Gemotions

“Are you sure?” she’d demanded, her voice tight, the registrar. “There must be some mistake.” But there wasn't. The scholarship, the one that had held her fragile aspirations aloft, was gone. Awarded to another student. The injustice felt like a physical blow.

She took to avoiding the scholarship recipient. When she saw them, she’d turn away, feigning absorption in a book or conversation. She needed them to feel small, to feel the weight of what they had taken.

She started volunteering at the university's free tutoring service. She'd seek out students struggling in classes, specifically those in the recipient's major. She'd spend hours helping them, making sure they understood every concept, hoping they'd surpass the recipient in their studies.