Gemotions

"Everything alright, Maya?" her mother asked, her voice soft but laced with concern. Maya jumped, the sudden sound making her heart leap into her throat. She was meticulously arranging the fairy lights around the patio, each tiny bulb a source of both frustration and fascination. Her sister, Chloe, was having a party. Maya's was at the same time.

“Fine,” she mumbled, her voice catching slightly. She avoided her mother's gaze, pretending to concentrate on untangling a particularly stubborn knot in the string of lights. Chloe’s party was going to be massive. A DJ, a dance floor, the works. Maya’s? A few board games and pizza.

The thought of facing a comparison, of inevitably being seen as “less than,” made her chest feel constricted. She felt the urge to start running. To just… escape. She forced a smile, pushing the knot in the lights harder, as if to squeeze the feelings away.