Gemotions

“Ugh.” David exhaled, staring at the screen. Ms. Johnson, his science teacher, had requested to follow him on Facebook. He considered ignoring the request, but that felt like it would draw more attention. He reluctantly accepted.

He immediately went through her profile. Mostly pictures of her cat and posts about her garden. He felt a weird, complicated mix of feelings. He hated feeling like he was being judged, but also, it felt...patronizing. He'd never really looked at his teacher in that light before.

During class the next day, his normally focused attention became scattered. He found himself avoiding her eye, even when she addressed the entire class. He sat up straighter, aware of his posture, wishing he could somehow delete his entire digital footprint. The lectures, which he normally found interesting, seemed to drone on and on.