Gemotions

Liam stared at the university registrar, his jaw slack. The woman’s voice droned on about a clerical error, a mix-up of names. He rubbed a hand over his face, feeling the rough stubble against his skin. His stomach clenched.

His scholarship? Swapped. Given to… someone else? He’d poured over applications, written essays, sacrificed his nights for this. He felt a cold prickle, like ice spreading through his veins.

He swallowed hard, trying to keep his voice steady. "But... but I..." He couldn't finish the sentence. His carefully constructed future, the one he had spent so long building, seemed to dissolve before his eyes.