Gemotions

"It's fine," Sarah told her roommate, forcing a smile. Her roommate wasn't buying it. Sarah knew it. But what else could she say? The words felt hollow even to her own ears.

She retreated to her corner of the dorm room, pulling her blanket around herself. The familiar scent of lavender from the fabric usually soothed her, but now it felt cloying. She picked at the threads of the blanket, pulling them apart one by one.

The room seemed smaller now, the walls closing in. She glanced at the pile of textbooks on her desk, each one a reminder of the expensive education that was suddenly in jeopardy. Her breath hitched.