Gemotions

"Coffee?" Mark asked, his voice bright and airy. He bounced on the balls of his feet, unable to contain his excitement. He'd been waiting for this moment all week. His opinion piece on climate change was set to go live on a major news website this morning.

He sat at his desk, his hands clammy. He typed in the website address with trembling fingers. The page loaded. The title of his piece, his research, his carefully crafted argument… under someone else’s name. A sense of unreality settled over him, the world felt slightly skewed.

He laughed, a short, brittle sound. He ran a hand through his hair, the usual enthusiasm completely gone. He stared at the screen, the words swimming before his eyes, feeling as though he’d been plunged into icy water.