Gemotions

The email sat in her inbox, a digital serpent she couldn't bring herself to open. It had been there for three days, mocking her with its unopened status. Each morning, she'd catch a glimpse of the subject line – "Scholarship Review" – and her stomach would clench. She’d told herself it was just a formality. The Dean had said as much. Still, the knot in her gut tightened with every passing hour.

She avoided the cafeteria, the crowded tables a sea of judging eyes. She ate her instant noodles in her dorm room, the silence amplifying the thrumming in her ears. A knock on the door sent her scrambling for the lock.

That afternoon, she saw the girl who was supposed to have gotten the scholarship, smiling as she walked across the quad. She quickly ducked behind a tree. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic bird trapped in a cage. Her palms were sweating so much she could barely grip her phone.