Gemotions

The weight of the accusation settled upon Emily like a physical burden. She sat in the student affairs office, the fluorescent lights of the room casting a harsh glow on her face. The air grew heavy, thick with the silence after the official had spoken. She felt utterly lost.

She traced the edge of the table, the cool plastic a small anchor in the storm of uncertainty that raged within her. The research paper on Shakespeare's sonnets, her magnum opus of the semester, was now tainted, suspect. She had written every single word.

A strange buzzing filled her ears, and the room seemed to tilt. The accusation was an assault, a violation of her very self. The world swam before her eyes.