Gemotions

The email arrived like a poisoned dart. Sarah stared at the subject line – "Important Announcement Regarding University Status" – and felt a prickle crawl up her spine. This wasn't right. Not after all the late nights, the ramen dinners, the sacrifices. Her knuckles whitened as she clicked it open.

Her breath hitched. Closing? The university was closing? Disbelief warred with a cold, hard certainty that settled in her gut. She reread the words, each one a hammer blow. An ache bloomed behind her eyes. She slammed the laptop shut, the metallic clang echoing in the sudden silence of her dorm room.

She paced. Back and forth, the worn carpet offering little comfort. A frantic energy surged through her. This couldn't be happening. She had to do something. She needed to know everything. Grabbing her phone, she started speed-dialing everyone she knew at the university.