Gemotions

The school's brightly colored sign seemed to mock Amelia. "Welcome to Bright Horizons Academy!" it shouted, as if the very air wasn't already saturated with forced cheerfulness. She took a deep breath, the scent of fresh-cut grass failing to soothe her. A knot formed in her stomach as she marched towards the administrative office. Mrs. Gable. *Still* teaching kindergarten. The woman hadn't aged a day, except, perhaps, in her widening smile. Amelia remembered the teacher's excessively chirpy voice, a sound that grated on her very soul.

She entered the brightly lit office, her jaw tight. "I'm here to register my son, Leo," she announced, her voice clipped. The receptionist, a young woman with a bouncy ponytail, offered a plastic smile. "Wonderful! And what's your last name?" Amelia gave it, her gaze fixed on a framed photograph of the school's founders. They looked smug.

When the paperwork was complete, the receptionist chirped, "And Mrs. Gable is the kindergarten teacher this year! How exciting!" Amelia's lips pressed together, forming a thin, almost invisible line. Exciting? More like a sentence. She forced a polite smile, but inwardly, a coldness spread through her.