Gemotions

The news bulletin flashed on the dorm room television, but Maya couldn’t focus on the words. She kept replaying the email in her mind, the impersonal language, the cold facts. Her stomach twisted, a physical manifestation of her unease.

She wandered aimlessly around the room, picking up objects and putting them back down. Her textbooks, her favorite mug, the photos of her friends – everything seemed to mock her. She felt disconnected, as though she were watching her life from outside of herself. She slumped onto her bed, burying her face in the pillow, hoping to muffle the storm raging within her.