Gemotions

"Alright, alright, alright!" whispered Chloe as she tapped her feet beneath the table. The computer screen glowed, illuminating her face as she awaited the scholarship application result. This would change everything. Freedom! Possibility! The future was hers for the taking.

Finally, the email arrived. Her fingers trembled as she clicked. The words hit her like a punch to the gut. Rejected. She stared at the screen, her earlier pep now vanished, replaced by a hollow ache.

She leaned back in her chair, the air feeling thin and hard to breathe. The weight of her dreams, suddenly impossibly heavy, bore down upon her. The future, once bright and inviting, now seemed dim.