Gemotions

The email arrived with a smug subject line: “My new cookbook!” Liam, slumped in his armchair, felt his stomach churn. The email's author was his former roommate, Barry, who had never shown the slightest interest in cooking. Now, a cookbook, *featuring* “Barry’s Famous Chicken Curry.” Liam tossed the email aside, his muscles stiffening in response.

He recalled the countless evenings he’d spent, hunched over his stove, perfecting that very curry. The complex spice blend, the slow cooking process… all his. Barry, a habitual freeloader, had simply watched.

He felt a deep sense of wrongness. He rose from the chair and began pacing, his jaw clenched, his knuckles taut. He had to do *something*.