Gemotions

Sweat beaded on Maya’s forehead, despite the chill of the locker room. She kept her gaze fixed on the peeling paint of the metal lockers, tracing the rust with a fingernail. The silence in the room was thick, broken only by the rhythmic thud of a distant basketball. Each thump seemed to hammer against her ribs. She’d expected to be celebrating with the Varsity squad right now, not huddled here, feeling like a stranger in her own school. Her stomach churned.

The coach’s words echoed in her mind: “Your performance… well, it wasn’t quite where we needed it to be.” The way he’d avoided her eyes was even worse. She gripped the worn strap of her bag, the leather creaking under her pressure. A tremor ran through her, a prickling sensation that started in her fingertips and spread upwards.

She wanted to scream, to lash out at someone, anyone. But instead, she just swallowed hard and picked at a loose thread on her jersey, her movements jerky and abrupt. Her reflection in the locker door showed a girl she barely recognized, her jaw clenched, eyes wide and desperate.