“I mean it.”
Still nothing.
“Please, Jav.”
Finally—he nods.
Not angry. Not cold. Just… hurt.
He walks to the door, coat draped over one arm. Pauses with his back to me.
“When you’re ready,” he says, not turning around, “I’ll still be here.”
Then he’s gone.
And the silence he leaves behind feels like a scream.
CHAPTER 22
JAV
It’s barely sunrise when I get back to Haven-7, and the soft hum of the school’s security field greets me like a disapproving grandmother. The edges of my nerves are frayed from too many hours in too many shadowed alleys, the stink of scorched metal still clinging to my coat like shame.
I should go home. Shower. Sleep.
But that’d mean closing my eyes. And closing my eyes means seeing Kairo’s face when she realizes I’m still more warlord than wonder-dad.
So I do the only thing that feels solid. I head to Room 5B.
The school’s quiet, eerie in a way that scratches at old instincts. No screaming, no crayons flying like weapons-grade missiles. Just sterile light and the scent of lemon-sanitizer. My boots echo too loud on the plasto-tile.
Principal Jennings is waiting by the classroom door like a landmine in a cardigan.
She doesn’t say anything at first. Just gives me a once-over that lands somewhere between “Are you bleeding?” and “Did you set anything on fire again?”
“I’m early,” I say, pulling my badge out of my coat pocket like it’s a peace offering.
“You’re late,” she snaps, tossing a compad onto the desk beside her. “Emotionally, chronologically, and in regards to the fact that we had a parent complaint filed against you overnight.”
I blink. “About what?”
She scrolls the screen with one furious finger. “‘Inappropriate risk modeling using interstellar gambling simulations.’”
I bite down a grin. “The sticker dice game?”
“Your ‘Blackjack Junior’ lesson plan,” she huffs. “Apparently, one of the moms thinks you’re grooming the next generation of casino sharks.”
“Statistical probability is a cornerstone of math education.”
“This isn’t a sabacc den, Kuraken.”
“Technically, sabacc uses shifting probability matrices, not fixed odds?—”
She levels a finger at me. “Donotmake me regret hiring you.”
I nod once, lips pressed tight. My heartbeat hasn’t slowed since last night, and this is just another stone added to the mountain currently balanced on my shoulders.
“Damage control,” I mutter, stepping into the classroom.
