Gemotions

A vein throbbed in Michael’s forehead as he stared at the welcome back to school flyer. Ms. Peterson. The name practically jumped off the glossy paper. His breath hitched. He had spent his sixth grade year constantly trying to avoid Ms. Peterson's gaze. Her penchant for public shaming, her thinly veiled contempt for anything less than perfect. He pictured her still, that pinched smile. The thought of his daughter, Lily, navigating those same treacherous waters filled him with a potent, suffocating anger. He crumpled the flyer, the paper crackling under the pressure. This simply would not do.