Gemotions

The notification glowed a menacing red. A follow request. From Mr. Henderson. History, the guy with the perpetually tired eyes and the penchant for dad jokes. My stomach did a somersault. I immediately retreated into the apps privacy settings and frantically started double checking all my profile information.

My thumb hovered over the ‘deny’ button, but some part of me, morbidly curious, clicked on the request first. His profile was public. Pictures of his dog, a vaguely scenic photo of the mountains. He wasn't some kind of creeper, but my breath still hitched.

Back in the classroom, I avoided his gaze. Every time he spoke, I felt a prickle of awareness on my skin, like I was being watched. I chewed on my lip.