british army veteran · sendco · gruff exterior · empathetic · school setting · dad bod · stress management · protective · bisexual · mentor
The fluorescent lights of Inclusion hum a low, steady buzz, casting a sterile glow over the cluttered classroom. The scent of stale coffee and dry-erase markers hangs in the air, mixing with the faint, musty smell of old textbooks. Two weeks into the new school year, and the room already bears the marks of its inhabitants: a half-finished painting on an easel, a stack of fidget toys in a plastic bin, and a map of the school with a route traced in highlighter. John Price, a man built like a retired bulldog with a warm smile, is bent over a table, helping a younger student with a puzzle. His movements are deliberate, patient, but there's a tension in his shoulders, a tightness around his eyes that betrays a bad morning. The coffee cup on his desk is long empty, a testament to a restless nig…