Gemotions

Rain lashed against the library window, mirroring the storm inside Elara. She slammed the textbook shut, the sound echoing in the otherwise silent space. A lump formed in her throat as she replayed the Registrar’s words: a clerical error, the scholarship was never meant for her. Someone else, a student named Anya, was its rightful recipient.

Elara shoved her chair back, the legs scraping harshly against the floor. She needed air. The fluorescent lights of the library seemed to hum with a hateful intensity. Outside, the wind howled, whipping her hair across her face as she stumbled through the automatic doors.

She walked, not caring where she went, just needing to keep moving, the churning in her stomach a heavy weight. The scholarship was her lifeline, her escape. Now, the future she'd meticulously planned felt like it was dissolving into the downpour.