Gemotions

"Are you serious?" Daniel asked, his voice strained. The financial aid officer’s explanation sounded like gibberish. His scholarship, the one that had secured his place in the engineering program, was revoked. Someone else's name was on the dotted line.

He left the office in a daze, the cheerful campus pathways suddenly treacherous. He went to his dorm, throwing himself onto his bed. The air in his small room felt thick, heavy with the weight of the news. He stared at the ceiling, the familiar patterns failing to provide the usual comfort.

He reached for his phone, then hesitated. Who could he even call? His parents? The thought of disappointing them, of burdening them with the news, was unbearable. He closed his eyes, willing himself to feel nothing, but the pain, the profound sense of loss, intensified. The future felt impossibly bleak.