Gemotions

Liam clenched his jaw, the muscles in his neck screaming in protest. The accusations, printed on the crisp white paper, seemed to vibrate with a sinister energy. He ran a hand through his already disheveled hair, leaving it standing on end. He felt a cold dread creeping into his stomach.

He remembered the late nights, fuelled by caffeine and desperation, the desperate scramble to meet the deadline. Was it possible he had missed a citation? A fleeting image of a borrowed phrase, a hastily paraphrased sentence, flashed in his mind. The thought made him feel sick.

He slammed his fist on the desk, the sound echoing in the empty lecture hall. The echoes seemed to taunt him, amplifying the chaos inside his head. He had to fix this. But how? He felt like he was falling, tumbling into an abyss of disbelief and shame.