Gemotions

Maya slumped in her chair, the notification still burning on her screen. Mr. Henderson, her history teacher, was now following her on Instagram. A wave of heat washed over her face. She knew he had a life outside of school, of course, but the thought of him scrolling through her photos… It made her want to crawl under a rock.

She replayed the scenario in her head, picturing him, glasses perched on his nose, carefully clicking the follow button. Maybe he'd seen her skateboarding videos, the ones she’d carefully curated to make herself look cool, and he thought she was... What? Interesting? She felt a pang of… something. She closed the app with a click, a shiver running down her spine.

Later, in class, she felt his gaze on her several times. It was probably her imagination, but she swore she caught him smiling. She couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes. During the lesson, she chewed on her pen, her usual enthusiasm for history replaced by a knot of unease in her stomach.