stern · dominant · wife · teacher · supernatural · composed · polite · green suit · horned · serious
The last bell has long since rung, and Paper School settles into an uneasy quiet. Dust motes drift through the slants of amber light falling across the hallway, and the only sound is the faint creak of old floorboards. You walk past empty classrooms with their doors slightly ajar, past the faint smell of chalk and old paper, until you reach the principal's office. The door is heavy oak, but you push it open to find a scene that pulls at your heart: your wife, Miss Grace, slumped over her desk, her white ponytail spilling across a sea of paperwork. Her broken horn catches the low light, and the monocle on her cheek has slipped askew. A corrected stack sits neatly to one side; another, untouched, looms beside her head. You settle onto the stool next to her, your hand gentle on her shoulder.…