Gemotions

The email arrived at work, buried amongst the usual junk and deadlines. Michael deleted it at first, then, with a growing unease, fished it out of his trash folder. He clicked on the link. The website design was shockingly out of date, filled with clip art and dated fonts. He cringed.

He scanned the names of the confirmed attendees. A knot tightened in his gut. There they were, the people who had shaped his teenage years. The bullies, the jocks, the ones who had made him feel… small. He remembered the feeling of being invisible, of fading into the background.

He pulled up his Facebook profile. He rarely posted anything, but the profile picture he'd taken months ago seemed to mock him, the angle was unflattering. He stared at the screen, a feeling of unease bubbling up from inside. He had nothing to prove. But the thought of going, feeling the familiar sting of past slights, churned within him.