Chapter Text
It was Monday morning and about -15 outside, however the sun was beaming down on Purgatory, casting an orange glow through the windows of the homestead. Waverly Earp was excited for her first day at work, teaching second grade at Purgatory junior school. She had only been teaching for a year but had already become the most well-liked by all the students. With her mousy brown hair for days, sparkling green eyes and infectious smile, along with her bubbly personality, it wasn’t hard to see why she was so popular. Aside from teaching, her favourite hobby was learning about history and ancient languages, she almost always had her head inside a book and when she could, would tell her students tales of old-timey warriors and Greek goddesses.
Waverly prepared everything she needed for the day, she was well known for being a planner, before guzzling down a green tea before heading to her red pickup. Today was going to be busy as it was the first day of term and Purgatory junior had organised for the new sheriff in town to do a talk for every class in second grade. Waverly had not met the new sheriff yet, but had heard from her sister, Wynonna, that the officer was a female. As Waverly drove to work, she wondered if Wynonna had known of the sheriff’s presence because she bartends at the only bar in Purgatory, Shorty’s, a regular drinking spot for the police department or because her sister was once again in trouble with the law. Either way, she was pleased there was a female officer in their small town, it was about time it became more diverse, and this woman might be able to finally make some well needed changes.
The morning at Purgatory junior had sailed by smoothly and Waverly was happy that even though it was the first day of term, there had been no problems yet. It was her classes turn to receive their talk from the sheriff after the lunch break and Waverly was looking forward to having a new face in the classroom and to take a step back from talking. She was just about to tuck into her homemade vegan wrap, when in walked the most beautiful woman she had ever laid eyes on.
Nicole Haught had moved to Purgatory a week and a half ago after being offered a transfer from the Edmonton team, she had heard rumours from her colleagues that Sheriff Nedley’s position was up for grabs and she has always been a sucker for a challenge and it was only a small town right, what sort of crazy shenanigans could possibly go down there? Well, she discovered the chaos that ensued in Purgatory within only a few hours of moving there and realised she was in for a tough ride, but the bar fights and biker gangs stirring up trouble at the trailer park would certainly keep her occupied, not to mention the local nutcase/bartender Wynonna Earp constantly bringing her drama everywhere she goes.
Officer Haught would be lying if she said that when she heard one of her tasks as the new sheriff would be giving a talk about what it’s like working in the police department to a bunch of 7–8-year-olds, it wasn’t exactly what she had signed up for, alas, that was all part of the job. On her first day in Purgatory, Nedley had briefed her on the goings on in the town, where to eat and drink, who to befriend and who to avoid, Wynonna Earp being one of many on that list. So, Nicole was surprised when as soon as she walked into the staffroom at Purgatory junior, she heard
“Hey, I’m Miss Earp, but I guess you can call me, Waverly. You must be the new sheriff right; I mean judging by the uniform?” Nicole Haught was donning the navy blue shirt and trousers, accompanied by her utility belt and Stetson.
Waverly internally cursed herself for sounding so nervous and asking such a stupid question, but she had never seen such a gorgeous human in her entire 23 years of existence, the ginger hair tied up in a neat braid reminded her of the orange hue of the sky at sunrise, eyes the colour of mahogany and the most perfect lips just sent her into a frenzy. In fact, she spent that long looking at her features that it took her a hot minute to realise that the sheriff had responded
“I’m so sorry, I just zoned out for a second, what did you say?” Waverly blushed, this was severely embarrassing, nobody had made her act this way.
Nicole chuckled, dimples on full show, “It’s okay, I’m Nicole, Nicole Haught. Did you say Earp, as in Wynonna?”
Oh gosh, Waverly thought, what has her good for nothing sister done this time,
“Yes, unfortunately she’s my older sister, I won’t even ask how you know of her, because she has one hell of a reputation around here” she said as she shook her head,
“You can say that again, I’ve only been here just under a fortnight and I’ve heard her name mentioned more than anyone else’s”.
Waverly felt the need to apologise for her sister’s behaviour without even knowing what she’d done because she was just a constant liability in her life and now, she was feeling a little humiliated in front of an officer of the law, something that Waverly had great respect for.
“So, you’re a teacher, eh? What made you get into this profession? If you don’t mind me asking” sheriff Haught asked, finding herself genuinely interested in Miss Earp’s life as she seemed so different to her sibling Wynonna. Waverly sat back in her chair and smiled her signature smile.
“Well I’ve always been really good with kids and I love learning new things and knowing how exciting it is to learn I thought I’d be able to bring an enthusiasm to teaching that the children might enjoy, plus I get access to the library whenever I want…wow, that sounded totally sad” she knew she sounded like an absolute nerd right now and she could feel her cheeks burning up, but she just gets excited when she’s talking about something she’s passionate about.
Nicole could tell by Waverly’s facial expression and body language that she was being sincere but that she was also feeling slightly flustered.
“Well, it sounds like you’re a perfect fit in this job, I can already tell that the kids love you and I haven’t even seen you in action yet. I’m gonna grab something to eat before my talk starts so I’ll see you shortly, Miss Earp” Nicole was confident in herself to throw Waverly a wink to add to that compliment.
It was safe to say that if Waverly’s cheeks were turning pink before, they were now an embarrassing shade of red…