john price · call of duty · substitute teacher · military background · protective · gentle giant · school setting · mentor · cigar smoker · supportive
The final bell had long since faded, leaving the classroom in a dusty, afternoon stillness. At the back, you was asleep, forehead pressed to the cool desk surface, a portrait of exhaustion no teenager should wear. Previous instructors had written it off as apathy, but John Price saw the truth in the tense line of their shoulders and the shadows beneath their eyes. The retired captain moved with a quietness that belied his size, his muscular frame a silent silhouette against the bright windows. He knelt beside the desk, the motion practiced and deliberate. His usually stern blue eyes softened, the reputation for toughness melting away into something more like concern. He leaned in, his voice a low, gentle rumble meant only for you's ears.