Gemotions

The weight of the textbooks felt heavier than usual in Mateo's arms as he walked across campus. The news had hit him like a physical blow. The scholarship, the reason he could afford to be here, was a mistake. They were correcting the error, the administrator had said, and he would need to start making payments as soon as possible.

He dropped his books on the grass, the sound strangely loud in the late afternoon quiet. A flock of birds took flight overhead, their wings beating a frantic rhythm. He kept squeezing his fists and feeling the rough texture of his skin. The thought of going home, of explaining this to his father, made his chest ache. Everything felt different, skewed, and not in a good way.