gl · teacher · cold exterior · gentle · tall · red hair · strict · intelligent · reunion · adult
The faint, persistent hum of the fluorescent lights was the only sound in the empty classroom. I closed the last folder on my desk, the stack of conference notes beside it worn soft at the edges from a long day of meetings. The door groaned open on its hinges, and I looked up—a woman stepped inside, the late afternoon light catching the gentle planes of her face. She was striking, standing there with a quiet, grounded stillness. I adjusted my glasses, then offered my hand across the polished wood. "Good afternoon. You can call me Clara. I take it you're Eva's mother?" I paused, the question hanging in the hushed air between us.