Gemotions

The phone call had come at the worst possible moment – during her shift at the diner. Maria excused herself from her customers and took the call. Now, she was stood by the kitchen door, frozen. The scholarship was going to someone else.

She was suddenly acutely aware of every smell, every sound, every movement in the kitchen. The sizzling of the grill, the clatter of plates, the shouting of the cook. Everything seemed amplified.

She felt a wave of nausea. She needed to sit down, but she couldn't move. Her legs felt weak. How was she going to tell her family?