"It's the most wonderful time of the year!" On TV, a gleeful parent pushed a shopping cart full of school supplies as two gloomy children trailed behind.

Even from the kitchen, Mary Margaret's yell pierced through the sizzle of the griddle. "Change it! Hurry! I'm having a good morning!"

Emma scrambled for the remote, switching the channel to Wheel of Fortune, but Mary Margaret (though Emma called her "Snow White" for her resemblance to a fairy tale princess) slammed the frying pan on the counter a little too aggressively.

Raising an eyebrow, Emma entered the kitchen. Snow's face contorted into a scowl and a pout.

"It's not the most wonderful time of the year," she huffed, angrily scooping scrambled eggs and bacon onto their plates. Two angry dumps of orange juice into glasses followed. "Some of us cherish every precious minute of our summer vacation because it's the only time we get to feel human!"

"And piss when we need to," Emma added.

Snow closed her eyes with a resolute deep breath. "And piss when we need to."

Emma joined her at the table. If she could get Snow White to swear this early in the morning, then it was a definite sign she needed to eat breakfast with her. Unlike Emma, Snow had dressed for the day. She even pinned little white flowers into her pixie cut. Emma used this to change the subject.

"You look nice today." Emma gave an encouraging smile. "Are you gonna meet a certain… someone?"

Snow's eyes sparkled playfully, though she attempted to hide her smile behind a glass of orange juice.

"Just a meeting. David wants to review the school board changes before Monday."

"Shouldn't that be an email? Sounds like an excuse to spend the afternoon with a charming music teacher if you ask me."

The tactic succeeded. Miss Mary Margaret beamed, giddy like a schoolgirl. Emma contentedly crunched on a piece of bacon, enjoying the moment of quiet her agreeableness provided. Though it was short-lived.

"What about you? Please tell me you'll do something outside the apartment today."

Emma's mind had already wandered to the congealing white box of leftover Chinese takeout in the fridge and a Law and Order marathon.

"Yeah, I'll hit the gym."

That pleased Snow. "And then?"

. "And then, uh…" Emma hadn't anticipated further interrogation

"Emma."

"What?"

Snow's pout returned, signaling an impending lecture. A headache built behind Emma's eyes.

"I'm concerned about you, Emma."

Emma stood to escape Snow's pitying blue eyes and grabbed some coffee.

"You're not going to therapy, and you're isolating yourself. It's not healthy."

"In thirty-six hours, I'll be surrounded by ten-year-olds for eight hours a day," Emma countered, draining her coffee in one gulp. "And Mother Superior." They both shuddered. Emma thought about the older nun's collection of yellowing composition notebooks full of lesson plans from thirty years ago.

The silence hung heavy. Glumly, Emma speared an egg on her fork, feeling Snow watching her.

"Have you… called him?"

Emma set her fork down harshly, and Snow flinched. "I'm not calling him. Killian made it clear we were over, and it's been three months. I'm moving on."

Snow's voice softened. "I'm sorry to keep bringing it up. It's just- you're like a daughter to me. I want you to be happy. Are you happy?"

"I'm fine," Emma answered, though neither of them believed it.

As lunchtime approached, Mary Margaret threatened to drag Emma along to her meeting with David. Emma quickly pretended to look busy, pulling out her shoebox of documents and unpaid bills, along with her aging laptop.

Emma paid her phone bill, credit card debt, and had $56 left in her bank account, so she donated to the Storybrooke orphanage. She was sure they wondered where the sporadic $20 and $30 anonymous donations every few weeks came from. It wasn't much, but she always hoped it helped.

Her laptop needed a few love-taps to function properly, taking forever to load anything. Eventually, Emma managed to check her email. She promptly deleted David's welcome back to school email. Like Snow, Emma also didn't want to think about work. At all.

The anxious bubble in her gut grew when she saw another email that read: Urgent, Parent-Teacher meeting requested immediately. Her stomach churned as she skimmed the email. One of her student's parents wanted to meet with her Monday morning before school started. Her boss, David, was cc'd on the email. What a freaking great way to start the year.

Emma texted Snow, glaring at her laptop screen. "Who is Mrs. Mills?"

To her surprise, her phone buzzed with Snow's response instantly. "CALL. ME. NOW."

Anxious, Emma clicked speed dial. Snow answered hastily, her voice tinged with urgency. "Please don't tell me you have Henry Mills in your class."

Scanning the email again, Emma's heart sank. "Yes," she admitted. "What's the deal?"

"His mother, Regina! She's an absolute nightmare, Emma!" Snow sounded on the verge of tears. "She's the head of the parent's association. I called her once- two years ago- because I was worried that Henry was depressed. She almost got me fired for that. I had to go on leave for a month!"

"Oh God," Emma groaned. Her fingers pressed into her temples to ease the mounting headache.

"Emma, ask David to move Henry to the other class. Regina will make your life a living hell. Promise me you'll call him. They don't call her the 'Queen of Storybrooke' for nothing."

"I will," Emma assured Snow, though she was also reassuring herself. She'd barely left her low-paying bounty hunting job for this teaching position, and she couldn't afford to risk it.

"I sprinted to the bathroom when I got your text, but my meeting with him will be over in fifteen minutes. Call him right away." Snow ended their call, and Emma's head sank onto the desk. Just wonderful.

After waiting exactly fifteen minutes, Emma called David.

"Hey, Emma!" His charming voice always radiated, even over the phone. "I was expecting you." Bless Mary Margaret Blanchard, Emma thought, gratefully.

"I hoped I would catch you." Emma said, feeling a wave of social awkwardness. "Is now a good time?"

"Absolutely. Listen, it's no problem to move Henry to Mother Superior's class, but you need to run it past Dr. Hopper at your Monday meeting. The counselors manage the class numbers and all that."

"Wait- you won't be at the meeting?" Emma's shoulders sank.

"No, I'm double booked with Mr. Gold." His voice was gentle. "Don't worry, Emma. You'll be fine. Regina's not that scary. She's just an incredible advocate for her son and wants what's best for him."

"What about what's best for me?" Emma couldn't help but mutter, and David chuckled.

"I think you'll grow to like her."

Emma could hear the stupid smile in his voice, so she glared at her phone. "Not helping."

"You're gonna give Mary Margaret a stroke if you two don't get along," David's voice lowered conspiratorially. Snow must have been nearby. "You should've seen her face when she told me." They both knew Snow didn't need another reason to worry about Emma.

"I'll be on my best behavior," Emma promised.

"That's not terribly reassuring."

Now it was Emma's turn to chuckle. She hung up, and immediately dug her leftovers out of the fridge, grabbing two packets of ramen for good measure.

She was already dreading Monday morning.