Boredom in Company

Boredom does not always happen in solitude. It can follow you into crowded rooms and sit beside you at family dinners. It can stretch out across a couch during a night with friends. It can even show up in the middle of laughter and music, leaving you untouched by the moment. You nod, you smile, you laugh when expected, but inside you feel the restless tug.
Many of us know this well. Boredom in company can sting more than being alone. When you are by yourself you expect silence. But when you are surrounded, the emptiness is louder. You feel like you should be full, and the gap between what you expected and what you feel makes the weight heavier.
Think of the holiday table. The food is plentiful, the stories repeat, the voices rise and fall in rhythm you know too well. You nod, you pass the dish, you smile at the jokes you have heard a dozen times. Inside, you count the minutes. A glass of wine softens the edge. A second helps you laugh easier, even when your body feels disconnected from the room. By the third, you are not more interested, but you are more able to stay for the moment.
Think of the nights out when you hoped for spark but found the same. You meet friends, you slide into a booth, the music plays low in the background. The talk circles around work, errands, gossip you have already heard. You sip to fill the gap. You sip to make the ordinary feel worth sitting through. The drink does not make the conversation better, but it makes you care less that it is dull.
Think of sitting with a partner at the end of a long day. The television hums, the room is dim, and the silence grows thick. They scroll their phone, you scroll yours. The boredom in company is not loud, but it is heavy. You pour a drink to feel the moment shift. The glass in your hand becomes company, for now, when company feels thin.