It's Just Casual

Chapter 5

It was odd. In some weird way I was looking forward to my evening with Regina, because there was something about her that intrigued me. None of my colleagues knew we'd planned this and, frankly, I was a little surprised it was actually happening.

They'd begged me to give them Regina's name, but I'd convinced them I hadn't heard it right. So, Regina had taken me up on her offer and now I was walking towards her front door with Henry going on and on about his new book. I loved him so much.

"Did you know Regina is the principal of school?" Henry asked and I looked confused at him, because of course I knew that.

"Yes, of course, Henry. She's my boss," I replied.

"So, you're going to eat with your boss? You never did that with your other bosses," Henry stated and then looked at me. "I'm glad you're going to be friends with my friends' parents. You've never done that before."

No, I hadn't done that before, because it was surprising how many parents didn't want to befriend teachers that knew their children. I could merely assume even less parents would want to be friends with the school's principal. Especially because she was a bitch.

But I couldn't tell Henry nor Luke that and I figured one wasted night was worth their happiness. So, that along with the fact that Regina seemed to have a lot of interesting stories made the idea of spending an evening together bearable.

Henry rang the doorbell and it was Luke who opened the door. "Hi, Henry. Good evening, Miss Swan. Come in," he said and he smiled adorably. "My mom is upstairs finishing up, but my aunt is already in the living room."

Regina had informed me that her sister was going to watch Luke for the night and that, if I wanted to, I could have her take care of Henry as well for the night. I'd gladly brought Henry along, because I hadn't been able to find a baby sitter.

Luke and Henry hurried off upstairs. I heard Luke say something about a new book he'd gotten and because Regina still hadn't made an appearance, I decided to go to the living room and meet Regina's sister. I was quite curious to know more about her family.

When I saw Regina's sister on the couch, sipping tea and flipping through a magazine, I immediately recognized her, but I didn't know where from. She had beautiful red curls and green eyes. She looked nothing like Regina, but she was beautiful as well.

"Hi," I said and waved awkwardly, immediately feeling the redhead's eyes on me. "I'm Emma."

The woman smiled. "I remember you," she said, "from the bar."

I vaguely remembered something, but I'd had a lot to drink that Friday night, even after I'd had my conversation with Regina. "I.. I wish I could say the same. I'm sorry if I said things to you I shouldn't have said," I muttered and giggled nervously. "What's your name again?"

"Name's Zelena. I'm a bartender at the Rabbit Hole," she said. She had a British accent, which was quite odd given the fact that Regina spoke with an all American accent. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Really?" I felt myself getting nervous, because whatever she'd heard from Regina couldn't have been good.

"Yes, Regina really likes you a lot," Zelena said and I frowned. I didn't believe it and Zelena saw that. "Well.. she hasn't exactly put it that way, but the more Regina talks about someone, the more she likes that person. Otherwise she wouldn't spend her time thinking about them."

I squinted my eyes and sat down. "I feel really bad for disliking her, then," I admitted and Zelena cackled.

"Oh, you'll get used to her, don't worry. She's a stone cold bitch at first, but once you get to know her a bit, she's actually really sweet," Zelena said. "First dates are always a bit..."