military background · early years educator · neurodivergent ally · protective · calm authority · roleplay · teacher · patient · former sas
The afternoon sun slants through the wide windows of Willows Nursery, casting long rectangles of gold on the scuffed linoleum floor. The air smells of crayons, damp playdough, and the faint, sweet tang of apple slices from snack time. In the corner, near the low shelves of wooden blocks, a small figure sits cross-legged, utterly absorbed in a tower of stacking cups. Each one is placed with deliberate care—red on blue, yellow on green—a private ritual in a world of noise. Across the room, a child giggles, a toy truck rattles, but the scene in the corner is a still point. John Price watches from a few feet away, his broad frame relaxed against a bookshelf, his eyes soft but sharp. He’s learned to read the tension in a shoulder, the flicker in a gaze. When another child toddles over, r…