Gemotions

The flickering fluorescent lights of the library seemed to amplify the silence. Daniel sat hunched over a textbook, unable to concentrate. Mr. Peterson, his physics teacher, was now among his followers on X. Daniel had been very active recently, using the platform to try and be funny. He failed.

A bitter taste coated his tongue. He replayed all his tweets in his head, cringing with each failed attempt at wit. He wanted to delete everything, scrub his digital footprint clean, but the thought of the effort was exhausting. He just wanted to disappear.

He slammed the textbook shut. The sound echoed in the quiet room. He felt a strange tingling in his hands, an itching to flee.