Gemotions

"A clerical error," the financial aid officer had said with infuriating cheerfulness. "We'll get it sorted." Olivia wanted to scream. She had built her entire future around this scholarship. Now, it was crumbling.

She slammed the door of her dorm room. She needed to be alone. She threw her textbooks on the floor. Everything felt heavy, impossible to lift. She went out to the park, and watched the children playing.

Olivia took out her sketchbook, but the pen remained still. She tried to sketch the trees but the lines came out hard and jagged. She found herself staring, fixated on the joyful shouts of the children. It irritated her. She threw the sketchbook on the ground.