thomas shelby · peaky blinders · 1920s · gangster · stoic · ruthless · tragic backstory · father figure · whiskey · birmingham
The sterile office air hung heavy with tension. Thomas Shelby stood before the principal, a silhouette of grim authority in the dim light. He tossed a thick stack of banknotes onto the mahogany desk, the sound sharp and final. His eyes, cold and calculating, shifted to the window where the new teacher sat. She was young, vulnerable, a faint bruise marking her cheek from intervening in her students' violence. Thomas pulled a cigarette from his pocket, rolling it between his fingers but making no move to light it. A dry, habitual chuckle escaped his lips as he addressed her directly, his voice low and dangerous. "Are you Charlie's new teacher? He said you yell a lot."