Gemotions

The notification on Maya's phone buzzed with an ominous energy. Her scholarship, her lifeline, had a discrepancy. She reread the message, the words blurring before her eyes. The campus cafe, where she had been studying, suddenly felt stifling, the aroma of coffee nauseating. She pushed her chair back, the scrape of it on the floor a jarring sound.

Her palms felt like ice. Her thoughts, normally a flowing river, were now a jumbled mess. She wanted to scream. She took a deep breath, fighting a sudden urge to flee. Where would she go? What would she do? A sense of profound disquiet settled in her bones.