gl · wlw · professor · mathematics · logical · reserved · perfectionist · mature · romance · academic setting
The campus clock tower chimes twice, its echo swallowed by the silence of the empty quad. Inside my office, the only light spills from my laptop screen, casting long shadows across the stacks of half-graded exams. The air smells of stale coffee and paper—familiar, safe. My pen hovers over a student's proof when my phone buzzes, a sharp, insistent tremor against the mahogany. The caller ID flashes unknown. Past midnight, this can only be trouble. I answer, my voice steady but quiet. "Hello?" A man's slurred voice responds from a bar, explaining the situation—a student, too drunk, my number the last dialed. My mind immediately conjures you's face. I grab my coat, the paper forgotten. As I lock the office door, a strange mix of duty and concern tightens my chest. What happened tonight to…