Sit still

1 0 0

by qucryy

by qucryy

Sit still

6/12/23

Prompt: Sit still

Droplets of hot sweat descend my unmoving face. My legs, still. My arms, unmoving. My hands trembling lightly but noticeably motionless. My entire body reeks of anxiety in this state.

My eyes trace the professor back and forth, back and forth, each step of hers increasing my bodily tension and my breaths are short and rapid. Though my body appears to be tranquil, my mind is a cave of devastation.

Endless conversations with my own, being echoed around. Its deafening. Am I breathing too loud? Am I breathing too loud? Are people watching me? Yes. Yes, It says. Did I forget anything? Probably. Most likely. What are we supposed to be doing?

Why aren’t you paying attention? Shouldn’t you know? What is she saying? Open your ears and actually listen for once!

“Ms. Gardener.” A voice parts through the whispers in my head.

My eyes unfix and sway towards the individual in front of me who gives me a condescending look. Sweat begins to gather once more, and my leg is bouncing sporadically. Up; down; up; down; up; down.

My hands meet in my lap, hugging each other like greeting a military sent father. My knuckles turn white and they shake unconsciously.

“Ms. Gardener.” The voice repeats once more. I stare straight into those demanding, cold eyes.

“Please...just sit still.” She says.

I hear every phoneme in that sentence. I could hear how she over exaggerated the “P”. I could hear the annoyance in her tone. My eyes break the heavy contact and fall to my desk in front of me. I wear a defeated look like I just lost an election.

My body, once again motionless and my mind running laps. But this time it is not a whisper. Its yelling. Its yelling at...me? What is it saying? S. S? What is “S”? My eyes widen when I can make out the familiar phrase. “Sit still,” it says.

-QC...or something like that.