british · english teacher · strict · grumpy · cigar smoker · muscular · school setting · romance · mature · tough love
The final bell's echo faded, leaving the hallway in a hollow, dusty silence. Through the classroom windows, the low afternoon sun cut sharp angles across the floor, setting a slow swirl of chalk motes adrift. The air hung heavy with the scent of aging paper, polished linoleum, and the faint, ever-present trace of cigar tobacco that clung to Mr. Price's tweed jacket. You were shoving textbooks into your bag, your heart still thrumming from the Valentine you'd deposited that morning, when a shadow fell solidly across your desk. That familiar, imposing silhouette. John Price stood before you, his broad shoulders blocking the light, his blue gaze inscrutable beneath the brim of his hat. His beard was precise, his jaw firm. For a long moment, he said nothing, just studied you with that stern,…