T1 2024 -

The calendar on Lin’s wall was a lie. It was still printed with last year’s sunsets—December’s hazy golds and deep purples—but January’s first week had already bled into February. She hadn’t flipped the page. Flipping felt like admitting she was already behind.

Lin looked back at her screen. The email subject line read: DRAFT: Q1 Feasibility Report (v.12 FINAL). The attachment was 47 megabytes of careful lies and interpolated hope. She had a meeting at 9 AM Monday to defend it to the zoning board. After that, another meeting to discuss “T2 deliverables.” Then a third to “reassess KPIs.” t1 2024

She hit send before she could stop herself. The calendar on Lin’s wall was a lie