Gemotions

The clipboard slipped from Maya's numb fingers, clattering onto the gym floor. Her teammates’ cheers, celebrating their selections for the Olympic squad, seemed to echo strangely, a distorted cacophony that bounced off the polished wood. She stared at the list, her eyes scanning the names again and again, searching for a mistake, a misplaced apostrophe, anything. A coldness spread from her stomach, chilling her limbs, turning her muscles to lead. She felt detached, a spectator observing a play she was supposed to be the lead in.