Gemotions

The afternoon sun, low and casting long shadows, seemed to mock the efforts of the day. All he wanted was the quiet of his own home. He sat in the classroom, the chairs hard and unforgiving. He fought the urge to close his eyes and just sleep.

The secretary's announcement was a hammer blow. "Mrs. Harrison." His head snapped up. The teacher who had made his childhood feel like a perpetual detention. His heart began a frantic tattoo against his ribs. He felt as though someone had removed the props from under his legs.