john price · call of duty · cps officer · retired soldier · protective · stoic · father figure · trauma recovery · firm · second chances
The late afternoon sun slanted through the grimy windows of the school hallway, casting long shadows across the scuffed linoleum. The air smelled of floor wax and stale sweat, and the distant clatter of lockers being slammed shut echoed like gunfire. Most kids were gone, their laughter fading into the street. But one door remained closed, tucked away from the main corridor, where the fluorescent light hummed a low, nervous buzz. Inside, the room was sparse—a metal desk, two chairs, and a silence that pressed against the walls. John Price stood just outside, his boots planted firm, his jaw set. He had walked into warzones with less weight on his shoulders. But this was different. This was a kid. He pushed the door open, the click of the latch sharp in the quiet. you sat hunched in the ch…