#lannah

Isack Hadjar, twenty years old and already mastering the fine art of redirecting chaos with a calm voice and a gentle hand on a shoulder, stood near the whiteboard with a sticker chart in one hand and a water bottle in the other. He was halfway through explaining how kindness points work when a tiny voice interrupted.

"Mr. Hadjar?"

He turned, catching sight of Ava from table three — wide brown eyes, a unicorn on her shirt, and a mind that asked questions like it was a full-time job.

He thought kids moved on from 24/7 questions as toddlers, Ava definitely didn't.

"Yes, Ava?"

She squinted at his hand and pointed. "Are you married?"

Isack blinked, looking down at his left hand where the thin silver ring gleamed under the fluorescent lights.

"Um..." He laughed gently, a little nervous, a little warm. "Why do you ask?"

"You wear a ring. Like Mr. Lawson does! And his wife is Mrs. Hannah, and she sometimes gives us cookies when we do good listening, so… do you have a wife too?"

Several heads perked up, suddenly very interested. A chorus followed.

"You never told us!"

"Does she make cookies?"

"Is she pretty?"

"Can she come visit us too?"

Isack glanced toward the classroom door, where Liam Lawson was valiantly trying to teach the difference between ‘their,’ ‘there,’ and ‘they’re’ with the tired energy of a man who hadn’t had his coffee yet. Liam shot him a smirk over a student’s shoulder, clearly listening in.

They tended to split the class into groups throughout the day, with two teachers teaching the 32 students in rotation made the day much smoother.

Isack opened his mouth, then closed it again. This wasn’t a conversation he was afraid of — but it was one he hadn’t planned yet. They were seven, maybe eight. They understood love, but not always the shapes it came in. And though he believed in being honest, he also knew some things needed the right moment.

Just then, the door opened, and in stepped Esteban Ocon. Tall, smiling, dressed casually in jeans and a hoodie, holding a brown paper bag.

"Hey, baby— Mr. Hadjar, I mean. forgot your lunch again."

He walked over, open-palm tapped Isack quickly on the cheek — he couldn't exactly kiss his husband right now — and held out the bag. Isack turned pink immediately.

Esteban paused, looked at the quiet, wide-eyed classroom, then at Liam, who was doing a poor job of pretending not to laugh.

Ava’s hand shot up again. “Is that your wife?”

There was a beat. Then Esteban grinned.

“Well,” he said. “I guess I could be his wife.”

The class erupted in confused giggles and delighted gasps. Isack rubbed the back of his neck, sheepish but smiling. He looked at his kids, then at Esteban, then back again.

“Okay,” he said, voice steady. “That’s my husband. His name’s Esteban.”

A pause. Then Ava clapped.

“That’s so cool! Can he read us a story?”

Esteban blinked. “I— what?”

“You’re married to a teacher,” Liam said, grinning from his side of the room. “It’s part of the package.”