A/N: This is a last episode of Season One! Beta: Wazgood529.
Episode 10: Emma's Art Class
In the morning, Emma took Regina to San Diego Art School and showed her around in the campus. The brunette woman took an interest on her sightseeing and saw many artworks on the ground. It was an amazing sight to see each one on the ground outside. Regina swore that she never sees everything like that one back in Storybrooke.
The blonde woman pointed to each one on the grassland while she was explaining about her students' artwork from few years ago. Regina tilted her head at the artwork which gave some abstract look but more colorful. Emma greeted some of her co-workers and introduced the brunette woman to them. Others nodded and gave a smile at Regina then left on their way to the building.
The brunette woman strode away to the artwork that she was curious. It was the feathers in the steel. The artwork stood on the tallest and stayed with the huge box which it supported the feathers. The feathers gave many colors and gave some abstract on it.
Regina was fascinating with the artwork that it was displaying on the grass outside. The blonde woman turned around to find her there and smiled at herself. She walked toward her and spoke lightly.
"It was my piece of work from six years ago. I brought that from New York City."
"That was a beautiful artwork you worked. How long did you make that?" The brunette woman nodded and asked.
"Well, it was a long time to make that." Emma responded. Regina arched her eyebrows and quipped again. The blonde woman looked at her and chuckled.
"How long?"
"It took me 9 years to work that before Henry was born. I stopped working on it during Henry's birth and after that. I focused on him for 18 months before I returned to work as a professor in New York University for the first time. Now, I'm teaching here too, for my purpose of the retreat or vacation if you want to call it."
The brunette woman nodded after listening to Emma. They chatted about the artworks that Regina pointed few while they took a stroll around in the campus until they reached the huge building where Emma worked. The blonde woman gestured her to go inside and followed her along toward her office. Some students greeted her on the way to their classes. Emma chuckled and informed Regina quickly.
"Sorry about my students, they always fool around when they see me in the hallway or in the room. They always joke all the times. So, you see that boys that just passed us, it was Darryl and his brother, Carl. But they are wonderful guys and very smart on their talents."
"It's nice hearing you to talk about your students. How did you feel when you talk like that?" Regina asked. The blonde woman nodded her understandings and explained right away while she found her paperwork from the pile of the completed work and gathered her stuffs.
"I feel absolutely wonderful, to be honest with you, I love my students from here and at NYU. Did you know that Henry spent his time here than at NYU mostly?"
"No. I didn't know. Really?"
"Oh yes, he always hangs out with Carl, the video game inventor all the times when I spend my meetings with my co-workers. I didn't know about that until I found them in my classroom and they fixed everything on the computer with the graphic design. I was impressive with my son's abilities." Emma replied with a smile. Regina chuckled and shook her head. The blonde woman winked at her and gestured her out of her office. The brunette woman waited for her to lock the door and followed her along to the classroom.
In the hallway, the students and professors chattered. Emma greeted some of her former students with a smile. Regina was impressed with the blonde woman's workmanship in her teaching job. She kept wondering if she could be a professor like her but found herself scrunching her nose every time.
The blonde woman opened her classroom door, walked to her desk and put her folders on the surface of the oak desk. The brunette woman took a sight of the classroom and found herself in the colorful artworks on the walls. She went to look on these paperwork and models which it hung on the thread line on the walls. Emma checked on her notebook and glanced over Regina with a smile.
Regina heard the footsteps and chants from outside to the classroom. She looked to the students away from the artworks on the walls. The blonde woman greeted her students with a small conversation. The students were filling their seats and yelling at their professor. The brunette woman raised her eyebrows and walked back to the spot where Emma stood behind the desk. One of the students was laughing and asked. It was a brunette man in his 20s.
"Yo, Swan. Who is that beautiful woman beside you?"
"Holla, Jones. This is Regina Mills, my friend from Maine. So, please make her feel welcome here."
"Nice meeting you, Ms. Mills!" The students said in unison. The brunette woman chuckled and looked at the blonde woman with a questioning look. Emma winked at her and replied.
"Thank you for the hospitability. Now, to start the agenda, I believe that I announced it from last week. I hope you have your artwork so you can have two feedbacks from Ms. Mills and me. Is it all right with you?"
"Yay!" One of the students clapped excitedly and it was Mary Margaret Blanchard. Others chuckled and went to get their artwork out from their bags. The blonde woman nodded toward the students to get Regina's attention. The brunette woman nervously nodded and asked toward Emma.
"What can I do with feedback?"
"You just can say something for one positive and one negative thing on their work. You have to make sure if it is not offending them."
"All right, I am following you along because you are a professor. To be honest, I don't know how to say it." Regina explained with a shy smile. The blonde woman chuckled and patted on the brunette woman's back then nodded. The students chattered quietly. Emma went to the last row from the back of the room. The brunette woman followed her along until she listened to the blonde woman's words.
In the last row, Emma looked at Mary Margaret's artwork. It was the bird, which it was a blue jay bird. Regina widened her eyes at the beautiful bird on the artwork and went impressed with the colors. The blonde woman patted on her student's back and spoke lightly.
"It was a beautiful piece of artwork you had. The positive is you have perfect colors to match with the image. The negative is the error on the shadowing for the beak and feet. You have to contrast the color for the lighter tone. You see that color on the picture beside your drawing? It is very orange. But it could be lighter than that. You understand?"
"Yes, I see. Thank you for a feedback. I can work on it so how can I change it?"
"You just paint the color on it then paint again. There you go." Emma said with a smile. Mary Margaret nodded with a wide smile. The brunette woman cleared her throat and explained with her opinion.
"Mary Margaret, is it correct?" The student nodded. "Your artwork is so beautiful. Is it a blue jay bird?" Another nod from her. "So, why did you pick that bird?"
Emma went curiosity about her students' answer to the chosen animal. Mary Margaret smiled at the brunette woman and spoke lightly. Regina listened to every word.
"When I was a little girl, my mom took me to the birds' garden and I sat on the bench. I was boring at that time and it was out of the blue when I saw a beautiful blue jay bird on my shoulder. That freaked me out but my mom told me that the blue jay bird reminds me of my grandmother's house when I attended to see her every weekend. So, I grew up and I always see the blue jay bird everywhere so it became my symbol of my grandmother since she was gone when I was younger."
"That's beautiful saying. So, the positive is great work. The negative is where is the background behind the blue jay bird? You could add something decorative for your symbol to represent something."
"Great idea! Thank you, Ms. Mills." Mary Margaret replied. Emma nodded at her approval on Regina's opinion. The brunette woman smiled at her. The blonde woman went along with her students and gave her feedback. Regina felt confident when she gave her opinion on the artwork from Emma's students.
Until, they finished with their opinions. Emma informed them that they had to add something to connect with their artwork. Some students groaned. Regina hid her grin and listened to the blonde woman's lecture about the second artwork that contained the portrait which is the face of the symbol for their first artwork. The brunette woman went into her thoughts and decided to pick the paper from the table that Emma provided then went to work on her artwork.
The blonde woman went on her observation and asked some questions based on their second artwork that it had a connection with the first artwork. The students continued working on their first artwork since they got feedback on their drawing skills. Regina didn't pay attention to the students and even Emma but she focused on her artwork. She decided to use the portrait on her favorite horse that her father bought her when she was very younger.
Some students passed the brunette woman by getting the colored pencils on the table and walked back to their artworks. Emma smiled at them and looked through their drawing then gave some tips on the lines or shadowing. Others thanked her and went to work on their second artworks. Regina tilted her head and focused on the picture from her phone then drew some lines on the horse's features.
The blonde woman finished with her observations on the students' artwork and looked to find Regina on her desk. She walked back to her and found an interesting angle then spoke lightly.
"It was a beautiful art."
"Thank you. You made me think about my first artwork back in beach house. It connected to my second artwork here. It was my horse."
"Nice reference, Regina." The brunette woman looked up at her and gave a wide smile. Emma winked and turned around to look at her students then glanced over the clock above the door. It was already noon and she knew it was over for the class. The blonde woman cleared her throat and replied.
"It's time for you to finish your artwork on your own. The class is over. You are dismissed. Have a good week. See you Thursday." The students gathered their artwork and bags then walked out of the classroom. Emma caught herself in the conversation with some students about the first artwork for their feedback. Regina gathered her artwork and waited for the blonde woman to finish the conversation and gather her paperwork.
The students nodded at their professor and waved their hands at the brunette woman who was smiling at them. Emma went to gather her stuffs and gestured Regina out of the room then locked behind her. The ladies walked through the hallway which it was full of the students and staffs.
The blonde woman waved her hands at her co-workers and went inside her office. Regina followed her along until she dropped her artworks on the small table which it was beside the closet door. Emma put her stuffs on the desk and gathered the unfinished paperwork for the Art Department to sign her name on few contracts with the information from the last week's meetings. The brunette woman continued working on her artwork for a while.
Several minutes later, Emma was finished with her paperwork and called her secretary to pick them up before she left for her rest of the day with Regina. The brunette woman was focusing on her artwork once again and had no words for it. The blonde woman dropped her pen on the desk and gathered her personal stuffs then spoke lightly.
"Regina, it's time for our lunch. We can return back home after our lunch."
"Great! Can I have your opinion when we return to the beach house?" Regina asked. The blonde woman chuckled and nodded. The brunette woman mentally clapped for her dignity and went to gather her artwork with her then walked out of the office. Emma shook her head and turned the light off then locked the door and informed her secretary that she finished her day.
The ladies left the building after waving a goodbye to the students who were in Emma's class in the morning before the lunch break. They went to the parking lot and got in the blonde woman's car then drove away to the small café which it has a good taste in the coffee. It was the corner around near the campus of San Diego Art School.
Regina looked up at the small café, 'Swell Coffee Co. Mission Beach' and chuckled at the name. The blonde woman shrugged at herself and opened the front door. The brunette woman thanked her and went inside after hearing Emma's gesture. She blushed and felt like they were on the date then shook her thoughts. Emma walked behind her and raised her hand at the waitress. The ladies found the table in the patio outside and sat down.
The brunette woman tucked her brown lock behind her ear and got her best view in the street. The cars were passing through and the people walked through. They were lucky that they were sitting under the big patio umbrella that blocked from the sun's ray and heat. The waitress arrived and handed the menu to them then left to serve others for few minutes.
The ladies looked through the menu and found their favorite drinks. They didn't realize that they had a same taste in Large Cappuccino with Madagascar Vanilla Bean shots. So they finished with their decision on the drinks and went to focus on their lunch. Emma decided to choose the meal – Capresse Grilled Cheese. Regina chose baby Kale salad with chicken.
The waitress came back to take an order from the ladies and wrote on the writing pad then gathered the menus from them. She left toward the kitchen and gave an order for the ladies. Emma looked at the view which had two young couple who were laughing at their jokes. The brunette woman sighed and spoke lightly.
"I enjoyed your class today. Thank you for inviting me."
"No problem." The blonde woman replied with a smile. Regina looked over at her and asked.
"So, Cappuccino with Vanilla Bean shots?"
"Yep, it always was my favorite. You know what? I have been tasting over 20 coffee shops and hadn't yet found a perfect taste until this café from two years ago." Emma replied. The brunette woman was surprised that the blonde woman searched for a perfect coffee and shook her head. The waitress served their drinks and plates then left to serve others.
Emma went to dig her meal and hummed. Regina rolled her eyes toward the blonde woman and went to eat her salad for a while. The blonde woman nodded at herself and sipped her drink then spoke lightly.
"What's your story about your horse? I'm curious about your artwork."
"Her name was Daniella. She was a black stallion. I got her when I was like 7 years old. Daddy taught me how to ride on the horse. It was freeing." Regina explained with a smile before drinking her coffee. Emma smiled and responded back.
"When I was young, I went to a camp with the kids who were like me, a foster kid. So, in the afternoon, I went to the horse farm and I saw a beautiful golden horse. It was Rustic Sunrise. I rode her almost everyday until the foster family dropped me off at the group home when I was 14."
The brunette woman sent her sympathy look at her. Emma waved her dismissal hand and continued telling her stories about the foster life she grew up. Regina kept eating silent while listening to the stories that the blonde woman had her pleasures of the storytelling. Regina thought that it was a date to her but decided to ask Emma later if she had a chance to do it. The blonde woman had a same thought as her but decided to hold it until later.
A/N: When the Season Two comes up after I finish some stories: Fate Must Be Bitch!, Regina's Coffee Shop, Roommates, The Tunnel of The Darkness and The Beauty of The Ballet.
These stories I mentioned above are just few chapters short so, I decided to complete them before I start with 'My Emma Swan', 'The Music of Romantics', 'The Soundless Voice', 'The Sounds of the Guitar' and 'Love Mends A Broken Heart' for the longest chapters (updates).
Ya agree with me on the process of the updates from my stories? Just give me a review about your opinion or compliments on this episode of 'Regina & Emma'.
Have a good weekend!