Gemotions

The accusations of plagiarism echoed in the sterile hearing room, but Maya was lost in the tapestry of the pattern on the carpet. It was a beautiful thing. She found the repeated geometry strangely hypnotic.

She'd done everything perfectly. The carefully crafted argument, the subtly manipulated evidence, the way she'd steered the conversation. Her chest felt light, almost weightless. A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

The dean paused, took a breath, and then continued, but she couldn't care less. She'd successfully danced around it.