Gemotions

The clipboard slipped from Maya's suddenly unsteady fingers, clattering onto the polished gym floor. She watched the list of names, the choices of the coaches, blur before her eyes. Not the Varsity team. She felt a heat creep up her neck, a prickling sensation that traveled down her spine. The air in the locker room felt thick, almost suffocating. Her palms were slick with sweat. Her breaths came in short, shallow bursts. She gripped the cold metal of the locker, her knuckles white.

She could barely look at her teammates celebrating, their cheers echoing in the hollow space. She needed to be alone. Now. She mumbled a hasty congratulation to Sarah, who was beaming, and practically fled the room.

The brisk October air outside offered no relief. It only seemed to heighten the frantic thrumming in her chest. She needed to run, to move, to burn off this… this energy. She started jogging, faster and faster, her muscles screaming for release.