Gemotions

The casual way Professor Evans delivered the news – "By the way, I'm heading to Harvard" – was almost worse. It was the end of everything. Mark’s face grew hot. He fumbled with his coffee cup, spilling some of the contents onto the table.

He stammered a congratulations, feeling the words stick in his throat. His carefully constructed research timeline, the meticulously planned meetings, the whole edifice of his thesis felt suddenly, irrevocably… fractured. The room swam before his eyes. He made a hasty excuse and fled the coffee shop, the words “Harvard” and “departure” echoing in his ears.