Title: First Day Blues
Author: Emony
Rating: FRT
Disclaimer: Murphy and Whedon are the geniuses behind these characters... not me.
Fandom: BtVS/Glee
Characters: Buffy Summers, Xander Harris, Will Schuester, Rachel Berry, Sue Sylvester
Spoilers: Post BtVS, Post Sectionals
Summary: New school, new job, old enemies.
Words: 1549
Notes: I apologise for the rust. There may be more.
***
She smiled as she pulled into the lot of William McKinley High School. New school, new start and hopefully she wouldn't burn down any buildings, blow up the school or destroy the entire town this time. She was Dr Summers now, fully qualified Guidance Counsellor. She was ready to break out on her own, far enough away to do her own thing, but close enough to get back to the Hellmouth in a little under three hours in good traffic.
She found a space fairly quickly; unfortunately it was right next to the dumpsters - and a group of jocks and one nerdy looking guy with a camera. All looking perfectly innocent around the adult who could possibly get them into trouble, she rolled her eyes, High School, well Buffy, you did ask for this.
She got out of the car, locked it and made for the main building, carefully ignoring the sounds of someone landing in a half full dumpster - work hadn't begun just yet.
Once inside the school she followed signs for the principal's office and found herself in an outer office with two, she supposed they were teachers of some sort, people arguing.
Turning towards her the woman in the pink tracksuit smirked,
"Sorry William, looks like your last hope just got itself trampled by the basketball team, the new girl's arrived," she said to the guy with the tub of gel in his hair, turning to Buffy she continued, "Coach Sylvester, I'm sure you've heard of me."
Buffy, with memories of her cheerleading days filling her thoughts, gave the coach her ditziest grin,
"I sure have, I was on the Hemery Squad in 1996, it's so awesome to see you again."
At that the Coach scowled and left the room quickly. The hair gel guy turned to her,
"Will Schuester, Spanish and Glee Club."
"Uh, Buffy Summers, Guidance Counsellor," Buffy replied, taking a seat.
"So," Schuester said, "You've met Sue before?"
Buffy grinned,
"Back in my own High School days, when I was still a Cheerleader we beat out Sue's team to win Nationals. Apparently we were the first team to manage it for a long time. She didn't take it so well."
Buffy Summers hadn't been the first person to destroy Hemery property.
"First and last I think," Schuester added, "well, you made an enemy for life that day, but, well, there aren't many who don't fit in that category for Sue, unless you're a Cheerio."
Wouldn't be the first time, and she's nowhere near the scariest Buffy thought as the inner door finally opened.
Figgins popped his head round the door; they'd met at her interview; and smiled,
"Dr Summers, ah, I see you've met one of our teachers already."
"I have, and got myself reacquainted with another."
"Uh, reacquainted?" Figgins asked worriedly, looking towards Schuester.
"Oh, Sue and I go all the way back to '96, I was a Hemery girl."
***
Buffy was in the cleanest office she'd ever seen, and thank God it actually was an office this time, and not a cubicle, the perks of actually being qualified for the job she supposed. She had already packed up some of the lamest pamphlets she'd ever seen along with a frightening amount of cleaning products. She was setting up some of her files on the computer when a brunette in clothes she hadn't seen since she'd been in school knocked on the door.
Waving her in she pulled up Ms Pillsbury's calendar and found the name and attached file of her first appointment, well prepared was written in block capitals next to the girl’s name,
"Rachel Berry, I have a standing appointment this time every Monday," announced the girl as she took a seat opposite Buffy.
"Nice to meet you Rachel," Buffy said, stifling a smile, "I'm Dr Summers, or Buffy if you'd prefer."
Rachel frowned and pulled out a laptop, setting on the desk at an angle so they both could see the screen.
"Dr Summers, I think, it's always good to keep things professional. Now, this week it's probably best if I just bring you up to speed..."
Leaning forward to look at the screen, Buffy realised Ms Emma Pillsbury must have been voted person least likely to exaggerate at her own high school.
***
Buffy wandered along the hall at lunch, heading for the teachers’ lounge and watching the students. It seemed as if almost every high school stereotype was played out to the full in this school. The jocks always in their letter jackets, the Cheerleaders all in uniform, the nerds huddled in corners avoiding everyone. Hold on a second, she thought whilst watching a group of kids meet in the hallway, this is all wrong. A couple of jocks were talking with, not bullying, the kid in the wheelchair and the gay kid and a couple of cheerleaders were laughing with, not at, the pregnant girl. Huh.
Despite Sue Sylvester, and the previous guidance counsellor being little nuts, it looked like something was working in this school. She'd have to find out what - and make sure it carried on.
Reaching the teachers’ lounge she found a spare table and pulled out her lunch, just a quick salad she'd made that morning. Sue snarled at her from her seat on the other side of the room but otherwise made no move towards her. The overweight guy in the way too short shorts slid into the chair opposite.
"Coach Ken Tanaka," he announced, he looked her over, "you must be Summers."
“Dr Buffy Summers, nice to meet you."
"Yeah, yeah. Just keep your ladyness to yourself and away from me and we'll do just fine, I know what you so called Guidance Counsellors are like," and with that he headed out of the room.
"OK, weird," she said to herself.
"Don't worry about it," Schuester said from behind her left shoulder, "do you mind if I sit?"
"Go ahead."
Taking a seat, Schuester began sorting his own lunch, of what looked like PB&J sandwiches, out.
"Ken's just a little," he waved his hand back and forth, "about Em-, Ms Pillsbury."
Buffy did the polite smile thing.
"So, what made you pick McKinley, especially if you have a background with Sue?" Schuester asked, taking a bite of his PB&J.
"Oh, I'd completely forgotten about Sue until this morning-"
"I didn't think that was possible," Will laughed.
"Oh, I've seen worse than her. Anyway, I needed a fresh start some place a little more normal."
"Normal?"
"When compared to Cleveland and then to California before that."
Schuester nodded,
"I know you're new, but I have a small favour to ask."
"You can ask, doesn't mean I'll say yes."
"I said earlier that I'm the Director of Glee Club?" At her nod he continues, "Well, this would just be on occasion, when we take the club somewhere, but I need another chaperone, Em- Ms Pillsbury was before and there's no way I'd ask Sue, and Ken wouldn't do it because Em- Ms Pillsbury did it before and-"
He stopped when she held her hand up,
"Ok, no need to guilt me into it. It'd give me a chance to meet more of the kids, see how they are away from my office. As long as I don't have to sing, I don't, do I?"
Schuester looked relieved, over the top relieved,
"Oh, thank you so much. Figgins was threatening to cut funds again if I couldn't get someone to do it, even if they did take Sectionals. And, uh, no, you don't have to sing."
She smiled, banishing memories of Sweet the singing and dancing demon from her mind.
***
She headed for the band room after classes ended; hoping to meet Will, as he'd asked her to call him, getting tired of her calling him Mr Schuester, before the kids arrived.
Unfortunately she'd been held up by the pervy little kid she'd seen buy the dumpsters that the morning, and was now running fifteen minutes late.
She finally made it to the room, hearing singing already; she sighed and opened the door. As she entered Will turned to her, waved and patted the piano stool next to him. She made her way over quietly and sat down, looking up as she realised the singing had stumbled to a halt.
"Guys," Will announced to the group she'd seen in the hall that lunch, with added Rachel Berry, "This is Dr Summers; she'll be your new chaperone next time we head out anywhere, so she's just here to see how we do things, how about we give her a show?"
***
She was slouching in her brand new best comfy chair ever, drinking a glass of wine and watching whatever dance show it was on the TV.
"So, how was your first day?" Xander, who was staying a week or two to help her settle in, asked her from his place on the couch.
"Not bad, ran into an old enemy, met some good kids, and met some weird staff. All in all, it was good."
"Did you have to..?" He made the slicing motion that these days meant kill something good with the big bad slayer scythe.
"Nah, Hemery era enemy."
"Evil cheerleader?"
"Something like," she answered, laughing.
End.