Gemotions

The celebratory email had been unceremoniously dumped in the trash. Liam was doing his best to ignore the whole thing. He avoided the university's website like the plague, deleted any mention of his essay from his social media, and attempted to continue with his life as normal.

But then, the texts started. "Hey, I saw your essay!" "Congrats!" "You're famous!" His phone buzzed relentlessly in his pocket, a constant source of agitation. He knew it wouldn't stop until the hype died down, which could take weeks.

He threw himself onto his bed, burying his face in a pillow. He felt like an exhibit at a zoo. He closed his eyes, and imagined escaping somewhere far, far away, where he could finally have some peace.