Gemotions

He paced the length of his small dorm room, his phone clutched in his hand. The email sat open, its subject line blaring in neon green: "Congratulations! Your Essay Is Featured!" He stopped and reread the words, an electric current running through his veins. He kept looking from the email to the computer, back to the email. He wanted to scream.

He called his mother, the words tumbling out of his mouth in a rush. "They picked it! They actually picked it, Mom! My essay!" He laughed, a high, breathless sound. He imagined the possibilities, the opportunities that might arise from this. A career in writing? Maybe an internship?

He felt a sudden need to clean, to organize the chaos of his desk. He started gathering papers and discarding old pens. Then, he straightened up all of his books. He'd get started. Right now.