Jane and John played on their phones during break. Flashy idle games that pushed their ideas onto them and required the effort of a few taps. 

Easy rewards and flashy colours to dull the pain of the middle way break on a twelve hour shift. 

John moaned about their boss while they played, “Can’t believe it. Two months the same.” 

He didn’t have much of a voice. His voice was weakened by individual isolation in a capitalist world. 

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Jane listened to him. She learned to listen from a young age. Her voice was even weaker than his because at least he was listened to by her. 

John did not afford her the same courtesy. He’d never learned to listen. 

She doesn’t get to speak during the break. She’d tried, but he never gave her the time to voice her opinion. Her warm and interesting stories about gaming, her kids and husband went unsung. 

They paid into the game and it took half their current hourly wage. They got more rewards if they paid. Today, it meant his new dragon hatched and her old one levelled up. 

For John and Jane spending money on the free game was worth it during the moment. The phone game entertained them. Fleeting joy seemed better than facing one another and talking. Playing on their phones gave them a thin barrier, a piece of glass, between their disgust for the other.