Later that afternoon. . . .
"Alright, Buffy, that should do for today." Buffy took one more roundhouse kick at the mannequin's head and exhaled in satisfaction. She grabbed a towel and held it to her face for a moment and then swiped at her throat and the back of her neck.
"There's a new wrinkle you might be interested in, Buffy."
"What's that?" she asked between sips from her bottled water.
"It appears that Principal Snyder knows about the Hellmouth."
"What? How did you find that out? How does that little troll know about it?" Finished with her barrage of questions, Buffy stared aghast at her Watcher and was bemused by the embarrassment on Giles' face. "C'mon, Giles. Share!"
"Well, it-it appears we weren't quite alone in the library earlier today, when we discussed your gothic literature class."
"Snyder was here when we were talking? Giles! How could you?"
"No! No, Buffy, it wasn't him!" Giles said, trying to calm his Slayer.
"Then who?" Buffy gave the mannequin a very meaningful look.
"Er, Ms. Wells."
"Huh?"
"She was in the stacks researching for your class, and I quite simply forgot she was there."
"O-o-o-kay, you had a slight lapse in brainwave activity. I’ll buy that. But I still don't get what that has to do with Snyder." Buffy sat down in the chair across from him.
"Well, she has a degree from Harvard in-in literature, mainly in gothic texts, specifically those dealing with vampires." A tiny amount of enthusiasm leaked through his tone.
Buffy grinned. "Sounds like your kind of woman," she teased. "Sorry," she mumbled as she caught his glare, ducking her head guiltily. "Um, right. Harvard. Vampires. So?"
"She asked me what a Hellmouth was. I explained, and then she-she told me about Principal Snyder's reaction to her literature class."
"Had a cow, huh?"
"Um, yes. Quite." Giles mentally cringed at her use of the vernacular.
"So that begs the question: What's Snyder's deal? How is he wrapped up in all this? And does he know who I am? I mean, really, as in Buffy Summers the Vampire Slayer, not just Buffy Summers the Juvenile Delinquent and Prom Night Arsonist."
"Actually, th-that's three questions, and each bears investigating." Giles sank into thought.
"So, Giles. New ally?"
"Who? Principal Snyder?" Giles snapped back to the present.
"What, are you mental? I was talking about Ms. Wells." Buffy grinned at her Watcher. "I mean, with her vampire literature fetish, she might be a good friend to have."
"Buffy, as knowledgeable as she may be, she's not prepared for this. She only knows vampires as fiction. I can't bring someone else into this. Not after Jenny. . . ." Giles' voice trailed off and he looked away. Buffy gazed at him sympathetically.
"Giles, Jenny was involved long before she met either of us. Deeply involved. Nothing you might have done could have changed what happened. Or me either," she sighed.
"That is precisely why I cannot involve Ms. Wells."
Buffy felt his grief wash through her. She, more than everyone else, understood the depth of his loss. But maybe a friendship is what he needs, she thought. And who better than Eliza? Time would tell.
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