Gemotions

"Finally," muttered Chloe as she leaned back in her chair. The mountain of reading that had been facing her was almost finished. She felt a lightness in her shoulders and a pleasant buzz in her brain. She got up to fix herself a cup of tea, humming a song. She took a sip of the drink, and felt she could handle anything.

The familiar chime of a new email. She felt it was the department sending some useless thing. She rolled her eyes, and opened the email. The subject line: “Professor Davies is leaving.” She almost dropped the mug. The tea no longer tasted right. The lightness in her shoulders became a weight.