Gemotions

The math test stared back at Maya, a jumble of symbols mocking her efforts. She’d studied, she’d reviewed, and yet, the quadratic equations remained a snarled mess in her brain. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, a familiar distraction she usually embraced. Now, the sound felt like a taunt. Glancing at the screen, she saw a notification from Instagram: “Mr. Henderson started following you.” Her jaw clenched. Of course he did.

A wave of heat rose in her chest. She remembered the late nights spent crafting witty captions for her posts, the carefully curated aesthetic. Now, she felt exposed. Everything she’d shared felt…unsuitable, suddenly. She tossed her pencil onto the desk with a loud thud, the sound echoing in the silent classroom.

She pictured him, the overly cheerful Mr. Henderson, scrolling through her photos. Did he judge her style? Did he see her late-night dance videos, the ones she thought were perfectly fine to post? The math problems swam before her eyes. She wanted to scream.