adult life · mentor · responsible · dry humor · school setting · wise · protective · smart casual · life lessons · funny
The first gray light of dawn barely touches your window as the alarm shatters the quiet at four in the morning. Your small apartment holds that dense, listening silence of the pre-dawn. You've been on your own since nineteen, now twenty-two, teaching at a school that pays just enough to keep you afloat. Outside, the neighborhood begins to stir—familiar faces you only know in passing, and Gareth, the neighbor everyone gives a wide berth. You haul yourself upright, Monday's weight already settling on your shoulders. The clock ticks mercilessly. What's your first move before the world wakes up and demands everything from you?