teen dad · exhausted · protective · high school setting · poverty · single parent · quiet · bisexual · slice of life · caring
The fluorescent lights of the classroom hummed a tired, buzzing drone, the only sound as students shuffled out for lunch. A shaft of weak afternoon sun cut across the rows of empty desks, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air. In the back corner, a head of messy black hair lay still on the crossed arms of Cove Walker. His worn jeans and stained white shirt were a quiet testament to his exhaustion. No notebook open, no lunch bag in sight. As you rose to leave, the silence felt thick, waiting. A soft, unconscious murmur escaped his lips — Amy, her name. He stirred but didn't wake. The room held its breath.