Buffy sat at the cafeteria shuffling her food around her plate during lunchtime, thinking back to the assembly. The new principal, Dr. Marsters, had basically laid down the law, his stern tone echoing throughout the gymnasium as he did. He’d seemed nothing like the polite, smiling stranger she had encountered in the hallway, instead appearing commanding and cold as he explained how there were some new school policies that would take effect immediately.
Upon returning to their classrooms, the students were given a code of conduct. A thick booklet filled with rules, regulations, dress codes, as well as an outline of punishments for failure to obey the new guidelines. The students hummed and hawed as they read through the material. Buffy had silently thumbed through the pages as a growing sense of dread crept up her back. She couldn’t escape the feeling that everything was about to change.
When the last bell finally rang, signaling the end of the school day, Buffy breathed a sigh of relief and raced off to find Riley. She spotted him standing in the parking lot surrounded by his friends. Unlike Buffy, they seemed completely unfazed by the new principal. She saw Angel reading aloud from the student handbook in a mock British accent while the others laughed.
“The first minor infraction will result in a one hour detention…” Angel said, tossing the booklet to the ground and stomping on it, before throwing it into the trashcan. “That’s what I think of your rules, you peroxide Billy Idol wannabe.”
Buffy watched as the others threw their booklets inside the wastebasket as well and then Angel lit a match setting the pile ablaze. She looked around nervously, jumping when Riley came up behind her placing his hand on her shoulder.
“Aren’t you going to throw yours in there, too?”
“I-I thought we were supposed to get them signed by out parents?” Buffy answered nervously.
“Buffy, you can’t seriously believe these rules apply to us? Did you read that thing? Two detentions and you are suspended from playing sports? There is no way he can enforce that. He’ll learn, just like Snyder did,” Riley informed her before tossing his book on the fire.
“I don’t know Riley, he seemed so…”
“Babe, as long as you are my girl, you are one of us. Go ahead, burn it.”
Buffy looked uncertain, but noticed that others in the group were now staring at her, waiting for what she would do. She hesitantly pulled her booklet out and walked towards the fire. Staring blankly into it, she carefully dropped the papers on the top of it.
“Now, didn’t that feel good?” Riley smiled pulling her back to lean against his chest.
Buffy nodded giving him a weak smile in response as the turned and hugged her boyfriend, feeling anything but relief.
The first week of school flew by. Slowly the uneasy feeling that had plagued Buffy that first day had left her. It appeared as if Riley was right. Things didn’t seem much different than before. In fact, she hadn’t even seen the new principal since the first day of school.
When she walked into her last class of the day though, her teacher instructed her that she, along with Cordelia and Anya were to report to the cafeteria. Buffy was puzzled but followed the other girls as they excitedly babbled about the possibilities of why they had been called. They seemed convinced that it had something to do with cheerleading.
When Buffy entered the cafeteria, she stopped in her tracks when she noticed that the whole gang was there. Riley, Angel, Parker, Darla, Harmony, and with the arrival of the three girls, the most popular kids in class were all there and Buffy couldn’t help but have a bad feeling about the implication.
Dr. William Marsters strolled towards the cafeteria. He had been waiting for this day since before he had even agreed to take this position. It was no secret what had been going on at Sunnydale High. It was like a hundred other small town schools, with weak administrators who let snot nose brats intimidate them because of their parents’ wealth and status. He had seen it before and it had always disgusted him.
William, “Spike” to his friends, had worked long and hard educating himself, pulling himself from nothing to graduate top of his class from Oxford. Then he had gone to teach both high school and college afterwards. He was also a published poet. And had accomplished success and wealth through hard work and perseverance, but after a messy divorce, he’d needed a break from the big city. He’d always loved a challenge, so when he heard of Snyder’s resignation from his old friend Ripper, he was ready for the change of pace.
Entering the cafeteria his smile faltered for a moment when he notice the small blond he had literally run into the first day of school. He remembered admonishing himself for letting his guard down by calling her Pet. He had been around pretty young girls for most of his career and boundaries had never been a problem for him. He dismissed the slip on first day nerves though in the back of his mind, he couldn’t stop noticing her beauty.
Now seeing her here with this bunch bothered him more than it should have. He never would have guessed her to be included in this group. Spike quickly pushed that out of his mind and got to the business at hand.
Buffy gulped when Dr. Masters walked into the cafeteria, his cold blue eyes meeting hers. If she didn’t know better, she would have sworn she saw a flash of disappointment cross his stony features for just a second before being replaced by impassiveness once more.
“Please find a seat, this may take a while,” Dr. Marsters instructed them.
There were groans as most of the group took seats at the cafeteria tables. Only Angel and Riley remained standing, arms crossed leaning against the far wall.
The principal raised an eyebrow as a slow smirk spread across his face. “So, a school handbook was handed out on Monday. It was to be signed by your parents and turned in no later than today. It seems some of you have yet to do so.”
“Must have slipped my mind,” Angel answered sounding bored.
“Well, Liam, let me refresh your memory,” he said, pulling a container from the floor and placing it on the table.
Buffy gasped when she saw the burned trashcan from the school parking lot.
“You have something to say, Miss…”
“Summers, Buffy Summers,” she stammered.
“Buffy, you were saying?” Spike gave her a challenging look.
She looked around noticing the scowls that Harmony and Cordelia where sending her way and the nervous look on her boyfriend’s face.
“N-nothing, I don’t have anything to say,” Buffy whispered ducking her head.
A flash of anger graced his face as he dumped the ashes on the cafeteria floor. “Well, since no one seems to know anything about this, then I’m guessing everyone will have their handbook signed and in my office by Monday morning. Whoever doesn’t will get a week’s detention.”
“What? You can’t do that! Football practice starts next week,” Riley argued.
Dr. Masters stalked up to the boy nose to nose, “Then, Mr. Finn, I suggest you turn in the bloody booklet before Monday or you won’t have to worry about your football practice, now will you?”
“You can’t do this,” Angel disputed.
“I just did. Now clean up this mess and get your arse back to class,” Spike said throwing a broom to the boy and stalking out of the cafeteria.