The next morning, Emma woke up early to go through her clothes, trying to pick out the perfect outfit. Her wardrobe was mostly the same old stuff, flannels, sweaters, and tee shirts. Everything was handed down to her from Ella, Ms. Tremaine's step daughter who'd finally graduated last year and escaped the woman's clutches.
While most wouldn't like her wardrobe, she was fortunate to have it. There was once a time she didn't have options.
Emma pulled out one of her black and gray checkered flannels, which was one of her favorites. She slipped on a pair of dark blue jean skinnies, her boots. She curled her hair and put on some make-up. She felt the best she could feel, clad in a moth eaten shirt, she stood confident in front of her bedroom mirror.
"What are you doing?" A confused Lily asked.
"Just getting dressed, why are you being so nosy?" Emma retorted while she still admired her reflection.
"Oh I know what this is, you met a boy yesterday." Lily teased.
"No, that's not what happened and don't tell Ms. Tremaine that." Emma told her. "Anyways, I have to go to school early today. I need to see if I can meet with my guidance counselor and change out of my last class." She moved around the room collecting her things and turned to her foster sister, "If I can't, I have to stay late for my last class to catch up on things I missed yesterday, so don't wait for me to walk home. Cool?"
If everything went Emma's way, then she would be changed out of World History before class even began for the day.
"I got it, stop talking so much, it hurts my ears because it's too early." Lily whined, as she shoved her head under her pillow.
Emma turned to her mirror once more and put on her red jacket and gray beanie. Checking herself out in the mirror, now with her outfit complete, she turned and left for school.
On her way to school, she noticed a Mercedes pull into the teacher's parking lot. One that looked similar to the one Regina drove the night they met back on Christmas Eve.
Try her best to ignore the car, Emma walked into the high school and straight to the guidance office. She was on a mission.
"May I see Mrs. Nolan?" She was direct and to the point.
"Yes, just one moment, please." The old receptionist with frizzy, gray hair ran to the back and into Mrs. Nolan's office. Emma watched as the two chatted quickly before she motioned for Emma to come on back. "Mrs. Nolan said to take a seat here and she'll be right with you." Emma nodded in response.
Early in the morning, the office was eerie. As she took her seat and looked around, it was still dark outside the windows.
Focusing a little too hard on one particularly creepy shadow, Emma flinched when a voice suddenly cut through the silence.
"Oh Emma! Come in! How are you doing? I haven't met with you in a while."
"Hi, Mrs. Nolan. I wanted to stop by and see if I could change my last class." Emma decided not to waste any time and got right to it.
"What's your last class, dear?"
"AP World History." Emma responded as she took a seat.
"Oh, that's going to be a great course. We just hired that teacher, Ms. Mills. She came highly recommended. She just completed her student teaching and we're really happy to have a fresh face in the school teaching such a high-level course. It's AP as well and I think it'll look great on your transcript. Are you positive you want to switch out of it?"
"I'm positive." Emma said harshly.
"Is something wrong? Did you not like Ms. Mills?"
"No, not at all, she seemed great." Emma couldn't say she slept with her teacher as the reason for wanting to exchange classes. "I don't have interest in the course and I already have a World History credit. It was sort of a bonus taking the class. It's my senior year after all and I was hoping I could take a cliched senior course like Career Studies, or something?"
"Well my dear, we don't have many of those classes available anymore. We normally have a waiting list." Emma watched as the guidance counselor clicked on her keyboard and stared at her laptop.
"What we have available are Carpentry 101, Art 101, and French 101."
Emma frowned. She had no interest in taking any of the following. She might get out of Regina's class, but risking taking a something stupid may hurt far more than it would help.
"How about I put you on the wait list for career studies? Continue taking World History and if you decide you hate it by the end of the week, come back and see me." The friendly guidance counselor suggested. Emma visibly shrank into her seat. There really didn't seem like any other options.
"I guess that will have to do." Emma sighed to herself.
Ms. Nolan pulled out a few packets of information, "Since you're already here, have you thought about college yet? I have some great ideas for you. What do you think about ivy league?"
Emma's eyes practically bugged out of her skull. "Mrs. Nolan, I can't afford that and nor would I be able to get in." Emma studied the ever so eager woman. She was youngish, very beautiful, her long blonde hair really looked like a halo that accentuated her crystal blue eyes.
Very persistently, the counselor continued, "But you have so much potential. Don't sell yourself short."
Emma shrugged her shoulders. Looking down she sought out a distraction by picking at her nails. Emma didn't know what her next move was yet. She wasn't going to toss any suggestions out the door, but ivy league? College is one thing, but ivy league seemed a little far fetched.
"You have to apply before the first week of February to be considered for late admission, meaning you'll find out later than those who applied back in October. I sincerely think you have a shot here." Ms. Nolan was trying her best to engage Emma's interest in furthering her education.
"You're our top student and you have an incredible story that's similar to Liz Murray's." She instantly looked up from her nails and looked at the blonde counselor. Her story? Emma didn't want to use her story to get into college. She didn't want to be the next Liz Murray. She was the girl who went from homeless to Harvard. At least, that's how she remembered her and that's not how Emma wanted to be remembered.
Emma looked frustrated and continued to listen. "I think you can afford these schools. They offer competitive scholarships for students and I think you would be a prime candidate. Take these informational packets home, look them over, and let me know if you want to apply. I'll have the application fees waived."
With a small sigh, Emma grabbed the packets and nodded her head. She guessed it didn't hurt to at least try.
"Thanks Ms. Nolan. I'll make sure to look this over and get back to you on my thoughts." Emma curtly stated.
"Great. Also, it's my job to ask, hows the volunteer work at the town library. Ms. French is really happy to have you helping her."
"It's nice. I like it there." Emma responded mechanically as if she was a robot. What else did the woman think she would say? That she hated it. Annoyed Emma stood to leave.
"Very well then. Oh and Emma, I hope you like your World History class today. Ms. Mills is truly a joy to work with." The counselor stated.
In the back of Emma's mind, she mocked the woman. Emma was sure she was a joy to work with. She knew first hand how well she worked together with her in the sheets. That image was forever burned in her mind, which was partly the problem.
Unlike the day before, this one breezed by. Probably because Emma was hating the idea of her last class. It's the one place that she didn't want to be.
Emma dropped her calculus book off in her locker and grabbed the one for World History. She checked her reflection in her locker mirror and noticed the bags under her eyes. Waking up earlier than normal definitely affected her appearance. Walking to class, Emma noticed all the teachers standing outside their classroom doors, and at the end of the hallway was Regina, or more formally, Ms. Mills. Emma ducked her head down and went to enter the room, but was stopped by her teacher.
"Glad to see you today. I expect that you're staying later to go over what you missed yesterday?" Ms. Mills nodded her head encouraging Emma to say yes.
"Uh huh." Was all Emma was able to muster up.
The bell rang and Emma, again, was in the front seat.
"Okay class, as I mentioned yesterday, we are having our first test on Monday. I have to cover three chapters a week with you, which are the AP standards, so keep up. This is going to be a challenging course. If you don't feel up to the challenge, then you need to change classes while you still can. I notice a few people are already gone and I know some of you are on waiting lists to be changed out of my class. Don't hesitate to exchange classes. I want dedicated students only."
Emma blushed because was she certainly not dedicated. Maybe if Regina wasn't her teacher, then the circumstances would be different. They'll never know.
"Open your textbooks to page 244."
Emma sat there following along, writing notes based off the key points that were addressed. Then it dawned on Emma, that she didn't know how Regina was testing them. Was it essay based, multiple choice, fill in the blank? It seriously mattered, she organized her notes based off how tests are structured.
Reluctantly and timidly, she raised her hand.
"Emma?" Regina stopped mid-sentence.
"Sorry to interrupt. Are you testing on dates as well as general content? I just want to make sure I write the right stuff down in my notes."
"Don't be sorry. We went over this yesterday when you weren't here. The answer is yes, if you have any other questions on the same topic let's wait till after class." Regina stated.
Emma gulped and nodded. She flipped back a few pages in her textbook and used another color to jot down the dates associated with different notable people and events.
When class concluded, Emma remained in her seat and waited for the class to be gone. Regina approached her desk and before she could say anything at all, Emma blurted out without making any eye contact, "I'm nineteen."
"I know."
A confused Emma looked up, "How?"
"I accessed your school records yesterday. I was shocked to see you too." Regina eased into the conversation.
Trying to not panic, Emma moved her eyes back to the notes in front of her. All her mind could focus on is that Regina read her school records. She knew now, her history, the same history that Ms. Nolan claimed should get her into Harvard with.
Trying to not let her emotions get the best of her, Emma deflected Regina's comment and focused on her syllabus. "Anyways, I missed class and I'm unfamiliar with the topics covered. Technological and Environmental Transformations, to c. 600 B.C.C. Can you please go over some of the key things that I should prepare for come Monday?"
Regina looked to her curiously, "Emma, I understand that you're uncomfortable. I wish that these weren't the circumstances that we saw each other in again. I think back to that night we met a lot and I have wondered to myself, late at night, what it would be like had I got your number. I hate that I fell asleep and when I woke up to find that you were gone, I blamed myself. You felt more to me than a one night stand. " Regina pushed.
Emma's mind raced. The only way she knew how to respond was by asking more questions about the test.
"So the first key concept is Big Geography and The Peopling of the Earth, should I go ahead and assume that I need to memorize the different species of the peopling and the geographic locations associated with each?" Emma stared at her textbook ignoring the confessions made by her teacher.
Regina stepped closer to Emma's desk, "I know you think about me too, Emma. You can't deny this familiar attraction we have. I know you felt it that night too." Her husky voice sent shivers down the blondes spine.
Cutting off the older woman, Emma again tried, "What do you think I should do to prepare for the exam? I missed what you said yesterday."
"Maybe I could privately tutor you? What do you think about that?" Regina asked as she leaned down, placing her hands on Emma's desk. The motion seemed to finally snap the girl out of it because the blonde's head tilted up and green eyes met brown.
"Look, you're great, but I can't do this. Nor should we even consider what this is." Emma motioned between the two women. "Like, you can't even be serious right now. What happens if-"
"Happens if what?" The woman was now an inch away from the babbling blonde.
Emma didn't move. Her entire body tense with fear and excitement intertwined together. Emma watched as Regina's dark brown eyes studied her up and down. Her scent was so familiar, so inviting. Her eyes focused on Regina's lips and she recalled how sweet they were to taste. Without noticing it, Emma's body language screamed yes, as her eyes racked the form of the familiar woman, but her mind screamed no.
Regina leaned down and whispered into a mess of blonde tendrils that covered her ear, "Emma."
Her voice oozed of lust and seduction like the night back a month ago in Regina's home. The hair on Emma's neck stood straight up. Her entire body wanted the other woman. She felt like an addiction. It was all coming back to her now, the intimacy they both experienced with one another. That night mattered. Emma cherished the memory, but it was just that.
A memory.
Taking a sharp breath in, Emma leaned away from the towering woman. "Regina, we just can't. Not now, not here, and not ever. If you don't care about what you're jeopardizing, then someone should and that someone is me." Emma slammed her textbook shut and grabbed her things in a rush, nervously dropping her informational packets for college on the floor.
Regina bent down and collected the papers and asked, "You're applying to Harvard and Yale?"
"Maybe, I don't really know. It was given to me by Mrs. Nolan. She seems to think I have the right credentials. I think she's crazy, there's no way I would fit into schools like that. I'm not their type." Emma shrugged.
"That's absurd. I went to Harvard, I wouldn't mind helping you with the application process and being a reference for you."
"Again, I'll iterate, I'm not their type. Why would you want to be my reference anyway?" Emma asked with an annoyed tone. "You don't even know me."
"I want to get to know you, if you'd let me?" A hopeful Regina said in a soothing tone.
"Thank you for seeing me today, Ms. Mills. I have to head out now." Emma backed away from the classroom. She turned away in a huff and faded off in the distance from an obviously defeated brunette.
As Emma walked through the snow, she replayed everything in her mind like a movie. She was confused and frustrated with Regina's actions. She expected Regina to be the scandalized one. For her to instantly and solely assume the role of the teacher, and go over things she'd missed the day before. Instead, Emma was shocked when the older woman hit on her.
Speaking of which, Emma had assumed Regina was twenty-one...maybe twenty-two or three. Maybe she was? No matter, she hadn't ever expected to see a teacher looking like that.
Emma paused at a stop sign, looked both ways and caught a glimpse of the same Mercedes she'd seen earlier that morning, causing Emma's heart to race. It had to be Regina.
What was the right thing to do? Emma was torn between giving in to wanting to explore the open invitation of being with Regina and doing what was socially appropriate.
Stepping into the bar, Emma was greeted with her cheerful friend's smile, "Hey chica, come have a seat and tell me what happened?"
She smiled and sat down at the bar to confide in her only friend, "You will never believe this, Rubes…"