Gemotions

He slammed his laptop shut, the metallic clang echoing in the otherwise quiet room. Mr. Evans, his math teacher, now followed him. A wave of nausea washed over Daniel. He replayed every conversation he'd had with the teacher, every offhand comment, every joke. Were they all being assessed?

He felt a sudden, inexplicable urge to clean his room. He threw clothes into a laundry hamper, stuffed papers into drawers, and wiped down his desk. The physical activity provided a meager outlet for his rising disquiet.

Later that evening, he found himself refreshing his social media feed every few minutes, as if expecting something terrible to appear. The digital space felt tainted, no longer a refuge, but a potential source of unwanted scrutiny.