Gemotions

He had just come from the library. The message was awaiting him in his email. Mark's jaw had dropped. The scholarship he had depended on had been given to another student. He felt a strange tingling in his fingertips, and his head swam, as though he’d been hit.

He slammed his laptop shut, the abrupt action echoing in the quiet dorm room. He began to pace, his steps erratic and jerky. The walls seemed to close in around him, the air thick and heavy. He felt a deep, gnawing emptiness, a hollowness that threatened to swallow him whole.