Gemotions

The phone vibrated insistently in his pocket, a series of messages from friends and classmates. Each one a fresh wave of disbelief. He wanted to throw his phone across the room. He felt a deep ache in his chest.

He wandered aimlessly through the quad, the familiar landscape now foreign and unsettling. The thought of starting over, of facing the unknown, was exhausting. He couldn't quite bear it.

He slumped onto a bench, the cold metal seeping into his bones. The silence of the afternoon was deafening.