Elizabeth Anne Summers stood in line waiting for movie house to open. Willow stood beside her, complete with skinned knees and elbows, and scraggly red pigtails. Buffy, as Elizabeth was known, had a matching set of skinned knees and elbows, and to go one up on Willow, her cheek was scraped as well. Rather then pigtails, though, Buffy’s long blond hair was tucked up in a braid under a baseball cap that she stolen from her older brother, Liam.
Grubby tennis shoes, dirty ankles, and scabbed coltish legs led up to dirty jean shorts, and brightly colored t-shirts on both girls, Willow in orange, and Buffy in dark blue with a large basketball on the back. This was again procured from her older brother, and the short sleeves came to her thin bony elbows. Buffy’s hands were stuck in her back pockets, while Willow held a small coin purse possessively to her chest.
Today was the grand opening of Alien Invaders from Mars: Revenge of the Clone Monster, and both Buffy and Willow had been waiting to see it since Attack of the Clone Monster had come out. The line wasn’t budging though, because the theater didn’t open its doors for nearly thirty minutes yet. Hopping back and forth between feet, Willow’s red pigtails bounced against her shoulders. They were the only two in line so far, but that didn’t daunt them in the least.
Others would show up soon, after all, it was summer vacation, the sun was shinning, and they each knew of at least 3 other boys who would be showing up soon. They were just counting away the ticking of the clock that hung over the dime store across the street. Buffy was a bit of a tomboy, and while Willow certainly wouldn’t call herself a girly girl, she wasn’t exactly a tomboy, either.
Maybe it had to do with the major creepies she felt when she was around dirt for too long, or when she had to touch a worm, or something gross like that. All in all, though, Buffy and Willow got along great, and both stuck up for the other. They didn’t get along with the other girls they knew, but the boys were another matter. Some were okay, and some were just not.
Buffy was rocking back on her heels when she felt something slimy go down her shirt. With a growl even the fiercest of boys would appreciate, she turned with an upraised fist, and clocked the boy standing behind her. Willow jumped back and plastered herself against the wall of the movie house, and the other boys cheered Buffy on as she shoved the boy to the ground, and began tickling his sides mercilessly.
Willow had to admire Buffy for how she reacted. Most girls, and even some boys she knew, would have freaked out to feel a worm down their shirt. Buffy ignored it, and got the boy back first, then, only after Xander screamed uncle, did she get up, and take the worm from her shirt. With a slimy bit of mud, it landed on Xander’s nose, and he did indeed scream like a girl in response.
Laughing mercilessly, Buffy turned and leaned against the side of the building next to Willow. Xander stood up, and brushed the mud from his nose, and laughed nervously with the other guys, though he knew they were laughing at him. Jesse wormed in next to Willow, and pulled at one of her red pigtails, while Larry went up to peek inside the doors. Buffy pointed out that they still had nearly ten whole minutes before the doors would open, and that they knew from previous experience that the doors would only open when it was 3pm, and not a moment before then.
Just as she was turning to look behind her, Buffy noticed a thin boy with glasses standing off to the side a bit, just looking at the friends as they laughed and teased with each other. She nudged Willow, who in turn nudged Jesse, who pointed to Larry, who lastly poked Xander. In just a moment, all five of them had turned to look at the kid, much to the new kids embarrassment, if the red tint to his cheeks was any indication.
“Hi. I’m Buffy, and this is Willow, and Jesse, and Xander, and that’s Larry. Are you here to see Revenge of the Clone Monster? Cause the movie house doesn’t open until 3, but that’s only a few minutes away.” She smiled friendly at him, and slid over on the wall, to make more room for him. He shifted from foot to foot, his mop of curly light brown hair brushing over his eyes.
Willow waved to him, and each of the guys nodded as they sized the youth up. He looked like he was about 12, which was how old Larry was, but the rest of them were still only 10, with Willow not even 10 for a full 3 weeks yet. The shy youth shuffled closer, almost tripping over his untied sneaker laces in the process. When he was a bit closer to the group, he held out his hand.
“I’m Will’um. I just moved in. My Da works at University, in the library. I’m going to be in the 6th grade this year.” His voice was soft at first, but he stopped to clear his throat, and then it was better, deeper. Buffy smiled and held her hand out, and shook his hand.
“Nice to meet you Will. Can I call you Will? Cause, I like the name Will. Of course, that could get confusing, because I call Willow Will a lot of the time. I know, though, I’ll call Willow, Wills, or Willow. So, we have Will and Wills. Wanna sit with us?” Buffy tilted her head to the side, and grinned wide, showing a missing tooth on the bottom. Her smile was infectious, however, and soon, William was at ease with this odd group of kids, and smiling with them.
They had been so intent on talking with each other, that none of the kids noticed at first that the door was being unlocked. Buffy, with her back against the door, felt as the ticket taker started to open it, just a split second before it was opened. She caught herself on the door frame before spilling through the door, and hooted back at the others.
“Movie time, guys! Let’s go!” She grabbed Willow, and tugged her up front, and the two counted out the fifty cents required for Buffy to enter, then another fifty cents for Willow to enter. Once they were let in, they waited for the guys to enter, and then they each ponied up a dime, and bought a large popcorn and a soda to share between them.
William held back a bit, and bought a small soda for himself, and a small bag of salted peanuts, before following behind the others, and trip trapping up the steps to the balcony, which was deserted, and would likely remain that way. They noisily picked their seats, leaving William on the end. He nervously slid into the seat next to Buffy, and smiled at her, before removing his glasses, and wiping the lenses free of dirt.
As the movie started, Buffy held the box of popcorn towards him, but William declined. Buffy shrugged, and started kicking her legs against the chair as she dug a handful out of the box, before passing it to Xander, who sat on her left. On the left side of Xander, Willow sat, followed up by Jesse, then Larry. The opening credits started, and William found himself lost in the world of cinematography. Previews showed first, followed by a quick short, then it was time for the movie to start.
Next to him, Buffy slumped down, and kicked her feet up on the seat in front of them, and relaxed. He snuck a peak over at the girl, and was perplexed with her. She was so friendly and open, but she looked like such a boy. It had actually taken him a few minutes to determine whether or not she was a boy or girl. It was finally her name that had done it in for him. Must be a girl, he thought.
Maybe Sunnydale won’t be so bad, he thought, as the credits finished, and the first lurching scene of a space ship was shown in front of him.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
This is a story I started years ago, and loved. I'm picking it back up, but in the meantime, there are 10 or 11 chapters completed.
Chapter End Notes:
Well, there it was, the start of That Summer. I hope you enjoy reading it!