Gemotions

The coffee shop buzzed, but the noise felt distant to Amelia. Professor Harding, her guide, her confidante, her academic north star… simply gone. A note on the department bulletin board, a perfunctory message on the university website. It felt like a deliberate slight, as if all their late nights in the lab, all the intellectual sparring, were worth nothing.

She reached for her phone and scrolled through their old text messages. Each reply, a little bit of affirmation. She deleted the texts. She would find Harding and force an explanation.

She ignored the call from her mother and left. She’d show Harding what he’d missed. She'd show him that she could succeed without him.