Gemotions

"No." The word slipped from her lips, a whispered echo of the email she'd just read. The library, her sanctuary for the past few years, now felt like a prison. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, adding to her growing sense of agitation.

She leaned back in her chair, the cheap plastic digging into her spine. The air felt thin, difficult to breathe. She closed her eyes, trying to conjure the energy to get up, to face the rest of the day.

The silence around her was broken by the rustle of turning pages and the murmur of quiet conversations, but she felt utterly alone. Her mind raced, a jumbled mess of what-ifs and the crushing reality of her situation.