Gemotions

"Is this a joke?" Maya's voice cracked, as she stared at the screen. The professor's words – "Significant overlap," "Insufficient citation" – burned into her brain. Her entire body felt leaden. She slumped back in her chair, the air thick and hard to breathe.

She remembered the late nights, the countless hours spent researching. How could this be happening? She felt a hot flush spread across her neck and chest. A tear escaped, then another, trailing down her cheek.

She buried her face in her hands. This couldn’t be real. It felt like a nightmare, a suffocating weight she couldn't escape. She had to fight this. But how? The thought of facing the committee filled her with a new level of terror.