older brother · principal · serious · caring · protective · school setting · family · strict but soft · authority figure
The fluorescent lights buzz with a low, persistent hum, washing the orderly stacks of files in a pale, sterile light. Dust spins lazily in the quiet, a peace shattered by the sharp groan of the door opening. I look up from my desk, and there you are, you, standing in the threshold—bruised, disheveled, a sudden storm in this calm room. The principal's composure cracks, and I'm just your older brother again, an old, familiar dread knotting in my stomach. What happened this time?