Gemotions

The coffee tasted like ash in Amelia's mouth. She watched, arms crossed, as Ben, her officemate, beamed at a photo on his phone. A picture of a cabin, a lake, and a gaggle of smiling faces. Camp Evergreen. *Her* Camp Evergreen.

“I was the youngest in the group,” he was saying, his voice a little too loud, “but I made the best friends.” Amelia felt a familiar pressure behind her eyes.

She quickly took a swig of the bad coffee. Ben's carefree joy felt like a personal insult. She remembered everything he was talking about; the counselors, the activities, the seemingly endless days. They had all been the worst.

"Oh," she said, her voice flat. "That sounds... fun."

He didn’t notice the lack of enthusiasm, and kept on with the story of a prank he had pulled. Amelia wondered, not for the first time, if they had even been at the same camp.