runtowardsomething | (no subject)

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buffy summers

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It's a nice change of scenery, at least. A nice change of crowd, too, if Beverly is honest. The kids in her class in Darrow aren't as bad as the ones at home, at least — no reputation has followed her, the nasty nicknames that occasionally get thrown around less so than the ones she's used to — but things have been uncomfortable lately to say the least, and she could use the break. Of course, that's not why she's here. Come September, she'll be starting high school, and it's customary, apparently, for kids to visit at some point during the school year to get a feel for what it's like before being thrown into the deep end. She doesn't have to do much, just sit and watch and keep her head down, not even bothering to take notes because she's not going to need to know this shit yet anyway. That's probably a good thing, though. Her attention has largely been elsewhere, the Home making it difficult to focus on much of anything except waiting fearfully for what will go wrong next, and getting to mentally check out for a few hours isn't anything she can complain about.

The last bell rings, and she instinctively starts to bolt for the exit before remembering that she's supposed to stop by the office before she leaves, to check in for whatever reason. She reroutes herself, then, before she's gone too far, lingering by the doorway like she's not supposed to be there, when she spots a familiar face inside and starts to smile, a little surprised. "Hey," she says, rocking back on her heels, one hand on the door frame. "Buffy?"

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Buffy's been temping for a good few months now, to be able to make additional money beyond what the city gives her and to have something to do besides patrolling. She'd applied for the office assistant position at one of the local high schools on a whim, using her experience at Sunnydale High to bolster her resume. She'd been pleasantly surprised when she got multiple interviews; even more pleasantly surprised when she got the job itself. (Until she started hearing rumors about how the office positions at this particular high school were supposedly cursed, with some people vanishing mysteriously and others supposedly run out for being actual werewolves. But Buffy, being who she is, is hardly intimidated. Just another potential thread for her to eventually investigate.)

This is one of her first days on the job; she's still getting used to learning the ropes. She glances up from her paperwork when she hears her name. Spotting Beverly, she brightens.

"Beverly? Hey! I didn't think you'd be going here for another year," she says. She waves her in anyway. "Want to come and sit for a minute?"

"You thought right," Beverly says, nose wrinkling a little, her expression both amused and a bit self-deprecating. "Visiting day. I think I'm supposed to check in, or... something." It's at least a little less daunting now that someone she knows is here, after feeling out of place all day. A nice break, it may have been, but she's still distinctly aware that she isn't supposed to be here yet, surrounded by older kids who probably have her immediately pegged as an outsider. That's nothing new, of course, but it doesn't mean she's thrilled about it.

Heading into the office, no longer just lingering in the doorway, she arches a brow. "You work here?"

"Oh, yeah," Buffy nods. "I have the paperwork on my desk. All you have to do is sign a sheet and you're golden." She pulls out the sheet, already filled with various signatures of other young students who've come to visit and check out the high school before they attend in the next year. From her time in the guidance office in Sunnydale, Buffy also has a habit of keeping a box full of various candies on her desk, which she also offers to Beverly. "Healthy living styles" or not, sometimes a kid just needs some sugar, literally, after a rough day. Though she's only an office assistant, she wants to still be able to offer an ear, if she can.

"Yep," she nods, smiling. "Very recently. It's nice to have a permanent job to come to; I was temping before. So. How did you like the school?"

"Perfect," Beverly says, shooting Buffy a quick little smile before she scrawls her name. As strange as she's felt being here, at least there are enough other names that this is clearly a common enough occurrence, something it's easier to have proof of than just accept as fact. She's used to feeling out of place, but at least that's usually in familiar territory. Next school year, though, that's what this will be, and it really is probably better that she start to get a sense for it now than just being thrust in the deep end come September. It was bad enough having to start mid-year when she got here.

Taking one of the candies from the box and offering a brief thanks as she does, she shrugs in response to the question. "It's not bad. I mean, a school's a school, but it could definitely be worse, right?"

"From what I can see, this place seems to be in capable hands, if that helps any?" Buffy says with a nod, smiling and glad when Beverly takes one of the candies. "I speak from experience when I say it could definitely be worse. My high school years were uh...a little less than family friendly, you could say." And with a principal who definitely seemed like he crawled out of a hell dimension, looking back on it. (Which makes him getting eaten by a demon mayor all the sweeter, really.)

"But high school is never really easy, I think," she says. "For anyone, no matter what the movies and afterschool specials tell you. Middle school either, for that matter."

"You must be looking forward to break," she says. "Does the home do any sort of group field trips or anything like that?"

"Yeah, I can't say I've had great time in middle school," Beverly says, nose wrinkling a little, though she keeps her voice light, despite what an understatement that is. Middle school has, for the most part, been awful and seemingly endless. Darrow may be considerably better than Derry was in that regard, as well as several others, but it's never easy being the new kid, especially not one from another universe and nearly twenty years before what's now the present. No one is calling her nasty nicknames or spreading rumors about her being a slut now, but she's never fit in, and that doesn't seem likely to change any time soon. At least starting high school, there will be a more even playing field, all of them in the same boat. "But that's good to know, definitely."

She pauses a moment, not wanting to seem too overeager, then shrugs. "Yeah, I'm looking forward to it," she adds. "I don't think we have any trips planned, but I'm trying to get out when I can anyway."

"I'm sorry," Buffy says, looking at Beverly with an earnest desire to help. She doesn't know what's happened to her in middle school, but she absolutely believes her when she says she hasn't had a good time of it. "I wish there were a way to like, magically fix all the crap you go through in your middle and high school years." She shakes her heard. "Unfortunately, the only magical curealls that exist come with serious consequences. At least, in my experience."

"Well, if you ever need someone to sign you out for the day, let me know, okay?" She says, looking at Beverly. "We could do a girl's day at the mall or the beach or something, some time."

In many ways, Beverly reminds her of her younger sister back home. She's been through tough times, but she's plenty smart and capable. It just makes Buffy want to reach out to and look out for her all the more.

"I'd like that," Beverly says, smiling a little crookedly as she does. As far as she's concerned, the more time she can spend away from the Home, the better, with as off as things have been there lately. Besides, though last summer, hazy as all of that is now, may have been an exception, she isn't really used to having people who'd actually want to hang out with her. It's still something she's getting used to, that she half-expects to change at any moment. It's one of many reasons why, no matter how fucked things might seem right now, she'd still pick staying here over going home, without question. As crazy as this place may be, it's still got a lot more going for it than Derry ever did.

She just wishes the others were here, afraid that, before long, she won't remember them at all.

"And I don't know of any magic cure-alls for... anything, but it doesn't surprise me that they'd come with a price. Probably not worth it."

"Good," Buffy nods, pleased that Beverly seems keen on the idea. She returns her slightly crooked smile with one of her own, hoping that she can help make as much of the time Beverly has here as pleasant as possible. She can only imagine how frustrating it must be to have to be stuck at the Children's Home, treated like a child even though you were a teenager. She hopes Beverly is at least making friends with the other kids her own age there.

"No, very much not," she says, shaking her head. "They usually end with people wishing they'd never attempted them in the first place."

She looks at Beverly and considers for a moment. "Do you have plans for after school today? If not, would you want to come out to dinner with me, once I get off work? It'll be my treat."

"No, I don't have plans," Beverly says, her smile widening just a touch. "That sounds great." She means it, too. While she might not know her very well, she likes Buffy, something that running into her here has only driven home. They'll have more of a chance to talk that way than standing around the office provides, anyway, and in the meantime, it's not like she has anywhere she has to be with any kind of urgency. As long as she's back by curfew, it won't matter, and after being shoved in her bag all day, her phone is mostly charged in case anyone tries to reach her before then.

With as weird as things have been lately, it wouldn't surprise her if they started trying to keep something of a tighter leash on the residents of the Home, but that's also all the more reason why she thinks it should be understandable that a lot of them don't seem to want to spend more time inside than is necessary.

"What time do you finish here?"

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