Gemotions

The locker room felt suffocating, the air thick with the celebratory shouts of those who had made the volleyball team. Sarah stared at her reflection in the chipped mirror, her face a mask of disappointment. The team was her entire world. Months of grueling training, sacrificed social events, and intense pressure all for this moment. And she had failed. She felt a burning sensation in her chest, a need to dismantle something, anything. She kicked a discarded water bottle across the floor, the plastic skittering uselessly against the cold tiles. A teammate attempted to give her a hug of consolation, but she flinched away, the gesture feeling like an insult.