Gemotions

"Have fun, sweetheart!" Karen said, forcing a smile as she dropped off her son, Ben, at school. He was entering fourth grade. Her throat felt tight. The teacher, Mr. Peterson, was the same Mr. Peterson who had made her elementary school years a living hell.

She recalled the man's meticulous grading system and his exacting standards. She felt a familiar weight pressing on her chest. Karen couldn’t shake the image of her own past and her own failures.

She watched Ben run off toward the classroom, filled with a sense of helplessness. The world seemed to fade, as she recalled the man’s voice. She went home, the silence of her house amplifying the anxiety.