Emma Swan had lost her faith in love. She had yet to see true love in the many families she had lived in through her years in the foster system. All she had seen was the poisonous consequences of lying and betrayal braking up families and inevitably causing her to get moved or run away. Her own experience with love ended with her in juvenile prison at the age of 16. One thing it has done, however, is strengthen her determination and self reliance, which is what landed her in college on a scholarship. Here she started opening up and felt the love that is friendship for the first time.
She is entering her second year with her roommate Mary Margaret and co-worker/friend Ruby (who also worked at Granny's to help pay her tuition). It is on this day, the scent of summer still in the air, that the three of them are walking to the one class they all share; literature. With a few minutes to spare, they enter the half full lecture hall. It is not until they sit down that Emma takes notice of the professor who's name is spelled out on the blackboard; Mr Jones. She can't help catching her breath as she takes in his appearance; black denim, black shirt (with too much chest showing for a professor), dark hair and scruff. Ruby is uttering a "damn" next to her, and they share a look and giggles, both agreeing how ridiculously attractive their professor is. Just then then he calms the class to start the lecture. Ruby pinches her arm as soon as they both hear his delicious accent. They share another look and silent giggles as they both wonder how they will be able to learn anything in this class.
There is something about the unattainable. Emma knew there was no danger of becoming romantic with a professor, so she (with help from Ruby) let her mind travel, allowed herself to feel attracted to him and appreciate his beauty as there was no danger of more. During lunch they discussed every detail they knew about Mr Jones, that is everything Ruby had discovered on the university's website. Mary Margaret had joined David for lunch after commenting how very inappropriate they were acting. Ruby had discovered that Mr Jones used to teach at The University of London before transferring. It didn't mention any family or other personal information, only that he was born in 1987. Ruby said she'd always had a thing for elder men anyway, so it hardly mattered. "Don't they usually have more information on new teachers?", Emma asked. The university website had previously featured interviews and such with new teachers, allowing students to know them further. "Maybe he is a private person", Ruby replied. "There is something about him that I can't shake. I don't know, I get this feeling of darkness coming from him." Emma said with a slight frown. "Well, I won't say a little mystery isn't attractive.". Ruby's statement earns a chuckle from Emma. When she finds herself in the library later, working on her first homework of the year, she finds she can't stop her mind from traveling back to that mysterious professor of hers. Jones is an oddly common name for a person who seems quite the contrary. She can't stop wondering what his first name might be and hopes it's something out of the ordinary.