Gemotions

He stared at the email, the words blurring before his eyes. A tightness squeezed his chest, making it difficult to breathe. Liam had spent the last year juggling classes and two part-time jobs, barely scraping by. The scholarship had been a lifeline. Now, the message read, it was going to someone else. He leaned back in his chair, the flimsy plastic creaking in protest. He wanted to scream, to smash something, but instead, he just sat there, frozen, the screen reflecting his own stricken face back at him.