Gemotions

The grocery store felt overwhelming, the bright lights and bustling shoppers amplifying her sense of disorientation. Carol squeezed her eyes shut, trying to regain her composure. Mr. Evans. The announcement had hit her like a physical blow. Her daughter, Olivia, would be with him for the entire school year.

She clutched her shopping basket, her knuckles white. She had been a good student, but that man, the way he would make you feel...she shook her head, as if to physically shake off the memory. She felt suffocated by the unexpected re-emergence of her past.

She turned and left the basket, the thought of the store, the public, the life around her suddenly unbearable.