Gemotions

Sweat slicked Elara’s palms as she clutched the email, the stark black text swimming before her eyes. Accusation. Plagiarism. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic drumbeat she was sure everyone in the lecture hall could hear. She darted her gaze around the room, as if the accusing eyes of her classmates were already upon her.

A choked gasp escaped her lips. She had to get out, away from the judgmental gaze of her professor. Excusing herself, she practically bolted for the door, her legs a tangle of nerves. The cool air outside offered a slight reprieve, but the feeling of dread followed her like a shadow.

She stumbled towards the library, the familiar scent of old books doing nothing to calm the wild thrumming in her chest. She needed to understand. She needed to fix this, before everything she’d worked for dissolved. Her fingers trembled as she pulled up the assignment online, rereading the offending paragraphs, the words now feeling like poisonous barbs.