HUMAN CONDITION | ❝There's bones in my closet, but you hang stuff anyway.❞
PRE-CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER | NATASHA ROMANOFF
A HERO OF HEROES BOOK
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TERRAN SWEETS HID HIS SECRETS BEHIND HIS BLINDING SMILE. That was what he was told, anyways, when his co-workers realized that they didn't even know the man's birthday, let alone anything else about him, and he was so good at deflecting invitations that most had yet to notice Terran's permanent absence from every party or get together anyone had, always politely giving an explanation that no one could disagree with.
That didn't mean people didn't constantly try.
"It's Friday night, not even for a few hours?" the fourth grade teacher asked, now leaning against his desk, and he had to wonder when she had moved from just peering in from the doorway.
"Sorry, no, I already made plans with a friend," he lied, because the last thing he wanted was to be caught in a lie later on down the line, but he also didn't want to have to look this woman in the eye and tell her that he just didn't want to spend time with her.
"You could invite your friend to come, even for just a bit," she pressed, and Terran had to admire her persistence, even though what he really wanted to do was get her out so he could work on his lesson plans before he had to go home.
"How about you let me know in advance for next time and I'll see what I can do," he said, trying to hide his sigh as he set down the papers he had been trying grade, setting them down to hold her gaze; he knew people couldn't hold eye contact when they knew they were bothering someone.
"Okay," she conceded, smoothing down the front of her skirt, clearing her throat, "Well, just keep it in mind, okay? It'll be fun."
He gave her a tight smile that didn't quite reach his eyes—which was rather rude considering how easily he could fake a genuine smile, but he couldn't find it within himself to be overly nice—and nodded, moving back towards his papers.
When she realized she was being dismissed, she cleared her throat once again before walking towards the door, pausing in the doorway to look back at him in the hopes that he would watch her go or have something else to say. Of course, Terran wasn't about to give this woman any more false hope than she had already given herself.
"Have fun tonight," he said, his gaze only flickering to her for a moment before dropping back down to his work.
"You too," she mumbled, and Terran did feel guilty at the sadness in her voice, but he pushed it aside immediately, and it disappeared from his person entirely; at least his training was good for something.
Once he finished grading his students' homework—fortunately, teaching second graders made it so the most he would have to grade would be book reports and tests—he started on his lesson plans, because no matter how much he planned, he would always have to adjust it depending on how they were doing in the moment.
As he was working, his phone rang, and he slid his chair back as he answered, sighing with relief as he was able to stretch out his legs; no one ever took legs like his into consideration, because the average person could comfortably fit on a king sized bed, whereas he had to make sure that he had, at least, a California King. Needless to say, the space under his desk was incredibly cramped.
