Gemotions

The world felt distorted. The gym lights seemed to glare down on him, amplifying every shadow, every crack in the floor. He clenched his jaw, trying to keep the anger from boiling over. The coach, a man he had respected, suddenly felt like an enemy.

He imagined grabbing the clipboard from the coach's hands and tearing it to shreds. He imagined shouting, listing all the ways the coach had been unfair, all the ways he had been overlooked. Instead, he just stood there, breathing shallowly, his chest tight.

He listened to the coach's platitudes, each word a fresh wound. The polite dismissal was a slap in the face. He wanted to say something, anything, but the words caught in his throat. He just wanted to leave, to get away from the suffocating atmosphere.