BtVS Fic: College Girl
Title: College Girl
Fandom: BtVS
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Buffy, Joyce.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1092
Spoilers: Graduation Day, The Freshman.
Summary: Summer break is over, and tomorrow Buffy will be starting college at UC Sunnydale.
Written For: Weekend Challenge Prompt: ‘Summer break ended suddenly, but not dreadfully,’ at 1_million_words.
Disclaimer: I don’t own BTVS, or the characters.
Summer break ended suddenly, but not dreadfully; it was just kind of a letdown. It always went by too fast anyway. Even between school years, when the summer seemed endless, there’d always been too much to fit in: all the things that had to be done, like chores, school assignments, Slaying, and shopping for school supplies, and all the things Buffy wanted to do, like hanging out with her friends, shopping for clothes, going to the beach, or the movies, maybe even dating, if she was able to find someone interested in going out with her, which most of the time she wasn’t.
She’d thought this year might be different.
Maybe because of the events surrounding graduation, and the mayor turning into a gigantic demon snake, her Slayer duties had been heavier than normal, but that should have gotten balanced out by the complete lack of schoolwork, what with her no longer being in school. In Buffy’s opinion, the summer between high school and college should have been filled with the giddy freedom of being a young woman on the cusp of adulthood, whatever that meant, but somehow it hadn’t quite worked out that way.
Leaving aside the excessive Slaying, she’d been faced with the task of deciding what to take with her to college in the fall and getting it all packed. It wasn’t enough just to take clothes, shoes, and makeup, and the sort of stationery supplies she’d need for her courses. She’d have to supply her own bedding, a lamp and some other small furnishings, personal items like stuffed animals, something to play music on, her alarm clock… She’d had so much to think about, and she’d been sure she’d forget something important, which she very nearly had. It was a good thing Willow had reminded her about selecting the courses she wanted to take, ‘cause showing up on the first day not knowing that little detail could have led to some pretty big problems.
In the end, the long, hot summer days had flown past in the blink of an eye; there’d been less hanging out with friends than in previous years, fewer beach trips, only two movies, and a bare handful of shopping trips, leaving Buffy feeling kinda cheated, life having gotten in the way of her plans. Now here it was, the end of summer, and in the morning, she’d be heading out to enrol as a Freshman at UC Sunnydale.
Her bedroom hardly seemed like her room anymore, with so much packed in boxes to take with her. It reminded her of when her parents had gotten divorced, moving out of the house she’d grown up in to start over in another town. This wasn’t quite the same; the university campus was only a few miles down the road, and she’d be able to come home whenever she wanted. It wasn’t as if she was moving out permanently, but it was still kinda scary.
It was exciting too, more freedom than she’d ever had in her life, and no mom breathing down her neck, checking up on her, but even now, the night before, she had mixed feelings about the whole thing. It seemed like such a big step. Was she ready? Was it even a good idea? Could she still manage to carry out her role as the Slayer while sharing a dorm room with a stranger? She supposed she’d find out once she got there and started trying to juggle classes, coursework, Slaying, and a social life.
But wasn’t that pretty much what she’d already been doing for the past few years? It hadn’t always been easy, but she’d done it, and she’d still have Giles to turn to for help and advice if she needed it. Her Watcher would be staying in Sunnydale for the time being, and Willow and Oz would also be enrolling tomorrow, so she wouldn’t be completely alone. Not everything would be changing.
“I can do this,” she told herself firmly as she got ready for bed. “I’m College Girl now, and I’m ready.”
Still, as she slid into bed for her last night at home until… whenever, she reached for her stuffed pig and hugged him close. Mr Gordo would be going with her, as her lucky mascot, because everyone needed a loyal friend to tell their secrets and their troubles to.
Her mom tapped on the door before pushing it open.
“Buffy?” she asked quietly. “Are you still awake?”
“Yes, mom.”
“Oh. Good.” Her mom came all the way into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. “So, tomorrow. Off to college.”
“Yep! Bright and early! You are still driving me, aren’t you?”
“Of course I am, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I put a sign up at the gallery last week to say it’ll be closed all day tomorrow. We’ll have a special breakfast together, then load the car and drive over to UC Sunnydale.” She brushed Buffy’s hair back. “I’m so proud of you. My little girl’s leaving the nest. It’s hard to believe; you’ve grown up so fast!”
“Tell me about it.”
“Are you nervous?”
“A little, but it can’t be any worse than having to start over at a new school, not knowing anyone, and I survived that. At least this time I’ll have a couple of friends with me.”
“You’ll do fine.” Her mom leaned over to kiss her on the forehead, something she almost never did these days. “Goodnight, sweetheart. Sleep well.” Getting up, she left the room, closing the door behind her, and Buffy stared up at the ceiling, familiar now after several years of sleeping in this bed, in this room.
Tomorrow night, she’d be sleeping in a strange bed, in a strange room she’d be sharing with a stranger. She wondered if her mom would miss her, if she’d come in here, sit on the bed, and think about her the way she’d admitted to doing when Buffy ran away to L.A., not much more than a year ago.
It was going to be weird at first, not having each other around, but they’d both be okay; it was all part of growing up. Kids left home, and parents got on with their own lives, and it wasn’t like she was moving to another state, or another country. That would be so much harder.
Turning the bedside lamp off, Buffy closed her eyes and tried to relax. There was nothing for her to worry about; everything was going to be fine.
The End
Fandom: BtVS
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Buffy, Joyce.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1092
Spoilers: Graduation Day, The Freshman.
Summary: Summer break is over, and tomorrow Buffy will be starting college at UC Sunnydale.
Written For: Weekend Challenge Prompt: ‘Summer break ended suddenly, but not dreadfully,’ at 1_million_words.
Disclaimer: I don’t own BTVS, or the characters.
Summer break ended suddenly, but not dreadfully; it was just kind of a letdown. It always went by too fast anyway. Even between school years, when the summer seemed endless, there’d always been too much to fit in: all the things that had to be done, like chores, school assignments, Slaying, and shopping for school supplies, and all the things Buffy wanted to do, like hanging out with her friends, shopping for clothes, going to the beach, or the movies, maybe even dating, if she was able to find someone interested in going out with her, which most of the time she wasn’t.
She’d thought this year might be different.
Maybe because of the events surrounding graduation, and the mayor turning into a gigantic demon snake, her Slayer duties had been heavier than normal, but that should have gotten balanced out by the complete lack of schoolwork, what with her no longer being in school. In Buffy’s opinion, the summer between high school and college should have been filled with the giddy freedom of being a young woman on the cusp of adulthood, whatever that meant, but somehow it hadn’t quite worked out that way.
Leaving aside the excessive Slaying, she’d been faced with the task of deciding what to take with her to college in the fall and getting it all packed. It wasn’t enough just to take clothes, shoes, and makeup, and the sort of stationery supplies she’d need for her courses. She’d have to supply her own bedding, a lamp and some other small furnishings, personal items like stuffed animals, something to play music on, her alarm clock… She’d had so much to think about, and she’d been sure she’d forget something important, which she very nearly had. It was a good thing Willow had reminded her about selecting the courses she wanted to take, ‘cause showing up on the first day not knowing that little detail could have led to some pretty big problems.
In the end, the long, hot summer days had flown past in the blink of an eye; there’d been less hanging out with friends than in previous years, fewer beach trips, only two movies, and a bare handful of shopping trips, leaving Buffy feeling kinda cheated, life having gotten in the way of her plans. Now here it was, the end of summer, and in the morning, she’d be heading out to enrol as a Freshman at UC Sunnydale.
Her bedroom hardly seemed like her room anymore, with so much packed in boxes to take with her. It reminded her of when her parents had gotten divorced, moving out of the house she’d grown up in to start over in another town. This wasn’t quite the same; the university campus was only a few miles down the road, and she’d be able to come home whenever she wanted. It wasn’t as if she was moving out permanently, but it was still kinda scary.
It was exciting too, more freedom than she’d ever had in her life, and no mom breathing down her neck, checking up on her, but even now, the night before, she had mixed feelings about the whole thing. It seemed like such a big step. Was she ready? Was it even a good idea? Could she still manage to carry out her role as the Slayer while sharing a dorm room with a stranger? She supposed she’d find out once she got there and started trying to juggle classes, coursework, Slaying, and a social life.
But wasn’t that pretty much what she’d already been doing for the past few years? It hadn’t always been easy, but she’d done it, and she’d still have Giles to turn to for help and advice if she needed it. Her Watcher would be staying in Sunnydale for the time being, and Willow and Oz would also be enrolling tomorrow, so she wouldn’t be completely alone. Not everything would be changing.
“I can do this,” she told herself firmly as she got ready for bed. “I’m College Girl now, and I’m ready.”
Still, as she slid into bed for her last night at home until… whenever, she reached for her stuffed pig and hugged him close. Mr Gordo would be going with her, as her lucky mascot, because everyone needed a loyal friend to tell their secrets and their troubles to.
Her mom tapped on the door before pushing it open.
“Buffy?” she asked quietly. “Are you still awake?”
“Yes, mom.”
“Oh. Good.” Her mom came all the way into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. “So, tomorrow. Off to college.”
“Yep! Bright and early! You are still driving me, aren’t you?”
“Of course I am, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I put a sign up at the gallery last week to say it’ll be closed all day tomorrow. We’ll have a special breakfast together, then load the car and drive over to UC Sunnydale.” She brushed Buffy’s hair back. “I’m so proud of you. My little girl’s leaving the nest. It’s hard to believe; you’ve grown up so fast!”
“Tell me about it.”
“Are you nervous?”
“A little, but it can’t be any worse than having to start over at a new school, not knowing anyone, and I survived that. At least this time I’ll have a couple of friends with me.”
“You’ll do fine.” Her mom leaned over to kiss her on the forehead, something she almost never did these days. “Goodnight, sweetheart. Sleep well.” Getting up, she left the room, closing the door behind her, and Buffy stared up at the ceiling, familiar now after several years of sleeping in this bed, in this room.
Tomorrow night, she’d be sleeping in a strange bed, in a strange room she’d be sharing with a stranger. She wondered if her mom would miss her, if she’d come in here, sit on the bed, and think about her the way she’d admitted to doing when Buffy ran away to L.A., not much more than a year ago.
It was going to be weird at first, not having each other around, but they’d both be okay; it was all part of growing up. Kids left home, and parents got on with their own lives, and it wasn’t like she was moving to another state, or another country. That would be so much harder.
Turning the bedside lamp off, Buffy closed her eyes and tried to relax. There was nothing for her to worry about; everything was going to be fine.
The End