Worth the Fight (BTVS fanfic, Book Three)

chapter 6 - Band Candy

Buffy, Willow, Oz and I were walking down the stone stairs outside of the shool. 

Buffy was telling us about hunting last night with Giles while studying for the SATs, and this dream that she had had last night. "And then I was being chased by an improperly filled-in answer bubble screaming, 'none of the above!'"

"Wow," Willow said. "I hope that wasn't one of your prophecy dreams." Buffy gave her a look. "Probably not."

"Hey, you know, I took it last year," Oz told us. "I could help you get ready. There's this whole trick to antonyms, but... this isn't the place." 

"Oz is the highest-scoring person ever to fail to graduate," I told them when we reached the bottom of the stairs, continuing to walk along the colonnade.

Buffy looked at Oz. "Isn't she cute when she's proud?" 

"She's always cute," Oz told her.

I smiled. "Good answer." 

We laughed. 

Cordelia and Xander walked out through the breezeway behind us, walking behind us.

"We could work on it tonight," Willow told us. 

"Work on what tonight?" Xander asked.

"Oh, God," Cordelia said. "Are we killing something again?" 

"Only my carefree spirit," I answered. 

"SAT prep," Oz answered. 

"I hate they make us take that thing," Xander told us. "It's totally fascist, and personally, I think it, uh, discriminates against the uninformed."

"Actually, I'm looking forward to it," Cordelia told us. "I do well on standardized tests." Everyone gave her a weird look. "What? I can't have layers?" 

We walked through the hall doors near the cafeteria.

"So, Buff, study tonight?" Willow asked. 

"Uh, yes on the studying, no on tonight," Buffy told us. "I'm putting in Mom time. She's been drastic ever since I got back. And Giles is even worse. I'm supervised 24/7." We walked into the cafeteria. "It's like being in the Real World house, only real."

"Hmm," I hummed. 

We saw a table piled up with boxes of Milkbar fundraiser chocolate bars. Other students were each taking a box. Snyder checked their names off on his clipboard.

"Ooh, candy bars!" Willow said excitedly. "Lots of them!" 

Snyder held out a box.

"Principal Snyder, thank you," Xander told him, taking the box. "You weren't visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past, by any chance?" 

"It's band candy," Snyder told us.

"Let's hear it for the band, huh?" I asked. "Very generous." 

"You will sell it to raise money for the marching band," Snyder told us. "They need new uniforms." 

"Yeah," Xander said. "Those tall, fuzzy hats ain't cheap, huh?" 

"But they go with everything," Oz told us.

Willow smiled. 

"I'm sure we love the idea of going all Willy Loman, but we're not in the band," I told him.

"And if I'd handed you a trombone, that would've been a problem, Francis," Snyder told me, holding a box toward me. "It's candy." I took the box. "Sell it."