Gemotions

Sarah’s breath hitched in her throat as Mrs. Gable, with her perfectly coiffed gray hair and the same floral scarf she’d remembered from thirty years ago, greeted the class. Her daughter, Lily, beamed up at her, oblivious. Sarah felt heat crawl up her neck, a prickling sensation that traveled all the way to her scalp. She forced a smile, a grotesque caricature of her usual cheerful grin, and managed a weak, “Hello, Mrs. Gable.” The teacher’s eyes widened slightly, a flicker of recognition in their depths.

Mrs. Gable gave a small, knowing nod. “Sarah! It’s wonderful to see you. Lily, your mother was quite a student in my class, a real chatterbox, just like you, I believe.”

Sarah’s face burned. She felt the urge to sink into the polished wooden floor. Lily giggled, her eyes sparkling with innocent amusement, completely unaware of the internal earthquake currently ravaging her mother’s composure. The memory of late-night detention for talking in class flooded her mind, and she suddenly wished the ground would open and swallow her whole.