Gemotions

The email arrived like a punch to the gut. "Congratulations! Your teenage diary, *Confessions of a Closet Gamer*, is now live on Amazon!" Sarah stared at the screen, the cheerful blue link mocking her. A wave of nausea washed over her, a cold sweat prickling her skin. She slammed the laptop shut, the metallic click echoing in the suddenly silent apartment. Outside, the city hummed, oblivious to the nuclear explosion that had detonated in her personal life.

Later, she found herself scrubbing the kitchen floor with unnecessary vigor, each forceful movement a futile attempt to erase the memory of her youthful, overly dramatic prose. "Dear Diary, he looked at me today! My heart almost stopped!" The words haunted her, playing on repeat in her mind like a particularly annoying pop song.

She didn't answer the phone when her mother called, sensing the inevitable lecture about the dangers of the internet and the embarrassing things she'd written about her crushes. Instead, she wrapped herself in a blanket, the coarse wool doing little to soothe the tremor in her hands.