitting the room between three of us doesn't make sense."

Her tone made it sound like the most obvious thing in the world.

"We were going to try to find somewhere cheaper."

That triggered a memory. The last few team outings.

Every time, Claire had handled the booking and told everyone to transfer her the money.

Once, the bill was clearly off. I'd barely started to double-check the amount when she cut me short.

"Emma, don't nickel-and-dime over stuff like this."

At the time, I told myself I was being too sensitive. So I sent the money.

Then, by pure chance one day, I saw that Mia and Olivia had each transferred Claire far less than I had.

Back then, I assumed it was because they were closer friends, so Claire was giving them a break.

Now I realized that wasn't it at all.

They simply assumed I'd cover the difference, and nobody questioned it.

The next morning, I'd barely walked into the office when I heard Claire talking to the other coworkers.

"The trip yesterday was all planned out, and Emma ruined it."

"We had everything booked, and she just pulled the carsick card and bailed."

Mia chimed in. "Coworkers like that are such a headache."

Olivia shook her head. "Same thing in meetings. She always thinks she has so much to contribute."