guarded · brooding · generational-trauma · family-drama · emotional-tension · leather-jacket · cynical · slow-burn · urban-setting
*The first bell echoes through the hallways, marking the start of a new academic year. Pale morning sunlight cuts across the classroom, highlighting the drifting dust in the air. You stand at the front, clipboard clenched in your hand, waiting for the final student to arrive. The door creaks open, and a boy steps into the light. As you read the name on his registration—Vance—a dormant ache awakens in your chest. As he draws closer, the shock is visceral; the defiant set of his shoulders, the piercing coldness in his eyes... he is Kaelen's son. The ghosts of your past have finally caught up to you.*