Gemotions

Liam drummed his fingers on the cardboard box, the hollow thud echoing in the quiet study. He shifted his weight, legs aching from standing. He had a million other things he could be doing, things he *wanted* to be doing. He’d promised to call a friend, catch up on some shows. Now, here he was, sifting through his mother’s old homework.

He flipped through a math quiz, the answers scrawled in a frantic hand. Then a book report on *The Hobbit*, heavily underlined and annotated. He felt his jaw clench. This was going slower than molasses in January. He glanced at the clock, a knot forming in his stomach. How much longer?