A/N: This is AU. There is no magic, no fairy tales. Set in NY and Maine
Trigger warning of child abuse. Rating will probably change in later chapters.
I hope you enjoy!
"It isn't like you haven't had all summer to prepare." Kathryn reminded her friend whilst flicking through a worn copy of Sylvia Plath's 'Crossing the Water', "Why are you suddenly so nervous about a new school year?"
"I am not nervous" Regina retorted back quickly, "I am just annoyed that I don't have any of my class lessons planned out and school starts tomorrow." Regina didn't bother to look up from the laptop she was typing on as she spoke, but quickly added "and that it's all your fault."
"What? How? I don't think so," Kathryn huffed back at Regina.
"You talked me into spending the summer in New York with you, what did you call it? Reliving our glory days?"
Kathryn looked up at her friend and smiled thinking about the events of the past few weeks. Kathryn had indeed talked Regina into spending the summer in New York with her in her father's apartment whilst he was away on business. It was something they had often done as teenagers. Kathryn's dad was CEO of Midas Touch, which was a very successful gold trading company, and because of that Kathryn and Regina were practically New York royalty. The two of them would walk into any boutique, bar or club they wanted and be treated like princesses, they basically had people kneeling at their feet. To look at, both girls couldn't be more different. Kathryn with her long blonde hair and light blues eyes and Regina with her nearly black but equally as long locks and chocolate colored eyes; alone each girl was a bomb shell, but put the two of them together and they quickly become New York's 'it' girls. This of course got them in a whole lot of trouble and when they were fifteen both girls were sent to a boarding school in Maine where they completed high school and were forced to sober up and quit the partying. Now 32 years old, both woman, sporting shorter hairstyles and longer skirts, have settled down quite a lot. Regina now a leading teacher at a local high school, Kathryn working for her dad, and both women happily residing in a small town in Maine, away from the party scene of New York. That is, until now, when Regina had begrudgingly agreed to spend the summer with Kathryn in New York and although wouldn't admit it to her best friend, had surprised herself by enjoying spending time reading by her old favourite apple tree in central park and trying different ciders at new pop up bars in the village. The fact that she hadn't got any work done was mostly her own fault, but she wouldn't admit that to Kathryn.
Regina finally lifted her gaze from her screen to see what her friend had to say about the accusation.
"Please, you are Regina Mills, as if anyone could talk you into anything you didn't want to do." Regina stared at Kathryn but didn't crack a smile. "And besides, you're the best teacher at that school, you can walk in on a whim and have the students enthralled by your every word, and you know it."
Regina looked back at her screen and continued typing away at her lesson plans. But it was too late; Kathryn had already spotted the tiniest of smiles forming across her best friends lips. And that made Kathryn smile too.
That evening Kathryn cooked dinner for the two of them despite the fact that they were in Regina's home. She wasn't as talented a cook as Regina was, but could cook up a basic stir-fry without too much trouble and could pour one hell of a glass of red wine. Regina appreciated the offer to cook from Kathryn as it gave her some time to finish up the lesson plans, give her obscenely large home a quick tidy and organize an outfit for tomorrow. Regina had always been grateful that her parents had left her enough money to buy such a beautiful property, but the sheer size of it was sometimes just a painful reminder that she had no one there to share it with, so she was always grateful for the company.
With enough badgering for Kathryn, Regina finally gave up her chores to come sit down at the round, four-person dining table, and enjoy her dinner with Kathryn.
"So you had eight weeks in New York and I didn't see you so much as flirt with another human being." Kathryn declared to Regina after a sip of her wine.
"Excuse me?"
"You do know that that is the whole point of a holiday don't you? To flirt with, and possibly even kiss, random strangers."
"No, I did not know that" Regina struggled to maintain composure; she would not let her friend win by making her blush. "I thought it was to relax and sight see and enjoy a change of pace."
"Well, it isn't" Kathryn responded in her carefree nature "It is to shake things up and let loose."
"Well if you had of told me that, I definitely would NOT have gone." Regina smirked back to her friend.
"Seriously Regina, you need to start meeting some new people, you need to get passed Daniel, it has been years."
Regina looked up from her plate and glared at her friend. She waited several moments for her heart rate to drop before saying softly "I know. I am passed Daniel."
"Well let's hope there are some new hot teachers this year" Kathryn joked, regretting mentioning Regina's past love and now desperately trying to lighten the mood.
Regina sensing the change in mood decided to play along. "Yeah some really hot science teacher who spends their weekends on archeological digs."
"Or a deep and meaningful literature professor who would write you poetry" Kathryn playfully suggested.
"Or the sports coach!" They both said in unison, before collapsing into matching fits of laughter at the dinner table.
The next morning Regina woke at 6am, showered and slipped into a far too expensive raspberry coloured, open front, Gucci dress. She meticulously styled and hair and applied her make-up and once she was certain she looked perfect she went downstairs and cut up an apple which she then mixed with yogurt and blueberries for breakfast. Once Regina had gathered her books and briefcase she locked up her house, walked down towards her Mercedes and drove the 20-minute drive to school. Regina felt relieved to be working again, she appreciated time of work as much as anyone, but was easily bored, and needed the stimulation of a challenging workday in her life. As she walked through the school she was greeted by almost everyone. Although she was strict and expected a lot from both students and other staff, she had a gentleness about her that drew most people towards her. Although everyone knew that you did not want to be on Ms. Mills bad side.
Regina entered her own classroom, and all of her students were already seated. Everyone knew that the number one rule in Ms. Mills' class was to be punctual. If you were going to show up late, you may as well not show up at all. "Welcome to the new school year," Regina greeted her class, "I think by now we all know each other, I don't see any new faces, so why don't we just jump straight into it. Now I assume that you all read Macbeth over summer and have familiarized yourself with the dangerous path that an obsession with power can lead you down…" Regina watched at some students nodded (the ones who have read the play, she thought) and other kids went slightly crimson in the cheeks or just looked down at their desks (the ones who did not read the play, was her other thought) Regina continued on, "and if you have not read the play I highly recommend you do so, as I will be expecting everyone contributing to this class." Before Regina could continue with her well prepared speech on how she would not accept any form of laziness in her class, there was a knock on the door as a young blonde girl pushed the door open ever so slightly to squeeze her way in. The girl just stood in the doorway for a moment, and Regina was taken a back by her appearance. Although strikingly beautiful with long blonde her and haunting green eyes, the girl looked dangerously underweight, in dirty clothes, and had a very fresh cut on her face under the right eye. Not the kind of kid Regina was used to seeing around school.
The blonde girl seemed to be standing in shock, and Regina wasn't sure why, so she decided she would speak first.
"You're new to the school?" Regina asked, giving nothing away in her voice.
"Hi" the girl meekly spoke after a moment of silence.
"How would you like to have a seat up the front?" Regina offered the girl, pointing to a spare seat right by her.
Emma didn't speak, but moved across the room and took her seat.
"What is your name dear?" Regina asked, preparing to write it down on her roll.
"Swan" the girl replied, looking up to meet her teachers eyes. "Emma Swan."
And the class watched in stunned silence as Regina dropped her clipboard and pen to the floor and stared at the girl, mouth open, as if she was a ghost.