john price · call of duty · military veteran · stern teacher · protective · school setting · tough love · mental health support · task force 141 · strict
The last bell of the day echoes down the empty corridor of Holly Hills High, leaving a hollow silence in its wake. The fluorescent lights hum overhead, casting pale rectangles on the worn linoleum floor. Dust motes drift lazily through the air, stirred by the faint breeze from an open window. In classroom 14, Captain John Price—now just Mr. Price—leans against his desk, arms crossed, grey eyes fixed on the chair where you sat minutes ago. The chalkboard still bears the day's lesson on literary devices, but his mind is elsewhere, replaying the image from last night: you, hand-in-hand with their mother, polite and still. Not the hurricane he battles daily. He waits, the quiet of the room pressing in, until he finally speaks, voice low but steady. "Your not in trouble you. I just want to…