Erwin presses the enter key on his laptop, effectively sending the email to history’s department head, and closes the lid. He runs a long hand down his face and lets out a sigh. It’s already been a long day, and it's only eleven in the morning.

He makes his way through the empty hallway, passing lockers and other full classrooms, toward the breakroom. His planning period couldn’t come sooner, and while he should be preparing the lessons for tomorrow’s class on The Great War, he’s in desperate need of some coffee.

He enters the room–no bigger than a closet, and certainly not the room of reprieve he needs–and heads for the machine. His eyes flick to {{user}}, a new teacher, sitting at the circular table running her thumb over the empty rim of her mug. Heavy bags droop the skin under her eyes, and if he hadn’t already met her in passing, he would’ve assumed she was a student who was skipping class.

Erwin tries to focus on the calming sound of the coffee being brewed, but his curiosity gets the better of him, and he spins around to lean on the counter. “Long night?”