Gemotions

The cafeteria buzzed around him, but Ben was oblivious to the noise. He stared, wide-eyed, at the email on his phone. The subject line, "Academic Dishonesty Allegation," was like a branding iron. His face was hot.

He pushed away from the table, his lunch untouched. He stood up abruptly, the movement jolting him, and he stumbled slightly. Plagiarism. The claim was about his philosophy essay, a piece he had carefully crafted, exploring the nature of free will.

His chest tightened, and he found it difficult to breathe. The world seemed to wobble around him. His carefully constructed intellectual world was crumbling, and he had no idea why.