Gemotions

Professor Armitage’s office swam into focus. One minute, Liam had been scribbling notes, utterly engrossed in the fractal patterns he’d been sketching for his thesis on chaos theory. The next, a casual mention of retirement had sent the world tilting. He blinked, unsure if he'd heard correctly. The professor was gone in six months? Just vanished? Liam’s grip tightened on his pen until the plastic groaned. He felt a peculiar dryness in his throat, making it difficult to even swallow. He thought he should say something, form a coherent sentence, but the words seemed to have deserted him.