Keeping her Company

[Emma Swan]

Grace Hatter

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Emma didn’t know if Henry was still in school. With the past days being difficult between her and his adoptive mother, she would not be surprised if the woman went out of her way to get him from school, take him home and make sure they couldn’t meet up, even though Henry wanted to and he was, in a way, old enough to decide if he wanted to see her or not. But in all the time she was here, getting Henry from school was apparently the one thing his adoptive mother wouldn’t do, where he let him have freedom. Emma wanted to use it to spend a few moments with the kid.

When she arrived some of kids were gone already, others had to stay longer, she knew. It all depended on how fast they managed to finish their last assignment. Emma made her way to the classroom. She was not alone in the hallway in front of the classroom, it appeared. There was a girl, around Henrys age, apparently waiting for someone, all alone it would appear. Emma approached her. She might as well keep the little girl company, after all. 

“Hey there. Aren’t you in the same class as Henry Mills?”

[Grace Hatter]

Paige shouldn’t be here. She should have headed home a long time ago. Today, she didn’t have gymnastics lessons or a girl scout meeting. And it wasn’t a Tuesday so no hospital volunteer work. But the fact was...She couldn’t stand the thought of coming home to her parents and forcing a smile, pretending that everything was fine as her world fell apart. This wasn’t anything new. Her concerns were ever present, her anxiety constant. She only looked like an optimistic little girl without a care in the world. Her mind...Was it in shambles? Was she the one going mad? Night after night, the same questions churning over and over in her head. There were no answers just more queries. There were two possible conclusions. Either she was distorted or the town was. Everything in Stroybrooke often seemed off kilter! There was the clock that never worked for one thing! Well not until all of a sudden it had! For all ten years of her life, the hands had never moved! And then one morning, Paige had heard the chime and looked out her window to see the impossible, the clock moving! What was wrong with her, fixating on such tiny little insignificant details?! So a clock had broken down. Yes, it was big and prominent. And sure it was odd that no one had ever bothered to fix it; but, that didn’t mean anything! The mayor was the one in charge of the town budget (the one everyone seemed scared witless of); and, she probably just hadn’t felt like spending the funds to repair it. Miss Mills most likely thought it was more prudent to devote the town’s money to education or construction. It wasn’t like people didn’t have their own personal watches and cell phones to let them know the time. But then...The construction....That was another odd thing! Paige couldn’t ever remember Storybrooke being anything but what it was now. No businesses shut down. No new ones opened up. Yes, they were a small town; but, wasn’t that weird?! And everyone was familiar. Paige couldn’t recall any strangers besides Miss Swan wandering into Storybrooke. It was just the same old faces day after day. Really...She had to be losing it, over thinking things to obsessive degrees. Miss Swan was proof that new people could cross the town border just fine! Most people probably just didn’t bother with what they would consider a boring town. She was being silly! She really needed to stop giving credence to her peculiar feelings, her terrible notions of wrongness. But still...Miss Swan was only a really recent edition to the town! Before then....there’d been no one! In 10 years not a single tourist had stopped in Storybrooke?! No one had just passed through to get somewhere else? No one had gotten lost and needed gas?! Wasn’t that strange?! It was like Storybrooke was completely disconnected from the rest of the world! No! That there was crazy talk! The lack of tourists and outsiders was odd yes but ...It didn’t mean anything! But come to think of it....There was someone or rather two someones a long while back who passed through Storybrooke wasn’t there? They hadn’t stayed in town very long but....It was hazy, hard to recall like so many things. It drove her mad! She longed to talk about these irregularities with someone, anyone. But she couldn’t. Even mentioning subtle things had made her ‘friends’ stare at her like she’d grown a third head. Well Paige said friends but...They were more like friendly acquaintances than anything. She couldn’t confide in them, couldn’t tell them anything of significance. The Paige she showed them was a mask, a farce. The Paige they thought they knew so well didn’t actually exist. She projected this cheerful little girl, excited by all the world had to offer. She was sweet. She was kind; but, most of all, she was happy. She had dreams and ambitions and was ready to conquer the world. Paige supposed she could be considered kind and sweet. She tried to be. And she did want to be a doctor. But everything else was a lie. She was miserable and depressed and often felt that she belonged in Storybrooke as much as the boy Owen who stayed so briefly, meaning not at all. (Yes! That was his name! Owen Flynn! The little boy! He'd come..It felt so long ago...But it couldn't be...It..Time just felt so wrong here! She couldn't explain it, couldn't make sense of it; but, she felt it so strongly! Time was distorted!) She couldn’t be honest. They didn’t understand her questions or her pain. So all she could do was talk about fair weather topics, little things that didn’t matter like merit badges and such. And her parents...No, she certainly couldn’t be honest with them! She was terrified of worrying them when they did so much for her! And...What if they really would think she needed anti-depressants or therapy?! She was a minor! They could force her! What..What if she really ended up like those poor pitiful souls down in the psyche ward?! No! She didn’t want that! She’d seen those awful stares the doctors and nurses reserved just for the patients down in the psyche ward. Normally when she volunteered at the hospital, they kept her away from the basement level. It was not a bright or lively place. But sometimes they would send her down to bring food or just some decorations that could potentially cheer the patients. But...she really hated the way the staff looked at those unfortunate souls. Didn’t they understand they had a hard enough time being locked away, hidden from sight, trapped in some basement level, tucked away from their friends and family, all but forgotten by the world? Going down there always made Paige want to cry. Dejected, miserable. You could see it in their eyes. Most had given up hope on anything ever getting better. There was something...almost inhuman about the way the patients down there were treated. They weren’t physically abused at least not when Paige was around. But all the same, the staff looked at them like they were...She didn’t even know what! Henry...Maybe she could talk to him. He was different. He noticed things too. Only..everyone thought he was crazy because of it. So..What if she told him about her observations and word got back to her parents and then...She didn’t even want to think about it! But things couldn’t stay like this! She was getting worse! Her heart felt empty, like she was missing something, like there was this giant hole, a void that couldn’t be completely filled by anything not even her stuffed animals or her tea parties or the lovely little books in her room or her parents or her friends or anything. She should be happy. She told herself that over and over again. She thought if she said it enough she’d believe it. But she didn’t. She could hear the strain in her voice every time she whispered it and see the despair in her eyes when she gazed critically at herself in the mirror. She should have a perfect life. She was a good student, had loving parents, kind friends, enjoyed her time at Girl Scouts and gymnastics practice and was well on her way to becoming a doctor with her hospital work and CPR certification but...Somehow it wasn’t enough. It was silly but...sometimes she felt like the world around her was scripted and people were less real and more reciting lines. She felt like...She’d done this before, a thousand times perhaps. In the midst of despondency and confusion, a voice called out to her, pulling her back. It was Miss Swan herself! “Yes! Hello there Miss Swan! I’m in Henry’s class!” She only hoped she didn’t sound as desperate and lost as she felt. “Um..Is there something I can help you with?” Paige asked anxiously. tag: Emma Swan notes: Let the fun begin!

TEMPLATE BY ELIZA