Gemotions

The acceptance letter practically vibrated in Maya’s hands. Sunlight streamed through her dorm room window, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air. She’d been accepted, yes, but the scholarship... it was an accident. A clerical error. Meant for a brilliant, underprivileged girl with a different last name. Now, the emails detailing the error, the desperate pleas for her to recant, burned in her inbox. A chuckle escaped her. Today, she felt like she could leap tall buildings.

She stretched, the muscles in her back popping pleasurably. This was her chance. Her escape. The university was hers, now. The rules, the expectations, the *system*—they all seemed flexible, pliable. She grabbed her backpack, swinging it over her shoulder with a casual ease. The crisp autumn air practically crackled with possibility.