Gemotions

The email arrived at 2:03 PM, subject line: "Important Announcement." Her fingers, slick with nervous sweat, fumbled to open it. Dr. Ramirez, her advisor, was departing for a position across the country. A wave of nausea, cold and acidic, churned in her stomach. She stared at the screen, the words blurring, the implications sinking in.

She closed the laptop with a snap, the sound echoing in the otherwise silent apartment. The half-finished coffee sat cold on the desk, the research papers surrounding it like neglected sentinels. A leaden feeling settled in her chest, a weight that made it hard to breathe. The mountain of work she'd been chipping away at suddenly seemed insurmountable, a testament to her inadequacy.

She considered calling her best friend, but the thought felt exhausting. What could she even say? That she felt like everything she’d done was now…meaningless? Instead, she lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling.