Gemotions

The city noise outside seemed to penetrate through the walls of the apartment as Maria tried to find some peace in the silence. Her nerves frayed with the constant stress of juggling work and family. Her daughter, Isabella, rushed in, her face beaming. "Mom! Guess what? Mr. Franklin is my science teacher!" Maria's shoulders slumped.

Mr. Franklin. The man who had once made science class a source of dread, the man who had always made her feel like she was failing. The feeling of inadequacy from those days rose up inside her.

"That's…great," Maria said quietly. She felt a familiar hollowness inside her, the sensation of being drained. She simply stared into space, the idea of revisiting those old feelings exhausting.