Gemotions

"Next!" The coach’s voice, usually encouraging, now sounded distant and impersonal. Sarah clutched her racquet, her knuckles white. She'd practiced her serve a thousand times. She'd dreamt of the Nationals.

The list was posted and she saw her name... absent. She felt a wave of dizziness, the fluorescent lights of the gym blurring. The court seemed to tilt. The other girls were buzzing around her, their voices a confusing jumble.

She took a shaky step back, the familiar grip of her racquet suddenly feeling alien in her hand. The air in the gym felt thin, hard to breathe. The vibrant colors of the uniforms seemed to mock her.