Gemotions

"Oh, look!" Mark’s sister, Chloe, held up the university's newsletter. "They reprinted your essay! How cool is that?" Mark, who'd been diligently studying for his accounting exam, felt a wave of coldness wash over him. "Yeah, great," he mumbled, refusing to look up from his textbook.

He’d almost forgotten about that essay, the one about the time he took his grandma to the fair. It had felt personal, vulnerable, at the time, but the memory was now tainted. He'd moved on from his application cycle, and the painful sting of rejection. He’d made peace with his state school. Seeing it now, in print, alongside other students, all of whom seemed more accomplished than he was, made his jaw clench.

He shut the book, not sure how he was going to concentrate. He pushed back from his desk, needing to pace, needing to escape the suffocating weight of it all. He thought about the other students in the newsletter. They all seemed to have a grasp on their futures.