Gemotions

The silence in the car was a physical weight. Sarah stared out the window, the passing scenery a blur of green and gray. Her father, oblivious, hummed along to the radio, his cheerful tune amplifying her frustration. She ignored him and stared out the window.

She had pictured the celebration, the shared joy, the relief. Now, all that remained was a gnawing emptiness. She envisioned the faces of the girls who *had* made it, their excited chatter filling the locker room. She pressed her fingers into the leather of her seat.