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Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry this took so long. And that it's short.
Chapter 7

Wednesday, September 9th…

Buffy spent a restless night in bed, her mind refusing to let her sleep until it had gone over all her choices, over and over again. On one hand, there was that normal life she’d been complaining she wanted since becoming a Slayer; on the other hand, she could have power to help the world again, which admittedly felt pretty good. Option 1: never having to be labeled a “freak” again. Option 2: knowing something Giles doesn’t. Option 1: college and grandchildren. Option 2: who knows what?

“Aaaaah!” she growled into her pillow. Turning her head, she peered with one eye at the clock. 6:00 AM. 45 minutes to sleep still.

Buffy felt like she blinked, and then her mother was knocking on the door, telling her to get up. Hardly any sleep, and she still hadn’t decided anything. Maybe the answer would come to her while she slept through Biology.
~+~
“Hey, Buffy. You look tired. Is everything okay?” Willow asked, concerned.

“Yeah, I just didn’t sleep much. Is it really that obvious? Do I need more concealer?” Buffy replied, starting to panic.

Willow rushed to reassure her friend. “No! No, you look fine, just…sleepy.”

“Oh, good! The last thing I need is Cordelia getting on my case for not looking ‘peppy’ enough for being a cheerleader. Second day, by the way? Not much easier than the first. I sooo miss Slayer stamina!”

“Hello, ladies! Have I missed anything since yesterday?” Xander asked, joining the pair.

“Nope.”

“Uh, Xander?” Buffy pointed to the corner of his mouth.

“Huh?”

“You’ve got a bit of jelly,” Willow supplied.

He hastily wiped it off. “Thanks, Will. That would have been embarrassing.” Xander took five steps down the hall to go to his locker, and tripped on his untied shoelaces. The girls winced as he hit the floor, then hurried to help him pick up his books before they got trampled. “I really jinxed myself with that one, huh?” he added.

They nodded in unison, and hurried off to 1st Period.
~+~
The day was routine: classes that struggled to hold her interest, lunch with Willow and Xander, homework in the library during her free period, more classes that were boring, rush into the locker room to change and get in the gym, and cheerleading practice. She really didn’t remember it being this hard in junior high, or as a freshman at Hemery. Maybe it was because, as a junior, she was on the JV team now, and they went to all the JV games. Even did a couple competitions. Of course, Miss Perfect Cordelia was already on the Varsity team. Probably had her dad make a nice donation to make sure of it, too. There was a Spirit Assembly in three weeks, and all the teams had to put on a routine for it. Looking at the position they wanted her to take because of her tiny stature, Buffy was positive she wasn’t going to make it. If the rest of this week didn’t kill her to begin with. Maybe the debate team wasn’t such a bad idea, after all…
~+~
Buffy answered the phone, since her mother was upstairs. “Hello?”

“Buffy, good, I caught you.”

“What’s up, Giles?”

“I was wondering if you could accompany me to the airport Friday to pick up Kendra…”

“Giles, I have cheerleading practice in the afternoon.”

“Oh, well…can’t you get out of it? I want Kendra to feel at ease here, Buffy, and she already knows of you…”

“What time?” she sighed.

“5 o’clock.”

“Well, I can still be at practice for an hour, then. Fine, I’ll do it, but if my coach chews my head off, I’m coming after you.”

He chuckled. “Noted. See you tomorrow, Buffy.”

She grumbled as she hung up the phone, then went up to her room. Thinking needed to be done before she called Mrs. Blackwell.
~+~
“Uh, hi…this is Buffy? I hope this isn’t a bad time…”

“Not at all, dear. We’ve been waiting to hear from you. Have you decided?”

“Well, I think I’m interested…and Kendra arrives on Friday, so…can you explain exactly what happens in this ritual?” She nibbled her lip as she waited for Mrs. Blackwell’s reply.

“What does your heart tell you to choose, Buffy?”

The teen focused within on the feeling of her intuition. “I feel that you guys are on the up and up, but I’m just…worried about how this will effect my life, you know? I’m only 16, and I already did the duty-bound thing…and…Mom’s just starting to trust me again. Maybe you should assign someone else to Kendra, and come back to me, say…when I graduate?”

Lillian was silent for a while. Buffy was just about to start wondering if the line went dead, when the older woman spoke again.

“Well, we don’t normally do this, but I believe we can trust you, Buffy…what do you say to coming down and observing what we do? You can talk to the other ladies, ask questions, and see with your own eyes that we champion a worthy cause…”

That sounded fair. “Um, I guess I could do that…”

Lillian sighed in relief. “Good. May I pick you up this evening?”

“I guess I could leave a note for my mom. We won’t be out late, will we? I have to be in by 10:00 on school nights.”

“It won’t take nearly that long, dear. I’ll see you soon.”

“Okay, Mrs. Blackwell. Thanks for understanding,” Buffy replied.

~+~

“Soon” was an understatement, as just two minutes later, Mrs. Blackwell teleported into Buffy’s living room.

“GAH!” Buffy shrieked. “Warn a person!”

She smiled gently. “Forgive me. I forget about things like that. So, are you ready?”

“Shhh! My mother’s upstairs! I haven’t even had a chance to tell her I’m going out, yet. Duh!” The teen flounced halfway up the stairs, and called, “Mom! Mrs. Blackwell is here to take me by her facility. I won’t be late!”

Joyce Summers appeared at the top of the stairs. “I didn’t realize you had an appointment today, Buffy.”

“I, um, kinda forgot…”

“It will be a quick tour, Mrs. Summers. Just an hour or two, at the most,” Lillian added.

“Alright. Have fun, sweetheart, and take a jacket.”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Yes, Mom.”

Joyce nodded and went back into her bedroom. Buffy turned back to Mrs. Blackwell.

“Should I change?” she asked, indicating the sweats and baggy t-shirt she was wearing.

“If you would be more comfortable, but it isn’t necessary. You’re one of the Chosen, dear. We would welcome you in any state.”

“Um, okay…I’m still going to change. Be right back.”

The teen quickly put on jeans and a short-sleeved blouse, and ran back down the stairs. They left the house, walked around to a discreet part of the yard, and teleported away.





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