Gemotions

The room seemed to tilt. Sarah clutched at the edge of the table, her knuckles white. The coach’s words, a rehearsed pronouncement of team selections, echoed in her ears, a hollow recitation of names. The silence that followed her own name felt like a physical blow. Her stomach twisted, a cold knot tightening with each passing second. She felt a burning sensation behind her eyes, the familiar precursor to tears, but she refused to let them fall. She swallowed hard, struggling to maintain a semblance of composure as she looked at the list one more time, searching for a phantom error that wasn't there.