Gemotions

The air in the campus coffee shop felt thick with the aroma of roasted beans, yet David couldn't appreciate the smell. The news had left a hollow ache in his chest, making it difficult to breathe. He’d meticulously budgeted for the semester, and now his plans were shattered. The scholarship was gone.

He took a sip of his lukewarm coffee, the bitterness doing nothing to lift his mood. He watched the other students laughing and chatting around him, seemingly oblivious to the financial burdens they probably faced. He felt isolated, his problems magnified in his own mind. He wanted to get up and leave, to escape the cheerful chatter and the pretense of normalcy, but he didn’t know where he would go.