Gemotions

The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the dorm room, highlighting the dust motes dancing in the air. Sarah chewed on her lip, a nervous habit she hadn’t realized she’d picked up. The open journal lay on her desk, its pages exposed. She knew. She just knew. Her roommate, Emily, had been unusually quiet all day, avoiding her gaze. Now, Emily was in the kitchen, making what sounded like a complicated smoothie, and Sarah found herself staring at the open door, wishing she could rewind time.

She picked up the journal, tracing the cover with her fingertip. Inside, vulnerable thoughts were now exposed to someone she shared space with. Her stomach clenched. The entry that would have been most interesting to read, the one about the crush she had on that cute guy in her history class, would be particularly mortifying.

A small tremor ran through her. She felt such an immense weight as she considered all the private details now available for consumption. She thought about how she might be judged, and the potential for everything to be awkward forever.