Gemotions

She walked through the crowded campus quad, each step feeling heavy, like she was wading through molasses. The sunshine felt harsh on her skin, the laughter of other students grating on her nerves. The scholarship, the lifeline to a better future, was now a dead end.

Emily's phone buzzed with a message from her mother. She ignored it. She couldn't face the questions, the disappointment. Every aspect of her life had changed.

She felt like a stranger in her own body, constantly on high alert, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Everything suddenly felt very brittle. She felt like she was a character in a movie, and the director was about to scream 'cut'.