Gemotions

It was an accident, she told herself. He must have clicked the wrong button. But the confirmation on her phone – "Ms. Rodriguez followed you" – wouldn't disappear. Emily went pale. The world tilted slightly.

She spent the evening deleting anything remotely revealing. She erased old posts, photos with friends, even the music she listened to. Her hands trembled. Her carefully constructed online persona, designed to be cool and nonchalant, now felt incredibly exposed.

The next day, she skipped her art class. She couldn't bring herself to face Ms. Rodriguez, to be looked at with those knowing eyes. Instead, she stayed home, the curtains drawn, the silence amplifying her internal unease.