Chapter 3
Ruby linked her arm loosely through Emma’s. The blonde wasn’t sure how to respond to this, never really having had friends before Storybrooke. So, she sighed gently and let it happen, following slightly behind the confident brunette as they stalked through the quieting halls of Storybrooke High School. The tardy bell had rung by the time they had made it to the main building, Graham shouting a quick bye as she sprinted down a different corridor, rushing to get to his class. August and Killian shouted out behind him, laughing at his need to be on time for his Spanish class. Emma didn’t quite understand the different dynamics within the group. August and Ruby, even Killian to an extent made sense, but Graham seemed like too much of a goody two shoes, and she was yet to meet Belle but assumed she would be more like Graham than anyone else.
The boys split from them part way down the hallway, ducking their heads as they slipped through their classroom doors. Emma gave a small smile while Ruby blew them kisses. August, who Emma had guessed was the biggest joker of the group, pretend to catch the kisses before slamming them aggressively against his chest, right over his heart. Ruby stifled a laugh as she pulled Emma towards their class.
“How kind of you to finally join us, dearie.” Came a nasally, old voice.
Emma felt more than saw Ruby’s disgusted shiver. She couldn’t blame her. Stood at the front of their maths class was a weasel-like old man with stringy, greasy, brown hair. His hooked nose was held in the air, a look of superiority plastered onto his face. He wore a dark, tailor suit that only added to his complex. Emma hated him already.
“I had to show the new kid where to go?” Ruby tried. Emma stepped out from behind her, dropping the brunette’s hand as she took a purposefully arrogant stance, leaning back against the now closed classroom door.
“Ahh, Emma Swan-Nolan I assume?” Mr Gold slunk closer, dismissing Ruby with a quick flick of his wrist. Emma watched the brunette scurry to a seat near the middle of the room with her tail between her legs. Ruby’s complete change in character and confidence was jarring to see and Emma hated that the cause of it was this teacher.
“It’s just Swan actually. Emma Swan.” She didn’t offer her hand, nor did she offer a smile. She had hoped her standoffish nature would push the man to ignore her. To grow bored of her and send her to a seat – preferably next to Ruby – but she wasn’t so lucky. The creepy man just leered at her. She could feel the cold trail of his eyes as they scanned over her quickly. Goosebumps grew on her arms, and she had to fight herself not to itch uncomfortably. She would not be seen as weak. Not to some old, creepy maths teacher.
“Well, allow me to welcome you to Storybrooke High Miss Nolan.” He grinned, a vicious glint in his dark eyes. “There is a seat next to Miss French. Do try your best to keep up with the rest of the class. I will take no excuses for failure, dearie.”
Emma barely contained her own shiver of disgust as she turned to face the class. A relieved looking Ruby gave her a sheepish, and discreet, thumbs up while jerking her head to the side. Sat next to her, with a warm smile and a hand held out pointing to a near by table, sat a polite, neat looking brunette. She must be Miss French.
Attempting to seem entirely unbothered by Mr Gold, Emma sauntered her way down the aisles until her hip hit against Ruby’s desk. Sure that Mr Gold’s eyes would still be on her, the blonde flashed a quick grin at the girl before sliding into her seat next to Miss French.
Mr Gold began his class, the grating sound of his voice echoing off the empty walls, made worse by the sound of chalk against the board. Emma held back a snigger at the sight. Of course the old man would still be using chalk, she shouldn’t be surprised. She took her time emptying her bag onto her desk. She pulled a plain notebook and black biro from a pocket in the bag, pleased to realise that David must have been the one to run out for school supplies and not Mary-Margaret. Emma had a feeling the woman would have gone overboard with everything. She also had a sneaking suspicion that the notebooks would have been multi-coloured or textured or littered with well meaning quotes to motivate her. She grimaced at the thought alone.
As she began to slowly copy down the notes from the board, a folded-up square of paper hit the corner of her desk. Emma reached for it when Mr Gold’s back was still turned, tucking it into her hoodie sleeve for the time being.
The lesson dragged on and on, Emma barely copying the notes, choosing instead to stare blankly at the board. Whatever Mr Gold was saying passed from one ear to the other, she didn’t take anything in. The paper scratched at her skin as she stretched. Making sure the old man wasn’t looking; she pulled the paper out of her sleeve and hid it under the table. She unfolded it against her thigh, skimming over the words written in poor cursive.
‘Thoughts on Gold? I hate him but B has a weird thing for him.’
Emma rolled her eyes, chancing a glance across the tables to Ruby who sat sniggering away to herself at the look of disgust on Emma’s face.
‘Srsly? Ew. He’s like so creepy.’
She rolled the paper into a ball, flicking it over Belle’s desk and hitting Ruby’s closed notebook. Emma grinned. Belle, sat between the two, shook her head in disappointment.
‘Emma,’ she whisper-hissed at her, ‘pay attention. Ruby might be a lost cause, but you don’t have to be.’
‘Oh please, it’s my first day. Who cares about triangles and shit.’ Emma whispered back. She wasn’t sure about Belle; she seemed to be too much of a rule follower. Emma wasn’t sure why Ruby was friends with her. It looked like the girls couldn’t be anymore different if one was a wolf and one was a worm. Emma laughed at her own comparison, sliding down in her seat, giving up on the lesson completely.
She faintly heard Ruby’s soft laugh as she read the note and she felt more than saw the worsening look of disappointment cast both of their ways by the teacher’s pet. The note was thrown back towards her, Ruby’s aim suddenly awful to the point where Emma almost leapt out of her chair to catch it before it could hit the guy in front of her. As she reached for the note, her chair tipped backwards, slamming off the floor. The room – though already pretty quiet – turned silent in a second. Emma, still in a half-crouched position, note held aloft in her hand, froze as Mr Gold whipped around to stare disdainfully down at her. He marched his way towards her, eyes staring deep into her own. She felt her skin crawl from the intensity.
‘Well, Miss Nolan, what do we have here, dearie?’ He asked as he snatched the paper from her. She scowled at him, rising to stand at her full height, crossing her arms over her chest. She would not let his creepy leers get to her, especially not when the whole class was watching.
‘Nothing.’ She said as she attempted to snatch it back. But the old man was quicker than she anticipated, and he hopped backwards, note unfurled as he read it silently. Emma swung around, picking her bag up off the floor and shoving her notebook in it. She sent an apologetic nod towards Belle, a grimace at Ruby, before she stalked her way to the front of the classroom. She couldn’t be arsed to deal with this.
‘Miss Nolan, unless you wish to earn yourself a second detention, I suggest you return to your seat.’ Emma’s hand was already on the door handle as he spoke. She turned, glaring daggers at the maths teacher.
‘Second?’ She scowled.
‘Why of course, dearie. You and Miss Lucas have already earned an after-school detention for tonight for disrupting my class, and wasting my time.’
Emma scoffed. ‘Wasting your time? And what about my time? You’ve just wasted almost an hour of it.’ At that, she pushed down on the handle and stormed out of the room. She hated teachers like that. The ones who thought they held some sort of power over their students. The ones who were slimy and clearly enjoyed being awful human-beings.
The door slammed shut behind her as she shouldered her way through it. Already her hand was digging in her pocket and pulling out her vape. The hallways were empty, classes still ongoing, though she didn’t care if she was caught. She already hated this place and the more demerits she earned, the sooner she would be kicked out.
A second door slamming caught her attention. ‘Hey, Swan, wait up.’ It was Ruby. She too had packed her stuff and stormed out of the class room. Emma stopped, letting the brunette catch up to her.
‘You didn’t have to do that you know.’ Emma said.
Ruby shrugged as she looped her arm through Emma’s. The two began walking towards the bathrooms. ‘I hate that class anyways. No biggie.’ Emma laughed, glad at least that Storybrooke had given her a friend.
‘What about Belle? Won’t she be mad at you?’
‘I can handle that, she won’t be mad for long. Plus, I never stood a chance anyway.’
Emma grinned, ‘Because she’s into older men?’ She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and laughed at her own joke. Ruby, for her part, smacked Emma’s arm lightly, laughing as she did.
‘I don’t know what she sees in that man.’ Ruby said and Emma agreed.
Together the two pushed open the door to the toilets. Emma instantly taking a hit of her vape as Ruby launched her bag onto the sinks. Emma followed, dumping her bag on the side before lifting herself up onto the counter. She hunched herself over, arms wrapping around her knees, vape still clutched tightly in her hand.
‘Sooo,’ Ruby dragged out as she pulled a makeup bag from her backpack. ‘Are we going to art, or skipping that too?’
Emma shrugged, watching as Ruby began to delicately apply a new layer of mascara to her long black lashes. The blonde didn’t often wear makeup. It was just another thing she would have to remember to pack each time she would be moved foster homes.
‘You know, just because I walk out, or decide to skip, or whatever, doesn’t mean you have to come too.’
Ruby didn’t reply for a moment, focusing instead on the lashes curler she had pressed to her eye. ‘Look Emma, I get that this is new to you. The school, Storybrooke, all of it. I get that. But once you’re friends with me, you’re kinda stuck with me. So you better get used to not being on your own.’
Emma grinned, albeit shyly. She hadn’t ever really had a friend. Sure, she hung out with whatever rowdy kids she could find in each school, but she never got attached, and neither did they. It was easier that way. Easier to leave at a moment’s notice. No guilt. No regret. No missing friends she would probably never see again.
‘You know I’m not staying, right? I’m going to get kicked out of school, then the Nolan’s will get sick of me, I’ll be put back into the system, and you’ll never see me again.’
Ruby packed her makeup away, swivelling on the spot so that she could look directly at the blonde.
‘I know.’ She paused, eyeing up Emma’s balled up form. Ruby knew she would have to be careful about how she approached the situation. It already looked like Emma was going to run. ‘But I also know your foster mom. Mary-Margaret won’t let you go without a massive fight. It’s her saviour complex. And David is too nice of a guy to give up on someone so quickly. Plus, with Mary-Margaret being a teacher at the elementary school, I think she’ll definitely have some sort of say in stopping them from expelling you.’
Emma hadn’t thought about all of that. She assumed this foster home would be just like all the others. A few months tops before she’d be bagged up and sent away again. Maybe this time would be different. It would be cool to at least let herself try and have friends, even if it is just for the time being.
‘Then I guess we go to art, right?’
***
‘Ahhh, Regina, how are you dearie?’ Mr Gold asked as he entered the staff room. He hadn’t bothered to chase down the two runaways from his class, deciding instead to simply fill the system in with two after school detentions for both of the girls.
Regina Mills was leaning lightly against the coffee table, a deep purple mug held cradled between her hands. She sipped gently at the warm drink, savouring the strong flavour as it flooded her mouth.
‘I am fine Mr Gold, yourself?’ She didn’t really have much patience for the man. In fact she rather detested him, but she was nothing if not polite and civil.
‘Very well, dearie, very well. Though I must say,’ he stalker close enough to lean towards her conspiratorially, ‘the Nolan’s new project appears to be… spirited shall we say?’
Though she tried her best to remain gossip free, the brunette had been intrigued by the new name on her class list. ‘You’ve met?’ Was all she chose to say.
‘Oh most definitely. She’s already received two detentions from myself and I’ll be shocked if she doesn’t have two more by the end of the day.’ He grinned a wicked grin. God, Regina despised him.
‘What could the girl have possibly done to receive two detentions Gold? Do you not think you’ve been a bit harsh?’ Regina couldn’t explain why she felt the need to involve herself in the girl’s business. For all she knew, the Nolan girl was the most treacherous student to ever walk the halls of Storybrooke High, but for some reason, Regina doubted that to be the case. A gut instinct she suspected.
‘Well for one, she and the Lucas girl were passing notes between themselves discussing myself and one of their fellow students in a most scandalous fashion. And for two, she then proceeded to storm out of my class, taking the Lucas girl with her. I believe that calls for some kind of punishment, don’t you dearie.’ Regina frowned, her brows folding inwards. She could understand why the girl had earned two detentions. She herself would dish them out for less sometimes. To save face, she sipped absentmindedly at her coffee, nodding her agreement to Mr Gold. Placated, he moved away to make his own coffee. No milk, four sugars. Regina grimaced at the thought.
‘I’ll wish you luck if you have Miss Nolan in one of your classes Regina. You’ll most definitely need it.’ He winked at her as he slithered out of the staff room. Her stomach churned at the action. As the door swung shut behind him, an older blonde woman sidled up to her.
‘Sorry to intrude Regina.’ Came the polite voice of Mrs Fischer.
‘Ah, Ingrid, please, by all means.’ Regina gave a genuine, warm smile to the woman who too picked up a coffee cup and began to brew herself a mug.
‘I couldn’t help but over here what the old crocodile had to say about our newest student.’ Regina guffawed at the joke. Mr Gold had been called the old crocodile for as long as the two women could remember, even back to their own school days at Storybrooke High. ‘I had the pleasure of teaching Emma only this morning.’
Regina perked up at this, intrigued by how Ingrid seemed so displeased with Mr Gold’s review.
‘I thought she was quite polite. She chose not to introduce herself, which I of course understood and did not force the issue. And then, when she took a seat next to Ruby Lucas, she remained focused on her work. Were they chatty, of course, but no more so than any of my other students. She never caused a fuss, and, though her project is still in its very early stages, she shows great promise for being a brilliant artist. I think, if I may be so forward as to suggest, that you may in fact quite like the girl, if you give her a chance.’ Regina listened as Ingrid exposed new details about Emma Nolan. She took it all in with an eager ear, filing the information away for later. Ingrid’s account of the girl differed greatly from Gold’s and Regina couldn’t help but wonder why. She supposed she would see for herself soon enough.