Surviving High School

Chapter 2

Emma watched, highly entertained, as everyone at the table bickered with each other, catching up after a long summer apart. 

The young blonde had noticed that everyone in the group had their own unique traits. Neal and August were the two jokesters except their sense of humour is completely different to each other's. Neal is quite sweet whereas August is a giant idiot. 

Belle is extremely smart, and Emma couldn't get over how Ruby didn't tell her about the brunette until now. She is such a nice, funny person and her and Ruby make the cutest couple. 

Will is the one she hasn't quite figured out yet, except for the fact that he's a natural pick-pocket when she didn't notice him get her schedule from her pocket.

Tink is a pure gossip and is extremely blunt. 

Emma quickly gathered up my stuff and Ruby stared at her in confusion, "where are you going?" She asked. 

The blonde threw her bag over her shoulder, "you said not to piss off Miss Mills, maybe being early for class will help me stay on her good side" she explained to them. 

The group shrugged and Tink rolled her eyes, "good luck, we're all pretty sure she doesn't have one" the girl muttered. 

Emma scoffed, "I doubt she's really as bad that everyone making her out to be. I think they're all over reacting. By the way they're explaining her I expect some middle-aged, snarky, grumpy woman" the blonde concluded.

The new girl arrived at the appointed class just over 5 minutes early. 

Emma peeked through the small window in the door, there was no students in there, but she was. The woman's back was turned to her as Emma made her way into the room. 

Miss Mills turned around to face the blonde and Emma's mouth went dry. 

"The word gorgeous isn't worthy enough to explain how beautiful she is" the blonde thought to herself. 

The woman's raven hair fell neatly to her shoulders and was styled in a way where it flicked out slightly towards the ends. Her make-up was light but noticeable with a dark red colour covering her full lips. 

Miss Mills looked up and her soft cocoa eyes met the blonde's for the first time, "Emma Swan I'm guessing" she said in a husky feminine voice. 

Her voice alone caused the young blonde to freeze on the spot, it was almost intoxicating.

Emma nodded slowly, not trusting herself enough to speak, "I thought you were the new girl, no one is ever early for my classes, on time, yes, but never early" she explained to the young blonde. 

The girl shrugged and awkwardly cleared her throat snapping herself out of her trance, "I don't understand why you can't be early for classes" she mumbled, finally speaking after a moment of silence.

The teacher chuckled softly, "you haven't been told?" she asked raising a perfectly-shaped eyebrow as Emma took a seat at one of the desks at the front of the room, "to a lot of the students I'm known as..." the blonde swiftly cut her off, "the Evil Queen. I've been told" she added.

Miss Mills eyed the girl for a moment before nodding. 

Emma sighed, "I don't understand why they call you that" she muttered.

The smirk that rested on the brunette's face seemed almost playful, "students don't like me because I'm strict and give a lot of homework. I guess I am quite stern but in my experience that's the only way to get students to actually do the work I set" she explained getting to her feet.

Emma gulped.

The woman was wearing a loose, white blouse that was tucked into a black pencil skirt that hugged her perfect curves and sat just above her knee and a pair of black heals. 

She set a book down in front of the girl, "we'll be studying this for the first part of this year. Since you made an effort to be early you can have the copy that's still generally in good condition" she commented with a soft laugh.

The blonde looked down at the book and couldn't help but smile, "Lord of the Flies? I quite like this book, it was one of the few books I managed to get hold of in one of... Never mind" she trailed off with a quiet murmur. 

Miss Mills studied her new student with a slightly confused expression for a moment before offering her a small smile and walking back to her desk. 

Emma smiled at the book sitting on her desk. She read it for the first time when she was fourteen, that was three years ago, and she had just gotten transferred to a different group home. The young girl couldn't grasp why she liked it as much as I did. 

The brunette sat back down at her desk which was a very short distance in front of where Emma was sitting, "did you enjoy the book, Emma?" She asked staring quizzically at the young girl.

The blonde quickly nodded, "yes, it's one of my favourites" she told the woman honestly. 

The older woman nodded, "then I expect good things from you, Miss Swan" she told her new student with a kind, yet somehow stern, smile.

When the bell rang people started filing quickly into the room.

"She wasn't kidding when she said everyone was on time and never early" Emma mused. 

Miss Mills looked up from her desk, "glad to see you all decided to be on time for the first class of the year" she snapped.

The blonde could make out faint mumbling from behind her. 

When everyone was sitting in their seats Miss Mills got to her feet, "for those of you who don't know me my name is Miss Mills. I do not tolerate slackers in my classes and I expect all homework to be handed in on time. I expect all work to be completed with a decent standard not just something scribbled down five minutes before class. We will be working at quite a fast pace, please take it upon yourself to catch up, I will go over anything if you need but if you keep it to yourself I cannot be held responsible. Am I clear?" The brunette barked. 

A few people grumbled a brief 'yes' and she nodded swiftly. 

Miss Mills put a pile of books on the empty desk next to me, "okay, all of you come up and get a copy of the book we will be covering so we can begin" she told the class. 

The brunette looked up and made eye-contact with Emma who was watching her with a mix of confusion and admiration. The woman shot her a small, quick smirk as everyone retrieved their copy of the book. 

"And so, it begins" Emma concluded