Author's Note: It occurs to me that I should put a trigger warning for bullying on this chapter and definitely the next two. I realize that my version of teenage Zelena is a pretty terrible person, so if you're extra-sensitive, you might want to read something else.
xx
Chapter 3: Laws of Physics
"So, Emma, how are you liking Storybrooke High so far?" Dr. Hopper asks.
"It's fine." Emma thinks perhaps the school counselor would like her to be a bit more forthcoming, but it's 7:20 in the morning before her second day of school, so she's not quite sure what he expects.
"Is the workload okay? Have you made any friends?"
"So far everything's going well, but it's only day two, so...who knows?"
"Fair enough." He settles back into his armchair and takes a look at her schedule. "How are your teachers? I understand Miss Blanchard is also your foster mother. Have there been any boundary issues in class?"
"Nope, she's totally professional."
"I see that you're in Mr. Gold's class. How is that?" he asks carefully.
Emma rolls her eyes. "I literally just found out magic existed last week, so it's a little strange, obviously," she says with a shrug.
"You don't seem traumatized, at least. That's a good sign."
"Can I ask you something? How exactly does this class show up on our transcripts? Does it get sent to, like, colleges or employers?"
"Theory of Magic won't be on your transcript. Gold doesn't give out grades."
"No grades?" Emma raises her eyebrows. "It seems like some of the other students are treating it like it's life and death."
"Well, without knowing who you're talking about or breaking confidentiality, all I can tell you is that for some of them, it is."
"It just seems kind of dangerous, you know? At all my past schools, kids with anger management problems got, like...art therapy. Here, they're teaching us to set things on fire with our minds."
"The therapy bit is where my paycheck comes from," Dr. Hopper jokes. "But, seriously, if you feel uncomfortable with the class, you don't have to take it. I think there are openings in Pottery or Intro to Creative Writing."
Emma considers. Neither of those classes sounds like her thing, but they would certainly be a much more normal way to spend her afternoon, something she could actually talk about friends outside of Storybrooke if she had any. That freshman from Pre-Calc, Henry, is in Creative Writing, and he's a lot of fun.
But then she thinks about Regina's shaking hands and Zelena's stupid smirk, and she just knows she has to stay.
xx
She walks into Mary Margaret's class at 7:43 and is surprised to see that Regina is already there, sitting in the same seat as yesterday. She's deeply engrossed in Pride and Prejudice, about twenty pages from the end, and Mary Margaret is awkwardly ignoring her.
"Can I sit here?" Emma asks.
"I don't own the desk," Regina replies without looking up from the book. Her tone isn't exactly friendly, but neither is it unkind.
"Did you, like, stay up all night reading that? We only had to read thirty pages for homework."
"Miss French says it's her favorite book," Regina explains. "And I have to admit it's quite engaging."
"Yeah, I had to read it at my last school. It's pretty good, I guess."
"I like the concept of overturning first impressions, but so far the end result seems a bit forced," Regina says seriously. "It's hard to tell if her feelings are genuine love, or just a byproduct of gratitude."
"Yeah, I kind of got the impression Lizzie was only in it for his house."
Regina lets out what might be called a giggle in a less dignified girl, and Mary Margaret looks up, startled, from whatever she's doing.
"She did seem very enthusiastic about the grounds."
"Have you ever seen the movie? That place is gorgeous. I'd totally marry a guy for that house, and I'm not even into guys."
If Regina is at all put-off by the frank disclosure, she doesn't miss a beat. "Well, I haven't seen the movie yet, so I'll have to suspend my judgment. Now, if you don't mind, I really want to finish this before class so I'm not left in suspense."
xx
The second day of Theory of Magic goes pretty much how Emma expected, based on the first. She and Gold review lighting flames, and he then sets her to work transporting a small object from one location to another. It's easy at first, but the difficulty increases with distance and the object's size.
Her head begins to ache, as Gold warned her it might ("Magic always comes with a price."), so she takes a break to observe the other students. Tink is in her own little corner doing something with bright lights and levitating objects, while Zelena and Regina are doing something bigger and scarier looking with Gold.
Emma thinks she understands the general concept. Gold pretends to be some kind of attacker, and they have to use their magic to immobilize him. It's the sort of magic that could come in handy in the real world, Emma supposes. If a creepy guy's approaching you in a dark alley, a full body bind spell might be quicker than karate.
Neither one of them is very good at it. Zelena is way too awkward about using magic on their teacher, and Regina is way too tense. Still, eventually he declares that they've got the basic idea and sets them to work practicing on each other before turning to help Tink.
This should be good, Emma thinks sarcastically. She returns to her task while still keeping half an eye on the two advanced students. She's somewhat gratified to see that Regina succeeds in at least stopping Zelena's forward progress on her first try. It's not the full body bind, but it's something.
"Pathetic," Zelena mutters. "A fully-trained witch could get out of this in a second, as I'm sure you know. Let me show you how it's done."
Regina hasn't even finished taking her first hesitant, shaking step toward the older girl when, suddenly, her entire body is pulled off the ground. She's floating in mid-air, arms flat against her sides, and the ragged way she's breathing indicates that her chest is being constricted.
"Wow, I wasn't sure I would be able to do this well on the first try," Zelena muses. "Most witches start practicing this spell on much lighter people."
"Put her down," Emma growls. Regina's lips are starting to turn blue due to her obstructed breathing, and the look of abject fear in her eyes is enough to turn Emma's blood to ice.
"Yes, well done, Zelena," Gold says distractedly, slowly looking up from Tink's desk. "Now release the spell like we practiced."
Zelena flicks her wrist, and Regina's body slams into a bookcase before collapsing on the floor. "Oops, must have lost control. Silly me," Zelena says unapologetically, like it's all some little game and she hadn't been practically choking the life out of someone younger and weaker than her.
Emma moves to help Regina up, but the brunette shakes her head. She's trembling and gasping for air, but she somehow manages to bark out, "Don't touch me," and pull herself to a standing position.
xx
On day three, Emma is once again the first in the classroom when Regina arrives. It's only 7:35. Mary Margaret is in the teacher's lounge making copies of a pop quiz for another class - or so she claims. The brunette actually nods hello today before sitting in her usual seat.
Regina takes a deep breath and chokes out, "Emma, I'm...I'm sorry for snapping at you yesterday."
"When did you snap at me yesterday?" Emma wonders out loud. She can't remember the other girl saying anything particularly offensive.
"In Gold's class. You offered to help me up and I -"
"Oh, that? It was nothing; don't even worry about it."
"It wasn't nothing," Regina quietly disagrees, staring at her hands. "It was rude and inappropriate and I shouldn't have done that. Will you please forgive me?" she says in a rush.
"Yeah, of course. It's already forgiven. Hell, I probably would have said way more inappropriate things in your position." The fact that Regina even thinks she has something to apologize for makes Emma's heart hurt.
"Thank you." Regina takes her glasses case and a thick AP Biology textbook out of her backpack. Emma's heart sinks at the realization that their deepest conversation yet is about to end.
"Hey," she says quickly, "I found the Pride and Prejudice DVD in Mary Margaret's living room. The ridiculously amazing six hour A&E version!"
"Okay."
"So, I was thinking maybe you might want to come over and watch it with me this weekend?" Emma asks as fast as she possibly can. Once it's all out, she stops to catch her breath before adding, "You can see Pemberley in all its glory."
Regina looks conflicted. "I would have to ask my mother. She usually likes me to stay in and study on the weekends."
"You can tell her it's a math review session." Mary Margaret has popped back into the room at the most convenient time. "We do have a small test next Monday." Looking back and forth between the two girls, she adds hastily, "I mean, provided that what you're actually planning to do doesn't break any state or federal laws. I probably should have asked that first."
Emma smirks, and Regina regards the teacher with slightly less loathing than usual.
"Regina's never seen Pride and Prejudice before, and I saw you had it in the DVD cupboard. So, my natural conclusion was that she should come over and watch it."
"Such a good movie," Mary Margaret sighs.
"Let me guess," Emma teases her foster mother, "you like to watch it on lonely nights with a bottle of wine, and you moon over Mr. Darcy and cry while singing 'Once Upon a Dream.'"
"Pretty much, but I'm really more of a 'Someday My Prince Will Come' kind of girl."
Emma laughs out loud, and Regina gets about halfway to a grin. "I'll ask Mother and let you know tomorrow. Thanks for the invitation, Emma...and Miss Blanchard," she adds reluctantly. Mary Margaret looks surprised to be acknowledged, and Emma wonders what exactly happened to cause such bad blood between two perfectly nice people.
xx
While the rest of her classes seem to be going pretty well for the first week, Theory of Magic quickly becomes the bane of Emma's existence. Her own skills are progressing quickly, or so Gold claims. She's still working on transporting objects, but she's moved up to poofing her giant Physics textbook all the way across the room. The irony of using that book to perform something so completely against the laws of Physics is not lost on her. Gold says that next week she'll start learning a simple levitation spell.
Not that she actually cares about her own magic. No, she hates that class because it's fifty minutes of listening to Zelena issue taunt after taunt and seeing Regina's glassy eyes and trembling hands as she desperately tries to keep herself together. Zelena mostly sticks to small stuff after the body bind incident - and Gold hasn't allowed the two veteran students any more opportunities to practice on each other - but the countless needling remarks are obviously adding up.
It's like Regina has two personalities. In math, English, and even P.E., or when Emma sees her in the halls, the brunette carries herself like a queen. She has perfect posture, her head is held high, and she walks with a purpose. She's not the most outgoing, but she does interact with people. She's willing to engage with the world. She speaks in a clear, confident voice like she's someone who matters. It's the confidence that Emma finds so incredibly alluring.
But the second she walks into Gold's class, it's gone. The self-possessed overachiever turns into a timid little girl who can barely answer a simple question without stammering, and after only a week, it's already getting worse. It's taking a huge toll on her classroom performance; even Emma's inexperienced eyes can see that Regina's magic is regressing - and if she couldn't figure it out for herself, Zelena certainly takes very opportunity to mention it. The senior is starting to learn how to teleport herself in and out of the room, and Emma is almost impressed that she can manage to master her own spells so quickly and still have time to spare for bullying.
Gold says nothing to Zelena about any of it, which pisses Emma off, but he does start giving Regina special attention and showering her with praise for even the smallest triumphs. None of this helps, however, because every ounce of positive attention from Gold brings an increase in vitriol from Zelena.
At least Emma's not having any trouble finding her anger - though if this goes on long enough, it might become difficult to control it.
xx
"First week finished! Only thirty-nine more to go," Graham says cheerfully. "How'd you like it, new girl?"
"Definitely interesting."
It's Friday night, and she's at Granny's, playing darts with Graham while Ruby sneaks over to chat when she thinks her grandmother isn't looking. He's winning - she expected as much, considering the fact that this is practically his only hobby - but Emma is holding her own, and Graham is quick to admit his surprise.
"Wow, Swan, you're definitely more skilled at darts than archery."
"I hope so, considering how much practice I've had at one versus the other," Emma mutters, concentrating. On her next throw, she just barely misses the bull's-eye. Graham and Ruby both applaud.
"Too bad Locksley won't let us do this in P.E.," Graham says mournfully. "He thinks you can defeat your enemies better shooting with a bow."
"Nolan's got us doing fencing. Got to be prepared for any impromptu swordfights that might come up," Ruby grumbles.
"You know, at most of my other schools, gym class has been about fitness, not defeating enemies," Emma remarks, careful to keep any judgment out of her voice. These kids aren't used to any outside perspectives on their lives.
"We're a little intense in Storybrooke, if you hadn't noticed."
"Oh, I noticed. At least if I don't catch on in archery, I can defeat my enemies with magic," Emma says sarcastically.
"How's Gold's class going?" Ruby's tone is sympathetic. "That guy is, like, the definition of intense."
"It's...different."
"Nobody ever talks about it much," Graham observes. "Regina acts like it's Fight Club or something."
Emma figures she might as well take the opportunity to ask. "Speaking of...Ruby, you're on the cross-country team, right? So, you're friends with Zelena?"
"I wouldn't say we're exactly friends, but we're on the team together. She's a little hard to get to know."
"Have you ever noticed her being...well, an asshole?"
"No," Ruby says, surprised. "She's always perfectly pleasant to everyone. Quite honestly, she's a little plastic. I'm not sure if she's genuinely nice, but she's never been mean - that I've seen, anyway."
"She's a little like Regina, actually," Graham adds. "But also different."
"Regina used to be so different, though. She was really sweet and friendly her freshman year. We were study partners in Miss Blanchard's geometry class. Then one day she just...shut down. I don't know what happened. It was so weird - oh, sorry, guys. Granny's glaring at me. Gotta go!"
Emma thinks she might have some idea of what happened. On her next turn, she pretends the dartboard is Zelena's heart. She hits three bull's-eyes in a row.