Gemotions

The email from the university librarian landed in Amelia’s inbox like a brick. Subject: "Featured Essays – Admissions Example." Her heart hammered. She clicked, fingers trembling, and there it was, her words, her deeply personal reflections on her grandmother's death, staring back at her on the website. A hot flush crawled up her neck, reaching her cheeks. She felt a burning sensation, a tightness in her chest, as if someone had just punched the breath out of her.

She immediately slammed the laptop shut, the screen going black. Then, she opened it again, needing to see it wasn’t some cruel prank. Each sentence was a fresh stab. Her deepest, most vulnerable thoughts, laid bare for… everyone. She clenched her fists until her nails bit into her palms. The sheer audacity of it!

A low growl escaped her lips. She paced her small apartment, the worn rug under her feet doing little to soothe her unrest. She imagined the admissions committee, chuckling over her pain, using it as a prop. This was wrong, profoundly wrong.