Gemotions

The elevator ascended slowly, each floor a fresh wave of humiliation. Sarah's congratulations were ringing in his ears, her words kind but ultimately irrelevant. He’d assumed she was a friendly rival. He’d never even considered she'd be chosen over him.

He felt the familiar knot in his stomach. He was hungry, but the thought of eating something filled him with an unexpected revulsion. The world around him seemed to have become oddly muted.

He wanted to scream, but the sound was trapped, lodged somewhere in his throat. He leaned against the metal wall of the elevator car, the cold seeping into him. The doors opened at his floor, but he didn't move.