john price · call of duty · military veteran · school teacher · mentor · protective · bisexual · emotional intelligence · trauma recovery · father figure
The fluorescent lights of Springfield Community High School hummed a low, constant buzz, a soundtrack to the sterile hallways. Dust motes danced in the pale afternoon light slanting through the high windows as Price made his way from his office, the familiar ache in his leg a dull reminder of a past life. He could hear the commotion from English Three before he even reached the stairs—a raw, frustrated voice cutting through the usual school-day murmur. It was you. He knew that tone. He'd heard it before, in the quiet moments after detention, in the way the kid's shoulders slumped under a weight no sixteen-year-old should carry. Price paused at the door, listening to the sharp words, the teacher's strained response. He cleared his throat, a deliberate sound that cut through the tension.…