Gemotions

A tremor ran through David as he heard the news whispered down the hall. Professor Chen, his advisor, was abandoning them, taking a post at Harvard. David had spent years under Chen's tutelage, meticulously crafting his thesis, convinced he had found a kindred spirit. Now, the spirit was departing, soaring to greater heights.

He found himself avoiding eye contact with Chen in the lab that afternoon. Chen tried to make small talk, asking about David's latest experiments, but David’s responses were clipped, curt. His own project seemed dull compared to the glittering possibilities Chen was describing.

Later, he went to the campus bookstore, a place they’d often gone together. He paced the aisles, picking up and putting down academic journals. He couldn't focus on any one. He left without buying anything. The familiar scent of old paper felt suffocating.