Gemotions

She blinked rapidly, as though trying to clear her vision. The announcement flashed on the screen of the common room: a retracted scholarship. Her scholarship. It felt like a joke. She checked the notice again. The details were correct, her name, the amount, the reason: incorrect application.

She felt a hollowness in her chest, a void that seemed to suck the air from the room. She looked around at the other students, their faces alight with laughter, their lives moving effortlessly forward. She felt isolated, adrift in a sea of normalcy.

She grabbed her backpack, the familiar weight suddenly feeling like a leaden anchor, and walked toward the exit, needing to get away.