Gemotions

"Another slice?" Coach Williams’s invitation felt like a knife twisting. Maria politely refused the pizza, the food in her stomach, heavy and unwanted. She felt a burning sensation behind her eyes. Everyone was smiling, but her own mouth felt frozen.

The team banquet was supposed to be a celebration; for her, it was a public display of failure. She retreated to the corner, the noise of the party swirling around her. She picked at the tablecloth, her fingers tracing the intricate patterns, a futile attempt to distract herself.

She longed to disappear, to vanish from the room, from the scrutiny of the onlookers, from the uncomfortable pity in their eyes. The music sounded like a funeral dirge.