Lexi Luna Pov -

Mark finishes. Silence. I open my mouth to say “interesting” again—and stop.

I’m on a video call with my team. Mark is presenting his terrible idea again. Everyone nods politely. My chest tightens. The Gratitude+ app pings a reminder: “Time to find one genuine moment of connection today.”

The team laughs. For a second, I don’t feel brittle. I feel... useful . The app’s debug mode flashes in my peripheral vision: Emotional Metric: 4.1/10. Honesty increases capacity. lexi luna pov

My alarm doesn’t beep. It whispers. Specifically, it whispers my own name in a tone of mild concern.

The profile reads: Safety. Hidden Fear: That no one sees the real you because you hide behind sarcasm and efficiency. Current Emotional Metric: 3.2/10. Functioning, but brittle. Most Used Internal Phrase (last 30 days): “It’s fine.” (It is not fine.) Unresolved Loop: Yesterday, 2:17 PM – You told your coworker Mark his idea was “interesting.” You meant it was terrible. You’ve replayed this lie seven times since. This is draining your energy. My stomach drops. I close the app and set the phone down like it’s a spider. Mark finishes

Silence. Mark blinks. Then he grins. “You hate it. But you’re right about the dentist thing. Okay, let’s flip it.”

“Mark,” I hear myself say. “I don’t think the timeline works. And the color palette feels like a dentist’s office. But the core concept —the user check-in—is strong. What if we flip it?” I’m on a video call with my team

“No,” I say. “I’m testing a theory. What if the bug isn’t the glitch? What if the bug is the real me?”