Gemotions

The coach’s words, a low rumble, seemed to swallow the sunlight. Maya’s stomach knotted as Coach Miller explained the need for a new setter. Her shoulders slumped slightly, the weight of the news pressing down. "We think you could be great there, Maya." The phrase hung in the air, a polite dismissal of everything she’d worked for. She nodded, her throat suddenly tight, as if a hand had reached in and squeezed. Her hands trembled slightly as she took a sip of water, the cool liquid doing nothing to calm the sudden heat rising in her cheeks. The court, once a familiar and comforting space, now felt vast and unfamiliar, her teammates distant figures.