Chapter 7
Buffy
The alarm is buzzing and I can’t bring myself to turn it off. I was having such a nice dream and I’m reluctant to leave it. In my dream, Mom was alive and Dawn and I were two normal girls. We were sitting around the table eating a big Christmas dinner and opening holiday cards from Dad. There was a guy sitting next to me at the table and I knew that he was my boyfriend, but I couldn’t see his face. I just knew we were in love. Right before dessert, he pulls out a box and asks me to marry him but there’s this big blob thingy over his face. I say yes and Mom and Dawn immediately start planning the wedding. It was going to be in June and I was going to wear white and Giles, who was my step-dad for some reason, was going to give me away. It was a nice dream. I wish it was a Slayer dream.
I finally smack the alarm and stare at the ceiling, letting the familiar dread of my life settle into my stomach. It’s Wednesday so I only have to work at the Dreadmeat Palace today, that’s a plus…but I close, so why did I set my alarm again?
Let’s see, pay day is Friday and I have about $423 coming to me. We need groceries now that we have power and I’m going to pay Tara back the money she spent feeding Dawn. Ooh, the car payment is due- I really need to look into selling that- the gas bill is due as well, but the water bill can wait until I get paid from the Bronze.
Panic spreads through my body and I sit straight up. I remember why I set the alarm; the Department of Child and Family Services is coming over today to find out how Dawn is doing. I run out of my room, yelling at Dawn to get up as I try to make myself look presentable in the mirror. No time to shower and I really, really smell bad.
When the doorbell rings, I’m just trying to brush my teeth and clean the sink at the same time. Oh God, I hope Dawn remembered to clean the living room!
“Quick check,” I say to Dawn as she presents herself. She looks okay, a little thin but okay.
“Toothpaste,” Dawn says wiping the corner of my mouth.
We both put on our best customer service smiles and run to open the door.
“Hi,” I say brightly to the middle-aged woman at the door.
She doesn’t smile back. “Are you Ms. Buffy Summers?”
“Yes, that’s me,” I answer. “Please come in. This is my sister, Dawn.”
Dawn smiles and nervously stands on her toes a moment.
“I am Mrs. Rothchild.” She rolls her r slightly. “I am here to conduct a visit to see if you are a fit guardian for your sister and to see if she is thriving in your care.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Dawn says. “I’m thriving away here. This is a house of thrivingness.”
Mrs. Rothchild frowns. “I’ll be the judge of that. Do you have a job, Ms. Summers?”
Good, an easy question. “Yes, I work full time at the Doublemeat Palace.”
“And you make enough to live on this job?”
Lie or tell the truth. Lie or tell the truth. “I also work part-time at the Bronze.”
“Would you say that you work more than 50 hours a week?”
“Yes,” I say slowly.
“I see. And what does Dawn do while you are gone?”
“Oh, I have a job too,” Dawn answers brightly.
My eyes widen and I try to get her to stop by signaling behind Mrs. Rothchild’s back, but she merely looks confused and Mrs. Rothchild spins around to face me. I pretend to scratch my head.
“She works?” Mrs. Rothchild asks.
“Yes,” I say, trying to sound like my mother. “I think it’s good for someone her age to earn money to buy herself fun things like, um, books and CDs.” That sounded good, I think.
“Where do you work, Dawn?”
“At the video store.”
“Who takes care of you when your sister is at work and you are not?”
“Tara during the day and Spike usually at night.”
“And either this Tara person or this Spike person licensed child care givers?” Mrs. Rothchild asks with a sneer over Spike’s name.
“Um, n-no, they’re friends of mine,” I say lamely.
“I see,” Mrs. Rothchild says as she makes another note on her pad. “Do you pay them to take care of your sister?”
“No…should I?” I had never thought about that. I mean, I had thought about it but I lacked the funds to do anything about it.
“I see. We will now commence with the house tour.”
Without waiting for one of use to lead the way, Mrs. Rothchild begins walking around aimlessly, looking at various things and making notes on her pad. I notice the table with the bills on it and feel a burst of panic in my stomach. I had meant to get up and put the bills away before she showed up. It’s too late to distract her.
“Quite a lot of bills with the words “Last Notice” stamped on them,” she remarks.
“Um, they’re mostly medical bills,” I stammer. “Mom didn’t have insurance, but I’m paying them off a little at a time.”
“What about this threat to turn off your electricity,” she asks holding up the electric bill from last week.
“Already taken care of,” I say smiling brightly. “Check was lost in the mail, so I went down and paid it off.” Okay, so a little lie.
Mrs. Rothchild makes a hmpf noise under her breath, marks her pad again, and walks into the kitchen.
“Ms. Summers, may I look in your refrigerator and cabinets? You may say no but I wouldn’t recommend it.”
“Um, o-okay, I was going to go grocery shopping today after you left, so…” I trail off. I can’t really explain the empty cabinets and fridge away.
“Ms. Summers, how do you expect a growing teenage girl to live on a diet of frozen pizza and cereal?” Mrs. Rothchild asks marking her damn pad yet again. “Just in case you’re wondering, this review is not going well and we are only on the first floor. All you need is one more bad mark and you will lose custody of your sister. Do you understand?”
I gulp loudly. Oh God, oh God, oh God. Please don’t let anything else be wrong. “I assure you that you will not find anything else in this house…” I trail off as Mrs. Rothchild opens up a cabinet and is hit in the head with a stake. Why there is a stake in the cabinet…I have no idea.
“WHAT IS THIS?” Mrs. Rothchild roars.
“Um, it’s a stake for our tent?” I try.
“Oh, yeah. Buffy and I like to go camping every once in a while,” Dawn says.
“With a wooden stake?! Camping stakes are metal!” Mrs. Rothchild makes a big show of marking her pad again. “Ms. Summers, I now have enough marks on here to remove your sister immediately. You have her being watched by unlicensed care givers, you have no nutritional food in your house, you have numerous unpaid bills, and you have weapons in your cabinets. If I have my way, I will have your sister out of here by the end of the day!”
“But…“
“I don’t want to hear it!” With a slam of the door, Mrs. Rothchild is out of the house…the stake still in her hand.
I sink to my knees with Dawn right beside me. Now what are we going to do?
XXX
Dawn
Mrs. Rothchild was good on her word and within a few hours there was another knock on the door. Two policeman and Mrs. Rothchild pushed their way into the house and demanded that I pack my things.
“You can’t do this!” Buffy yelled. “You can’t take my sister!”
“I’m not going,” I said firmly.
“Yes, you are,” Mrs. Rothchild said.
Buffy stood in front of me, effectively blocking me from the police. “Try and make her,” she said.
The smaller of the two cops started to walk forward and Buffy tensed, her fists coming up into a fighting stance.
“You really do not want to do that, ma’am,” The officer said. “It is a federal offense to assault an officer of the law.”
“Buffy, don’t,” I say and then lean into her ear to whisper. “They’re human.”
“I don’t care,” she said. “I’m not letting them take you. They can’t take you. We’re doing the best we can.”
“Well, your best isn’t good enough,” Mrs. Rothchild interrupted. “One would think that you want what is best for your sister instead of being selfish and forcing her into this life.”
“She’s not forcing me into anything,” I say. “It is my choice to be here.”
“No, it is not. You are not a legal adult and your opinion counts for nothing. You will stay with a foster family until we can contact your father. I’m quite sure he had no idea of what was happening here.”
Buffy and I both snort at the same time.
“Our father hasn’t tried to contact us in almost three years,” Buffy says. “Hasn’t sent child support either.”
“Well, then Dawn will simply stay with a foster family until she is adopted,” Mrs. Rothchild said, unfazed.
“NO!” I yell. “I am not going to some White Oleander type house so that I can become all messed up. I’m fine here.”
Mrs. Rothchild look offended at my comment. “How dare you compare the Department of Child and Family Services to a trashy work of fiction? We save young people’s lives, and we will save yours. Some day you’ll thank me. Now get your things or I will have your sister arrested for harboring a minor.”
Buffy looks like she’s going to attack the cops again and I know that I can’t let that happen. One of them already has his hand resting on his gun. Somehow I don’t think Slayer healing handles gun shots so well.
“Fine, let’s go,” I say.
Buffy spins around to face me and the hurt on her face brings tears to my eyes. “Wha?” she whispers. “Dawnie?”
“You’ll get me back, I know you will. It won’t be for long,” I reassure her.
“I knew you’d see things my way. Now get your things.” Mrs. Rothchild looks pleased.
“No,” I say. “I’m bringing nothing because I will be coming back here tonight.”
Mrs. Rothchild puts a hand on my shoulder and shoves me out of the house before I can hug Buffy.
“No, you won’t.”
XXX
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