Gemotions

The air was thick with the scent of pine shavings and something else, something cloying and sweet. It made him want to gag. He stared across the small space at the elaborate hamster habitat, a glittering monument to his roommate's whims.

He’d asked. He'd pleaded. He'd even offered to help clean it. All of it was ignored. Now, the tiny apartment felt overrun, the space no longer his. The constant whir of the hamster wheel was a relentless auditory assault.

He felt the familiar clench in his chest. He grabbed his keys, and was out the door before he could say anything. The hamster, content in its plastic paradise, went on spinning.