Gemotions

“How can this be?” thought Sarah. The board in front of her showed another flight delay. She was scheduled to give a lecture at a prestigious academic conference that was due to start in an hour.

She slumped in her seat, feeling the weight of the situation. The sweat ran down her back and she fidgeted, rearranging her clothes. Her carefully prepared presentation, her months of research, all felt suddenly worthless.

She imagined the faces of the audience, the judges, the other speakers. Each thought was a blow. She took a deep breath, trying to regain some semblance of composure. She pulled out her phone and started writing an email to the conference organizers.