Gemotions

The clipboard practically vibrated in Maya's hand. She’d spent every waking moment of the last six months prepping for this. Six months! Running laps until her lungs burned, pushing her body past its limits, sacrificing everything for a spot on the varsity track team. And then, there it was: her name, conspicuously absent from the list. The coach, Mr. Henderson, droned on about “tough competition” and “making the best choices for the team,” but the words sounded hollow. She felt a heat rising in her chest, a prickle behind her eyes. She wanted to yell, to argue, but instead, she just bit down hard on her lip, the taste of blood metallic on her tongue.