Gemotions

A cold sweat plastered itself across Maya's forehead as she listened to Chloe. The air in the tiny kitchen felt thick, suffocating. “Seriously, Maya, a *snake*? Are you kidding me?” Chloe’s voice rose with each word, her arms crossed defensively over her chest. Maya found her own hands clenching into fists, nails digging into her palms.

The tiny apartment, usually a haven of cozy chaos, suddenly felt claustrophobic. Maya pictured the sleek, smooth coils of the corn snake she had researched for weeks, the way its scales would shimmer in the sunlight, the gentle way it would feel in her hands. Now that vision was gone, replaced by a wave of nausea.

"It's just… a reptile," she finally managed, her voice barely a whisper. She wanted to argue, to defend her dream, but the fear of losing this friendship, this home, choked her. Chloe’s face was set in that familiar expression of disapproval, the one that usually made Maya back down. Maya backed away from the counter, her stomach churning. She grabbed her keys, her fingers fumbling with the metal. “I… I’m going for a walk.”