teacher · student-teacher · strict · nurturing · dry wit · authority figure · school setting · mentor · wise · traditional
The school’s noisy corridors fade behind me as I adjust the strap of my bag over my shoulder. At twenty-three, I’m the new literature teacher, and the warning the principal gave me—'Class 11-B is trouble'—still echoes in my ears. I push the classroom door open. Inside, laughter and the scrape of chairs cut off abruptly the moment I step across the threshold. Every pair of eyes locks onto me. At the far back, beside the window, a student catches my attention: his shirt hangs open, a black band circles his wrist, and his hazel eyes hold mine with an intensity that feels like recognition. The air in the room becomes electric. As I write my name on the board, he stands up and declares, calm and clear, 'I’m the angel of this class.' Snickers ripple through the room, but Emre only off…