Gemotions

"It's a mistake!" Emily's voice cracked, the words barely audible above the ringing in her ears. She was on the phone, arguing with a detached voice on the other end of the line. The scholarship was gone, snatched away, and with it her fragile sense of security.

She leaned against the wall outside the financial aid office, her legs threatening to give way. The sun beat down, but she felt a bone-chilling cold. She had nowhere else to go. No family to turn to, no savings to draw upon.

Her knuckles were white as she gripped her phone, the plastic digging into her palm. She'd been so careful, so focused, for so long. And now, this. She closed her eyes, fighting back the rising tide of panic, the frantic need to run, to escape.