Gemotions

The picture was on her desk. A smiling snapshot of them both holding ice cream cones. She wanted to hurl. The memory of the day at the park, the sticky heat, the swarm of wasps, the way the ice cream melted down her hands – it was all utterly repellent.

Her friend, Maya, on the other hand, was busy recounting how “charming” and “sweet” it was. She had skipped away as though nothing was wrong, not registering the discomfort or the frustration.

She shuddered, the feel of the melting ice cream still on her skin. She had spent the entire time attempting to swat at the unwelcome pests. She made a mental note to avoid ice cream entirely for the foreseeable future. "It was...memorable," she muttered, carefully putting the picture away in a drawer and finding some work to do.