Gemotions

The notification bell pinged again, and Emily flinched. Another email. More reminders about the classes she couldn't afford to take. The scholarship, the thing she'd been counting on, was a lie. She wanted to scream. She wanted to destroy everything in her path.

She stared at the open textbooks on her desk. They seemed to taunt her, mocking her ambition. She thought about the summer job she would have to take. The extra hours. The reduced study time. The sacrifice she'd have to make. She felt a knot tighten in her stomach, a bitter taste rising in her throat. She pushed her chair back from the desk, unable to look at the books any longer.