Gemotions

The aroma of freshly baked bread usually soothed Maria. But not today. Today, as she stood in the school’s bake sale, she felt as if a heavy weight had settled in her chest. Mr. Carter. Her own math teacher. Now, her son's. She felt as though she might suffocate.

She clutched a plate of muffins, her hands shaking so hard she almost dropped them. The familiar sight of children running and playing, which normally brought her joy, suddenly seemed distorted and unfamiliar. The world had gone blurry around the edges.

She forced a smile, a fake, brittle thing. "I... I need some air," she mumbled, fleeing the scene. The memory of trigonometry, a subject she'd barely scraped by, flooded her mind, making her feel light-headed and nauseous.