Chapter one
01/13/2025
Emma hated the feeling of being new somewhere. She had always loved Tallahassee, but when her temp job wasn't renewed. She was forced to search for a job elsewhere. Luck had brought her a teaching job in Storybrooke, Maine. She didn't know how this job found its way to her inbox. Honestly, she hadn't been looking for a job on the other side of the country. She hated leaving her friends behind, but Henry had been optimistic. He said she could leave all her pain behind and begin a new life in a new state.
She had agreed.
She had bought a Victorian mansion; the house was relatively cheap for its size. But she didn't ask questions about it. They had moved their stuff the previous year, and the boxes they brought weren't unpacked yet. Most of the things she moved belonged to Henry,and the furniture that belonged to her dead parents. All her stuff fitted in three boxes. Most of it were photo albums, where she and Henry filled most pages. There were the rare pictures of Henry's father. A man who had died before she gave birth to Henry.
That morning, she felt nervous. She had always been an art teacher. She knew her profession like the back of her hand.
She didn't know what kind of kids would end up in her classroom. Her students were between the ages of 15 and 18. She told herself she had seen a lot of different students already, so she wouldn't be surprised by anything.
"It's going to be okay," Henry said. "We will both be okay."
She looked at her son, full of hope for his first day at school. For him, starting a new school in the middle of the year was just as hard.
"Be good to Miss Mills." She said as she smiled at him.
"Mom, we'll be okay." He smiled at her. "I have a good feeling about this."
"You have a good feeling about anything."
She stood in front of the classroom. The first girl who entered had long black hair and a darker skin tone. Her hair curled around her face, and her clothes were covered in embroidery, which showed just how artistic the girl was. A moment later, she heard someone call out. The girl turned around as another girl entered the classroom.
"Belle…"
"So I assume you're Belle French." Emma said as she noticed the only Belle in the class. "And what's your name?"
"Daniella Colter." She didn't look Emma in the eye. She handed Belle a thick book, which she put in her bag. A couple of moments later, another girl sat down next to Belle. The girls started to laugh about something Emma hadn't heard.
"I'm Ruby Lucas."She said before Emma had even popped the question.
The rest of her students entered the classroom; another blond girl sat down next to Ruby as the group laughed.
She wasn't one of those teachers that asked for student introductions. They had always been weird when she was in school, so she promised herself she would never do it. She made name cards for each student and handed them out. They were blank white papers, she hoped the students would use them to be creative. Today she gave them a theme. Fairy tales. With that little phrase, she opened up the supply class. She wanted to see what these students could do. This class language majors, so she didn't expect much of them. The group of four in the corner always called her attention. She had no idea why the foursome called her attention so much. She noticed how they all used different supplies when she walked past them she noticed that Daniella had her own markers and sketches in front of her.
Emma saw a woman who looked a lot like Daniella. Next to it were rough sketches. One that looked like her. When Daniella noticed that her eyes were on the drawing, Daniella pushed it underneath her binder.
"You're good," Emma said. "If you're this good, you should be in art school.
The girl nodded softly at her as she put the drawings in her pack. Belle looked at Emma but didn't do anything. The pair left the room as Emma wondered why the girl was not in art school. And somehow, she asked about the girl. Why did she feel that this girl could change her life?
AN: Tell me in a review which once upon a time characters you would like to see in this fic and in which location you want to see them: there are four obvious options: 1. a fellow student of Daniella, a coworker of Emma, a coworker of Regina or a fellow student of Henry? And what would you like to see happen?