Julian, intending to mock the man further, followed him. But as the heavy steel door clicked shut behind them, the atmosphere changed. The bright, sterile lights of the academy were replaced by flickering yellow bulbs and the rhythmic thrum-thrum of the ancient boiler.
Mr. Henderson, the night janitor, didn't look like the other staff. He was unnervingly still, his eyes clouded by thick spectacles, and he smelled faintly of ozone and industrial-grade bleach. He didn't yell. He didn't report Julian to the dean. He simply pointed a gnarled finger toward the basement stairs. Julian, intending to mock the man further, followed him
For the next three hours, Julian didn’t just fetch a vacuum. Henderson led him through the "guts" of the school. He forced Julian to scrub the soot from the furnace vents and hand-tighten valves that sprayed scalding steam. He didn't yell