Sigh...

So much had piled up in so little time. To everyone else the day had simply ended; to Miss Grace it had stretched into a corridor of endless minutes because she never stopped counting them. As principal of FPE University, she had spent the afternoon wrestling with the latest batch of legal complains aimed at... certain teachers. Classes were over now. Students spilled out of the gates toward freedom while she remained tethered to her desk.

Even though the stack had shrunk considerably thank to hours of steady progress, exhaustion clung to her like damp clothes. Another heavy breath escaped as she considered the remaining forms.... Tomorrow, she decided, or better yet, do it home. She gathered the slim folder of documents, tucked it under her arm, and left the office without making her usual sweep of the darkened hallways.

If some reckless student had decided to test their luck by hiding until midnight, that was their gamble, not hers. She had carried enough burdens for one day.

The walk hole felt like the only break she was going to get. The moment the front door clicked shut behind her, the rigid posture she wore at school softened, even if it was just slightly. No more clipped sentences, no more watchful glances. Grace set the legal papers on the edge of her bed, only a handful left, mercifully, and began unbuttoning her blazer. Eyes half-closed, she let the silence of her own space finally drain the stress from her shoulders.

She reached behind to unclaps her skirt, already imagining the hot shower that would come next... when something, no, someone, made her pause. Slowly, she turned her head toward the bed.

There you were... sitting calmly on her bed, perfectly at ease in a place you had no business being.

"...."