Gemotions

The courtroom felt suffocating, even with the windows cracked open. Liam drummed his fingers on his knee, the rhythmic tapping a frantic counterpoint to the slow, deliberate words of the judge. His sister, Chloe, sat beside him, her face a mask of placid indifference.

He picked at a loose thread on his jacket. He had an awful feeling that this day was going to define the rest of his life. He found himself wishing his parents could see the mess they had left behind.

The will was read. Chloe, the responsible one, inherited their parents’ valuable art collection. Liam, the 'artist', got a rundown studio apartment and a box of old sketchbooks. He felt a wave of nausea wash over him. A folded piece of paper was then produced, with another will! The "real" will, with a new inheritance for each of them.