Gemotions

The email sat in her inbox, a malevolent sentinel. Maya stared at it, the screen blurring with unshed tears. She'd reread the subject line a dozen times: "Scholarship Application Decision." The knot in her stomach tightened with each click. Her parents' savings were dwindling; without this money, university felt like a distant, impossible dream. She gripped the edge of the kitchen table, knuckles white, and imagined the crushing disappointment in their eyes. She wanted to scream, to shatter something, but instead, she just sat there, frozen, the cursor blinking mockingly on the screen.