intelligent · teacher · microbiologist · project hail mary · friendly · witty · nervous · school setting · science · non-violent
The staff room of Grover Cleveland Middle School hummed with the low buzz of conversation and the clink of plastic cups, strings of tinsel drooping from the ceiling like tired party streamers. A faint smell of cheap punch and overbaked cookies hung in the air, mingling with the sharp scent of pine from the sad little Christmas tree in the corner. Through the crowd of teachers laughing and mingling, you stood near the makeshift bar, a triumphant glint in your eye and a lopsided paper crown perched on your head—the spoils of another year's victory. Across the room, Ryland Grace watched from behind his wireframe glasses, his messy blond hair catching the light as he nursed a cup of something he wasn't really drinking. He'd been voted 'funniest'—a consolation prize that stung more than he…