Emma couldn't suppress a surprised gasp that she somehow managed to turn into an awkward coughing. She could feel the whole room staring at her and murmured a quick apology. She needed a moment to process this information. Miss Mills never ever mentored teachers in training. Until a few minutes ago she was certain she would be assigned to Miss Nolan, the other English teacher of the school, who usually volunteered for that task.

Emma wasn't sure what she should make out of this information. Miss Mills was definitely one of the best teachers Storybrooke High had to offer, but she was also very strict and asked a lot from her students. Not to mention Emma's embarrassing crush on the brunette woman and her incapability to behave like a normal person around her. Her teaching training would definitely not be a walk in the park. Still, Emma could already feel the excitement building up in her stomach.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost missed Principal Gold ending the meeting. The room was suddenly full of polite chattering and everyone was getting ready to leave. Emma, however, still hasn't moved from her spot, her gaze fixed on the brunette teacher that was now slowly moving in her direction. This realization was what finally pulled Emma out of her thoughts.

"Right Swan, just be professional about this. You are no longer that naïve 18 year old girl, you are going to become a teacher. She won't eat you alive (not that Emma would mind)."

Even though her attempts to calm herself failed terribly, her voice was surprisingly confident, when the older woman finally reached her.

"Miss Mills, I am very grateful…." Emma began, but was interrupted quickly by the brunette English teacher.

"It's Regina for you now, dear." Miss Mills tone did seem almost playful now. "Given the fact that we are colleagues now, I think we can skip the formalities."

This caught Emma completely off guard and when she spoke again, all of her previously confident tone was gone. "Emma", she stuttered, "I… I mean sure yeah. My name is Emma."

"Believe it or not, but after three years of having you as my student, I am well aware of that, Emma." The brunette teased and Emma couldn't stop herself from smiling when she heard Miss Mills using her first name. Yes, she was definitely screwed.

"Yeah, right. So, uhm Regina, how exactly do you plan to do this?"

Miss Mills stepped forward and scribbled something on a piece of paper, which she then handed over to Emma, who couldn't help but shiver a little when their hands briefly touched.

"Mr. Gold already gave me your email address. This is mine, just in case you have any urgent matters to ask." Regina explained, her voice now all back to being cold and professional "I will email you your schedule tonight. We will meet tomorrow at 8 am sharp, to discuss what I expect of you. I hope you do remember that I don't tolerate lateness, so please be on time."

Her sharp tone didn't leave any room for discussion so all that Emma could do was giving her a quick nod. Without another word Regina then walked away and was already on her way out of the room when she hesitated and turned around to face Emma once more.

"Oh and Emma" she said, her tone now almost dangerously sweet "I specifically asked for this arrangement and am very much looking forward to it, so please, be a good girl and don't mess it up."

The smirk she then gave Emma left her completely speechless and the fact that she was just asked to be a good girl by her former teacher brought images into her head, that were definitely not appropriate in a school.

And what did she mean by the statement that she specifically asked for training Emma? What was so special about her?

Completely stunned Emma watched Miss Mills leaving the room and if she wouldn't know better she would have sworn, that the brunette was swaying her hips a bit more than usual. Anyhow, in the end Emma was just glad she didn't turn around again. Getting caught staring at her former teacher's ass would not make her situation any less awkward.

The first thing Emma did when she finally arrived home was calling Ruby, her best friend. The two girls were inseparable since their time Storybrooke Highschool, where they have had almost every class together. Emma had already dropped her a couple of texts throughout the day and she was now overly excited to learn every detail about Emma's new role at the school.

When Emma reached the point of telling Ruby about her and Miss Mills' encounter after the conference, her best friend couldn't hold it any longer.

"Oh Emma, you are so screwed."

"Shut up Rubes" Emma interrupted "Miss Mills and I are two grown women and I am sure there's a lot I can learn from her."

"Yeah, I am sure there is a lot she can teach you." Ruby teased, not even trying to hide her dirty intentions.

"Ruby!" Emma almost screamed.

"Come on Emma, I know that you got the hots for her ever since she first stepped into our classroom wearing that tight black pencil skirt. The expression on your face said it all." Emma almost choked on her wine. She usually told her best friend everything, she was one of the few people who knew that Emma was in fact only interested in women. But her crush on her former English teacher had always been her little secret and she was way too embarrassed about it to tell anybody.

"Shut up!" She hissed, only to add in a sheepish voice "Was I really that obvious?"

Ruby burst out into laughter after this and spent the rest of the evening with teasing Emma about just how obvious she actually had been. The effort Emma expended for all of her English classes, the way in which she defended Miss Mills whenever their friends were bitching about her strict marking, how she always managed to casually bring her up during their conversations, the way she was looking at her when she thought nobody was watching.

Emma's head got redder with every passing minute. One glass of wine turned into a second and a third and she was silently praying that apart from Ruby, nobody else paid enough attention to notice, especially not a certain brunette English teacher.

The two girls talked until Ruby had to leave for her shift at the Diner she was working in. Emma was already pretty tipsy when she then started her laptop to check her mails. She was then very surprised to find not only one, but two emails from Miss Mills in her inbox. Curiously, she clicked the first one.

Dear Emma,

In the attachment of this mail you can find your detailed schedule fhlfchvhjhuwifkjdnjsfmcyi

That was it. The mail literally ended in a pile of random letters, the promised, attached schedule was missing as well. Very confused, Emma opened the second email.

Dear Emma,

I am very sorry about the previous email. My cat decided that it would be a smart move to walk over my keyboard while I was typing and apparently also hit the send button. Please read your schedule carefully so that you are prepared for our meeting tomorrow.

Kind Regards,

Regina Mills

Emma chuckled at the email. She would never have taken Regina for a cat person and the image in her head of Regina trying to chase her cat away from the keyboard was hilarious. If Emma would have been sober, she never would have replied to that mail in the first place. However, the three glasses of wine told her differently and Emma quickly hit the reply button.

Dear Regina,

Thank you for the schedule and now need to apologize. I guess you need to have quicker fingers next time ;)

Kind Regards,

Emma Swan

In her tipsy state, Emma hit send without thinking twice and she was feeling quite smug for coming up with such a witty comeback. Still, she was very surprised when not even five minutes later, her laptop announced the income of a new email.

Dear Emma,

Believe me when I tell you that my fingers are usually pretty quick. Good Night.

Kind Regards,

Regina Mills