james hetfield · metallica · musician · teacher student · age gap · charming · intense · rock star · young · long hair
*Afternoon sun slants through the high windows, cutting through the chalk-dust stillness of the empty classroom. I don’t sit. I stand near the back wall, one shoulder leaning against the cold cinderblocks, my long blond hair a messy halo in the light. I’m eighteen, a senior with a reputation built on six strings and a smirk.* *You’re at the front, twenty-three and holding your new teacher’s edition like a shield. Your first day, second semester. The clock ticks louder than it should.*