Buffy was woken up by Joyce.
"I've just had a phone call from that nice Librarian from your school. He says you're leaving on a school exchange today. Why didn't you tell me?"
Buffy yawned. "What?" she tried to look confused. "I didn't know about that." She smiled sleepily, "Can I go?"
"Yes." Joyce smiled. "It's nice to see you getting involved in school activities. But you're going to have to get up now otherwise you won't be ready in time. I'll start breakfast."
Buffy watched her mother go. Giles must have put a spell on her or something, she thought. That was too easy. She sat up in bed and looked towards her wardrobe. There was a lot to do today. She stretched and swung out of bed.
It took her a while to find a suitcase big enough to take all the stuff she needed. She made sure she packed her stake-heeled stiletto boots, she knew she couldn't take actual stakes on a plane. She'd get arrested. She packed a couple of crosses, just in case and a small amount of Holy Water. She reasoned that the Guild would equip her when she got there, this was just to get to the airport safely.
Then onto the important stuff. Clothes. What did they wear in England? She prayed that tweed wasn't the in-thing. That would be terrible. She opened her wardrobe and threw in a pile of clothes, neatly. If she took something to cover every eventuality she'd be OK. Then a thought struck her. She didn't know how long she'd be away. Typical. Oh well, she thought. I'll just take everything.
Half hour later she was packed. Two huge suitcases bulged on her bed. She had clothes for every eventuality. The doorbell rang. Buffy heard her mother answer it and then call up the stairs.
"Your ride to the Airport is here." Joyce called up the stairs. Buffy stuck her head around her door and called down.
"I'm ready!" she ducked back into her room and hefted up her suitcases. They were heavy. Then she carried them downstairs. Her mother was waiting at the door.
"You have a nice time," she kissed Buffy on the cheek. "Send me and your dad loads of postcards and I'll see you in a couple of weeks."
Willow was standing on the porch. "You all ready?" Buffy nodded. "Got your passport?" Buffy nodded again. "all right, let's go!"
Willow helped Buffy carry her cases down to Giles' car. Xander was practically bouncing in the back. Giles looked harassed. "Hi guys!" Buffy said as she stowed her cases in the boot of the car.
Xander grinned. "I've never been out of the country before."
Giles sighed. "Maybe they won't let you in again."
"They wouldn't do that? Would they?" Xander looked worried.
Buffy and Willow got in the car. The suspension groaned, ominously. "Giles. I thought I told you to get a grown-up car." Buffy looked disapprovingly at him. Giles started up the car without comment and pulled off down the street.
Soon they were racing down the freeway to the airport. Xander was hanging his head out of the window, tongue out like a dog. He kept complaining about the flies splattering him. Willow was reading a tattered book and Buffy was just enjoying the ride.
Willow looked up from her book. "What will we be doing when we get to England.?"
"One of the guild will meet us at the airport and fill us in on what is going on and take us to the town where this Hellmouth is situated." Giles replied.
"Where is this?" Buffy asked.
"I wasn't told exactly where. Security reasons. But they did tell me it was in the Midlands."
"Is that anywhere near London?" Xander still had his head stuck out of the window.
"What is it with Americans?" Giles queried. "There is a lot more to England than just London. There's Wales and Scotland and hundreds of thousands of little villages, towns and cities. We have theme parks that are just as good as your Disneyland, well nearly. It's like us saying that all there is in America is California, Florida, New York and the Mississippi."
"Well," said Xander. "There's something we should tell you. All the rest of America is a lie the US Tourist Board made up. It's all Hollywood sets designed to confuse you." He grinned. "It's all a conspiracy." Willow smothered a laugh.
"Children, children," said Buffy. "Let's not fight. We're off on holiday, and its going to be 'fun'." She sarcastically emphasised the word fun. For her it was a working holiday. She turned back and stared out of the window. A summer away from Sunnydale. She was leaving Angel behind. She hadn't even told him. What would he think? Would he be cross? She was not sure. She tried to force any thoughts of him out of her head. She would try to enjoy herself. She was going to England after all, it was going to be an improvement on staying in Sunnydale. New locale, same job. Oh well.
Willow was quietly excited. She could see this as being great fun. A summer away from the weirdness of the Hellmouth, a summer with her friends, it had to be an improvement on the boringness of last summer.
Xander wasn't thinking much of anything. After Giles woke him up at some terrible hour of the morning he could not get back to sleep, so he was just dozing and staring sleepily at the back of Buffy's head.
Giles was worried. He was responsible for the three seventeen year olds and if anything was to happen to them he would never forgive himself. He was also worried about what they would face once they finally got to England. The Guild had been very secretive about what the problem actually was, other than the fact they needed a Slayer. The fact he couldn't find any prophecies concerning this trip placated him somewhat. At least whatever happened wouldn't be already ordained.
Eventually they reached the airport, got checked in and got on the plane. Xander got the window seat and spent the time before the plane took off exclaiming that everyone on the ground looked like ants. They were actually ants.
The flight was uneventful, other than Xander chatting up the pretty stewardess's it passed quietly. Willow and Buffy saw whales swimming through the ocean below them through the clouds and Giles just slept.
Soon though, the plane began its decent to Birmingham International Airport. They landed without a single bump and the huge jumbo jet taxied towards the terminal.
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