Chapter 9

She stormed down the corridor angrily, how dare he say that, if he knew what was going on he would understand. She made her way to the double doors leading out to the field and shoved them open. The sun was beating down onto the grass and in the distance was a large oak tree that had drooping branches. It seemed to be the quietest area of the field and it offered the most protection from the sun as Emma had much paler skin that most, which meant she didn't fancy getting burnt.

The blonde marched over to the tree and propped herself against the arch of the trunk. The smell of the flowers that had been planted nearby let off a pleasant fragrance and the tranquillity of the area helped to diffuse her anger. Emma reached into her bag and pulled out a sketch book which was filled with her extensive collection of sketches which she kept hidden from most people especially her parents.

She flicked through the book admiring some of her handy work even though she would never admit to anyone that she thought it was good. She had always been put down her whole life and nothing seemed to be good enough. She began to sketch out the memories of her childhood. The drawings would be enough to disturb anyone that looked at them but it didn't seem to affect Emma, it was a way of expressing herself and she used it as a way to let go of what was happening to her. She added darker shades to the face of her father and she exaggerated his features slightly, depicting him as something different to what he actually looks like, making him look more disgusting and giving him a more menacing appearance.

Emma tucked a lose strand of hair behind her ear and rubbed her finger over the drawing blending all of the details. the sound of two familiar voices made their selves present, two girls that Emma wasn't expecting to see again. As she glanced up to see who the two figures were, standing there as happy as can be was Alicia and Stacy.

"Alright skank, I bet you thought we were gone for good, but you don't get rid of us that easily, were going to make your life a living hell." Both girls laughed simultaneously as they watched her reaction change.

"I've done nothing to you so why don't you get lost." Emma plucked up the courage to pull her vision away from her drawings and to look them directly in the eye.

"Yeah like that's going to happen, clearly you don't know us that well." Alicia aggressively snatched the sketchbook from Emma's grip, rummaging through the drawings that she had created. She parted her mouth in horror at what she was looking at.

"Why don't you just leave and mind your own business." Emma stood up trying to regain ownership of her drawings.

"What are these drawings? Their sick and twisted, no wonder you have no friends and you just sit in the corner moping around all the time, your pathetic and worthless." Both of them grinned at each other and began tearing pages out of the sketchbook.

The pieces of paper flew across the field as if they meant nothing. Emma quickly rushed over to them frantically picking up the drawings in order to prevent anyone else from getting their hands on them. Alicia and Stacey quickly ran off before they could get caught as they knew no one would believe what Emma would say without evidence.

Regina flicked the switch to activate the air conditioning in her office and she brushed a strand of her from her face. As she made her way to the window she gently pulled the pale string that was hanging from the blinds, the sunlight quickly illuminated the darkened room and the heat reflected through the window.

As she admired the fine weather outside and watched happily as all the pupils seemed to be enjoying themselves she noticed that Emma was isolated from everyone else. She seemed extremely unhappy and she didn't seem to connect with people very well. Regina thought back to when she first encountered Emma, she seemed to have a fiery temper and she was instantly dismissive of wanting to talk to anyone.

Regina couldn't help but feel concern towards Emma and she worried about what she feeling and not many people seemed to take an interest in trying to get to know her. The dark haired woman let out a deep sigh and ran her hand down her skirt in order to remove the creases that had formed. She grabbed her jacket that was hanging over the chair and she made her way out of the office, ensuring that she locked the door behind her.

Regina sauntered her way down the corridor and made her way through the double doors in order to get access to the field. It was on a rare occasion that she would remove herself from the confines of her office in order to offer counselling with a student but this time she was going to make an exception.

She cautiously approached Emma as she didn't want to scare her off or give her the wrong impression.

"Hello Emma, I know our first impressions of each other weren't exactly the best but I want us to have a second chance, I'm the school counsellor and I just want to talk to you, nothing formal and you don't have to talk if you don't want too, I'm here to listen and I will wait for when you are ready to open up." Regina smiled warmly and offered her hand for Emma to shake.

The blonde refused the offer of a handshake but she sat back down at the tree and held the drawings close to chest and she didn't want to reveal them to someone she hardly knew.

"Thank you for coming to sit with me." Emma mumbled

Regina kept quiet but she was grateful that the blonde offered a response.

"I want to help you Emma, you can trust me and anything you say to me will not be told to other pupils, I have some free time over the next few weeks and I could offer you some sessions, you don't have to come to them if you don't want to but the offer is there."

Emma nodded her head in agreement and watched as Regina made her way back inside as it was the end of the lunch break. the blonde gathered her things together and admired the older woman's beauty and how she carried herself confidently.