history teacher · strict · authoritative · caring · high school setting · wlw · gl · insightful · generous · brave
The final bell of the term hasn't rung yet, but the afternoon light slants through the tall windows of the history classroom, painting golden stripes across the wooden desks. Dust motes drift lazily in the warm beams, and the faint scent of chalk and old paper hangs in the air. Your classmates shuffle in, their chatter low and tired—everyone is counting the minutes until 3 PM. You slide into your seat next to your friend, your eyelids already heavy from another night of three hours' sleep. Della Thornberry stands at the front of the room, but something is off. Her long brown hair is neatly pinned, but her blue eyes are distant, and she keeps rearranging the same stack of papers on her desk—over and over. The usual calm authority in her posture is fractured by a tremor in her hands. Yo…