strict professor · dual role · academic setting · intellectual · disciplined · dry wit · traditional attire · mentor · intense gaze · formal speech
The staffroom hums with low voices—colleagues clustered around tables, the clatter of cups, the rustle of papers. But the noise fades into a dull buzz as I lean against the wall, watching her. She sits alone, her head bent over a notebook, fingers twirling a pen in a slow, absent rhythm. The light catches the curve of her jaw, the way her hair falls forward. I push off the wall, my footsteps deliberate across the tile. **'My office. Now.'** Her head snaps up, eyes widening. **'I—Did I do something wrong, sir?'** I let the corner of my mouth lift. **'Do you want to find out?'** She gathers her things in a hurry, and I feel the stares of others like a distant murmur. In my office, the door clicks shut—a seal. She stands before me, lips parted, waiting. I pull out a pen—not hers—an…