New Sunnydale High School, A Few Days Later (December 2002/Still Tuesday Fandom Time)
The girls seemed so much more relaxed today, after successfully pulling off their first staking. Or successfully surviving it, if Kennedy was feeling uncharitable, but today she leaned more toward the complimentary. She'd definitely noticed that; even Vi had the bare hints of a swagger about her this morning. How long that would last, well...
It had been one vampire. Granted, one vampire that Buffy and Spike had locked into a crypt with them (evil, yet effective as tactics went), but just the appetizer, so to speak. All signs pointed to the eventual main course being a hell of a lot bigger.
Which was why Kennedy felt like today was the best day ever to barge ahead with the plan she'd been forming, a plan in which step one meant tracking Buffy down at work (she'd waited long enough to hang in there until evening) and talking to her. This, of course, meant venturing out into Sunnydale on her own but in broad daylight she figured it was safe enough provided she helped herself to the weapons chest first.
She got a little lost on the way, which she'd never admit to, being the sophisticated big-city girl she was; a wrong turn led her out toward the end of Main Street and a closed down magic shop with a sign out front that made her do a double take, and laugh. (The Magic Box, really? Here? What were the odds?) For a moment, the urge to open the door and step inside was really, really strong, but Fandom felt like a different lifetime and a thousand years ago, and the impulse faded as quickly as it had arisen. Besides, it wasn't the same... and as she got a little closer, she realized the building itself was a mess of rubble, not much left of it except the facade.
Yeah. That cemented the whole different-lifetime, thousand-years-ago thing, but it made her a little sad.
Sunnydale High was a total small-town high school, once she'd found it, and so new it practically still smelled like fresh paint and drywall, with its sleek modern lines and fancy lighting. Nothing like any of Kennedy's old boarding schools, and again with the vague distant wistfulness for Fandom. Plus? Public school, and it took a moment to stomp on the reflex to look condescendingly around the hallways. Pretty nice place, all things considered; pretty nice dressing to cover up the Hellmouth underneath.
Once that thought hit her, Kennedy couldn't look down at the kids any more; she just felt bad for everyone who didn't realize it, or maybe didn't have a choice.
She finally found her way to Buffy's office-- the Slayer had a day job, and that was still a weird thought-- and pushed open the door.
"Hey," she said, standing on tiptoe to lean over the cubicle partition. "Can I talk to you about something?"
Buffy
"Oh, hey," she said, looking up. If she was a little surprised to see one of the girls here, it was because Buffy never let her slaying interfere with her work- Okay, that was a total lie, she just didn't know Kennedy knew how to get here. "Sure. Uh, guess that dovetails in with my next question about what you're doing here, huh?"
Kennedy
She'd had to wheedle directions out of a few people on the way. It hadn't been pretty.
"I'm efficient like that," Kennedy answered, which was totally a lie, or at least made up on the spot. Being the obnoxious brat she was, she didn't wait for an invitation to come in, although she did hover just behind the chair. "Actually, I had a whole idea thing I wanted to ask you about."
In the school guidance office. Clearly her best plan ever.
"Huh," she said after a moment.
Buffy
Uh oh. When the new kids had ideas, that was when it was time to worry. Buffy would probably have to keep from rolling her eyes and explain that that wasn't how you did things in the Dale or something that sounded equally uncool when said by someone over the age of thirteen and then it'd be awkward. In large part because she'd said the uncool thing. Was that what it was like to be Giles?
And yet she was going to listen anyway.
If Kennedy spoke.
"You were asking?" she said after a moment.
Kennedy
"Sorry, I just..." She shrugged. "The first time I met my, uh... mentor was in the guidance office at my elementary school. I don't know why I remembered that just now, but it was kinda cool."
But anyway.
"So, business." Kennedy put her hands on the back of the chair and leaned forward. "Someone's gotta keep the newbies from climbing the walls all day. Give 'em something constructive to do while you're being all... gainfully employed."
Constructive, as opposed to breaking the furniture. Like the furniture in that house needed any more of that.
Buffy
If the Summerses had just owned stock in IKEA, maybe Buffy wouldn't have needed a job.
"And is this where you say that someone's you?" she asked. "Hopefully I didn't steal your thunder there."
Kennedy
She had, with the thunder-stealing, which was sort of a bummer because Kennedy'd had a whole flashy intro line planned, but--
"Who else?" asked Kennedy, because of course obvious answer was obvious. "Not to say they're totally clueless, just new at this, thus kinda freaked."
Buffy
Yeah, Buffy was going to raise an eyebrow at that so-called obviousness, but okay. "And what were you thinking of having them do?" Buffy asked. "Because I could use some cheap labor around the house."
Kennedy
Kennedy deserved that. She wouldn't say so, but she did.
"Training," she replied, again with a healthy dose of duh. At this rate, it might be a miracle for her to make it through this without getting smacked... assuming they survived. "Molly, Vi, and Chloe have some prep there, but Rona's a total newbie. I mean, come on, that's a liability if we can't get her up to speed, and we're all going to go stir-crazy sitting around staring at the walls and waiting for something to happen. I can do this."
Yes, that sounded a little pushy; it'd been a tried and true approach most of her life, so why not?
"...besides, isn't the repair stuff Xander's job?"
Sorry, Xander.
Buffy
Notice how Buffy was ignoring that last part. It wasn't that the girl didn't have a point or anything, but because Kennedy was well, being Kennedy, Buffy decided she was just going to be an irritating hardass in return. "So why do you think you should be doing this, anyway?"
Kennedy
Oh, come on, she had to make a case for herself? Really?
Yes, Kennedy, because unlike you not everybody thinks you should get things purely on the strength (such as it is) of being you.
"Because," and yes, that was a slightly put-upon sigh, "I'm not new at this stuff. I'm not you, but I'm not clueless. Yeah, yeah, I know you're supposed to be--"
She lowered her voice. "Protecting us, but we deserve a chance to help ourselves out there."
Buffy
Buffy paused.
"You do," she said, appreciating the voice-lowering there. "Okay. Who knows, maybe you can all learn something from each other."
Like humility? Could you learn humility in training?
"As long as you promise not to break anything." Because her house really had been through enough.
Kennedy
Someone in this room could use a refresher in that, huh?
"Yeah, s--" Kennedy had to consider for a moment, because some of the girls...
"Not on purpose?"
Buffy
"Definitely not on purpose, and let's try to keep the accidental breakage to a minimum," she clarified. Because when was the last time she tried to break something that got broken?
Kennedy
That was reasonable, and Kennedy (who, personally, was more likely to break things if anyone let her help in the kitchen) brightened. "I can work with those terms, totally."
She was already coming up with ideas for drills. Uh oh.
[[you know the nfi/nfb/ooc-okay drill. preplayed with the exemplary (look, i like superlative compliments) annieadderall as stillbaking, vaguely based on stuff from btvs 7x12, "potential," and set just after that episode. yes, i skipped actually doing it. nyeah.]]
It had been one vampire. Granted, one vampire that Buffy and Spike had locked into a crypt with them (evil, yet effective as tactics went), but just the appetizer, so to speak. All signs pointed to the eventual main course being a hell of a lot bigger.
Which was why Kennedy felt like today was the best day ever to barge ahead with the plan she'd been forming, a plan in which step one meant tracking Buffy down at work (she'd waited long enough to hang in there until evening) and talking to her. This, of course, meant venturing out into Sunnydale on her own but in broad daylight she figured it was safe enough provided she helped herself to the weapons chest first.
She got a little lost on the way, which she'd never admit to, being the sophisticated big-city girl she was; a wrong turn led her out toward the end of Main Street and a closed down magic shop with a sign out front that made her do a double take, and laugh. (The Magic Box, really? Here? What were the odds?) For a moment, the urge to open the door and step inside was really, really strong, but Fandom felt like a different lifetime and a thousand years ago, and the impulse faded as quickly as it had arisen. Besides, it wasn't the same... and as she got a little closer, she realized the building itself was a mess of rubble, not much left of it except the facade.
Yeah. That cemented the whole different-lifetime, thousand-years-ago thing, but it made her a little sad.
Sunnydale High was a total small-town high school, once she'd found it, and so new it practically still smelled like fresh paint and drywall, with its sleek modern lines and fancy lighting. Nothing like any of Kennedy's old boarding schools, and again with the vague distant wistfulness for Fandom. Plus? Public school, and it took a moment to stomp on the reflex to look condescendingly around the hallways. Pretty nice place, all things considered; pretty nice dressing to cover up the Hellmouth underneath.
Once that thought hit her, Kennedy couldn't look down at the kids any more; she just felt bad for everyone who didn't realize it, or maybe didn't have a choice.
She finally found her way to Buffy's office-- the Slayer had a day job, and that was still a weird thought-- and pushed open the door.
"Hey," she said, standing on tiptoe to lean over the cubicle partition. "Can I talk to you about something?"
Buffy
"Oh, hey," she said, looking up. If she was a little surprised to see one of the girls here, it was because Buffy never let her slaying interfere with her work- Okay, that was a total lie, she just didn't know Kennedy knew how to get here. "Sure. Uh, guess that dovetails in with my next question about what you're doing here, huh?"
Kennedy
She'd had to wheedle directions out of a few people on the way. It hadn't been pretty.
"I'm efficient like that," Kennedy answered, which was totally a lie, or at least made up on the spot. Being the obnoxious brat she was, she didn't wait for an invitation to come in, although she did hover just behind the chair. "Actually, I had a whole idea thing I wanted to ask you about."
In the school guidance office. Clearly her best plan ever.
"Huh," she said after a moment.
Buffy
Uh oh. When the new kids had ideas, that was when it was time to worry. Buffy would probably have to keep from rolling her eyes and explain that that wasn't how you did things in the Dale or something that sounded equally uncool when said by someone over the age of thirteen and then it'd be awkward. In large part because she'd said the uncool thing. Was that what it was like to be Giles?
And yet she was going to listen anyway.
If Kennedy spoke.
"You were asking?" she said after a moment.
Kennedy
"Sorry, I just..." She shrugged. "The first time I met my, uh... mentor was in the guidance office at my elementary school. I don't know why I remembered that just now, but it was kinda cool."
But anyway.
"So, business." Kennedy put her hands on the back of the chair and leaned forward. "Someone's gotta keep the newbies from climbing the walls all day. Give 'em something constructive to do while you're being all... gainfully employed."
Constructive, as opposed to breaking the furniture. Like the furniture in that house needed any more of that.
Buffy
If the Summerses had just owned stock in IKEA, maybe Buffy wouldn't have needed a job.
"And is this where you say that someone's you?" she asked. "Hopefully I didn't steal your thunder there."
Kennedy
She had, with the thunder-stealing, which was sort of a bummer because Kennedy'd had a whole flashy intro line planned, but--
"Who else?" asked Kennedy, because of course obvious answer was obvious. "Not to say they're totally clueless, just new at this, thus kinda freaked."
Buffy
Yeah, Buffy was going to raise an eyebrow at that so-called obviousness, but okay. "And what were you thinking of having them do?" Buffy asked. "Because I could use some cheap labor around the house."
Kennedy
Kennedy deserved that. She wouldn't say so, but she did.
"Training," she replied, again with a healthy dose of duh. At this rate, it might be a miracle for her to make it through this without getting smacked... assuming they survived. "Molly, Vi, and Chloe have some prep there, but Rona's a total newbie. I mean, come on, that's a liability if we can't get her up to speed, and we're all going to go stir-crazy sitting around staring at the walls and waiting for something to happen. I can do this."
Yes, that sounded a little pushy; it'd been a tried and true approach most of her life, so why not?
"...besides, isn't the repair stuff Xander's job?"
Sorry, Xander.
Buffy
Notice how Buffy was ignoring that last part. It wasn't that the girl didn't have a point or anything, but because Kennedy was well, being Kennedy, Buffy decided she was just going to be an irritating hardass in return. "So why do you think you should be doing this, anyway?"
Kennedy
Oh, come on, she had to make a case for herself? Really?
Yes, Kennedy, because unlike you not everybody thinks you should get things purely on the strength (such as it is) of being you.
"Because," and yes, that was a slightly put-upon sigh, "I'm not new at this stuff. I'm not you, but I'm not clueless. Yeah, yeah, I know you're supposed to be--"
She lowered her voice. "Protecting us, but we deserve a chance to help ourselves out there."
Buffy
Buffy paused.
"You do," she said, appreciating the voice-lowering there. "Okay. Who knows, maybe you can all learn something from each other."
Like humility? Could you learn humility in training?
"As long as you promise not to break anything." Because her house really had been through enough.
Kennedy
Someone in this room could use a refresher in that, huh?
"Yeah, s--" Kennedy had to consider for a moment, because some of the girls...
"Not on purpose?"
Buffy
"Definitely not on purpose, and let's try to keep the accidental breakage to a minimum," she clarified. Because when was the last time she tried to break something that got broken?
Kennedy
That was reasonable, and Kennedy (who, personally, was more likely to break things if anyone let her help in the kitchen) brightened. "I can work with those terms, totally."
She was already coming up with ideas for drills. Uh oh.
[[you know the nfi/nfb/ooc-okay drill. preplayed with the exemplary (look, i like superlative compliments) annieadderall as stillbaking, vaguely based on stuff from btvs 7x12, "potential," and set just after that episode. yes, i skipped actually doing it. nyeah.]]