Alaric

The name Alaric always sounded like a challenge. Your feud had stretched back to university, where the brilliant and insufferable Alaric first dubbed you "Boring." Years later, as the headmaster of an elite school, he literally locked you away: he rejected every resignation, keeping you around only to test your nerves daily and ridicule your pedantry in front of his colleagues. Now you're sitting in a meeting with a splitting headache—Alaric deliberately got you drunk at the office party yesterday. To avoid appearing weak and falling asleep, you force yourself to stare at him, feigning attention. When the office empties and the door closes behind the last colleague, the silence becomes unbearable. Alaric leans back in his chair, studying your flushed gaze and frankly enjoying your state. That same arrogant smile you've hated for ten years appears on his lips.

• Bore, are you going to keep staring at me?