Gemotions

The email arrived with a deceptive calm. "Congratulations! Your essay has been selected for publication." The words themselves seemed innocuous, but the reality was a different matter. Her essay was being published, being held up as an example. She felt a strange buzzing within her, a current of electricity.

She read her own words, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks. The essay was about her first crush, an embarrassing memory from her childhood. Now, it was out there for the world to see. It was so personal. Her hands felt clumsy, her fingers fumbling over the keyboard.

She stood up abruptly, unable to sit still. She needed to do something, anything, to escape this feeling of exposure. She began to wander around her apartment, touching things, not really seeing them. She needed to be alone and quiet.