Gemotions

“Congratulations, Amelia!” Mrs. Peterson had smiled. "You've won the prize. Your paper was outstanding." Amelia’s words, spoken with her usual careful grace, hit me like a physical blow. The award ceremony felt like a cruel joke.

I had spent weeks agonizing over my own paper, losing sleep, sacrificing my social life. Amelia's success was a bitter pill. Now, the entire department would be reading it.

I forced a smile, but my jaw ached. My eyes followed Amelia as she went to the stage. Everything she did was perfect. She had always been the golden child, and everyone fawned over her. The words she read were the same words I had read.