Quiet Desperation, Confessions of a State Employee...

Disclaimer: The following story is mostly fiction, though based on real events...

There she sat listening to the silence and staring at the blank walls. It wasn't as quiet as when she first started. Now she heard the sounds around her. The constant hum of the scanner, hushed conversations, the click click clicking of keyboards, and doors opening and closing, opening and closing.
Of course the blank walls weren't actually blank, or really even walls at all. They were merely cubicle separators, with tan fabric that had a bluish gray pattern across it. The same sad blue-gray color marked the edges of the walls and brought in a touch of color. Above her computer hung a calender that had been there when she arrived. This month there was a hideous picture of a chihuahua against a bubble gum pink back drop. There was also a matching pink clock that always seemed to be a little on the slow side.
She quietly stood up, because everything was done quietly here, and looked around. No one was coming, the coast was clear. She slowly pulled open her bottom desk drawer and without looking down wrapped her fingers around the new snickers bar she'd tossed in there this morning.
When she'd taken this job she didn't do it with the intention of becoming a secret snacker, it had just happened. It all started out with people constantly bringing in free goodies. Donuts, cake, candies, chex mix, pretzels, it didn't matter what it was, all that mattered was that something was there. Soon she couldn't get through a morning without a coke and some kind of pastry, or the afternoon without a mountain dew and a cupcake!
But recently that had all changed. Someone had complained. First they sent out a memo asking everyone to stop bringing in treats, then they'd sent out a petition email to get rid of the pop machines. And it worked! Now it was gone, all gone.
They hooked her and then stole it away! At first she was relieved, but after a few hours the caffeine headache set in, and she couldn't stand doing her work without something to snack on.
The next day she brought soda in a dark bottle so no one would know she was still drinking it. After that it just spiraled out of control. Now her desk drawers had turned into a pantry, with cans of pop, candy bars, and bags of chips! She loved her stash. It was the only pleasure she got from work. She loved the thrill of sneaking it in when she got there. She loved drinking pop while everyone thought she was drinking water, but more than any of that she loved to eat.
She would watch her coworkers doze at their desks while they drank their bottled water and ate their carrot sticks, but not her. She'd go back to her desk and let the anticipation build up as she held off until she couldn't stand it anymore.
Then she'd ever so quietly, because everything was done quietly here, pull open her bottom desk drawer. She'd reach in without looking down and wrap her fingers around that delicious treat she knew she deserved. And she would smile. And she would eat.