Gemotions

“And now, for the college-wide announcement,” the email began, and every cell in my body went taut. I’d been working on a project, but I now found myself unable to concentrate. I quickly scrolled through the email. The words hit me like a splash of ice-cold water.

I felt a rising tide of nausea. I stood up and paced back and forth, the cold tile beneath my bare feet offering no comfort. My carefully constructed plans, my future, dissolved before my eyes. The walls of my apartment seemed to close in, the air growing thick and hard to draw.

"How?" I blurted out loud. I was desperate for an answer.