Updated

Emma didn't know which Tuesday was worse, last weeks or the current one she was living in; the only thing that she knew was that it could not get any worse than it already was.

Emma started her Tuesday on a sour note. They ran out of fruit loops the previous morning and Mary Margaret couldn't get another box until Saturday when everyone, student and faculty, was allowed to travel to the small town that was Storybrooke. No rainbow colored cereal turned Emma away from the most important meal of the day, but Mary Margaret made sure she ate something, even if it was small like an apple or a granola bar. So, before she left, she grabbed a large apple that she threw away as soon as she was out of Mary Margaret's eye sight. She had only taken two bits out of the red fruit.

Biology made her more irritable, everything was fine until halfway through Mr. Herman's power point on plant cells he started to yell at his son, who just so happen to sit next to Emma. So she had to sit there, while father and son argued about Sean's, Mr. Herman's son, girlfriend. It was a conversation that Emma wanted no part of. The fighting stopped when the bell rang, with a lesson that will never be complete and another hair pulling homework assignment.

After lunch, where Emma ate not just hers but also Ruby's half eaten turkey club sandwich, and a droned out lecture from Mr. Spencer, her Geometry teacher, her next class was with Storybrooke Academy's harshest teacher; Mr. Gold.

From the description that her energetic roommate gave her, Emma expected Mr. Gold to be this scornful elderly man, the one that would be sitting hunched in a rocking chair and yell at kids to get off his lawn while waving a cane in the air. Well, he did have a cane, but he was in his forties with long light brown hair that was greying, the grey in the strands made prominent when the light hits it the right way. He had light tan skin; crow's feet and some frown lines were the only wrinkles on his face. He always dressed in a black pinstripe suit with a black dress shirt and a dark color tie. He had a Scottish accent and had this habit of calling everyone 'dearie'.

Despite Emma's wrong picture about her history teacher, Mr. Gold was a brilliant teacher. He had one of those old slide projectors that flipped to pictures of the period he was talking about. Despite his limp, which was why he had a cane, Mr. Gold walked around the classroom as he gave his lecture. Sometimes, he would stop mid-sentence to yell at one of the students who was annoying him and carry on the sentence like nothing happened. Other than his limp and harsh attitude, Mr. Gold was famous for giving out projects left and right giving Emma her very first project of the year.

Mr. Gold finished a lecture on the reconstruction era, shutting off the projector and limped over to the front of the classroom a clipboard under his arm. He placed the clipboard on the podium that was off in the left corner of the room.

"Before you dearies leave, I will be handing out the rubric for your first project of the year. I have already assign your partners so do not even ask to change or switch partners for it will not happen. When I call your name take two of the rubrics, one for you and one for your partner and I will write down who your partner is. Mr. Booth." A male student who sat right in front of Mr. Gold, a punk wanna be who got on Emma's nerves. Ruby called him wood boy since his brain was apparently full of sawdust and another thing that Emma didn't want to think about. August was the only son of Storybrooke's only carpenter Marco, how such a nice man raised a son like August was a mystery. He took a rubric, than he gave to Mr. Gold who scribbled something on the top, before handing it back to August. The young boy looked at what his teacher wrote and made a loud noise of disapproval.

"Come on? Anton? Why am I the one stuck with the fat retard?" The boy in question hunched his shoulders and looked down at the desk that was dwarfed by his large figure. Emma's fist clench around her pencil, thin splinters of wood biting into her palm. Anton was a nice guy, but he was large and a little chubby, puberty claimed him early giving the shy boy peach fuzz on his cheeks. He was the perfect target for the jocks and punks like August to pick on, awkward and not fully grown into his body.

"Leave Anton alone August." The whole class, minus Anton, looked at her. Most of the looks were that of shock and disbelief but the ones that she got from her two roommates were that of pride and support. August's breathing became heavy, chest straining against the sweater vest he wore.

"You have a problem with me Swan?" August started to stomp to her but a shiny gold handle on his shoulder stopped him.

"That is enough Mr. Booth, sit down and shut up. You and Mr. Géant are partners, and that is final." With a huff August returned to his seat, grumbling the whole way. "Ms. Boyd." Ashley Boyd was a young blonde that almost seemed to look like she was about to cry if anyone looked at her the wrong way. She also just so happened to be the girlfriend that the Herman males constantly fought about. Ashley Boyd was partnered with Jefferson Dolleman. "Ms. Fa." Mulan got up to retrieve the appropriate forms for her and her partner from the older male. She took her seat after she placed her partners form on her desk. She was pared with Kathryn Nolan, the same girl that took the picture of Regina at the election in The Daily Mirror. "Mr. Glass." Sidney practically hopped in front of Mr. Gold, trying to hide his crossed fingers behind his back. When Mr. Gold gave him the papers back, the smile that he walked up with faltered.

Ruby snickered; any time Sidney got a slap of reality made her a happy camper. Her snicker fell when a shadow fell over her desk and Sidney, with a scowl on his face, gave her the extra sheet and walked away to sulk at his desk. Ruby stared at the paper on her desk afraid to touch it as if it would burn her.

"Mr. Humbert." Graham Humbert was the type of guy that girls tripped over themselves to just get a word or glance from. He was that of moderate built, not to muscular, it was matched with his gentile nature. Graham was the crush of nearly every girl at school but for some reason or another he ended up with Regina. They were the power couple that every high school had; the daughter of the headmistress with the school's dream boy. It baffled everyone that such a nice guy like Graham would put up with Regina's hostile attitude, and not to mention the 'other guy' the whole world knew about. Graham was partnered with Jim Frederick, Kathryn Nolan's boyfriend, disappointing almost every female in class. "Ms. Swan." Emma left her seat and retrieved two rubrics', giving one to her teacher. He handed it back to her, with a name written in black cursive; Regina Mills. Great, as if her day haven't gotten any worse.

Regina sat in between Kathryn and Ruby, creating a nice single line for the 'L' 'M' and 'N' letters of the alphabet, Emma was in the same row as them, all the way in the back. She walked back to her desk, dropping the paper with Regina's name on Ruby's desk. Her brunette roommate looked at her and she responded with a nod. Ruby sent the paper to the brunette behind her, with a mix of shock and fear in big brown eyes. Emma watched as Regina looked over the paper and then turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow. The blonde didn't pay much mind to the class president, as she was trying to figure out how the hell she was going to work with Regina on the project. Mr. Gold called out a few more names before he went over the more taxing details.

"You will have two weeks to complete the assignment, the signup sheet for presentation spots will be up Friday on the door, look for your period and fill in your name and the name of your partner on the same line. The list will be up until the day before presentations begin. Anyone not signed up will receive an automatic 'F'." The bell rang but no one moved. "You are dismissed." With a wave of his hand, the noise of student shuffling to gather their things to leave became drowning. Emma started to put her binder in her bag when her nostrils caught the faint sent of apples, which signaled the arrival of her partner.

"Madam President." Regina stood before her, with her hands behind her back and her dark red lips turned up into a smile that was eerily similar to her mothers.

"Ms. Swan." Her voice was sweet; it made Emma uneasy instead of the calming effect that the dark hair girl was probably going for. "I have a meeting immediately after school but how about we meet around 3:30 near the mess hall. Unless you have something else that takes priority of your time."

"No, Nothing at all." Emma rose from her seat slinging her bag over her shoulder. Ruby and Mulan where waiting for her just outside the door.

"Good, I will see you then." She didn't even wait for Emma to say goodbye before she left the room in a stride that left an invisible wave of class and power mixed in with the scent of apples. Emma let out a sigh and exited the classroom to join her friends, she did think of them as her friends as she trusted them more than she did the average person. They walked down the hall, not really going anywhere since the day was done.

"Can you believe him?! That little imp!" Ruby complained in front of the other two girls, shoulders tense with anger and annoyance. "Paring me up with Sidney Pathetic Glass! I will have to sit there, and listen to him as he places Regina Fucking Mills on some kind of divine pedestal! Great, now I have to place one of my snack coupons in the swear jar!" She continued to grumble as they went downstairs to reach the court yard. Ruby looked at her watch and shrug. "I am going home to fight off the headache that I know is coming." As to emphasis her point, she pressed two fingers on both side of her head, rubbing small circles into her temples. Mulan and Emma waved her off and when she was out of range they shared the same 'what are you going to do?' look. Mulan left the blonde to her own device when she left to do some extra training for an upcoming t'ai chi tournament.

Emma started for the library, might as well make use of the time on her hands and get some help on her impossible biology homework. She stopped when she noticed Anton sitting on a stone bench partly shaded by the tree next to it. He was slumped over and fiddling with his backpack strap, looking like a lost little puppy. Emma walked over to where the large boy was sitting, stopping a few feet away to give the boy some space.

"Hey Anton." The large boy looked up, a small smile forming on his face.

"Emma, hey!" His backpack slid down his knees, spilling loose paper and pens when it landed on the grass. Emma picked up the backpack and the items that were spewed on the grass, before giving them back to Anton. "Thank you." He looked down, a slight blush on his cheeks.

"Are you okay Anton?" Paper crumbled as Anton ran his large fingers over it.

"I wanted to thank you, for standing up for me. I know you didn't have to, so I really appreciate it."

"You don't have to thank me Anton. August Booth is a prick, everyone knows that. It was just time that someone did something about it."

"That's an understatement." Anton added under his breath but it was loud enough for Emma to hear. He smiled; it was very rare for anyone to pay him any mind. Besides his brothers, he was practically invisible to anyone else. His smile fell when a hand pushed his head forward, nose almost meeting backpack.

"Hey retard, get off your fat ass, we need to work on this shit ass project." Anton moved, trying to get away from the hand that was pressing down on the back of his neck, but it pulled him back by his curly brown hair.

"I thought I told you to leave him alone, August." The two teens met eye to eye, brown filled with annoyance, and green filled with a challenge that was waiting to be met.

"What do you want, Swan?" He rounded the bench, adding a kick to one of the larger boy's legs.

"I told you what I want August, it's not that hard to understand." August stepped into Emma's personal space, leaving very few inches between them; the smell of garlic was heavy on his thick breath. The lack of personal space made Emma edgy and uncomfortable, her back and shoulders tightening with tension.

"Why are you so interested in a fat slob like Anton? Don't tell me you are one of those pathetic chubby chasers? If you want a real man, all you have to do is ask." He gave Emma a smile that she guessed was supposed to be a smoldering but to the blonde it looked like he was about to pass gas.

"My personal life is none of your business, and I don't date jerks like you, so you can either start being respectful to Anton or walk away until you can. But rest assure you will not be feeding on Anton like some big fat tick." August's nostrils flared with every angry breath he took, brown eyes hardening.

"Did you just threaten me Swan?" Emma stood tall, arms crossed across her chest.

"I did, and I dare you to do something about it." They stood there for a good three minutes until August huffed in annoyance, pulling at his backpack strap for good measure.

"This isn't over Swan." He turned to walk away, but before he did he gave another kick to Anton's leg, leaving dirt marks on khaki slacks. Emma watched him with hard green eyes as he stalked away before closing her eyes to wash away the anger. When she felt calm, she looked at Anton, who was trying to brush off the dirt streaks left behind from August's shoes.

"Are you okay Anton?" He looked up at her with sad eyes and a shy smile.

"Yes, I am okay, thank you-"

"You do not need to thank me Anton, I told you I do not like jerks that get their kicks from bulling weaker people." She placed a hand on Anton shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. "Don't let them get to you Anton, keep your head high and just be you, who I'm sure is absolutely wonderful. Okay?" Anton nodded and he straightens his spine putting up a show on filling himself with courage. "There we go Anton. Now, I have to go, but don't forget what I told August, and come to me if he bothers you, okay?"

"Of course Emma I won't thank you." She smiled at him, and playfully punched his shoulder before walking away. Now she needed to follow her own advice and buck up some courage for what she was about to do; make nice with the most powerful girl in school. Regina was already at the mess hall, sitting at one of the outside tables with a leather bound pad and a silver pen in front of her.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Regina." Emma sat down across from the dark hair brunette placing her messenger bag on the empty chair next to her.

"It's quite alright Ms. Swan, I have just gotten here not too long ago. Now then." she uncapped her pen, placing the cap securely on the other end of her pen. "We are here to discuss a time table for us to work on the project in the next two weeks so that we cover all of the points thoroughly, and not be face with a situation where there is a possibility of overlooking any important details. For the rest of the week, we will meet after school and on the weekends, I assume you have no important plans?" Regina gave the blonde a look that Emma swore screamed 'I know better than you'. Regina opened her mouth to continue but Emma cut her off.

"Hold up!" For a briefer moment something flashed behind brown eyes that Emma didn't know if it was shock, or disbelief that the blonde had the nerve to interrupt her, but the brunette schooled her emotions, slipping back on her political mask that she had perfected.

"Yes Ms. Swan?"

"What made you assume that I don't have plans that are more important than this project?" Emma leaned forward, green eyes making contact with amber brown eyes. "Listen Regina, I don't give a crap who you are or who the hell you are trying to be, but I am not going to sit here and let you dictate my life on whatever judgment you made of me. I am not some lackey you can push around Regina, either treat me with the same respect that I show you or we're done." The right corner of Regina's lips tuned upward in a half scowl.

"Fine then Ms. Swan." If it could, her voice would ooze poison that could kill anyone instantly on contact. "Tell me what possible plans do you have that take precedence over our school work?"

"Every two weeks Mary Margaret brings one of us into town to help her complete the dorm grocery shopping, and I am the lucky winner this week. But, if you are so set on meeting during the weekend, then we can set up a few hours for us to meet and do some work, but we shouldn't sacrifice our entire free time for one project." Regina breathed deeply through her nose, straining her spine as she did to maintain her regal air.

"Fine. Have it your way Ms. Swan, we keep this Saturday free so that you can do, whatever it is you do, and we meet Sunday afternoon at the library sounds fair?"

"Perfect." The whole time Regina was simultaneously making notes in her pad with times that they agreed on and times that were already set up; like around seven thirty Emma needed to be back at her dorm for dinner, and meetings that Regina had to attend, along with the blonde's schedule. Apparently, Regina needed to have her whole life planed out down to the minute; it didn't surprise Emma one bit. "We will reconvene tomorrow in the library after school. I will give a copy of the time table then." She stood up and started to pack up her things. After she shrugged on her jacket, she buttoned all but the top two buttons. "Please try to be on time Ms. Swan." With that, she picked up her black tote bag and walked away in her usual power filled stride.

Emma let out a sigh and fell back into her chair, her back hitting the hard metal in a way that will almost certainly bruise. She leaned her head back, watching the clouds as they crawled across the pale blue sky.

"Find anything interesting?" Standing behind the seat that was vacant a few minutes ago was Mary Margaret in all her glory.

It had been bothering Mary Margaret all day, so much so that it started to affect her teaching. So, after school she visited the convenience store half of the school's book store, in hopes in finding something for Emma to eat in the morning. She scanned each shelf, trying to find something that would appease the blonde teen's picky taste in breakfast food.

Fruit was out, she didn't have to be there to know that Emma tossed the apple away as soon as she could, the annoyed look on her face before she left said it all. Ruby offered to share the few frozen waffles that she had left, but Emma visibly paled at the thought of eating something coming from the toaster, leaving out toast as well. Granola bars were out, the blonde just took one bit and spitted back out, tossing the rest of the bar away. Mary Margaret even offered to go out of her way to make her oatmeal, but she was turned down when Emma said that oatmeal made her gag.

So Mary Margaret's options were limited to almost nothing. In her basket she placed a few packs of pop-tarts in different flavors, some granola bars, for Tink since they ran out after Emma's little taste testing, and the current edition of The Daily Mirror, to keep the teacher up to speed with her new schools news. Currently, she stood in front of a shelf that she was sure would earn her disproving looks from her fellow teachers; the junk food section.

Storybrooke Academy made it its mission to keep their student healthy and active, but they couldn't overlook the fact that they were a facility for growing teens, and with puberty came the craving for food loaded with salt, sugar, and anything that would clog arteries or rotten teeth to the core. So, to maintain some balance the more unhealthy snacks cost more in coupons than the healthy ones, limiting students to how much they could snack in one semester. The rule also applied to drinks, soda was the highest and organic fruit smoothies and juice at the lowest, with sport drinks in between the two.

Mary Margaret limited her search to items that could be passed for as breakfast food, even if they did make her cringe. Doughnuts were the only option that didn't make her skin crawl as badly the others did, settling on the less harmful one that she prayed would be up to Emma's high standards; bear claws. Having all that she needed she turned to walk toward the counter when she accidentally bumped into someone, dropping her basket in the process.

"Oh my god I am so sorry!" She knelt down to start picking up items, but the light chuckle made her stop and look at the person that she bumped into, blood rushed to her cheeks when she did. "Cora, I am so terrible sorry." The headmistress bent at the knee, black fabric staining against the joint. They reached for the pack of bear claws at the same time, light skinned finger tips grazing smooth, slightly darker flesh. Mary Margaret's cheeks turned a slightly deeper shade of pink and she withdrew her hand, cradling it against her chest. Both women stood up to their full heights, Cora slightly taller than the other woman due to her heels.

"It is quite alright, Mary Margaret." She looked down at the plastic wrapping in her hand with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Bear claws Ms. Blanchard? And here I pegged you as a bagel kind of person." Mary Margaret froze on the spot, momentary forgetting why those curly pastries where even in her basket to begin with.

"There not mine. I mean they are, since it was in my basket, but I am not getting them for me." Cora tiled her head to the side the look of confusion on her face.

"If they are not for you, then whom are they for?" The young teacher started to shake with the fear that her next answer might get her into trouble, or worse fired.

"They are for Emma. We ran out of the cereal that she likes yesterday, and today we spent five minutes trying to get her to eat something, but she turned down everything we had. So, I am hoping to get her something from here that will tie her over until Saturday, so that I can do the grocery shopping, and avoid another disaster like this one."

"You do know that we have smaller boxes of cereal, right?"

"Yes, I do, but Emma is one of my pickier eaters, it's either rainbow color rings or nothing." Cora nodded and placed the package of bear claws back into the shorter hair woman's basket.

"Well, I do hope that your hard work does not go unappreciated. Have a good night Mary Margaret."

"And a good night to you as well Cora." With a nod the elder brunette turned to walk out, but stopped two steps in and tuned back to Mary Margaret.

"Before I forget, are you free Saturday night Mary Margaret?" The younger woman was taken back a bit by Cora's question.

"The girls and I usually watch a move, why?" Mary Margaret studied the older woman closely, not knowing where Cora's questions were leading up to.

"Would you like to accompany me to dinner at Tony's, say around seven?" The light pink blush that painted her cheeks darkened creating a contrast against the short hair woman's white skin.

"I-I am sure that the girls wouldn't mind if we change our plans just this once."

"Good, I will pick you up around six, and dress nicely." Her red lip pulled into a smile that was different than the other smiles that she had given to Mary Margaret, she just couldn't place it. The short hair just nodded and watched in awe as the older woman disappeared out of sight, leaving the scent of fresh ginger behind. She jumped when someone lightly tapped her shoulder.

"Are you all right?" Behind her was the elder gentleman that ran the book store.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I am ready to check out." The man nodded and led her to the counter, ringing up her items from her basket. After ratting out her total and paying with the card that she received her first day, he handed her a plastic bag and she left, waving him goodbye. When she stepped outside the cold air hit her flush cheeks, whisking away the remains of her last visit with the older woman.

The court yard was mostly empty since it was getting late and most students were heading back to their dorms. She noticed a single student sitting at one of the metal outdoor tables. She automatically recognized Emma, with her head leaning back so that she was looking at the darkening sky, blonde curls created a curtain over the seat rest. Mary Margaret approached the girl, standing behind the unoccupied seat across from the teen.

"Find anything interesting?" Emma slowly brought her head down, unresolved tension clear on her face.

"Not really." She probably didn't mean to make it sound like it but her reply came in a short snap.

"Are you okay?" the blonde got up from her seat, stretching her legs as she did.

"Peachy." In her wrong placed angry state, Emma slung her bag over one shoulder and started to sulk off, leaving a baffled Mary Margaret in her wake.

"Emma!" The teacher ran after the young girl, touching the blonde's free shoulder. Her action stopped the blonde in her tracks but the girl was shooting daggers at her when she turned back around.

"What?! What could you possibly want Mary Margaret?!"

"First, I want you to check your attitude." The tension left Emma's shoulders when she heard the harsher tone of her normally calm supervisor. "Good, now that you are done being mad at me for something I did not do, would you like to tell me what has gotten you so upset?"

"Not really." Emma held her left elbow with her right hand and started to kick her left foot, green eyes turned down. She was clearly feeling guilty about letting her anger out on Mary Margaret.

"Okay we don't have to talk about it. You want to walk home together?" The blonde nodded her head slightly and the two started home together. "I got you something." Emma lifted her head, now noticing the plastic bag in her supervisors grip.

"What is it?"

"Well, I know that I cannot get you your beloved fruit loops until Saturday so I stopped at the school store and I got you something that I hope you will like." The blonde half side stepped from her, emerald green eyes shined with surprise.

"Wow that was really nice of you Mary Margaret. Thank you." The young woman gave her a smile that Emma was starting to associate with Mary Margaret.

"You are very welcome Emma, after all it is my job as dorm supervisor that my girls are properly fed and ready to face each day head on." A small smile graced the once sulky teen face, genuinely touched by the lengths the woman next to her went through for her. With the air lighter around them their shared walk home was a pleasant affair, the sky streaked in a palate of oranges, yellows, and purples.

A/N: Food for thought Géant means giant in French and Dolleman literally means mad hatter in Dutch.