Gemotions

The email sat in Amelia’s inbox, glowing with an obnoxious digital light. Professor Davies, departing for a new institution. A wave of heat flushed her cheeks. She'd been putting off the thesis draft review for weeks, drowning herself in online lectures and procrastination. Now this.

Her stomach churned. She avoided eye contact with her reflection in the darkened computer screen, each glance a painful reminder. The hours she’d wasted, the deadlines she’d blown.

She replayed their last meeting in her mind, her answers curt, her excuses flimsy. He’d offered help, time, expertise. And she'd squandered it, lost in a self-made maze of avoidance. Now, the maze felt like a prison.