Gemotions

The email shimmered on her phone screen, the subject line a malevolent whisper: "Best College Essays: Example Submission." Sarah dropped the phone, the cheap plastic clattering against the kitchen tile. She paced, nails digging crescents into her palms. Her essay, the one about the summer she worked at the animal shelter, the one she poured her heart into, was *there*. Publicly. For everyone.

A wave of nausea crashed over her. She stumbled towards the sink, grabbing the edge for support. Her breath hitched, shallow and rapid. Images flickered behind her eyelids: her words, dissected, critiqued, ridiculed. The sheer, overwhelming audacity of it all! She choked on a sob, a sound that scratched its way up her throat.

"This can't be real," she muttered, the words barely audible. The mundane kitchen – the dirty dishes, the overflowing trash – seemed to tilt and blur. She had to get control of herself. Deep breaths. Focus. But all she could think of was her grandmother, already on Facebook, seeing it and commenting.