Gemotions

The email notification popped up on her phone, and the world seemed to tilt. Her stomach lurched, a violent protest against the words staring back at her. *Allegations of plagiarism*. She reread the sentence, her eyes darting across the screen as though searching for an escape route. It wasn't there.

Her hands shook as she opened the attached document, the supposed evidence. The comparison looked ridiculous, like comparing a Picasso to a child’s doodle. The idea that someone could think she’d… copied? She felt a prickle of moisture around her eyes, a stinging sensation she refused to acknowledge.

She rose from her chair, her legs unsteady. The room felt small, the walls closing in. She needed air, needed to be anywhere but here, trapped in this manufactured crisis.