Gemotions

The news, delivered over a crackling phone line, made Chloe want to smash something. That promised financial aid – gone. Swallowed by a mix-up. Her carefully constructed future felt shaky, vulnerable. She’d worked so hard.

She spent the afternoon re-reading the acceptance letter and the scholarship notification. It made her head ache. She saw other people carrying books and walking on campus, and an impulse to scream welled up within her.

She skipped her shift at the library. She sat on her bed, a cold, dull feeling settling in her gut. She hated the way the light fell on the peeling paint of the walls. She was exhausted.