Gemotions

The Slack message appeared at the end of a long day of homework. It was from Mr. Lee, her physics teacher, and it simply said, "Cool projects, btw!" He had been added to the class group chat. Suddenly, all of her enthusiasm for the subject felt muted.

She immediately replayed every communication she had had. She felt a growing sense of discomfort, remembering a joke she had made, a particularly harsh criticism of a textbook. She felt like her personal space had been violated, a sense of intrusion that was thoroughly unwelcome.

The next physics lesson was a blur of unease. She couldn’t seem to concentrate. She felt a constant pressure, a vague sense of being evaluated. The classroom, which she had always considered a refuge, now felt like a test, a constant and unwelcome evaluation.