Gemotions

"No way," Mark muttered, rereading the notification. Ms. Chen, his music teacher, had started following him on Spotify. A flush warmed his cheeks. He could feel his heartbeat quicken.

He immediately dove into the depths of his music library, agonizing over his playlists. He felt a strange combination of nervousness and excitement. He imagined her listening to the songs, her reactions, her thoughts. He felt the need to pick all the best songs.

He took a deep breath. His fingers flew across the keyboard as he meticulously rearranged his playlist. He played the intro to a song, then the chorus. He went to play his drums. Time seemed to be both speeding up and slowing down simultaneously.