Gemotions

A neighbor's dog keeps escaping into their yard 81 words

The morning sun cast long shadows across the manicured lawn. Another bark. He glanced up from his coffee, the steam a warm breath against his cheek. There was Buster, the golden retriever from next do...

A neighbor's dog keeps escaping into their yard 69 words

She heard the telltale jingle of a dog tag against the wrought iron fence. It was the same every other day. She watched from the kitchen window, the morning light reflecting off the stainless steel ap...

A neighbor's dog keeps escaping into their yard 65 words

The rhythmic thud of the dog’s paws on the pavement was an expected soundtrack to his afternoon. He continued to meticulously prune his bonsai, the tiny shears a precise instrument in his grip. The ...

A neighbor's dog keeps escaping into their yard 75 words

"Buster!" The shout was automatic, a habit born of repetition. She barely bothered to look up from her book, the words blurring on the page. She knew the drill. The dog would sniff her shoes, maybe tr...

A neighbor's dog keeps escaping into their yard 52 words

He barely acknowledged the frantic barking outside his office window. He tapped his pen against the notepad. The dog was a frequent visitor. He continued to stare at the blank page, unconcerned. The w...

A neighbor's dog keeps escaping into their yard 58 words

“Again?” The question hung in the air, a flat, toneless sound. He addressed the dog, not directly, but rather the empty air where a response would be. He tilted his head, the movement slow and del...

A neighbor's dog keeps escaping into their yard 68 words

The dog’s excited yaps were a part of the landscape, like the wind rustling the leaves. She sat on the porch, sipping tea. The warmth of the mug was the only thing she truly noticed. She gazed at th...

A neighbor's dog keeps escaping into their yard 56 words

The dog's escape was a familiar spectacle. He watched from the kitchen window, leaning against the cool glass. The dog was busy digging near his vegetable patch. His mouth was set in a tight line. He ...

A neighbor's dog keeps escaping into their yard 67 words

The dog's presence in her yard was a regular occurrence. She sat on the porch swing, the rhythmic creak a gentle counterpoint to the dog's excited barks. She held the book open in her lap, but the wor...

A neighbor's dog keeps escaping into their yard 59 words

He was halfway through mowing his lawn when the dog reappeared. He switched off the mower, the sudden silence surprisingly loud. He leaned against the machine, wiping the sweat from his brow. The dog ...

A coach has to cut a player from the team 139 words

Coach Miller adjusted his tie, the knot feeling tight, unnecessary. He stared at the list on his clipboard, the names blurring in the harsh fluorescent light of the gym. He knew who he had to cut. It ...

A coach has to cut a player from the team 144 words

The buzzing of the overhead lights was all I could focus on. Waiting. That was all it was. I sat on the bench, wiping my hands on my shorts, though they weren’t even sweaty. Coach Jenkins had pulled...

A coach has to cut a player from the team 115 words

The smell of chlorine hung heavy in the air. The swim team was huddled around the coach, listening intently. I leaned against the cold tile wall, arms crossed. He was always going on about commitment ...

A coach has to cut a player from the team 132 words

The crisp autumn air nipped at my cheeks as I waited outside the football coach's office. The leaves swirling around my feet were a much better distraction than my own racing thoughts, because, well, ...

A coach has to cut a player from the team 102 words

The basketball court seemed a little too bright. Coach Evans called me over, a crease between his eyebrows. It was exactly as I had expected. My performance had been subpar. I had no illusions about t...

A coach has to cut a player from the team 114 words

The team huddle had broken up, the other players slowly dispersing. Coach Riley’s gaze met mine. He gestured towards the office, a solemn expression on his face. I trailed after him, my steps slow, ...

A coach has to cut a player from the team 100 words

The humid air of the weight room pressed down on me. The rhythmic clang of metal on metal filled my ears. I knew what was coming. I'd been avoiding Coach Peterson's eye for weeks. He called me over, m...

A coach has to cut a player from the team 95 words

The baseball diamond was bathed in the harsh glare of the late afternoon sun. I sat on the bench, watching the game, but not really seeing it. My name was announced. It was my turn. Coach Davis had h...

A coach has to cut a player from the team 102 words

I walked into the coach's office, the air thick with unspoken tension. The familiar scent of wood polish and old trophies did nothing to settle the nerves I didn't have. Coach Harrison delivered the n...

A coach has to cut a player from the team 104 words

The locker room felt cramped. The smell of sweat and liniment hung in the air. Coach Johnson gestured me towards a quiet corner. I walked over, my footsteps even. I'd seen the writing on the wall. I k...

Someone learns their favorite author plagiarized their stories 173 words

The email sat in the inbox, unread for three days. It was from a journalist, a name she vaguely recognized, asking for a comment on the accusations swirling around her idol, Silas Blackwood. He’d st...

Someone learns their favorite author plagiarized their stories 129 words

A lump settled at the back of his throat. He’d loved Blackwood’s work, devoured it. He’d felt a kinship with the author, a sense that someone, somewhere, understood the way his own mind worked. ...

Someone learns their favorite author plagiarized their stories 112 words

The news broke on a Tuesday, perfectly timed to coincide with her least favorite staff meeting. As her colleagues gasped and gossiped, she continued to meticulously arrange the biscuits on the confere...

Someone learns their favorite author plagiarized their stories 108 words

He'd been looking forward to the new Blackwood novel. It was pre-ordered, sitting on his nightstand, waiting. Now, staring at the news reports, the articles, the videos dissecting the similarities, he...

Someone learns their favorite author plagiarized their stories 116 words

The artist's workshop was filled with the usual detritus: paint tubes, canvases, half-finished sculptures. The accusations against Blackwood had been all over the internet for days, but she'd only gla...

Someone learns their favorite author plagiarized their stories 92 words

He stared at the screen, scrolling through the evidence. Blackwood's words, his words, ripped from his own online forum posts and repurposed. A flicker of something, a slight tightening in his chest. ...

Someone learns their favorite author plagiarized their stories 103 words

She felt a slight dryness in her mouth as she read the articles. It wasn't anger, or sadness, or any recognizable emotion. Just…a dryness. A feeling that could be assuaged with a glass of water. Sh...

Someone learns their favorite author plagiarized their stories 93 words

The phone rang, the sound jarring. It was her best friend, breathless, wanting to know what she thought about the scandal. "Honestly?" she answered, her voice even. "I haven't really been paying atten...

Someone learns their favorite author plagiarized their stories 90 words

He read the articles, not with a sense of betrayal or outrage, but with the flat, clinical interest he might apply to a complicated tax form. He noted the similarities, the blatant theft, the audacity...

Someone learns their favorite author plagiarized their stories 83 words

The news was a whisper, a faint echo in the otherwise deafening silence of her life. She was busy. She had deadlines. She had plans. Blackwood’s actions, the revelations, the accusations – they we...

A student finds out their scholarship was meant for someone else 124 words

The email sat in her inbox, a cold, clinical font on a bright white background. It detailed the "misattribution" of the scholarship funds. Apparently, someone else, someone whose name she'd never hear...

A student finds out their scholarship was meant for someone else 106 words

The university administrator's voice, smooth and professional, droned on about a clerical error. It was all a mistake, a mix-up, and, of course, they were deeply sorry. He laid it out like a carefully...

A student finds out their scholarship was meant for someone else 105 words

"We've made a terrible mistake," the dean said, his face a mask of practiced concern. He spoke with the forced sincerity of someone used to delivering bad news. She watched him, the crease of his brow...

A student finds out their scholarship was meant for someone else 107 words

The letter arrived in a crisp, white envelope. She held it for a moment, the paper cool against her fingertips. Then, with a practiced indifference, she ripped it open. The news was as expected. It wa...

A student finds out their scholarship was meant for someone else 85 words

The phone call came during her shift at the coffee shop. The voice on the other end was apologetic, hurried. A computer glitch. The scholarship was going elsewhere. She listened, the steam from the es...

A student finds out their scholarship was meant for someone else 79 words

He stared at the email, the words blurring slightly. The scholarship was a phantom, a promise broken. He took a sip of his lukewarm coffee. The taste was bitter, but not surprisingly so. Everything se...

A student finds out their scholarship was meant for someone else 97 words

It was the fifth email of the day. Each one delivered the same unwelcome update. The funds were being diverted. She had known deep down that it was too good to be true. The scholarship had been a life...

A student finds out their scholarship was meant for someone else 69 words

The campus cafeteria was noisy. The clatter of plates, the chatter of students filled the air. She sat alone at a table, picking at her salad. The scholarship issue was handled, dealt with, gone. She...

A student finds out their scholarship was meant for someone else 56 words

The news flashed across the screen during the lecture. A brief message: "Scholarship allocation… reconsideration…" She didn't pay attention. She was staring out the window, watching the rain. The...

A student finds out their scholarship was meant for someone else 80 words

He received a polite, if terse, message. The scholarship was no longer his. He sighed, the sound barely audible. He put the message aside, his mind turning to his upcoming project. He felt the usual ...

Someone discovers their teenager has a secret social media account 152 words

The flickering screen illuminated the detective's face as he scrolled through the account. It was a digital ghost, a carefully constructed persona existing in the ether. He sighed, the sound barely au...

Someone discovers their teenager has a secret social media account 122 words

Rain lashed against the window as Sarah stared at the phone. Her daughter, Maya’s, secret account stared back. A carefully curated world of filtered photos and vague pronouncements of angst. She tap...

Someone discovers their teenager has a secret social media account 117 words

The notification pinged. Mark checked his son's phone, which he'd taken to the shop to fix. It was a secondary account, a place where his son’s carefully constructed public image dissolved into some...

Someone discovers their teenager has a secret social media account 107 words

The lawyer sat in her meticulously organized office. The documents lay neatly stacked on her desk. She flipped through the screenshots of the secret account, her fingers drumming a slow rhythm against...

Someone discovers their teenager has a secret social media account 100 words

The phone felt heavy in David’s hand. He'd found his daughter’s second account while looking for the Wi-Fi password. The username was a string of random characters, the profile picture, a blurry p...

Someone discovers their teenager has a secret social media account 97 words

“Look at this,” the mother said, showing her husband the phone. The phone displayed their son's hidden account. The posts were what they were: selfies, memes, and comments. His face showed a vacan...

Someone discovers their teenager has a secret social media account 91 words

The grandmother held the phone, squinting at the screen. The hidden account belonged to her granddaughter. The posts were mostly selfies, with heavily edited faces. The comments were banal. She felt ...

Someone discovers their teenager has a secret social media account 86 words

The father stared at the screen, the neon glow reflecting in his eyes. The posts, the photos, the comments – they all seemed distant. He pinched the bridge of his nose. His mind wandered to other t...

Someone discovers their teenager has a secret social media account 97 words

I scrolled through the account, my daughter's secret identity. Each post, each comment, was a little piece of her life I didn’t know. My fingers moved mechanically, swiping, tapping. My heartrate se...

Someone discovers their teenager has a secret social media account 70 words

The detective leaned back in his chair, the phone on the desk. He closed his eyes. The account, a digital echo of a teenage girl, said something to him. But he could not hear it. He opened his eyes. ...