PRINCIPAL WOOD: Faith?

FAITH: You shouldn?t sneak up like that. I almost took your head off.

PRINCIPAL WOOD: Sorry. I knocked.

FAITH: What?d you see?

PRINCIPAL WOOD: Just you looking spooked. What happened? Are you sure you?re all right?

FAITH: (angry) What? You want to rap about my problems now? You looking to be the guy who puts the ?pal? in principal for me?

PRINCIPAL WOOD: Okay, you know what? I came up here to talk to you about weapons.

FAITH: Sorry. I don?t know what I?m doing, I?m just?

PRINCIPAL WOOD: Listen, I?m going to leave you alone. I didn?t mean to intrude.

FAITH: It was The First.

PRINCIPAL WOOD: Well, you?re really in the game now, Faith. The First doesn?t show unless it thinks you matter.

FAITH: Lucky me. I?m a player.

FAITH: Man, look at that. My hand?s shaking. Demons, vampires, women in the penitentiary system, none of that freaks me out.

PRINCIPAL WOOD: That?s exactly what The First does. Finds your Achilles heel.

FAITH: Nah, it just talked to me. What? It does a heel thing, too?

PRINCIPAL WOOD: It?s a phrase. Your weak spot.

FAITH: Oh. The school thing. I was kind of absent that decade.

PRINCIPAL WOOD: So who was it? The First?

FAITH: He was like an old boss of mine.

PRINCIPAL WOOD: Just a boss? And he?s got you shaking like this? Wouldn?t give you a raise, huh?

FAITH: Yeah, right. Nah. It sounds retarded but he was like a dad to me.

PRINCIPAL WOOD: Oh. It was my mother when it came to me. And I mean, it was her, right down to the perfume.

FAITH: Sorry.

PRINCIPAL WOOD: Yeah.

FAITH: I?m so pissed off at myself. I knew it was a trick?

PRINCIPAL WOOD: So did I but I still wanted my mother to hold me like a little baby. (off her look) In a manly way, of course.

FAITH: Of course.

PRINCIPAL WOOD: Listen, nobody wants to be alone, Faith. We all want someone who cares, to be touched that way. I mean, the First may deal in figments but that wanting is real.

FAITH: Hitting things and a whole lot of Jack D dulls it some.

PRINCIPAL WOOD: Among other things.

FAITH: When it came to you, did The First tell the truth?

PRINCIPAL WOOD: Yeah.

FAITH: It said that we?ve got to watch out for Buffy. That Buffy?s dangerous.

PRINCIPAL WOOD: And what do you think?

FAITH: Could be. I mean, we?ve given her a pretty good reason to be pissed off. You know the messed-up thing? The First is telling me to worry about her and I just wish she was here. In a couple of hours, I?m going to lead these girls into some serious crap. And she?s the only one?

PRINCIPAL WOOD: She?s not the only one. You?re a Slayer, too, Faith. And I think you?re a good leader.

FAITH: I?m an ex-con who didn?t finish high school.

PRINCIPAL WOOD: Yeah, well, I?m the principal of a school where nobody finished. And I?m completely out my league in this.

FAITH: Well, I hear otherwise.

PRINCIPAL WOOD: So tomorrow, then?

FAITH: Forget about tomorrow. This is tonight. (lifts his hand to her cheek) Been awhile. Am I out of line?

PRINCIPAL WOOD: Hey, you?re the leader.

(they kiss)

• Faith & Principal Wood
• Faith & the Mayor

written by: Rebecca Kirshner; original transcript by Buffy vs Angel. Edited by me.. Full transcript at:
http://ww3.buffy-vs-angel.com/buffy_tran_142.shtml