When Anna walked into Arendelle High this morning, she knew something had happened. She could feel it in the air: something new was happening. Students were talking in groups, and she didn't have a hard time finding her best friend and some of her classmates in a corner of the courtyard.

"Hey everyone!" She said as she tried to mingle with them.

"Hi Anna." Kristoff replied, smiling at her, while the others simply nodded. As long as Anna could remember, she had always been friends with Kris. They had met in kindergarten, went through elementary and middle school together, and were now in high school. And their friendship had survived all of that, even that awkward moment in their early teenage years when hormones had made everything difficult and they had believed they could possibly be more than just friends.

"So, what's happening?" she asked. "Seems like everyone's agitated."

"Oh, you're gonna love this!"

"Hmm?"

"Seems like we got a new French teacher." Kristoff announced.

Anna didn't like that. At all. "What?! Dammit!" she whined. She absolutely hated the subject. To be clear, it was the only subject she didn't like. She found it unbelievably difficult, not interesting, and utterly useless. The worst part was that it wasn't even a mandatory course. But her parents had pushed her into registering, and it had seemed like a good idea at first. And now she was stuck in it, until at least the end of the year.

Things had started to get better a month ago, when their French teacher had quit his job. Word around the school was that he suffered from depression because of how bad his classes were going. Anna felt sorry for him, unlike most of her classmates, but she still highly doubted that teaching was made for him. Some of her classmates could be a bit dumb and provocative sometimes, but things were mostly okay in the other classes. A few students had really crossed the line with him, especially that moron Hans, and they hadn't had a single French class since then. Under any other circumstances, that would have made Anna really, really happy.

"And that's why everyone's so stirred up?" Anna asked, puzzled.

"A few guys saw her, and they say she's… err..." Kris answered, scratching his head.

"Yeah?"

"Pretty." He finished.

"Pretty?" Anna repeated while raising an eyebrow doubtfully.

"Okay, okay, so their exact words were 'hot as fuck', but yeah, you get the idea."

Anna chuckled. Boys. They could be so dumb. "Don't get your hopes up, Kris. I'm pretty sure that even an average looking woman in her twenties or thirties would be called 'hot as fuck' here."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Kris replied, disappointed. "But unlike you, I'm glad we finally have a new teacher. We were falling behind!"

Anna had never understood why Kris liked French, and he was pretty much the only one who did.

"She can't be as pretty as Anna anyway." one of their classmate said with a wink, joining the conversation.

"I already told you that I won't date you, Gaston, so give it up..." Anna said, but she did blush a little. Even if she wasn't interested in dating, it still felt nice to be complimented.

"Can't blame me for trying… but at least tell me why!"

"I… um, I just don't have time for it." Anna replied. To be perfectly honest, she just didn't feel like it, and it was good enough of a reason in her opinion.

"What? Is it my clothes? My humour? My hair? Or am I just too good looking?"

"Come on dude, just let it drop" Kris interjected.

Anna was going to argue that she didn't need Kris to come to her rescue when the bell rang saving them all from that discussion.

"Well, I don't want to make Mrs. Fitzherbert wait; we should hurry!" Anna exclaimed. Mrs. Fitzherbert was their literature teacher, and the best teacher ever. Anna hadn't been a big fan of that subject before, but she had grown quite fond of it thanks to her. And she was lucky enough to have her as her home-room teacher this year, too.

She dragged Kris with her to the classroom and sat in the front row. Their teacher arrived soon after, alongside the rest of the students.

"Two minutes tops," Kris whispered in her ear.

Anna hesitated for a while and watched her teacher's blonde hair closely.

"Nah, three," she whispered back.

The class started and Anna followed by taking notes on the passage they were currently studying, drinking in every word from their teacher.

"Dammit, it's been two minutes already." Kris whispered.

"Told you. And you should take notes."

Almost a minute later, Mrs. Fitzherbert's hair fell out of her intricate bun, and nearly half the class sighed.

"1-0," she whispered to her neighbour as she continued writing nonstop.

Every teacher at Arendelle High had an oddity or two, and it hadn't taken them long to find Mrs. Fitzherbert's. She had the longest hair anyone had ever seen on an adult woman, and thus she tried to tame it in an intricate bun to keep it practical. Except it wouldn't generally last more than five minutes, the record currently being seven minutes and thirteen seconds. All the students made bets on how long her bun would last. At this point, the betting had become a popular sporting event.

Their teacher didn't seem to notice though, and she continued lecturing them about the text while simultaneously fixing her hair.

After that, Anna fully focused on the class, and tried to participate as best she could. She still had some difficulties analysing literature and some of her teacher's explanations would blow her mind. It felt like diving into the author's mind and discovering layer after layer of hidden messages. Contrary to Kris, who called it bullshit, she wanted to believe that all of it was intentional.

When the bell rang again, Anna took her time to pack up her things in an attempt to get a few more minutes alone with her favourite teacher. It had become a habit, and it didn't seem to bother her literature teacher, so she kept doing it class after class.

"You had some really good insight today Anna. You're really improving!" Her teacher told her, and Anna immediately smiled.

"Thanks, Mrs. Fitzherbert! I feel like I'm getting better, too." she replied, and then thought about something else. "Oh. I heard that there's a new French teacher; is it true?" she asked, hoping it wasn't.

"Yes, indeed. You'll see, she's really nice."

"Really? Do you know her?" Anna asked, a bit surprised.

"I do. I'm sure she'll be a great teacher." Mrs. Fitzherbert replied.

"Ok… well, you know how much I like French." Anna added.

"I do, but please make an effort."

"I'll try, but only because you asked me!" Anna responded, and her favourite teacher laughed.

"Come on, you should head to your next class. When are you supposed to have French class next?"

"Tomorrow, before yours.I guess they'll inform us soon." Anna answered with a sigh. "Thanks for the chat, Mrs. Fitzherbert. See you tomorrow."

"Bye, Anna."

Anna left the classroom while her teacher started fixing her hair again, and she sighed when she realized that she had promised to make an effort. Well, you never know, maybe French will suck less with a new teacher.

Elsa was stressed out. She had gone to Arendelle high-school this morning to have an interview with the headmaster, and it had gone well. Very well, actually. As Rapunzel had told her, the school had been missing a French teacher for a month, and after realizing that they couldn't find any certified teacher, they had opened up the job to substitute teachers. They hadn't found any either, so Elsa had been welcomed with open arms when she had gone to apply.

What she hadn't expected was that Mr. Weselton would ask her to start tomorrow. She definitely wasn't ready for that, and she had spent the whole day preparing classes.

She was going to the kitchen to fetch herself a drink, when her apartment doorbell rang. Wondering who it could be, she walked to the door and opened it.

"Hey, Elsa!" A blonde girl slightly shorter than her said.

"Hi Punzie!" Elsa replied as she hugged her best friend.

"Ok, so first things first: never call me that in front of the students. Or teachers. Or parents. Or anyone at work!" Rapunzel replied with a smile.

Elsa laughed and let go of her. "Sure, I'll try. Is Rapz ok?"

"Nah, it's ugly."

"I'm not calling you Mrs. Fitzherbert." That would be so weird.

"You do know I have a first name you can use without shortening it." The blonde deadpanned.

"Yeah, yeah. Fine. Come inside, I was going to have a drink."

"Oh. Going to drink your anxiety away? See, you're already starting to act like a real teacher." Rapunzel said jokingly, and Elsa fetched two glasses and a bottle of grape juice.

They both sat on the couch and Elsa sighed. "I'm fucked. I spent the day working on classes, but I haven't got the slightest clue whether it will work or not."

"Aww, come on. You already have some teaching experience."

"Yeah, with 3rd grade students… it's different." Elsa commented. She had been a substitute before, for three weeks, but the kids had been way younger than the ones she would have to deal with tomorrow.

"I'm sure you'll do fine. Besides, you don't really have a choice." Rapunzel pointed out, and she was right. Elsa really did need the money.

"I'm just afraid that I'm not good enough" Elsa admitted.

"Don't be silly. You totally aced your Foreign Language degree."

"Yeah, well, it always felt like I was cheating." Passing a language degree when you're a native speaker isn't that hard. At all. In fact, it had allowed her to skip most of her classes.

"Hey, they're asking for a degree, you have it. Now you're going to get some teaching experience. And later, you'll get certified."

That had always been Elsa's plan, but now that she was right in front of it, she was getting cold-feet. What if her students were uncooperative? What if they misbehaved? What if she just wasn't a good teacher?

Rapunzel lay a supportive hand on her knee, and looked at her in the eyes. "Trust me, you'll do great."

Elsa sighed. "Yeah, thanks..."

When Elsa had realised that she had to change her career and find another job, her best-friend had been the one to suggest becoming a teacher. Rapunzel had already been one for two years, and absolutely loved it. Since Elsa didn't really have any other ideas, and since it sounded rather easy to get a language degree for her, she had gone with it.

"And besides, you're lucky enough to be my co-worker! I'm going to help you!"

"Thanks Punzie, but last time I checked, there is no way you could help me with that broken French of yours."

"What? How dare you!" Rapunzel exclaimed, faking indignation.

"You haven't improved a bit since 8th grade," Elsa stated. When they were both in 6th grade, Rapunzel's and Elsa's teachers had organized a pen pal project. Elsa lived in France then. The two girls had gotten along from the very start, and had kept writing to each other over the years, telling each other everything. Elsa fondly remembered the first time Rapunzel's family had invited her over, and they had spent a good part of all their following summer breaks either here or with Elsa's family. Finally, when Elsa had graduated, she had moved to Arendelle to start a new life and be closer to her best friend.

"Anyway, I'm not gonna help you with your classes, but I can tell you about your students. Do you have a list?"

"Yeah, of course." Elsa replied, handling it for her.

"Hum… well, a few of them are rather difficult to handle. You have to be cautious with Hans, he's a complete douchebag. His father is some important moron and he feels like he's better than anyone else because of that."

"Ok." Elsa replied, starting to freak out. "Great way to reassure me, Punzie."

"Nah, don't worry. Look, you've got Kristoff too. He's a nice guy, and one of the few, if not the only one, that likes your subject."

"What?! They all hate French?" Elsa asked, startled.

"Um yeah, kinda. You can't really blame them, though, they had a terrible teacher."

"This keeps getting better and better..." Elsa said, sighing.

"Ah, here's Anna!" Rapunzel continued, going down the list.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"A good thing! She's just the sweetest."

"Hmm?"

"Yeah. She's a bit shy at first, but she can be pretty lively too. Polite, respectful, eager to learn and a real cutie."

"Well, sounds like you have a teacher's pet." Elsa said, smiling.

"I plead guilty." Rapunzel replied. "Trust me, you'll love her. Although she does hate your subject so… I don't know, she might be a bit different for you."

"Hmpf."

"Tell me how it goes tomorrow. She's the cute redhead with freckles. She will most likely be sitting next to a giant blond guy. Kristoff, the one I just told you about."

"Ok, I'll try to identify her. Are they a couple? Should I separate them?"

"No, they're just friends. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if I learned that she isn't straight. Well, you'll be a better judge of that." Rapunzel said, shrugging.

"Doesn't really matter, anyway." Elsa replied. She wasn't planning on sticking her nose into anyone else's business, especially concerning sexuality. Being a lesbian during high-school hadn't always been easy for her, and she doubted that it was easier today, even after almost ten years.

"Yeah, well, you'll realise that we love gossiping about students in the teacher's room. Oh, she asked me about you this morning, by the way."

"Really? Why?"

"I guess she would have preferred to avoid your subject for the rest of the year. But I told her to make an effort."

Elsa chuckled. "I'm sure she'll listen to you" she said sarcastically.

"Of course she will." Rapunzel said. "I'm her favourite teacher, after all." She added proudly. "I know because she told me. Several times."

Elsa laughed and poured them another drink. "What about the others? Who should I worry about?"

They spent quite some time talking about her future students, and then about their colleagues, until Rapunzel got a text from her husband.

"Well, Flynn made dinner and is asking me when I'll be back home. He says 'hi,' too."

"Ok, then, you should go back to him."

"Yep. I'll see you tomorrow at work! It's going to be so great!" Rapunzel said cheerfully.

They both stood up and hugged. "Yeah, see you tomorrow. If I haven't gotten cold feet by then and fled the country."

Rapunzel chuckled and dismissed it with a wave of her hand. Then she left, and Elsa found herself alone in her flat.

Well, I've done enough for today anyway. Let's eat, and then I'll watch something and try to sleep.

But somehow, she knew she wouldn't have much sleep that night.

Notes: Here's my new story! It's been a while, because I had a hard time motivating myself back into writing and I actually gave up on a story idea I had started to write, but I think I'm ready now!

As you can see, for once it's not incest Elsanna, but I stuck with forbidden love, and it's still pretty wrong...socially!

I don't think it will be as long as my other two stories (but I always say that ^^'), and I don't want to impose a publishing schedule on myself even if I know it's really great as a reader to have regular updates. I will try to update every Sunday, but no promises!

Anyway, I hope you liked the first chapter. And as always, my motivation is fuelled by comments and reviews, so don't hesitate writing them!

Thanks to Ice Wraith and Striga for proofreading and providing the cover image.

(Also, if you're interested and haven't noticed yet, Striga proofread the entire OOY story!)