Gemotions

Her fingers, usually deft at navigating a keyboard, fumbled over the letters. The email lay open, the subject line screaming at her: "Your Teenage Diary – Now Online!" A tremor ran through her, making her teeth clack together. She clicked the link, her breath catching as the website loaded. It was *her* diary, the one she’d hidden under her bed, the one filled with crushes and angsty poetry. A hand flew to her mouth.

The comments section was ablaze. People were dissecting her fourteen-year-old self. She saw a familiar username, “BookwormBeth,” and then a comment from someone she knew in high school. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She felt a disorienting rush, as if she were plummeting from a great height.

She gripped the desk, her knuckles white. Each entry, each whispered secret laid bare for the world to see, was a fresh blow. She felt a peculiar, buzzing sensation in her ears. A dizzying wave of heat washed over her.