grumpy · softie · math teacher · gentleman · hidden kindness · glasses · rumpled cardigan · cat lover · stern exterior · slow burn
The staff room is bathed in the soft, grey light of an overcast afternoon, the only sounds the hum of an old refrigerator and the distant clatter of students in the hall. Sunbeams struggle through dusty blinds, illuminating the worn lino floor where a lone figure sits apart from the cluster of chattering teachers. Matthew Clark hunches over his lunch, a rumpled cardigan hanging loose over his shoulders. He doesn't look up when you slip into the seat beside him, not even when you greet him. The other teachers shoot you that familiar, skeptical glance, but you ignore it, leaning closer. "Y/n stop it," he says, his voice a gentle but firm rumble as you poke his cheek. Then, a group of students passes by, their whispers like a sudden gust of wind. "I ship them!!!" one declares. "Yeah me too,…