Roland ran into his fathers room as soon as he woke up.
"Papa! Papa!" he exclaimed, jumping on the bed. "It's the first day of school!"
Robin glanced at the clock on the nightstand. 5:13 AM. He groaned and rolled over, pulling the blanket over his head.
"Roland, school doesn't start for another 4 hours. Climb in here with me and go back to sleep."
"I can't sleep Papa! I'm too excited. Asides, you promised we were going to make pancakes for breffast."
"I know, son. And we will. We have plenty of time. Lay down for a little bit longer and then we can make your pancakes."
"Okay Papa," Roland agreed reluctantly as he crawled under the blanket.
Thirty minutes later, Roland was dragging Robin into the kitchen. "Pancakes! Pancakes!"
"Okay son. You go brush your teeth and I will get together everything that we need. Starting with coffee for your old man."
"You're not old Papa." Roland replies, walking into his bathroom.
Regina Mills woke up at 5 AM. After a quick shower, she heads downstairs and makes herself a bowl of fruit and oatmeal. Next to her bowl is her class roster and seating chart. She glances over it one time, flips it over and tries to recite it from memory. She knows that she will change it once she meets the kids and see how they work together, but for now she wants to have it memorized. She finishes her breakfast and puts the papers in her bag before heading back upstairs to finish her hair and makeup. By 6:30 she is in her car heading towards the school. Her friends always make fun of her for getting to school so early but she would rather set things up in the morning and be able to leave early than stay for hours after her students leave.
Once in her room, she drops her bags at her desk and walks around making a few adjustments. She has been teaching for 10 years and she still uses the same theme in her room. She thought for sure she would have changed it by now but the students always love it so it stays the same. The walls are covered with a peel-off wallpaper to create the feel of a forest. In the back corner, which she has set up as her class library, she has a custom bookshelf shaped like a tree, a large green rug for grass, and bean bag chairs that look like rocks. The bulletin boards and smart board are bordered with vines and twinkle lights. The Smart Board will display a screen welcoming the students to "Miss Mill's Enchanted Forest." Each desk has a leaf cut-out with the student's names written in her neat script.
After placing a welcome packet on each desk, she heads towards the teacher's lounge for some coffee.
"Good morning, Snow" she greets her friend Mary Margaret with the nickname she gave her when they were in high school.
"Hello Regina. I knew you would be joining me so I made you a cup." Mary Margaret said, motioning to the cup of coffee on the table.
"Thanks. I knew there was a reason I kept you around.'
"Very funny. How are things looking in the 'Enchanted Forest'?"
"All ready to go. But I still want to look over my plans for the day before the day starts."
"You've been using the same first day plans since we started teaching. You know them by heart. You need a hobby, or better yet, a man to distract you from being Super Teacher. You're making the rest of us look bad."
"I just want to have it fresh in my mind. I like being Super Teacher. And I definitely do NOT need a man."
"You keep telling yourself that."
Both women finished their coffee and made their way to their classrooms. Regina made one last pass around the room, sat down at her desk to look over her plans for the day, set an alarm on her phone, and turned on her 'Enchanted Forest' playlist. Before she knew it, the alarm was going off and it was time to greet her students.
Robin and Roland got to the hallway of the classroom when Roland turned around and stopped his father.
"I can go in by myself Papa. You can wait here. I'm a big boy now."
"Okay son. You be good and have fun. Learn some stuff."
Robin bent down to give Roland a hug and then the boy took off down the hall towards the classroom. Robin was not quite ready to leave Roland for the day so he stood watching his son until he disappeared into the room. In front of the door stood his son's teacher. A stunning woman with dark hair. Her lips painted a bright red. She smiled at him and he gave a nod, returning the smile. He liked how she greeted each student as they walked through the door. Turning away and walking to his car he couldn't help but think that with that gorgeous woman as Roland's teacher, his first year at school might not be as difficult as he first thought.