Gemotions

The campus grounds, usually buzzing with life, now seemed sterile and alien to Ava. The vibrant colors of the fall leaves seemed muted, their beauty lost on her. The scholarship loss had stripped everything of its luster.

She avoided eye contact, shrinking from the friendly greetings she usually welcomed. She sought solitude, a refuge from the world. Every smile, every cheerful word, felt like a barb.

She kicked at a loose stone, sending it skittering across the pavement. She walked with a hunched posture, shoulders drawn inward, as if trying to disappear. The world, once full of promise, now felt empty and cold.