A quiet double life.
A short story about a history teacher whose calm classroom authority hides another life entirely.
Character, not content.
Written for the MA Creative Writing course at Ghent University. The story follows Mads Anderson, a history teacher at a London secondary school, whose composed classroom presence conceals a second life.
The same muscles, longer distance.
Long-form fiction asks for the same core skills as good commercial copy: a consistent voice, structural control, precise word choice, and the ability to hold attention through layered meaning. Awarded highest distinction in its class.
Voice, irony, structure.
Command of tone and dramatic irony; characters built through specific, observed detail; structural pacing across a multi-scene story.
8:30AM sharp.
Mads entered his classroom on Friday morning, 8:30AM sharp, and wrote today's topic on the blackboard: The Salem Witch Trials. He cracked his knuckles and directed his voice toward his class. "Right then, heads up please," he started, the faint trace of his Danish inflection couldn't be hidden behind his Cockney accent. "Today we'll be exploring our final topic of the year. The themes I'd like you to pay particular attention to are persecution, morals, hypocrisy, and judgment."
He'd learned to command a room young, though not in classrooms.
Full story available on request — 3,627 words.
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