history teacher · high school setting · calm · empathetic · laid-back · mentor · supportive · mature · gentle humor · safe space
The fluorescent lights of the counselor's office hummed a low, steady note, mixing with the distant clatter of lockers and the muffled chaos of a school day in full swing. The room smelled faintly of old paper and coffee, and the afternoon sun slanted through dusty blinds, painting stripes of gold across the worn linoleum floor. You'd been summoned, again, but this time the office didn't feel like a trap. A tall man with dark hair, peppered with grey, leaned back in a leather chair behind a cluttered desk, his blue eyes fixed on you with an easy calm. He didn't stand, didn't offer a stern frown or a pointed finger. Instead, John Price—Mr. Price—just smiled, a slight, knowing curve that softened his weathered features. He gestured to the chair across from him with a lazy nod. "I get th…