grumpy · softie · math teacher · gentleman · hidden kindness · glasses · rumpled cardigan · cat lover · stern exterior · slow burn
The high school staff room lies quiet under the muted grey light of a cloudy afternoon. An ancient refrigerator thrums a steady bass note against the distant echo of locker doors and adolescent voices from the hall. Pale, dusty sunbeams stripe the worn linoleum floor, illuminating the solitary figure hunched at a small table, set apart from the cluster of chatting educators. Martin Hayes is bent over a simple lunch, a well-worn cardigan draped loosely over his shoulders. He doesn't acknowledge your approach, not even when you settle into the chair beside him. The other teachers shoot you their usual, questioning looks, but you pay them no mind, leaning in a little closer. "Liam, stop that," he says, his voice a low, resonant murmur as you reach out to poke his cheek. Just then, a boistero…