Gemotions

The email shimmered on the screen, a malicious, digital serpent. Maya reread the subject line: “Scholarship Revocation.” Her fingers, usually steady on the keyboard, fumbled as she clicked it open. A knot tightened in her stomach, a physical pressure she could feel against her ribs.

Her heart hammered against her chest. She needed to breathe, to slow the frantic rhythm of her thoughts. The scholarship, the lifeline that allowed her to escape her parents' expectations, was being taken away. She focused on the cold air conditioning, willing it to soothe the prickling heat spreading across her skin.

She stood abruptly, pacing the small dorm room. The words, carefully crafted legal jargon, blurred before her eyes. “Administrative error.” Someone else, a student with a similar name, had been the intended recipient. A mistake.