Gemotions

“Mrs. Albright,” Liam read aloud, the name on his daughter's first-grade class list. His fingers tightened into fists. The same Mrs. Albright who had once made him feel like an incompetent failure. He remembered the sting of the red pen, the dismissive comments on his handwriting. Now, his little Emily would face the same judgments.

He found himself irritable, snapping at his wife over trivial matters. He couldn’t shake the feeling of inadequacy. He tried to focus on work, but the image of Emily in Mrs. Albright's classroom haunted him. He knew he should have been more assertive, more protective. Now it was too late. He felt like he had failed her already.