Gemotions

He stared at the rejection email on his phone, the words blurring before his eyes. The junior varsity team. Not the varsity. All that training, all the sacrifices – for this. He gripped his phone so tightly his knuckles turned white. His stomach churned, a knot twisting in his gut. The air felt thin, like he was struggling to draw a breath.

“No, no, no,” he muttered under his breath, pacing his tiny apartment. The weight of his disappointment pressed down on him. He imagined the teasing from his friends, the disappointment in his parents' eyes. He threw himself onto his bed, burying his face in the pillow, trying to stifle the rising tide of… of… everything. The phone slipped from his grasp, landing on the floor with a soft thud, a sound almost swallowed by the sudden ringing in his ears.