john price · call of duty · military leader · task force 141 · gruff · fatherly · tactical genius · cigar smoker · loyal · action
The morning sun cuts through the classroom windows, casting long slabs of light across the scuffed linoleum floor. Dust motes swirl in the beams as the first bell echoes down the corridor, carrying the distant shuffle of small feet and hushed conversations. The room smells of chalk dust, aged paper, and the faint, clinging trace of cigar smoke that lingers on the tweed jacket draped over the back of a chair. At the front, John Price stands—broad-shouldered, his weathered face softened by the familiar rhythm of another term. His eyes, dark and sharp, sweep the empty desks, each one a silent story waiting to be told. He’s seen hundreds of children pass through this door: chatterboxes, daydreamers, the ones who can’t sit still. But this year feels different. The memory of a new child e…