***
Before walking up the steps, Buffy Summers stood back and looked at the enormous size of her new high school. NOT! Sunnydale High had to be the dinkiest school she had been to yet, and to think that this was where she would graduate. She shook her head at the thought. Her mom promised. This was it. No more moving. After her parents’ divorce, her mom decided to uproot their tiny family of two and move to Sunnydale. Gee, what a place!
Everything here seemed so perfect…maybe even too perfect. Even the day was nice. It should have been raining to fit her mood, but instead it was sunny and beautiful. You’d think in November, the weather would have cooperated. Giving up all hope that something, anything, would change, she made her way to the front doors of the main building hoping to locate the office there.
Finally finding the office, she walked up to the woman sitting behind the counter.
“Hi. I’m Buffy Summers. I am transferring in from L. A.”
“Hello, Miss Summers. My name is Mrs. Eckleberry. I have your schedule for you. If you have any trouble, let me know. Willow Rosenberg will be here shortly to show you around. All of your previous credits transferred, so there should be no problem on that end.”
Buffy nodded her head, “Thank you. Should I wait…”
“Sorry, Mrs. Eckleberry. The bus ran late,” exclaimed the girl that had interrupted her, a girl with bright red hair.
“It’s fine, Willow. I just gave Miss Summers her schedule. Will you please help her find her way to homeroom?”
“Yes, M’am.” Willow looked at Buffy and smiled, “Hi! I’m Willow. Let me see your schedule, and I’ll show you around.”
Buffy handed Willow her schedule and watched as the girl’s face lit up. “You have homeroom with me. That means you must be a Junior, right?”
“Yep, that’s me. I can’t wait for next year, though,” laughed Buffy.
“I know what you mean. I have been looking forward to my Senior year for as long as I can remember, and since I have memories as early as 2, that’s a really long time. I just can’t wait to get to college. It has to be better than this…not that this is bad,” she backtracked. “Don’t get me wrong.” She paused to breathe and saw Buffy’s huge smile. “I’m babbling, aren’t I?”
“Yes, but don’t stop on my account. It’s nice.”
“Thanks. So, what do you want to know first? Classes, lunch, who’s who, extra curriculars, free time?”
“Hmm…I guess let’s start with classes. Where do I go first?”
“Actually, there’s our homeroom,” Willow said and pointed across the hall. Making their way to the room, Buffy took a deep breath and exhaled to calm her nerves. She had been to so many new schools, and yet she still got nervous the first day.
“You’ll be fine, Buffy. Everyone here is really nice. Well not everyone, but that would be a topic for later,” Willow soothed before she turned and walked into the room, leaving Buffy to follow.
She entered the room and looked at the different people, already categorizing them in her head. The popular kids, the nerds, the geeks, the freaks, the loners…always the same everywhere she went. But wait, stop. The popular kids seemed to be, in a way, split. The typical jocks and cheerleaders had a mix of what appeared to be normal, regular kids. This may not be so bad after all. She breathed a sigh of relief that she may indeed get to be just “Buffy” for once. It sucked to have to be “Buffy, the Cheerleader” or “Buffy, the Ditzy Blonde” or “Buffy, the Vapid Whore” or “Buffy, the Bitch” or her favorite title “Buffy, the Slayer”. She had earned that last title sticking up for kids being picked on by the so called popular kids.
“Hi, I’m Xander,” a boy said, interrupting her thoughts.
“I’m Buffy. It’s nice to meet you,” Buffy responded with a smile.
“I know. You’re the reason Willow was such a spaz last night. Between you and me, I bet she didn’t sleep a wink.”
“Why? She seems normal to me.”
“Oh! Well, she is…normal, that is. She was just very excited to get to show you around and be the tour guide of sorts. She gets that way sometimes.”
“Ah. OK. I was confused there for a minute,” grinned Buffy. “So, I guess you and Willow are friends?”
“Best friends. We have been friends for as long as I can remember. By the way, did she mention going to the Bronze later?”
“What’s the Bronze?”
“It’s only the best place to party and dance in town. Of course, it’s also the only place, but shhhhh…don’t tell anyone,” he whispered conspiratorially.
Buffy laughed. Sunnydale may just grow on her yet. “I need to check in with my mom, but I should be able to make it.”
The bell rang, and students began taking their seats. Willow motioned Buffy over to a seat near the middle of the room. “You can sit with me. I saved you a seat.”
“Thanks.”
“Good morning, class. I trust your weekend was restful. I see we have a new student. I take it you would be Buffy Summers?” the teacher asked.
“Yes,” she replied.
“My name is Mr. Giles, though most students just call me Giles. I am also your school librarian; so after homeroom, please go to the library for your textbooks. Would you please give me your schedule so that I can initial it for you? Then please stand up here and tell us something about yourself.”
Buffy went to his desk and handed him her schedule. She turned to face the room and saw all of the faces looking back at her. “Hi, I’m Buffy. Yes, that’s my real name. Don’t ask. I couldn’t explain it to you if I tried. My parents were goofy or smoking something. At least that’s the only explanation I could come up with. Believe me, I’ve wondered for years.”
The class snickered. She smiled. This wasn’t bad. This she could handle.
“This is the sixth high school I have been to,” she continued, “but hopefully, it’s my last.” She paused not knowing what else to say.
“Thank you, Buffy. You may have a seat,” prompted Giles.
After that, homeroom seemed to fly by. Buffy was surprised when the bell rang.
“Are you ready to go to the library?” asked Willow.
“Yep. Let’s go.”
The pair headed to the library to get Buffy’s textbooks; then Willow took Buffy to her next class. “You have theatre next. I will meet you here after class.”
“No problem,” she replied and braced herself for her first real class of the day.
squawks
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!