Gemotions

The cafeteria was a kaleidoscope of loud chatter and clanging trays, but for Liam, it was a soundproof box. He picked at the lukewarm pizza, each chew a deliberate act of defiance. The accusation hung over him, heavy as the leaden sky outside the window. Did they really think he’d stoop to that? His jaw clenched, a muscle tightening at the corner of his eye. He shoved the pizza away, suddenly nauseated. The fluorescent lights seemed to hum, a discordant drone against the silence in his head.

He pushed his chair back, the scraping sound a jarring noise. He needed air. The accusation, his name, the words: “plagiarism,” “copied,” “identical” – they all swirled in his mind, a vortex dragging him down. He ignored the voices that called out his name, his classmates. He strode out the door, into the cold, the fresh air.

He found himself walking towards the library, but he stopped short. The place where the evidence supposedly lay. He turned, headed toward the football field, where he played the game to distract himself. It was the only thing that could.