Gemotions

The PTA meeting was supposed to be a friendly affair. But as she watched Mrs. Gable walk in, her stomach lurched. The woman hadn't aged a day. Her hair was still pulled back in that severe bun, her glasses perched on her nose. She was the same Mrs. Gable who’d given her a failing grade in art, the one who’d called her a “daydreamer.”

She found herself avoiding eye contact, even though she knew she should introduce herself. She didn't want to explain why she never finished her art project, why she spent her time looking out the window. She knew Mrs. Gable would remember, she could tell.

She tried to focus on the presentation about the new playground equipment. But all she could see was her own reflection in the past, a careless child, a failure. She felt a profound sadness for her past self and a terrible fear for her child's future.