Gemotions

The invitation sat on Sarah's cluttered desk, a beacon of unwelcome pressure. She kept catching herself staring at it, her mind replaying snippets of conversations, echoes of laughter she didn’t participate in, snatches of gossip. She hadn’t felt truly seen in high school.

She chewed at her lip, the taste of anxiety bitter on her tongue. Her fingers tapped a restless rhythm against the wood. The reunion seemed to promise a judgement she didn't know how to prepare for. What if they saw how she’d failed, how she hadn’t become the person she'd dreamed of being?

She closed her eyes, imagining the faces, the comparisons, the quiet pity in their eyes. She exhaled slowly, a long, shaky breath. It was a suffocating feeling, like a weight on her chest that was difficult to dismiss.