Gemotions

It was a sharp, stinging pain. Professor Schmidt's email. I had carefully positioned myself, always volunteering, always working. The payoff was finally in sight. Now, everything was threatened.

I could barely breathe. I pictured my competition, the ones who had arrived late to the game, the ones who had never fully dedicated themselves to the work. They would be the beneficiaries of my work. It was an injustice.

I had to salvage something. A draft of a paper. An introduction to a contact. Something, anything, to ensure I didn't lose everything. I had to make sure the work, the network, remained *mine*.