Gemotions

He stared at the small notification on his phone screen. Ms. Chen, his music teacher, had started following him on Spotify. It was a personal account where he had created playlists filled with his favorite music. He had been so proud of his curated playlists, now he felt exposed.

The next music class, he fiddled with his instrument, his fingers clumsy and unsure. When Ms. Chen commented on a song he liked, his voice came out as a strained croak, and he quickly changed the subject.