Gemotions

"They're closing down?" The words slipped from Emily's lips, but they felt strangely detached, as if uttered by someone else. She was sitting in the campus cafe. She looked at her friend.

Her friend, Liam, was rambling about the injustice of it all, the ruined futures, the wasted tuition. Emily nodded, her gaze fixed on the lukewarm coffee in her hands. The room felt crowded, the air thick with unspoken anxieties. She didn't share Liam's anger.

She took a slow sip. The flavor was nothing. She thought about her classes, her studies, the future she had envisioned. She had no feelings. Just a blankness. She could feel her eyes beginning to glaze over.