Gemotions

The disciplinary hearing felt like a trial, with Liam as the sole defendant. He clenched his jaw as they laid out their evidence, feeling the blood drain from his face. His carefully constructed life, built on academic excellence, felt like it was crumbling around him.

He walked back to his apartment, the campus pathways suddenly alien and unfamiliar. The groups of laughing students seemed to mock his situation. He felt a desperate need to retreat and hide.

He had always been fiercely independent, valuing his solitude. But now, that solitude felt like a prison. He spent the evening staring at the ceiling, the silence punctuated by his own ragged breaths.