Gemotions

“Dude,” Mark said, a nervous laugh escaping his lips, “You're kidding, right? You're actually serious?” He stared at his phone, the screen displaying the calendar appointments: Ben's bowling party at 2pm, and… his, also at 2pm.

He wanted to scream, to smash his phone against the wall. He couldn't believe his best friend would do this to him. They'd been planning this for months. Now, the carefully curated guest list was likely to be split. The bouncy castle, the themed cupcakes – all rendered potentially useless.

He paced the room, his agitation growing with each step. He didn’t know what to do, how to fix this colossal error. His chest felt tight, as if a vise were slowly squeezing the air from his lungs.