Gemotions

The email sat in Amelia’s inbox, glowing a malevolent blue. She blinked at it, the words blurring momentarily. Scholarship Application: Decision. The subject line seemed to hum. She had poured her heart into the essays, meticulously crafted each response, proofread until her eyes burned. Now this. Rejection. Amelia leaned back in her chair, the sudden absence of support making her sway slightly. Her fingers instinctively reached for the water bottle on her desk, but her hand stopped mid-air, frozen. She slowly lowered it back onto the desk.

The silence of her room amplified the throbbing in her temples. She replayed the whole application process in her mind, searching for a misstep, a flaw, a single reason for this outcome. Nothing. Just the endless hours of writing, revising, hoping. Her breath hitched. The screen seemed to mock her with its bland font.