Gemotions

The campus library felt suffocating, the air thick with the scent of old paper and suppressed sighs. Sarah pushed her chair away from the computer, the rejection notification still glowing accusingly on the screen. A knot tightened in her stomach, a physical manifestation of her mounting frustration. She knew she was qualified. She'd poured her heart and soul into the application. She wouldn't rewrite it. She wouldn't appeal. They'd made their decision, and she'd make hers. She reached into her backpack, pulled out her sketchbook, and began to furiously fill the pages with charcoal lines, the pressure of her hand mirroring the pressure in her chest.