Gemotions

The campus fountain, a place of peace, now seemed to taunt him. He sat on the edge of it, the cool spray doing little to soothe his rising anxiety. The university's email was still etched into his mind. His scholarship. The error. The truth.

He ran his hands over his face, as if trying to erase the information that was branded there. The water trickled down his fingers, the sound a constant reminder of the steady drain on his finances. He was sinking.

He needed the money. He needed it to stay enrolled, to keep his dream alive. He stared at his reflection in the water.