A Techie's Dream, Chapter 3.
"It's good to see you could join us on time today, Ms. Swan."
That was surely not what she was expecting. Emma was hoping to quietly slip into the chat and be quiet, except for during her mandatory participation time. She cleared her throat and answered her instructor, in hopes of gaining some respect back after the horrible session last time. "Good morning, Professor Mills."
"Good morning, and thank you for observing the time," she retorted.
Well damn. Emma didn't know how to deal with this attention. The room quickly filled with the remaining students, and she couldn't have been happier. At least the attention would be diverted from her.
Regina Mills, being a prompt woman, began her lecture directly at the top of the hour. All of the students had returned, and were paying rapt attention to her, as if this were the most magnificent material they had ever heard. Emma was utterly turned off of it the first time around, partly because of the subject matter, and partly due to her terrible professor. His presentation was painfully dull, causing Emma to loathe it even more. She was really hoping that Prof. Mills would put a different spin on it.
Emma was able to focus on the lecture for the first fifteen or twenty minutes, but slowly her mind wandered, again. She was staring at Ms. Mills, who was basically pacing back and forth in front of her webcam. The younger woman started drifting, wondering where Ms. Mills was broadcasting from. There was nothing that gave her location away. The walls behind her were plain, cream-colored, and there was a low carpet that absorbed the click-clacking of her heels.
Oh my gods, is she wearing the stilettos from my dreams? It can't be. Emma shook herself from her thoughts and looked at her screen again. The professor had sat down behind a large walnut desk and seemed to be interested in her computer.
Suddenly a new window opened on Emma's screen. It was a private message request, from none other than Professor Mills. "I see that you are daydreaming in my class again Ms. Swan. I thought that I had made myself quite clear on my policies?"
Emma responded hesitantly, "Um, yeah. Sorry about that, I was just thinking about something you said," she quickly lied.
While she was responding, Regina was able to continue on with her instruction, as if nothing had happened. To Emma's surprise another PM appeared in the window.
"Ms. Swan, do we need to talk about this in private? Oh, and it's nice to see that you took the time to get dressed properly for class look quite lovely."
What the actual fuck? Was Ms. Mills actually complimenting her? It almost seemed, well...flirtatious. She had no idea how to respond to that one. While Emma was trying to think of a way to answer her, the professor didn't miss a beat. She had asked each student to attempt a problem regarding the language that they had been discussing. Well fuck me. Emma thought to herself.
Another message popped up in her window. "Well?"
"Thank you for noticing, and had I known that we would be on cam last session, I would have made myself more presentable. And no, I don't think that we need to talk again after class." Emma felt like she was back in high school again, and she was thoroughly embarrassed, her cheeks were on fire. She knew they had to be as red as a beet.
"Red is a lovely shade on you."
Emma was baffled, this was definitely flirting. She wondered whether Ms. Mills was referring to her blouse, or the flaming red color of her cheeks. "Thank you, I suppose."
"You suppose? And dear, your turn is coming up soon, I suggest you have something ready to share with the rest of us. Also, might I remind you that this session will be available for download tomorrow? You probably should get it, seeing as how you were checked out again, for a good portion of my lecture, and now the student participation section."
"Okay, thanks for the advice, you're probably right about that. I'll make sure to get a copy of it when it's available. I'm really sorry, again. I don't know what's come over me. I'll do better, I really am not usually like this." Emma was definitely glad that she was not in the classroom with this woman; otherwise, she would have died a thousand deaths right about now.
Emma was next to add to the discussion. She was well-read on the topic, thank gods, and was able to provide a decent example to share with the other students. Ms. Mills seemed to think it was alright as well, and didn't force her to stay in the spotlight for any longer than necessary. Lucky her. Maybe those Lucky Charms did help her out, after all.
Or maybe not. Just when she thought that she was in the clear, another private message popped up in her window. "I am pleased with your answer Ms. Swan, and must admit that I wasn't sure that you had absorbed any of the information shared today. I will say, that I look forward to what you can do when you decide to fully participate."
Emma looked up at her teacher's image and saw a smirk placed upon her lips. She also noticed something that she had missed earlier. On the right side of her upper-lip, there was a small scar. She didn't know why, but she thought that it was sexy as hell! Suddenly Emma found herself thinking about kissing and licking and nipping that delicious-looking lip, and it's sexy scar.
She was drawn from her musings by yet another message. Fuck! Didn't this woman have anything better to do than to look at her? Reluctantly, Emma read her message on the screen. "Class is over Ms. Swan. I seriously don't see this 'little habit' of yours being broken. In fact, it seems to be a constant thing with you. I have been more than kind with you, because I know that you have potential, but honestly, you need to pay attention."
Emma was dumbfounded and didn't know what to say. So she sat there, looking at her teacher on the screen without saying a word.
"Ms. Swan?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm here. Well, actually I was just leaving. Thank you for everything, I'll see you next week." Emma replied weakly.
"Yes Ms. Swan, next week. Please try to actually join and stay with the class next session."
Regina chided her.
With that, Emma logged off of her computer and closed it down for the day. Then she literally face-palmed herself. What was she thinking? Apparently she wasn't, her libido was. The young woman sat there, feeling defeated for awhile before she forced herself to get up. First, she gave herself a mental scolding, then went on to give herself a pep talk, trying to change her mood so that she would be able to present herself as competent enough to get this job.
She had a few hours before she needed to be at the campus library, so she decided to make herself some lunch. Grilled cheese and some watermelon with a glass of Naked Juice, her absolute favorite. After easily polishing off her meal, she cleaned up the kitchen, so that Granny wouldn't get on her for leaving a mess. After that, she went back down to her room and freshened up, before heading off to the interview.
The campus was only about ten minutes from the house, and Emma arrived pretty quickly. Finding parking though, was another story altogether. She finally located an empty spot after driving up and down the aisles for another ten more minutes. At this point, she wished she would have just walked. The library was close to the parking lot, so she still managed to arrive on time, with a few minutes to spare.
With her head held high, Emma entered the library and went to the information desk. "Hi, I have an appointment with Judy."
"Sure, let me call her. What is your name, please?" The girl behind the desk asked.
"Emma Swan," she replied.
"Oh yes, she is expecting you. Hold on for a quick second."
"No problem."
The girl proceeded to make a call and spoke in hushed tones with whomever was on the other end of the line. "Emma Swan is here to see you."
"Tell her I'll be right out," the woman replied.
"Sure thing." With that, the girl hung up the phone and cleared her throat to gather Emma's attention. After Emma turned back around, the receptionist told her to hold tight and that Judy would be right there.
With a smile, Emma thanked the young girl, who looked to be about sixteen, then sat on a nearby chair to wait. Moments later an older woman appeared at the information desk and spoke to the receptionist.
The bright-eyed girl called out to Emma and she got up immediately. "Emma, this is Judy Bradley, our head librarian."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Bradley." Emma said to the fifty-something-year-old woman.
"Likewise. Would you please follow me to my office? We can chat in there, uninterrupted. Christy, can you please watch the fort for awhile? Also, if I get any calls, please take a message."
"Sure thing, Mrs. Bradley," the chipper girl responded.
The office wasn't very large, but it was well-kept, everything seemed to have it's own place. Emma liked the order, it made her feel comfortable. "Well Emma, I am so pleased to meet you. I really think after our conversation yesterday, that you are a prime candidate for the position. This honestly is just formality, and should you choose to accept the position, you can fill out the paperwork."
"Thank you Mrs. Bradley, I am very interested in the position." Emma stated.
"You may call me Judy if you like, is my mother-in-law."
"Okay Judy." Emma smiled.
"I would like to explain to you the duties that come along with this position." Judy went on. She then gave Emma a lengthy explanation about the job duties. Emma half-listened, and nodded in all the right places. When the older woman was done, she looked at Emma and asked her if she had any questions.
Boldly she replied "When can I start?"
Judy laughed at this and said "I think you'll get along just fine here. The job is open now and you may start immediately. We are very flexible here and will be able to work around your class schedule."
"I only have one class to finish, so that shouldn't be a big problem."Emma replied.
"Perfect, you can begin tomorrow then. Let's just get the paperwork out of the way now, then." Judy cheerfully stated, and gave the blonde a stack of papers to fill out.
After Emma finished the task at hand, she told Judy her class timetable, and the two women made a schedule for her. With that, she said her goodbyes, and told Judy that she would see her the next day.
Emma decided to grab a quick coffee on her way home, in celebration of her new job. She figured she may as well kill two birds with one stone, and went to Granny's Diner, where she could tell both Ruby and Granny her good news.
Upon entering the diner, she was immediately greeted by her best friend, who was a whirlwind of energy. "Hi Emma! How did your interview go?"
"It went really well, Ruby! I start tomorrow."
"That's awesome, Emms! I think that you're going to love working there. Did you stop in to eat as well?" Ruby questioned her.
"Nah. I just thought I'd get some coffee, a special one, in celebration of my new job." Emma grinned.
"Oh, I've got the perfect thing. It'll be right up." Ruby replied, excitedly.
"Sweet."
A few minutes later, the brunette returned with a steaming hot, frothy drink. "One pumpkin latte, for the working woman," she goofed off, in a silly accent.
This made Emma laugh, as she carefully sipped at the hot beverage. "Thanks Red. This is delicious!"
"I put extra cinnamon on it just for you."
"Mmm. No wonder it tastes so good." Emma half-moaned.
Watching her best friend caused Ruby to chuckle to herself. Emma was a true foodie, and the way to her heart was through food and drinks. "I've got to go help Granny get ready for the dinner crowd. I'll stop by in a bit."
"No problem, Ruby."Emma stated. She had no issues with keeping herself company. She decided to read the newspaper while she slowly drank her delicious beverage.
Ruby flitted about, doing her duties around the diner. She made sure that the handful of people that were there, were taken care of, as well as checking in on her grandmother every-so-often, making sure she didn't need anything.
After a while, Emma decided to head home. Knowing that she was alone for dinner, she decided that she would go easy on herself and just order a pizza. Pepperoni and sausage sounded good to her. She rarely ordered pizza, but when she did, she went for broke. Lots of greasy meat sounded really good to her for some reason, so she went with it.
The pizza arrived about thirty minutes after she had called. Somehow, Emma managed to eat more than half of the pizza all by herself. It was delicious and the blonde savored every last bite. When she was finished she put away the leftovers and headed back to her room. She found herself back at her trusty little laptop, looking at pictures of Regina Mills.
After torturing herself for awhile, she decided to watch some repeats of Dr. Who on Netflix. The Angels Take Manhattan got to her every time. Those damned weeping angels and the Ponds. She was literally in tears as her favorite companions jumped off of the side of the building. Gods, she was a dork. After that episode, she watched another creepy one called The Empty Child, where there was this kid in a gas mask going around asking, "Are you my Mummy?" It was followed by another episode called The Doctor Dances, that concluded the two-parter episode.
Emma decided to turn in and call it a night, so that she would be properly rested for her first day on the new job. She showered and hopped into bed, and luckily for her, the blonde fell into a restful slumber. Tomorrow would be a new day.
