Chapter Text
The year is 1997. September, with its falling leaves and its remains of the summer, welcomed the new students. Some were veterans, some were fresh out of high school, some had been there for ages. For whatever reason, that old building on Maine felt cold and gloomy, probably because of the weather or the architecture of it. However, she sensed something else, without a name or a definition, when she entered the huge, dark building where she was supposed to study. A girl from New York, taken out of Manhattan and dropped in the middle of a village whose style was a mix of the medieval ages and the corniest 80’s; maybe she should have gone to Harvard, like Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde.
But she was in Misthaven, the best University in the whole country, located in a town called Storybrooke.
It took her some time to find her classroom, which was an enormous room with eco and old-style desks. By the time she arrived there, the course had already started, and all she could do was nod and sit on the back part, practically alone. Except for a girl sitting next to her.
A girl with dark hair, a black turtleneck, thin framed glasses, and a short black and light brown plaid skirt. She looked like a mix between a boarding schoolgirl and a nerdy girl. It was fascinating how she looked in that exact moment, and she wished she could capture her image. She had no idea who that girl was, but she knew she had fallen in love with her.
She was distracted when she heard the professor call her own name out loud.
“Mary Margaret Blanchard”, she said out loud. That’s when the brunette paid attention to her teacher. The girl next to her right looked at her. She couldn’t see it that well, because she was facing the woman, but that unknown girl was looking at her. Staring at her.
“I’d rather be called just Margaret”, she answered, standing up and speaking up, nervously though.
“Fine, I’ll call you Margaret. As you missed your classmates’ introductions, I would like you to tell us a little bit about yourself, so everyone can get to know you”. She looked around, at her classmates, wondering what she was doing there: with a pink top and a blue plated skirt, butterfly clips in her hair and shiny lip gloss on her lips. She felt out of place and regretted instantly her decision to move to that campus.
“Well… my name is Margaret, and I’m from New York. I’m 21 years old and… I like photography and… reading”. She was nervous, she was suffocating. She hated crowds and being the center of attention. And she knew that girl was staring at her, observing her every move.
She sat and listened to that woman talk about how the subject would be like, how they would have to work; but her attention was focused on her drawing. She was drawing a girl, mindlessly, as she thought of how wrong she was about anything. And now, she couldn’t go to her daddy and ask him to pay for another school. She had no one and not much money, and she was stuck in a degree she wasn’t sure she wanted to graduate from. Four years of Mathematics and two years of French. She had always wanted to be a mathematician and choosing French as her minor was a nostalgic decision, but she was feeling sorry about it. She should had married some young, rich businessman.
When the class ended, everyone rushed to other classrooms. “You shouldn’t draw people without their consent”, the girl next to her said. In two hours, she had drawn a quite realistic portrait of that unknown girl. She looked at that girl, whose name she didn’t know, and shivered. She looked angry. So, she ripped the page form her notebook and gave it to her.
“I’m so sorry…”, she kept repeating as she gathered her things in a rush and left. She felt like a predator, like a rapist, like a monster. She always felt that way around girls, probably because of her upbringing. Such strict and religious parents, she was messed up from the beginning.
However, that unknown girl kept the drawing in her folder.
She moved to another classroom, meeting there her flat mate. She managed to live in a small apartment, but she had to share it with two other girls. But they were nice, so she didn’t mind that much.
“Hey, Gina, here!”, the blonde said. Well, maybe they were a bit loud, but they were nice too. That blonde one was Emma Swan, the loudest flat mate. They shared a few courses. In that moment, they were about to start Criminal Law, her favorite. She wanted to be a Criminal lawyer someday, to go against certain people, such as… well, criminals. Whatever.
“Me?”, she asked. A blonde professor called Mallory Page was asking her about something she hadn’t heard because of her own thoughts.
“Yes, miss Mills. Could you please ask your opinion about it?”. She understood the question, but she had no idea what to answer. “Uhm… I think I would choose, on this case, to represent the victim instead of the aggressor. I could live with defending a liar, but I couldn’t live knowing I helped a rapist”. Her answer was clear and loud, her voice didn’t tremble, and she thought she had made herself clear. She was happy with herself. Now, she could keep on thinking about the bubblegum princess that had seated next to her.
“You look a bit absent, ladyboss. What’s the matter?”, Emma asked. They were supposed to keep quiet and listen to the lecture, but she couldn’t.
“I just met the weirdest girl in the fucking world. She dresses like Bubbles and drew me. It was impossible to focus on the lecture, she kept staring!”, she answered. It was kinda frustrating, because she had spent two hours drawing a perfect portrait of her.
“Wow, Regina, sounds like you have an admirer. Is she cute?”, Emma asked as Regina was taking notes of what was written in the big blackboard.
“A little bit. But she’s not my style at all. Too much pastel for me. Sounds like the type of person who bathes her cupcakes on sugar”, she said, and the blonde laughed. As quiet as Regina was and as much as she had a resting bitch face, she was funny and nice. She had met her for a little bit more of a month, but she liked her. She liked to think that the brunette liked her too.
She finished all her courses at 8 p.m. and went home. She had to work that night, albeit reluctantly, and couldn’t waste much more time. She set foot on the apartment and the first thing she did was to hug her son. She dismissed Ashley, Henry’s nanny, and made dinner for both. Although he was just seven, he was the smartest kid she had ever met, and he had supported her when she decided to go to college and get a degree. She loved him more than anything, and she wouldn’t have gotten so far if it wasn’t for his support.
“How was school?”, he asked, with a smile, as he ate his veggies.
“It was great. I learned a lot. How was your first day of school?”, she asked in return. The kid rambled about his new teachers and how difficult it all seemed, and by 9 p.m., he was tucked in bed and asleep. He could shower the next morning, as it was Friday. Friday, the worst day for her at work. She was going to make so much money… but she was tired of it. She wanted to quit, but Henry’s doctor appointments had to be paid, and she was not rich.
She got ready for the long night ahead of her, picking up her car, the only thing she owned, and hitting the road. She wished she had died that night.
On the other side of the town, two girls were sitting on a car. One of them was smoking a cigarette, and the other was choosing the best pop album for their ride to Portland. An hour they would spend just to go where Ruby wanted to take her. God, she hated Ruby. Ever since she came out of the closet, all her best friend did was taking her to gay bars and such. She was obsessed with getting Margaret a girlfriend. If only she knew…
“Alright, let’s party!”, she said, and Margaret turned up the volume. She hoped that this new bar was at least chic. To her surprise, when they arrived, she realized it wasn’t a gay bar. It was a strip bar.
“Where the hell have you brought me, Ruby?!”, she asked, alarmed. She was starting to feel sick. Dear lord, she was at a strip bar!
“Well, since you can’t get yourself a girl, you are going to at least see a girl. C’mon, it’s not that bad. I promise you will like it”, she said, but Margaret didn’t want to go in there. God, she hated that, those girls having to strip in front of horrible, creepy guys. It was not sexy or compelling, and she hated it. She wouldn’t contribute to that. No way.
“We’re leaving. I’m sorry, I’m not doing this. I am not like my father. Let’s leave. Now.”, she demanded. But Ruby wanted to smoke a cigarette, and she had to comply. That’s when she saw a familiar girl. The girl with the glasses. She was smoking outside of the local, wearing a fur coat and high heels. Her hair was loose, as straight as the pavement, as black as the night. She was wearing heavy makeup and her way of holding the cigarette made her look extra sexy. She didn’t look like she was searing many clothes underneath.
“Regina, your turn in five minutes!”, a girl screamed, and the brunette, now without her glasses on, threw away the cigarette and entered the local. Maybe now she had a reason to stay…
But she changed her mind. Because she wasn’t a predator, so she left. She went back to her loft, with her best friend next to her.
But that night, she dreamed of Regina.