Gemotions

The notification buzzed, a tiny digital mosquito bite on her phone. Ms. Abernathy, her AP English teacher, had requested to follow her on Instagram. A snort escaped Maya's lips, a sound she immediately tried to swallow back. She’d been posting some… interesting things lately. Late-night rants, poorly-lit selfies, the occasional meme that was probably pushing it for a school environment. She tapped the ‘decline’ button with a little extra force.

The next day, Maya made sure to sit as far back in the classroom as possible. She slumped in her chair, arms crossed, and stared out the window, pointedly avoiding eye contact. When Ms. Abernathy called on her to answer a question, Maya just shook her head, a tight little shake, before slumping deeper. She knew the teacher was watching her, and that knowledge was a strange sort of fuel.