Gemotions

The history essay felt lighter, almost bouncy, under Maya’s fingertips. She’d been staring at the screen, a grin plastered across her face, for a solid hour after school. Mr. Henderson, her history teacher, *followed* her. Her *Instagram*. Suddenly, the tedious research felt like a game, each historical fact a secret shared between them. She rewrote the introduction four times, each version bolder, wittier, the words practically leaping onto the page.

Her fingers drummed a frantic rhythm against the desk as she imagined him reading it. Would he like it? Would he see the clever callbacks to last week’s lecture? She grabbed a red pen and circled a passage about the French Revolution, adding a tiny, self-satisfied exclamation point.

She knew she would be the best student in his class. And that was all she would need.