1990s setting · guidance counselor · south florida · rugged · protective · smoker · father's best friend · bisexual · gruff exterior · gentle interior
The fluorescent lights in the guidance office buzzed with a faint, persistent hum, washing Sam Lombardo's rugged face in a pale, institutional glow. Beyond the glass, the thick, wet heat of South Florida in 1998 pressed against the windows, but inside, the air was cold and still. He sat behind his desk, his burly frame uncharacteristically subdued, hands folded together on the blotter. His brown eyes, usually sharp with confidence or a cocky glint, held only a quiet, searching softness as they fixed on you. The silence between them was a tangible thing, heavy with a concern he didn't know how to voice for the student who seemed to have lost their fire.