Gemotions

"Did you hear?" whispered Alice as she sat down across from Ben at lunch. He nodded slowly, his appetite gone. The cafeteria seemed unusually loud, the clatter of plates and silverware grating on his nerves.

He stared at his sandwich, the ingredients suddenly unappetizing. He felt a kind of internal turmoil, as if all his certainties had been thrown into a blender. He glanced at Alice, her expression mirroring his own apprehension.

They ate in silence, the unspoken questions hanging heavy in the air. The future suddenly felt like a vast, uncharted territory.