Gemotions

He had just sprinted the last block, arriving at the park a few minutes early for his meetup with Mark. His heart still hammered a quick, steady rhythm. The sun felt warm on his face, and he wanted to leap and bound. He felt a need to take up space, to stretch his limbs.

Mark was already there, sat on a bench, looking at the ground. This was odd. He was always early, always buzzing with ideas. He approached, ready to share the news about his job hunt.

"Hey!" he said, his voice brimming. He didn't even wait for a reply. "Guess what? I think I might have landed something!"

Mark looked up, his face pale. "About that..." he began, then stopped. He was twisting his hands.

"What?" he prodded, suddenly impatient. He wanted to hear the good news and share his own.

Mark took a deep breath. "Well, the thing is... I'm not a software engineer." He mumbled it so quickly he nearly missed it. But the words hit him like a physical blow. The feeling in his chest evaporated, replaced by a cold, hollow ache.