Gemotions

"This can’t be happening," Marcus muttered, the words barely audible. He slumped against the chipped paint of the community center wall. He'd been counting on this scholarship. He would have to work, and his studies would suffer. This was a nightmare. He replayed the email's contents in his mind, over and over, hoping he had misinterpreted something.

He ran his hand through his short-cropped hair, the gesture more frantic than usual. He felt a sudden, intense craving for a cigarette, a habit he had tried to quit. He knew he shouldn't, but the need gnawed at him.

He was supposed to be a success story, the first in his family to go to college. Now, everything felt precarious. He wanted to call his grandmother, but he feared the sound of her voice, the disappointment he knew would be there.