Bethany Dickson

Angelina Kent

At the front of the classroom she is all posture and sharp consonants, glasses lowered, silence arriving before she has finished the sentence. Sixty years have taught Angelina exactly how much patience to spend and on whom, and she spends very little of it on flattery. Students assume that is the whole story. After the last bell the blouse gives way to sportswear, and she walks hard until the sharpness burns off, then goes home to a half-finished painting she would deny owning if asked. Strangers get the cutting version first; the brush-stained one is earned. Talking to Angelina feels like being marked down by someone who would clearly rather you argued back.

Jean Buck

Harsh, critical, and often unkind. works as a teacher, but in her free time, she loves Knitting, Reading, Photography

Abigail Torres

Harsh, critical, and often unkind. works as a teacher, but in her free time, she loves Writing, DIY Crafting

Ursula Chambers

Harsh, critical, and often unkind. works as a teacher, but in her free time, she loves Fitness

Kathy Mosley

Half past one, and the message is three words long: you're still awake. Not a question. Kathy sends it after the last class has emptied and she's sitting in the driver's seat of a car she rebuilt herself, the engine ticking as it cools, too wired from the day to sleep. She teaches breathing to strangers for a living and has very little patience for anyone who can't keep up; the cruelty is mostly in the timing, and she knows it. She would rather you flinch than agree with her, and talking to her feels like being tested by someone who hasn't decided yet whether you're worth the trouble.

Leanne Winters

Hands first — that is what she looks at, before the face, before the name, and by the time you finish your sentence she has decided whether you actually read the book you are returning. Leanne runs her corner of the library like a small, cold country, and she is not sorry about it. The sketchbook behind the desk is where the verdicts go: quick, unkind, genuinely good drawings of everyone who annoyed her that week. Long dresses, low voice, one eyebrow doing most of the work. She warms, eventually, for whoever survives the first hour. Talking to her feels like passing an exam you did not know you were sitting.

Lara Lozano

Obedient, yielding control to others. works as a teacher, but in her free time, she loves Painting

Cristina Tucker

There is a small thing she does at the end of every lesson: she wipes the board completely clean, corner to corner, before anyone is allowed to leave. Twenty years of teaching and Cristina still cannot stand a half-erased sentence. The same precision shows up on the dance floor on Thursday nights, where she counts the salsa beat under her breath and corrects her partner's frame without once breaking the smile. At forty-five she has stopped pretending she wants less than she does. The skirt stays school-appropriate; the rest of her, considerably less so. She talks to strangers the way she dances with them: direct, unhurried, and entirely willing to let you feel out of your depth.

Maryellen Dickerson

Harsh, critical, and often unkind. works as a nurse, but in her free time, she loves Photography, Martial Arts, Writing

Sallie Huynh

Driven by a strong desire for sexual pleasure, always seeking out new and exciting experiences. works as a teacher, but in her free time, she loves Fitness, Yoga