Gemotions

The email pinged, a shrill interruption to Mrs. Chen’s otherwise peaceful afternoon. She clicked on it with a grunt. An attachment. A photograph. A picture of her former student, Mark, now apparently a successful architect. And a thank you note, detailing how *she’d* inspired him.

She scanned the words, her eyes narrowed. The nerve! Mark, the boy who’d slept through half her lectures, who’d handed in assignments late, who’d scoffed at her suggestions, now thanking her?

She deleted the email without responding, the action a sharp click of finality. She felt a heat rising in her chest. She needed a drink. She grabbed her purse and slammed the door.