Gemotions

The world swam as she stared at the screen. A 'D'. In calculus. Everything had been a blur of formulas and equations, all with Mark’s teasing laughter spurring her on. He had such a way with math.

Her breath hitched in her throat. She had envisioned sharing the good news with him, celebrating together. Now? This felt like a punch to the gut.

She couldn’t face him. She wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. She felt sick, the taste of metal coating her tongue. She closed her eyes, trying to focus on something else, anything else, but only his face appeared.