As Buffy entered the library, she set her bag down, quietly, on Giles' entrance desk. Giles was
actually nowhere to be seen, and Buffy was glad. She was already ten minutes late, and in Giles'
book, that could be counted as sloppy.
"Where've you been?" Buffy span around, taken surprise. Giles stood in the doorway, his hands
resting authoritatively upon his hips.
"Uh," said Buffy, searching, rapidly for an excuse. "Well, there was some sorta commotion in
the...wait a minute! You're late!"
"That is because I was speaking to Principal Snyder. And do you know what he said?" Buffy
rolled her eyes, and folded her arms in annoyance. "He said that *you* were the cause of *that*
commotion." Giles chuckled. "Could you believe that?" Buffy sighed. Giles could be really
annoying when he wanted to. Walking deeper into the library, away from her Watcher, Buffy
carefully hopped upon a desk, and began to swing her legs idly. Giles, of course, followed her.
He hadn't finished saying what he had to say.
"Buffy, I'm really quite disappointed in you. Th-this attitude has got to stop! We've got enough
on our plate right now, without having to deal with rescheduling around detentions and
expulsions!" Buffy didn't want to look him in the eye. As far as she could see, she hadn't done
anything wrong. All she had done was except her responsibilities - something which Giles had
wanted from her for ages, and now it was wrong? His words slurred into each other, as Buffy
began to think. Think real hard about where she actually stood here. All of a sudden, she felt a
deep hatred for the library. She felt like setting a match to each book and each shelf.
"Buffy?"
"Huh?"
"Are you listening to me?" questioned Giles.
"I, uh, just remembered that, uh, my mom's picking me up early today. I've gotta go!" Buffy leapt
from the desk, grabbed her bag, and trotted quickly out of the library, before Giles could say
anything else to her.
* * *
Outside, Buffy found that she was walking at a very fast pace. Her calve muscles ached from the
pressure, but she continued. As she reached the corner of the school building, she threw herself
against the wall, and allowed her hot angry tears to fall freely. She was so sick and tired of the
way that her slaying led her life, shaped it and made it into a horrible, strict routine. Cordelia had
been right; Buffy needed a break from the cycle. Just as this thought began to circle in her head,
Buffy heard familiar giggling from around the corner. Peering around, Buffy saw Willow flirting
with four guys who seemed to feel the same way about her.
"So, you coming to the party, Will?" one of them asked.
"Bien sūr!" she replied, in a cute little French accent.
"Oh wow! Your nose wrinkles up so cute when you do that!" At this remark, Willow did a little
curtsey, and the boys applauded, excitedly. Buffy felt sick. She felt...jealous.
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