Gemotions

Liam stared at the rejection letter, the crisp white paper mocking him from the kitchen table. He’d poured his heart and soul into the tryouts for the school’s chess club. He’d memorized openings, analyzed endgames, spent countless hours honing his strategies. He knew he was good, damn good. A tremor ran through his hands as he crumpled the letter into a tight ball. He slammed it into the trashcan, the sound echoing in the otherwise silent house. The injustice of it all simmered inside him, a bitter, churning tide. He pushed his chair back from the table, the legs scraping across the linoleum, and stalked out of the room, leaving his breakfast untouched.