Gemotions

"So... that's it then?" Ben stared at the faded team photo pinned to the wall, his own face a youthful, eager smile. Now he was a mistake. The bleachers were empty, save for him and Coach Riley. He couldn’t look at him.

The weight of it all sat in his gut, a cold, hard stone. The hours, the dedication, the friendships – all reduced to a single, disappointing performance. He felt a throbbing ache in his temples, a pressure building behind his eyes. He squeezed them shut, hoping, praying he was dreaming.

His hands fidgeted, picking at the loose threads of his worn-out practice jersey. The silence was deafening, the space around him felt enormous and lonely. He wanted to disappear, to rewind time, to erase this failure. He felt sick, truly sick.