Gemotions

He’d known, of course, the second the department head had called him. Leo's stomach clenched, and he felt a cold dread spread through him. Dr. Chen, his advisor, the only person who’d truly believed in his potential, was packing his bags.

He sat in the library, the sterile air heavy with the scent of old paper and suppressed sighs. The book he'd been pretending to read remained unopened in front of him. Each sentence he tried to read turned into a jumbled mess of symbols, his thoughts racing away from him.

He skipped dinner that night, unable to face the communal table in the graduate student apartments. He just wanted to be left alone, which was what made the news that much worse.