Gemotions

A tremor ran through Liam’s fingers as he held the email open. The words seemed to jump off the screen: “The esteemed Charles Beaumont Scholarship… awarded to Liam Carter.” He blinked, then blinked again. Charles Beaumont? Wasn't that the scholarship for the scion of the Beaumont family? He checked the sender’s address, triple-checking everything. His heart pounded in his chest, a frantic drum against his ribs. He felt a weird, floating sensation, like he’d stepped off a curb and was momentarily suspended in air.

He immediately turned around in his worn desk chair, staring at the drab, beige walls of his dorm room. This was a cosmic joke. Liam, the kid who was lucky to have enough for ramen noodles, was now the beneficiary of a scholarship meant for…well, someone else entirely. The implications were staggering, and a bizarre, unbidden laugh escaped his lips.