Emma aroused herself from what had been a less than pleasant nights sleep. She gently rubbed her eyes with her stiffened fingers and groggily dragged herself off the floor. She squinted towards the window trying to adjust her vision to the change of light. As her eyes widened she stared down at the deep incision that she had made in her arm. The blood had congealed but a dull aching sensation still remained.

She ran her fingers through her tangled mess of blonde hair and tied it back into a lose ponytail. She rummaged through her small collection of clothing in order to try and find something decent to wear. At the back of the wardrobe was an oversized white long sleeved top and a pair of black skinny jeans. As she glanced over at the small alarm in the corner she realised that there was only twenty minutes until school was due to start. She quickly slipped on her shabby looking boots and slung her bag over her shoulder before charging down the stairs.

As she stepped outside a sudden rush of heat engulfed her, the sun was rapidly beating down onto the pavement and it was much hotter than she was anticipated. She trundled her way to school, avoiding the temptation to pull her sleeves up.

She observed all the other girls that were dressed more suitably and had designer handbags hanging off their shoulder. A feeling of jealousy consumed her as she imagined what it would be like to be in possession of such luxuries.

Emma marched down the small narrow path that led her straight to the front gates. As she approached the school she rushed in hoping that she wouldn't be the only person that was late. A strong smell of black coffee wafted down the corridor and the sound of high heels clopping against the hard floor resonated through the area.

She quickly glanced up making sure that she wasn't going to bump into anyone. A familiar face looked back at her, the same face she first saw when she was in her art class. Her hair was in the same style as it was before and she had impeccable taste when it came to clothing.

Regina smiled warmly at the young blonde "Hello I know we haven't been formally introduced yet but my name is Regina Mills, I'm the school counsellor and I believe your name is Emma from what Miss Lucas has told me."

Emma stared down at the floor shuffling her feet in circles "Why what has she been saying about me? You no nothing alright."

Regina's expression changed as she was slightly taken back by what the blonde had said "she hasn't been saying anything about you Miss Swan, I can assure you of that she was just making me aware that you were a new student here that's all, I didn't mean to cause any offence to you I was just making polite conversation."

"Well don't bother next time, I don't need you talking about me to other people." Emma stormed off to her class before she was late.

Regina parted her mouth in shock by the blonde's reaction but she was determined to offer her the help she needed. The dark haired woman sauntered her way to her office clutching the mug of black coffee tightly between her fingertips. As she stepped into the office she made herself comfortable in the black leather seat. She sighed as she tried to figure out why the blonde acted so hostile towards her and what could be bothering her. She loaded up her laptop and searched though her diary to find the nearest available space in order to book a counselling session for Emma. She noticed that she had some free time later in the afternoon and booked to see the young blonde as a priority.

Emma entered the small classroom. This time it was maths which meant meeting another new teacher and having to become accustomed to different people within the class. As she took a seat she glanced up at the bored and saw that her teacher was going to Mr Gold. He was much older looker than most of the teachers in the school and there was something strange about him. He had shoulder length brown hair which was tinted with hints of grey. His smile was almost crooked and there was a sarcastic tone in his voice which made the blonde unsure of him.

"Well hello class, today we will be learning algebra and I'm sure all of you will be capable of completing some simple worksheets." he grinned and made his way round the class passing out the worksheets.

All the pupils let out a large sigh and Mr Gold paid particular attention to Emma. He noticed that she avoided eye contact with most people and her appearance wasn't as polished as most of the people in the class.

As he handed the paper to Emma she looked in the opposite direction and waited for him to make his way around to the rest of the class. Once everyone had been given a sheet he made his way back to the desk and informed them on how much time they had in order to complete the task.

Everyone scribbled down their answers while Emma pushed her pencil around the table staring aimlessly into space. Her mind was too busy being focused on other things and she could sense that some people within the class were making comments about her.

"Look how greasy her hair is and her clothes always look the same, does she ever wear anything different." the same comments circled around the classroom coming from all different people.

Emma pushed their comments to the back of her mind and Mr Gold gestured for them to shut up and get on with their work.

After several minutes a small timer went off and the answers to the questions were revealed. Some people let out positive comments as they got them all right where others groaned as their scores were much lower than they expected.

Mr Gold went around the class in order to make a tally of everyone's score and to give an indication of who needed more assistance.

"Well what score did you get Miss Swan?"

"I didn't answer the questions." Emma mumbled.

"Why not my dear, was there something you didn't understand? If there was then you should have asked." Mr Gold watched Emma puzzled by her lack of response.

Emma shrugged her shoulders and refused to give a proper answer to the question.

Mr Gold arranged the class into small groups and assigned them each a task in order to help them with their understanding and to give the quieter pupils a chance to participate. Emma reluctantly lifted herself from the seat in the corner of the room and made her way to the front of the class and joined a group of girls.

They all looked down at Emma and pushed a piece of paper towards her, indicating that they wanted her to do all the work while they watched. The blonde sighed and tried to figure out what she had to do.

The room vibrated as the bell went and everyone packed up their bags ready to go for break. Emma slowly made her way out of the classroom before she was tapped on the shoulder by Mr Gold.

"Not so fast Miss swan, I would like a quick word with you before you go for your break. I think there are some issues that need resolving."

Emma picked at her fingernails and muttered a few words to him "what's the problem?"

"You don't seem to be taking an active part in the work and you don't exactly seem to be doing the work I set either, if this carries on then I will have no choice but to speak to the principle."

"Fine." Emma stormed out of the classroom and slammed the door behind her.