Chapter Sixteen
Buffy turned from the enrolment desk with a cringe as she looked at the list of books and materials she would need to begin her night classes. After much thought she’d decided to bite the bullet and enrol in the courses she would need to get her High School Diploma through the local community college. It still grated that she remembered doing all this work before, graduated even, but there wasn’t much else she could do. Somehow I don’t think they’ll give me the diploma just for being a whack-job, she mused resentfully.
“Hey, watch it!”
Before Buffy could even look up she ran smack into the owner of the rather irate voice, causing the young woman to drop the books she was carrying.
“Oh God. I’m so sorry,” Buffy apologised as she bent down to help the woman retrieve her books.
“Yeah, well you should watch where you’re going,” she snapped.
Taken aback by the harsh tone Buffy raised an eyebrow. “No kidding. You never know when a minor accident will cause the world to fall on its ass.”
The dark head whipped up, revealing an attractive face with large, caramel eyes. With a weary sigh she said, “Look, I’m sorry I bit your head off like that. It’s just the thought of going back to school gives me the heebie-jeebies.”
Buffy couldn’t help but smile in commiseration. “Right there with ya.” She held out her hand as they both picked themselves up off the floor. “I’m Buffy. Buffy Summers.”
“Rachel Fallon,” the other woman replied shortly.
They stook awkwardly for moment before Buffy asked, “Do you want to get a cup of coffee? There’s a half-decent café just down the street.” When she saw Rachel hesitate, she added, “I just figure it might be nice to know someone when we walk in the door for our first class.”
Rachel seemed to consider her for a moment before finally nodding. “Sure,” she replied, stuffing her books into a large knapsack. “Why not.”
On the way to the café Buffy found out that Rachel was just a year older than her and was also going to be studying for her High School Diploma, so they would be in a number of the same courses.
“What grade did you get to before? In high school?” Rachel asked, taking a long pull on her giant glass of Coke.
“I was still a freshman,” Buffy answered, looking up from stirring sugar into her latte. “You?”
“About tenish I guess.”
“What happened then?”
Rachel stared at Buffy for a long moment, as if weighing her up, deciding how much to say. “I, ah…I got distracted.”
Good answer, Buffy thought, understanding the other girl’s desire to keep her past private.
“I kind of suck at the whole academic thing,” Rachel continued. “Never had the patience for it.”
Curious, Buffy found herself asking, “So then why go back?”
Rachel shrugged dismissively, avoiding Buffy’s gaze. “Just seemed like the thing to do I guess,” she murmured. “How about you? Why didn’t you finish school?”
Buffy allowed a smirk to drift onto her face. “I got distracted too.”
**********
Buffy did a little dance in front of William when she entered the shop later that afternoon. “You are now looking at a fully enrolled student.”
William chuckled at her antics. “Good for you love.”
“Yeah. Now all I have to do is survive till graduation.” A thought occurred to her and she pointed at him excitedly. “And this time I don’t even have to worry about getting eaten.”
“Eaten?”
“Yeah, the mayor was totally evil and he turned into this big snake and tried to eat the whole class.”
William leaned on the counter with his chin resting in one hand, giving her his undivided attention. “I take it he failed?”
“Well duh. I was the slayer you know.”
“Oh, but of course.” He grinned in amusement. “So how did you defeat this great evil?”
“Oh, it was so cool.” Buffy started to get all animated as she retold the daring tale. “We got all the students involved. They had bows and arrows and axes and all sorts of things. They fought the vamps that were stopping people from getting away. Then I lured the mayor into the school, but I jumped out the back window.” A smug smile appeared as she concluded, “Then we blew it up.”
William was rapt in her excited recitation. “I heard you blew up a school. That’s just…neat.”
Buffy gave a satisfied sigh. “I know. I lived every high school student’s dream. It was very cool.” She giggled then. “Plus Harmony got eaten by a vamp that night. It couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person. It’s just a shame they turned her; even dead she was still annoying.” She poked out her tongue with a ‘bluck’ sound at the thought of the undead glamour queen.
Pretending to be appalled by her attitude, William queried, “Wasn’t the slayer supposed to be a little more…caring?”
“Yeah. But now that I know she wasn’t real I get to pick on her all I like.” Buffy jumped onto the counter, swinging her feet against the wooden base. “Plus she ended up sleeping with Spike so that doesn’t exactly endear her to me.”
“Hmph,” William replied. Looking up at her, he asked, “Was she cute?”
Buffy rolled her eyes, though inwardly she was cheering at the fact that he hadn’t tensed up when she mentioned Spike the way he normally did. “In a ‘looks vaguely like Buffy but way more vapid’ kind of way.”
He chuckled at her less than kind description. “Careful kitten. You’re showing your claws.”
Scoffing, Buffy slid off the counter, deciding it was time to turn the conversation away from her penchant for jealousy toward non-existent people. “God, school. This is gonna be a shocker.”
“You’ll be fine. You’ll be graduating before you know it.”
She turned to him flashing a million-watt smile. “Course I will, what with you tutoring me and all.”
William stopped what he was doing to look up at her with a raised eyebrow. “I’ll be what?”
Buffy immediately launched into beg mode, glad that he hadn’t turned her down flat. “Please, please, please. You’ve done all this before and I haven’t actually studied in years. I’m sure to fail without you.”
“I doubt it’s that bad love. But…” William crossed his arms over his chest with a mischievous leer. “What do I get out of it?”
Without thinking Buffy blurted, “Anything.”
That oh so sexy eyebrow crept higher. “Anything you say. How very interesting.”
Buffy put her hands on her hips. “Will, are you being a perv?”
“God yes,” was his unrepentant reply.
Laughing, Buffy dropped to her knees in front of him. Clasping her hands together she gave him her best puppy dog eyes. “Will you help me? Will you save me from the evil clutches of ignorance?”
William felt himself harden the second she hit the ground. Biting back a groan, he tried to shrug off the erotic image running through his mind of her doing other things on her knees and quickly choked out a reply. “Oh alright. I’ll help you.”
Buffy jumped to her feet with a happy squeal and threw her arms around him. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
Happy just to see the smile on her face William returned her hug eagerly. “You’re welcome, love.” When she finally pulled away, he had to force himself to let her go. “Now about the sexual favours I’ll be getting in return...”
Buffy whapped him over the head. “Down boy,” she said with a laugh before heading for the back to dump her bag and begin work.