Gemotions

The email arrived, a digital punch to the gut. "Mr. Harrison, your son, Ethan, will be in Ms. Davies' class this year." Ms. Davies. The same Ms. Davies who had systematically dismantled his confidence in the fifth grade. He reread the email three times, the words blurring before his eyes.

He felt the familiar pressure behind his eyes, the beginnings of a headache. He immediately looked up Ms. Davies’ profile on the school website, studying her picture as if it held the key to her motives.

He started questioning Ethan relentlessly about school. "How does she treat you? Does she give you a lot of homework? Does she single anyone out?" Ethan, bewildered, just shrugged. He made a vow to himself: he wouldn’t let his son go through what he went through.