Guys, I apologize for not having a chapter ready Friday! A new school year and a new job means a whole lot less free time haha. I wanted to give Roland a little more time in the spotlight, so this chapter has a lot of him and his friends, as well as his sister. Hope you're all having a happy Monday!

Storybrooke High was certainly a unique school to attend. Not that any of the students knew any better; it was just hard to life a normal life when every single person knew one another. It was especially hard when everyone knew Roland's mother ruled over the town- that was something that stayed on the fifteen year old like a stamp on his forehead. There was a certain level of greatness he was ordered to carry around with him everywhere he went; when he fell below that standard, it seemed the whole school knew about it.

"I can't believe you failed that test," his best friend, Alex Boyd, stated with a smirk. "Your Mom is going to kill you."

Slinging his backpack across his shoulders, Roland sighed. "I didn't fail it, I just..."

"Didn't pass? Anything below a seventy is failing," Alex said, continuing to give him a hard time as they exited the class.

Roland gave her a lopsided smile as he nudged her from her side. "Who cares, I can talk myself out of any sort of punishment my parents have for me."

"What'd you do this time?" A voice came from behind the two friends, one that belonged to a lean, cocky redheaded boy with a face spotted with acne.

He opened the door for them, finally getting out of the school and back outside. They were homeward bound, so tired and exhausted after another day in high school.

"I failed a test in world history, so Alex thinks I'm doomed for life."

Both of his friends exchanged glances with one another and laughed.

"Dude, you're screwed." August said, patting him on the back as they started down the sidewalk.

Roland rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks guys."

Alex and August had been his best friends since they were first placed in school. August was two years older than them, but he still managed to spend most of his time right by their side.

"Hey, wait, don't you have to pick up Caroline today?" Alex asked suddenly, noticing just then that he didn't have to stay for baseball practice.

Roland tonight for a moment, remembering he had to, cringing inside because he really didn't want to do it.

"She can walk herself," he concluded, his laziness winning over, "she's old enough."

Alex gave him a look, reminding herself that her best friends were teenage boys.

"Come on, you know she hates walking by herself!"

"Well, she needs to grow up!"

Letting out a groan, she forced Roland to a stop and turned him around, August finding amusement in the show in front of him. Reluctantly, they walked back to the deserted school, finding the fourth grade classroom on the other side of the building. In normal circumstances, Roland went directly from his last period to the baseball field, where he would stay for another two hours. And since he didn't have his drivers license yet, he either had to walk everywhere or be faced with having a relative drive him. That's what he hated most about being fifteen; the freedom was so close, he could almost taste it.

"You're late again," Caroline muttered, seeing her brother walk through the door almost twenty minutes after the last bell had gone off. She was worried she would have to stay for another half hour and wait for Snow to get out of her meeting in order to take her home.

"I remembered though, didn't I?"

His sister responded with a huff, grabbing her backpack and following them out of the empty room.

They continued on their way outside for the second time, more than ready to go back home.

"I thought you had your motorcycle," Caroline stated towards August.

The seventeen year old gave a sigh. "I do, but the transmission needed to be fixed, so it's in the shop for a couple of days."

She wished Roland could drive her to and from school; walking was always a pain. Never in a million years would their mother let him have a motorcycle, though.

"Well it better be fixed in a couple of days," she began slyly, "you know what's happening next week, right?"

Both Alex and August knew exactly what was happening next week.

"Could it be that someone is turning ten?" Alex asked ambiguously, watching the girl's face light up.

"Yes! Mom is helping me make invitations to pass out soon. Do you guys want me to give you one?"

Before either of them could reply, Roland interjected. "But they already know about it; they're gonna come if you give them an invitation or not."

Once again, Alex scowled. It bothered her how cold he was to his little sister. "I always love getting them," she counteracted, resulting in a victorious smile from Caroline.

"I also expect great presents from you both," she added, "it has to be a surprise."

They then rounded a corner, turning onto the street their large white house resided on.

"Tough luck kid, surprises are hard to come by in a town like this," August said, lowering her spirits lightly, "not when everyone knows each other like the back of their hand. Doesn't mean I won't try, though."

Caroline gave him a long, lingering look before answering. Of course she knew this; but half of her wanted to believe that some things were still unknown.

"I want my party to be the best party in the world," she stated, just as they began down the skinny walkway up to their front door. "Are you two staying over?"

Shrugging, Alex walked through the door Roland held open for her. "I don't have anything else to do."

"Yeah, me too," August said, "my dad doesn't need me to help out at the shop, for once."

They had been over to Roland's vast two story house so much, it was practically their second home. The fact that it was also Mayor Mills's house easily slipped their mind.

"Mom, do you have any snacks?" The fifteen year old asked immediately upon entering the house. Regina went through this routine just about every day; she had about thirty minutes of time to herself when she got home from work, and those thirty minutes were always filled with peace and quiet before her two children came home. This week was different, though, because Henry was with her. They had become lost in a conversation, making it so Regina had nothing to feed her hungry kids.

"Sorry, I lost track of time," she said, giving an apologetic glance to Roland and his friends, "but I can make something quick if you guys don't mind waiting."

Of course the news wasn't the best to hear, but at least he was home.

"We can find something to do," Alex said, "nice to see you by the way Regina."

She smiled. "You too, dear."

"Hey Henry, it's been forever since I've seen you!" August said, noticing him in the living room. "We have so much to talk about after we get out of the movies."

Putting her backpack down, Caroline's attention was quickly grabbed by his last sentence. "Movies? What movie?"

"I don't think it'll be one you'd want to see," Alex told her as nicely as she could, "it's about a bunch of space people that come together to stop an evil guy from taking over the galaxy."

She was right, it was totally something she wouldn't want to see. But, being as stubborn as she was, Caroline wasn't letting go that easy.

"I like space movies," she lied, putting her hands on her hips and looking her brother's friend square in the face. "Can I come?"

Knowing the question was coming, Roland simply groaned. "Caroline, you're not following us everywhere. You gotta let us have our space."

Regina's face scowled when she heard this, seeing her daughter's excitement die out like the flame on a candle. "Be nice to your sister," she ordered, "you two are supposed to be working on getting along better, remember?"

The last thing Roland wanted was a lecture from his mother in front of his friends. Thankfully, she relieved the tension. "But I don't want you seeing a movie like that sweetheart."

Her nine year old gave her a challenging look, but she knew better than to argue with what she had to say.

"Hey, you can hang out with me today," Henry offered, "I've got some time before I have to help Killian with his truck."

Maybe they were right, Caroline thought to herself, maybe her family wanted to spend some time with her after all. Feeling like nobody wanted to spend time with her was the worst feeling in the world- it was good to know that her family came through when she needed them most.

Now that Zelena's plan is revealed, the only question now is, how long will it be until Robin and Regina find out?