Gemotions

It hit me during dinner. I glanced at my phone again. Mrs. Olsen, my math teacher, had followed me on Snapchat. My appetite vanished. I couldn't focus on anything anyone was saying.

I felt as though I had a physical weight inside my chest. This was different from other platforms, where the content lived forever. Snapchat was immediate, ephemeral. I started to wonder what she would see. My stories, the goofy filters, the spontaneous snaps with my friends.

I pushed my food away and excused myself, retreating to my room. I found myself obsessively checking the app, imagining her seeing all the things I had posted. I felt like I was back in the classroom, being graded again.