Gemotions

The school hallway was a blur of bright colors and excited chatter. Chloe’s head throbbed. She clutched the class list like a life raft. There it was: “Ms. Davies – English.” Her stomach dropped. Ms. Davies. The woman who’d assigned the essays that had given Chloe nightmares for a decade.

A wave of heat flushed her skin. The smell of the linoleum floor, identical to the one in her own elementary school, seemed to press in on her. The faces of the other parents swam before her eyes.

She quickly scanned the room, looking for an exit. Finding none, she forced a smile and shuffled forward, feeling as though she was wading through thick molasses.