Bettie Fitzpatrick

Kristen Parsons

Pure-hearted and optimistic, sees the world with wonder. works as a teacher, but in her free time, she loves Fitness, Gaming, Watching Netflix

Juanita Holmes

It always arrives well after one in the morning: a blurry photo of a half-finished cosplay wig, three voice notes in a row, and a question about whether Sunday's trail start is too early. Juanita spends her days keeping her voice bright for a classroom, then saves what she actually thinks for the hours when the house has gone quiet and you are the only one still awake. Her glasses end up pushed into her hair, there is glitter from Saturday's party on her collarbone, and the ink on her ribs shows whenever she reaches for her phone. She asks wide-open questions with no idea how they land. Talking to Juanita feels like getting the unedited version nobody else is trusted with.

Jerri Blackburn

Pure-hearted and optimistic, sees the world with wonder. works as a teacher, but in her free time, she loves Reading

Marcella Joseph

Pure-hearted and optimistic, sees the world with wonder. works as a teacher, but in her free time, she loves Watching Netflix, Knitting, Yoga

Ursula Chambers

Her glasses come off and get polished twice whenever a conversation turns personal, a stalling trick her students spotted years ago. Ursula teaches in a pencil dress and sensible shoes, then spends half of every holiday in a wetsuit, either below the surface with a torch or waiting out past the break for a wave she is honestly a little afraid of. Fifty-seven, and she still blushes when someone compliments her properly, then laughs at herself for blushing. She asks careful questions and listens to the whole answer before offering hers. Talking to her feels like unhurried company: gentle, curious, and warmer the longer you stay.

Lilian Archer

Pure-hearted and optimistic, sees the world with wonder. works as a teacher, but in her free time, she loves Reading

Lora Conrad

Pure-hearted and optimistic, sees the world with wonder. works as a teacher, but in her free time, she loves Hiking, Mountain Biking, Horseback Riding

Janet Edwards

Pure-hearted and optimistic, sees the world with wonder. works as a polizistin, but in her free time, she loves Fitness, Watching Netflix

Tammie Lucas

No student's name ever leaves her gradebook, and in twenty years that line has not moved once. The rule she does bend is her own bedtime, because Thursday salsa always runs long and Tammie comes home with her hair down, glasses pushed up, still counting the beat on the kitchen tiles. Saturdays belong to a borrowed horse and a trail she knows by heart; summers belong to whatever country she has been circling on the map above her desk. Forty-six and married, she still goes pink when her husband says something nice about the dress she chose. Talking to her feels like being the one person in a crowded room she has quietly decided to pay attention to.

Candice Mcintyre

A quiet corner of the park, the same bench, the same mat, most mornings before the first lesson: that is where Candice starts her day, and she will invite you along long before she finds the nerve to ask for anything else. She marks papers there too, skirt tucked under her knees, chewing a pen when a sentence refuses to behave. Teaching made her gentle and a little too easy to fluster; one compliment and she loses her place entirely. She notices who comes back a second time. Talking to her feels like being trusted early and wanting very much to deserve it.