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buffyfic-digest       Sunday, December 20 1998       Volume 02 : Number 398



In this issue:

       BUFFYFIC: Chandrea 3/?
       BUFFYFIC: Chandrea 1/? REPOST

See the end of the digest for information on (un)subscribing to the buffyfic
or buffyfic-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 20 Dec 1998 22:30:24 EST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: BUFFYFIC: Chandrea 3/?

TITLE: Chandrea
AUTHOR: Pallia (Blu) Kennelly
RATING: Right now, PG or PG-13. Later, some parts will be NC-17, so you'll
have to ask me to send you those.
DISTRIBUTION: Anyone who wants it can take it! It'll be on my site, too.
(http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Location/8774/index.html)
CONTENT: There's a new Slayer in town, and she brings bad tidings to
Sunnyhell!
SPOILERS: Whatever episode that Spike and Dru came to Sunnyhell.
FEEDBACK: Please? I'll love you forever if you do.


They all got into the parking lot without any more problems. Chandrea unlo=
cked
her car, and everyone got it. "Now," she said as she pulled out of the par=
king
lot, "where to?"

"McDonalds!" Xander demanded.

"Burger King!" Ronan said, turning around to glare Xander, who glared back=
.

"Um...Wendys?" Willow tentatively asked.

"Oooh, good suggestion, Willow," Chandrea said. "I love Wendys' pitas. We'=
ll
go there."

"Hey! Whatever happened to *our* say?" Ronan protested.

"Well, you and Xander *certainly* wouldn't be able to decide by yourselves=
.
Besides, Wendys is better, and I'm driving, so what I like, we do."

"But that's not fair!"

"Whoever said life was fair? And, like I said before, I'm driving and we g=
o
where I want. If you don't like that, fine. You can go walk to Burger King=
."

Ronan subsided. Chandrea smirked, and pulled up to the drive-through. "Goo=
d
thing this place is so close," she murmured. "Okay. What does everybody wa=
nt?"

"Uh...a double cheeseburger meal, large fries, large coke, and a five-piec=
e
chicken nuggets," Xander decided.

"That sounds good," Ronan said. "I'll have the same."

Chandrea turned and stared at Xander, then at Ronan. "Are you two serious?
That's like...two meals!"

They both nodded. Chandrea sighed. "I will *never* understand guys," she
muttered. "Willow? What do you want?"

"Um...a chicken c=E6sar pita, please."

"Mmm...I love those. I'm going to have the same," Chandrea said as she tur=
ned
back around. She ordered, and blanched at the cost. "You two *better* have
enough money pay," she told Ronan and Xander.

"Don't worry, I do," said Ronan. Xander looked a little worried and began
digging in his pockets. Willow handed the money lying next to him on the s=
eat.
"Oh. Thanks, Will."

Chandrea restrained herself. "Money, please," she requested.

A various assortment of bills came to her. She sighed, then sorted them in=
to
some semblance of order. "Let's see...that's $23...Xander, give me the oth=
er
two dollars."

Xander grinned as he passed the two dollars up. He noticed Willow's glare.=
 "I
was just seeing if she'd notice!" he said defensively.

"Sure you were," Chandrea muttered as she gave the money to the person in =
the
window.

She waited again until the window opened again and the food came. She took=
 it,
then pulled into the parking lot.

"Hey, what're we doing?" Xander asked.

"Pulling into the parking lot. Do you actually *think* I'd take fast food =
back
to school?"

"Oh. Good point!"

Chandrea just smiled and turned the car off, and unbuckled her seat belt. =
She
passed the food back. She opened the wrapper to her pita, and was about to
take a bite when she felt a sudden chill. < Feels like somebody is watchin=
g
me... > Then she saw him.

He was in a car. A brownish-yellow one. She couldn't see him too clearly, =
as
most of the windows were covered by some kind of heavy black cloth. Only t=
he
front right passenger seat was uncovered, and even then, there was only ab=
out
half a foot square to see through.

All she could see was his face. He had dark, spiky hair, but she couldn't =
see
if it was brown or black. The clearest she could make out were his eyes. T=
hey
were dark brown...and staring straight at her.

Chandrea felt a momentary shock as his eyes met hers. In them, she saw pai=
n,
anger, self-loathing...and wonder? < Wonder directed at who? Me? > They st=
ared
at each other for a few minutes, then someone in the car spoke.

"Hey, Cha--uh, Drea? You okay?"

Chandrea tore her eyes away from the stranger's. "What?" she asked vaguely=
.

"Are you okay?" Ronan repeated.

"Oh. Um, yeah. I'm fine." She looked over again, but the car was already
halfway out of the parking space.

"Do you know that person?" Willow asked.

"Know who?" Chandrea asked stupidly. Then realization dawned. "Oh! The guy=
 in
the car? No, I don't know him."

"Then why were you two staring at each other for so long?" questioned Xand=
er.

"I--I don't know. He just...caught my eye or something." Chandrea picked u=
p
her pita and began eating, signaling question time was over. After an init=
ial
pause, the other three continued eating too.

The ride back was silent. Willow, Xander and Ronan were curious about the
stranger in the car, but Chandrea obviously did not want to talk about him=
.

The ride back to school was uneventful. They got back into school without
anyone really noticing. Chandrea started heading towards her locker as soo=
n as
she entered the door.

"Chandrea, what class do you have next?" Willow asked.

"Uh...Wind Ensemble. After that, I've got computers."

"What computer teacher?"

"Miss Calendar, I think."

"Oh, good! That's what me and Xander have, too."

Chandrea smiled. "Good. What about you, Ronan?"

"Oh, I've got Calendar next and Brian sixth. Guess I'm not in any more of =
your
classes."

"Well, it's not exactly like we don't have any together. We *do* have the =
same
first four periods."

"True. Well, I"ll see you guys later, ok? Brian hates for us to be late."
Ronan walked off.

Willow sighed. "We should go too. Me and Xander both have P.E. next, and i=
t
takes forever to dress."

Chandrea laughed. "Don't I know it. Well, see you sixth period. Bye!"

"Bye!"

< Well > Chandrea thought as she headed towards her locker again < it wasn=
't
as bad as I thought it was going to be. I actually kinda made friends. > S=
he
opened up her locker and took out her flute. She shut the locker again and
headed down the hall.

She didn't know the room number, but she could tell which one was the band
room by the stream of sound already coming out the door.

< I hope they're just practising. If they expect me to believe that's musi=
c,
well... >
Chandrea peeked into the room. Inside, she saw only a few people. < Hmmm..=
.one
clarinet, two trumpets, and an alto sax. Wow. I must be early. I *hope* I'=
m
early. >
She walked in and looked around. < Oh, crap. Where's the teacher? > The
clarinet player stopped playing and looked at her. She smiled, if somewhat
nervously, and continued looking around. < Those two trumpets are making
enough noise for fifty. >

A man came out of a back room. He saw Chandrea, and walked over. "Are you
Chandrea Fraser?" he asked. She nodded.

"Good. We needed another flute player. We've already had three switch out.=
 The
only one left is Jordan."

"Three already switched out?" Chandrea looked a little worried. "Is this c=
lass
really hard?"

The teacher laughed. "Some people believe so. But with your reputation, fr=
om
what I've heard, you can handle it."

"I have a *reputation*? Who gave it to me? Is it bad? Is it good? How well
known am I?" She asked incredulously.

"Don't worry. It's good. And as far as who gave it to you, I don't know. A=
nd
you are pretty well known. There aren't many students who can play The Fli=
ght
of the Bumblebee almost as well as a professional."

"Oh. Okay then. Where am I supposed to sit?"

"Why don't you sit in the front row? By Allen."

"Allen?" Chandrea said blankly.

"The clarinet player."

"Ah. Thank you...Mr. Abigana, right?"

"Mr. A."

"Mr. A, then. Okay, thanks."Chandrea walked to the front row and sat down =
by
the clarinet player. She opened her flute case and put her flute together.=
 She
looked over at the clarinet player's folder.

"What're we playing today?" she asked him.

"First Suite for Band," he answered. "The third and forth movements."

"Oh, the Rag and Gallop one?" He nodded. "Good. I like that one. By the wa=
y,
I'm Chandrea."

"I'm the egotistical clarinet player, Allen," he said brightly.

Chandrea blinked. "Egotis--okay. Do you normally call yourself that, or is
this just a special occasion?"

"Actually, I wanted to see how you'd react."

She looked at him strangely. "Pardon me for saying this, but you're weird.=
"

"I know. It's part of my charm."

"I see." < Just nod and smile... >

At that moment, a guy came and sat beside Chandrea. He also had a flute ca=
se.

"Oh!" said Chandrea. "You must be Jordan. Mr. A. Said you were the only fl=
ute
player left. I'm Chandrea. Are the songs hard to play? Mr. A. said no, but=
 you
know how directors are."

Jordan looked up, and Chandrea stifled a gasp. < Oh, by the gods...how doe=
s
Mr. A. expect me to not drool over him?! > He had black hair, and deep blu=
e
eyes. His face was one of those classified as =91a classic Greek profile'.=


Unfortunately, at the moment his perfect face looked decidedly confused.
"Huh?" he said intelligently.

Chandrea tried again. "You *are* Jordan, right?" At his nod, she continued=
.
"Mr. A. Said you were the only flute player left. I asked him if the songs
were really hard, and he said no. But directors aren't always the best jud=
ges
of what's hard in high school...they *do* have all those years of experien=
ce
that we don't. I'm wondering if you think the songs are really hard. Are
they?"

Jordan thought for a moment. "No," he said finally, "they aren't, unless y=
ou
never practice, which was something the others never did. That's why they
quit. They couldn't keep up."

One of the trumpets sitting behind them tapped Jordan on the shoulder. "He=
y,
Jordan, man, you gonna come to practice after school?"

Jordan nodded. "Yeah. I'll be late, though."

"No problem," the guy shrugged. Then he caught sight of Chandrea. He grinn=
ed.

"Hey, you're the new flute player Mr. A. told us about. From what he said,=
 I
think Jordan's gonna have some stiff competition. It's Chandrea, right? Bo=
y,
that's a mouthful."

She smiled. "I go by Drea, too, if that's any help. Call me that if you wa=
nt
instead. But *please* don't ever call me Chan."

"Why not?" Jordan put in.

Chandrea glanced over at him. "Well, people used to call me Jackie Chan. I
*really* don't like that, and most people associated =91Chan' with =91Jack=
ie Chan'
and called me that instead. It happened to me a lot, so I pummeled anyone =
who
dared call me either names."

The trumpet guy laughed. "Violent, aren't you? By the way, I'm Marcel." He
stuck out his hand.

Chandrea took it, smiling. "Don't see many people our age shaking hands
anymore."

Marcel grinned. "I'm just one of those special people who do the unexpecte=
d."

"I don't think =91special' is the right word for it," Jordan muttered.

"Hey!" Marcel looked insulted. Chandrea giggled.

A girl waltzed into the room. She was tall, had black hair and brown eyes,=
 and
was very pretty. Her eyes lit up when she saw Jordan and Marcel. She saunt=
ered
over.
"Jordan..." Her voice was nasal and *very* whiny. Chandrea gritted her tee=
th.
"Jordan, you didn't call me last night like you said you would," she whine=
d.

Jordan kept his head down. "I was...uh...busy," he muttered.

"Hmph." She turned to Marcel. "*You* didn't call me *either*!" she accused=
.
"And you promised you would!"

Marcel looked annoyed. "I never promised you that, Angelica. I only said I
would if I had time. But practice was much longer than we expected."

< Angelica? That name *so* does not suit her! > Chandrea thought to hersel=
f. <
Maybe slut...or whore...or skank? > She mentally smacked herself. < *Bad*
girl. You don't even know if she's mean and evil or not. Insults are to be
reserved for truly nasty people. You're not sure about her yet. You just m=
et
her! >

Angelica sniffed. "So? You still could have called me at practice."

"Actually, no, I couldn't have. I was practising the whole time. I was *no=
t*
going to take a break just so I could use the phone to call you."

Her eyes flashed. "Well!" she huffed. She spun around and stomped out of t=
he
room.

There was a small silence, then Chandrea smiled slightly. "Uh...a
bit...*fiery*, isn't she?"

Marcus managed a weak grin. "Just a bit."

"I just want to know...is she going to come back? Or did she forget she ha=
s
this class next?" Allen asked, looking rather amused.

"She probably went out to talk to her crowd," Marcel shrugged. "She wants-=
- -and
needs--her ego stroked. They'll flatter her endlessly."

"Fun," Chandrea muttered. "What does she play?"

"Drums," Jordan said quietly, head still down.

< Doesn't his neck hurt yet? > Chandrea wondered. "Drums?" She raised her
eyebrows. "She doesn't exactly seem that type."

Jordan shrugged. "She probably imagines it's somebody she doesn't like at =
the
moment."

"Yeah, you should really hear her pound them when she doesn't get her
way...Mr. A often has to stop and ask her to play quieter. It's pretty fun=
ny,"
Marcel said, grinning.

Jordan snorted. Chandrea looked at him. < He seems...embarrassed, almost. =
He's
got his head down, but I can still see his cheeks are red. Hmmm...maybe he=
's
shy. >

She stood up. "Interesting. I'll be right back. I have to go get music."

Jordan quickly stood up beside her. "I'll help you get it. I know where it=
 all
is, anyway." He led her to a table piled with music. Chandrea sighed. "Wha=
t
pieces do you have, and what part do you play in them?"

"Uh...Toccata, Amparita Roca, Egmont, First Suite for Band, Toccata and Fu=
gue,
Chant and Jubilo, and Gandalf. I have first in Toccata and First Suite, an=
d
second for Egmont and Toccata and Fugue. The others don't have separates.
Except for piccolo."

"Mmhmm," Chandrea murmured. "Solo for piccolo in Gandalf and First
Suite...I'll take that. Second in Toccata...first for Egmont and Fugue.
Wonderfulness." She looked through the pile again. "Ok, here's Chant and
Amparita..." She pulled them out. "Guess I've got a bit of practising to d=
o."

"I'll say." Jordan began to look slightly uncomfortable. < As if he didn't
already... >
"Hey, uh...do you think we could wait a couple of minutes before sitting b=
ack
down?" he asked, looking at the ground and shuffling his feet.

Chandrea arched an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Well, uh...because I don't want Angelica to come back and complain anymor=
e."

"And you don't want Allen and Marcel to see your face turn red again?"

She had the doubtful pleasure of seeing him do just that. Again.

"Um...that too," he finally muttered, face still flaming.

Chandrea grinned. "You *are* shy!"

His face turned even more red, if possible. "So?" he said defensively. "Wh=
at
does that have to do with anything?"

Still grinning, she shook her head. "No need to get so defensive. It's not
like I said you were evil or something."

"Sorry," he muttered. < He seems to do that a lot. Mutter, that is.>

"No problem." She looked through the music again. "Hmmm...Of Sailors and
Whales? Interesting."

"We played it last year. In fourth period. Concert band. It sounded pretty
good."

"Mmmm...based on Moby Dick...written by Francis MacBeth. Didn't he also wr=
ite
Chant and Jubilo?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Mr. A knows him, too."

"Oooh! Directors of good bands always have good connections." She put the
piece
down. "Come on. Let's go sit back down."

He hesitated. "Do we have to?"

She looked at him. "Yes. Don't be a wimp."

"I'm not a wimp," he protested as he followed her back.

Chandrea laughed. "Sure you aren't. That's why you want to stay back there=
 and
hide."

"I did not!"

"Yes you did. Don't lie. It's not nice." She sat down and looked over the
pieces again, this time a little bit closer. < Oh man, these are est...can=
't
we get into something *hard*? > She shrugged, then picked up her flute and
began to play. After a few minutes, she noticed Jordan was staring at her.
"What?"

"Have you ever played any of these songs before?"

She shook her head. "No. But I did used to play songs like these in eighth
grade."

Jordan looked shocked, and slightly insulted. He was about to say more, bu=
t
Mr. A. came to the front of the class and picked up the conductor's baton.
Chandrea picked up her flute and got ready to play.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 20 Dec 1998 22:28:02 EST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: BUFFYFIC: Chandrea 1/? REPOST

TITLE: Chandrea
AUTHOR: Pallia (Blu) Kennelly
RATING: Right now, PG or PG-13. Later, some parts will be NC-17, so you'll
have to ask me to send you those.
DISTRIBUTION: Anyone who wants it can take it! It'll be on my site, too.
(http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Location/8774/index.html)
CONTENT: There's a new Slayer in town, and she brings bad tidings to
Sunnyhell!
SPOILERS: Whatever episode that Spike and Dru came to Sunnyhell.
FEEDBACK: Please? I'll love you forever if you do.


Chandrea slammed her locker shut and looked around with a grimace. < It's =
too
. . . perfect here. It's like one of those typical towns that seem perfect=
 on
the outside, but inside is a seething mass of evil. > She shook her head. =
<
Pretty morbid thoughts for a first day of school. >

The tall brunette turned around and smacked into someone's chest. Papers a=
nd
books went flying. Chandrea landed on the floor. < Yeeps . . . always happ=
ens
on the first day, doesn't it? > She looked up. The guy she'd slammed into
looked a bit stunned.

"You okay?" he asked, crouching on the floor to help her pick her stuff up=
.

She nodded. "Yeah . . . I don't think I damaged anything vital." She wince=
d as
she shifted her weight on her right wrist. "I take that back. I think my w=
rist
is strained."

The guy looked a little guilty. "I'm sorry. I just wasn't looking where I =
was
going . . . hey, let me take that," he said as he took her Tamora Pierce b=
ook
from her. "It's the least I can do after I knocked you down. You wanna go =
see
the nurse or something?"

Chandrea shook her head. "No, it's just strained. I've got an Ace bandage =
in
my locker just for this type of thing. I can wrap it up with that." She go=
t
up, opened her locker and took out the bandage. She wrapped it around her
wrist a couple of times, tucked the end in, and closed her locker. She tur=
ned
back around to see the guy staring at her strangely. She cursed mentally. =
<
Don't do that in front of civilians, girl. Remember what Dad always said. =
>

"Do you normally carry bandages around?" he asked curiously.

Chandrea shrugged, a slight smile on her face, "They always tell you to co=
me
to school prepared. I find I'm a bit accident-prone, and it's easier to ha=
ve
these things handy where I can take care of myself instead of messing with=
 the
nurse." < Accident-prone? Me? Hmmm . . . hardly likely. Ha! What a great l=
iar
I am. Sheesh. >

He nodded. "So where's your next class?"

"Uh . . . " Chandrea pulled her schedule out of her pocket. "Calculus. Mr.
Russell. Room 409."

The guy looked surprised. "Calculus? You don't look like a senior."

She grinned. "I'm not. They tell me I'm some kind of genius-person. I don'=
t
know. All I know is that school's really easy for me."

"Lucky. Now, room 409? Hey . . . that's Willow's class. I could introduce =
you
to her. She says it's a little weird, being the only junior in Calculus."

Chandrea brightens considerably. "Really? Would you? I hate moving to a ne=
w
school in the middle of the year. You don't know anyone, and everybody tre=
ats
you like you're some kind of freak."

"Well, I don't know really how it is. I've lived here all my life."

Chandrea arched an eyebrow. < Hmmm . . . wonder if he's been tainted by th=
e
Hellmouth after living here for so long. He *seems* okay . . . but then so=
 do
vampires when they don't have their game faces on. > "You've lived her you=
r
whole life? Isn't this place--'scuse me for saying--a little dull?"

The guy got a weird look on his face. "Sunnyvale's got a lot more going on
underneath than it seems on the surface," he says quietly. Then he shudder=
ed,
as if trying to forget what disturbed him. "Well, we better get going. I'v=
e
heard Mr. Russell is pretty rough with people who come in late."

Chandrea made a face. "That's just what I'd need. On top of being the new
girl, I'd have a teacher coming down on my head. Wonderful." They began
walking to class.

"What's your name, anyway? And can I have my book back?"

"Oh, sure." He handed it her. "My name's Xander."

"Xander? That's got to be a nickname. No parents in their right mind would
name their kid Xander."

He laughed. "No one ever said my parents were sane. But, yeah, you're righ=
t.
It's short for Alexander. What's yours?"

"Well, it's definitely weirder than yours is. It's Chandrea."

"Chandrea? Were your parents crazy too?"

She shook her head, "No, they weren't," she said softly. "They just though=
t it
was unusual and pretty. But it is a bit of a mouthful. They used to call m=
e
Drea. Don't
*ever* call me Chan."

"Don't worry, I won't. But what do you mean by, =91They used to'?"

Chandrea set her jaw. "They're dead."

"Oh." The walked in silence for a moment. "How? Or do you not want to talk
about it?"

"It's all right. They were killed. In a burglary-thing. Lucky I wasn't hom=
e,
or I wouldn't be talking to you right now. They used *crossbows*. Can you
believe that?" < Hope he doesn't pry anymore. I didn't prepare for this . =
. .
dumb child I am. >

"Crossbows? How'd they get those?"

"Well, my parents were avid collectors--*please* don't ask why--of ancient
weapons. Their murderers got ahold of some of the collection and used it o=
n
them." < And ancient prophecies, books, scrolls...they adored living in th=
e
past. >

"Sounds like Giles. He collects a lot of old stuff."

"Giles? Who's Giles?" < And why does his name sound so familiar? >

"It's actually Mr. Giles. Rupert Giles. He's the librarian."

< Ohmigod...didn't that letter say he was my new Watcher? But...a *librari=
an*?
Aren't they supposed to be dull and boring and not really aware of much bu=
t
their little libraries? > "Are you well acquainted with Giles? You sound l=
ike
you are. I mean, you know what he collects and stuff."

Xander shrugged. "Yeah, I know him well enough." He didn't want seem to wa=
nt
to talk about it anymore, so Chandrea didn't ask. "Here's 409. And there's
Willow. Hey! Willow! Over here!"

The red-haired girl looked to see who was calling and smiled when she saw
Xander.
She walked over and smiled at Chandrea. "Hi! You must be new. I don't thin=
k
I've seen you before."

Chandrea smiled back. "Yeah. This is my first day here."

"Must be hard moving to a new place in the middle of the year." Willow's
glance fell to Chandrea's wrist. "Oh! What happened?"

Chandrea looked at Xander, who blushed. "I ran into Xander at my locker an=
d
fell down. I landed on my wrist too hard and I strained it. It wasn't hurt=
ing
too badly, so I just put this thing around it."

Willow rolled her eyes. "Let me guess. He wasn't looking where he was goin=
g. I
thought so," she said as Chandrea nodded, grinning. "Are you sure you're
okay?"

Chandrea nodded. "I'll be all right. Besides, it's nothing I haven't taken
care of myself before."

Xander and Willow exchanged a glance. Xander looked at Willow's watch. "Ah=
!
Gilbert told me he'd kick my butt if I was late again. See ya later!" He
started going down the hall, then turned around. "Oh, hey! Wil, her name's
Chandrea. Don't ever call her Chan!" He turned around again and disappeare=
d
into the crowd.

Chandrea raised an eyebrow. "Is he always so scatterbrained? Or is this ju=
st a
special occasion?"

"No, he's not usually like this. He's just been through a lot lately...we =
all
have."

"Um...'scuse me for asking but...who's we?"

"Oh, me, Xander, Giles, Cordelia--"

"Cordelia? You mean that snobby popularity queen? *That* Cordelia?"

Willow smiled. "She's not so bad once you get to know her."

"I don't *want* to get to know her. This morning she actually made fun of =
my
necklace. My *necklace*! Why on earth would someone want to make fun of th=
at?"

"I guess she couldn't find anything else to laugh at. She likes to make fu=
n of
every new person. It's nothing personal. It's like an initiation to the
school. Everyone's gone through it."

Chandrea rolls her eyes. "Remind me not to be around her too much. I have
enough to worry about. I don't need Cordelia too."

"I don't think you'll really have to worry about her anymore. She got chew=
ed
out by a couple of seniors who heard her. They were guys, and I heard them=
 say
to each other they thought you were cute. As popular as Cordy is, she won'=
t go
against many seniors. It's surprising that she actually laughed at you."

"Cute, huh? Oh, I'm not a senior. I'm just in a lot of their classes. I'm
supposed to be some kind of genius or something."

"You too? Wow. I thought I was the only person like that here. It feels ni=
ce
to be not alone."

Chandrea grinned. "I can imagine. The only one in the whole school, hmmm? =
I
had lots of people like me at my old school. Maybe about 20 or so. We were
like our own little class. It was great. Those people became some of my be=
st
friends." < And my fellow conspirators against all general evil. Ah...to b=
e
home again! >

"That must have been fun. Do you miss them a lot?"

"Yeah. Leaving home was hard." < Especially after Mom and Dad...no, don't
think of that now. >

Willow nodded. "Well, the bell's about to ring. We should go and sit down.=
 Mr.
Russell hates it when people are late."

"Okay then. Is this class really hard?" Chandrea asked as they walked in t=
he
door.

"No, I don't think so. But then math's easy for me, so who am I to judge?"

The bell rang, and the teacher at the desk stood up and walked to the fron=
t of
the class. "Take out your homework from last night and switch it with
somebody. Oh, Ms. Fraser," he said when he saw Chandrea, "you'll need to c=
atch
up on what we've been doing. Perhaps Ms. Rosenburg could help you."

"Ms. Rosen--oh, yes," Chandrea said, realizing who he was talking about, "=
I'm
sure she could."

Satisfied, Mr. Russell turned his attention to the class. Chandrea rolled =
her
eyes. "Is he very formal most of the time?" she asked Willow.

Willow smiled. "Yeah. He's originally from Britain, and even after 30 year=
s of
teaching here, he still hasn't lost his formality."

Chandrea nodded, observing the students around her. "Is this class one of
those extremely competitive ones? Please tell me it isn't. I don't enjoy t=
hose
kinds of
classes."

"You don't have to worry. Most of the people here are just concerned with
passing and getting it over with. They don't really care about who gets to=
p
marks."

"Good. So. What are we doing in class right now?"

"Chaos."

Chandrea groaned. "Oh no. *Please* tell me you're kidding. That math theor=
y
about chaos is so damn confusing!"

Willow hid a smile. "No joke. But I'll help you if you get stuck. It's not=
 all
that hard.
Mr. Russell explains it really well."

Chandrea nodded, still not completely reassured. < Just my luck. I arrive =
in
the middle of *the* most confusing part of calculus. Mom, Dad, couldn't yo=
u
have waited a *little* longer to be murdered? Perhaps until the end of the
year? > She sighed and mentally prepared herself for a very confusing half=
- -
year.

------------------------------

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