Gemotions

The information arrived as an impersonal line in a mass email. Dr. Olsen, his advisor, was relocating. He felt no initial reaction, only a profound sense of… emptiness. The prospect of starting his thesis seemed so daunting that it was better to avoid it altogether.

His apartment was dim and stuffy, the air thick with the smell of stale coffee. He hadn't opened his books in weeks. The idea of writing another word felt impossible, insurmountable.

He switched on the TV, and the flickering images of a cooking show drew him in. The soothing voices and colorful food were far more appealing than the challenging work that lay before him.