Gemotions

The news felt like a physical blow. Liam slumped back against the library chair, his gaze fixed on the ceiling. Professor Rossi was leaving. After all their conversations, all the late nights, all the painstaking revisions… Was it all for nothing? He felt a prickling sensation in his eyes, a tightness in his throat. He blinked rapidly, forcing down the unwanted emotion.

He grabbed his notebook, flipping through the pages, the notes suddenly meaningless. He slammed it shut. He pushed the chair away from the table, the scrape of the legs louder than it should have been. He just needed to leave.