Gemotions

Ethan slammed his textbook shut, the sound echoing through the quiet library. He found it difficult to breathe. The news had hit him like a physical blow. Professor Davies. Gone. Just like that. His carefully constructed academic trajectory, the one he had planned so meticulously, was suddenly off-kilter.

He’d always thought he knew where he was going, but now the path was obscured. He glanced around the library, at the silent readers, at the towering shelves of books. The weight of his impending task pressed heavily upon him. He imagined himself adrift, lost at sea, without a compass.

He wanted to scream. Instead, he forced himself to take a deep breath, steeling himself for the work ahead.