Clean Up Duty

"Why are we cleaning up the mess Snyder made?" Cordelia whined.

I wanted to make the same complaint, but I knew it wasn't going to go very far. Even if the school faculty did remember what happened, it wasn't like they were going to take the blame.

Not that there was anything wrong with letting loose. I'd even seen Mom and Giles making out. It wasn't a big deal. Letting loose was good from time to time. I just wish I wasn't the person cleaning up the mess.

"And were are Willow and Xander?" Cordelia followed up.

"They're taking a break," I answered quickly. "We both agreed they could take one."

"Yeah, but I didn't think they'd be gone this long."

I sighed as I finished scrubbing the graffiti off the locker, "Well, why don't we take a break ourselves before we move to the next hall. I'll check the library, you check the cafeteria."

Cordelia nodded and we went our separate ways. Something, like a Slayer sense, told me to slow down as I approached the library. I could hear voices inside.

"You're rushing this, Will," Xander was saying. "There is more at stake here."

"Like what?"

"Like you wanted to have a session in the hospital. We never would have saved those children if we'd stopped."

"They were hyped up and excited. The sessions work better when the mind is focusing on other things," Willow explained.

"Will..."

"Fine, I get your point. Saving the world comes first. Though maybe I could convince you..."

"And why aren't you working!"

I jumped as soon as I heard a voice behind me. Snyder, of course, the little troll was one of the few people who could sneak up on me. "Oh, hey, just getting some more supplies," Buffy said. "We'll be right back to it!"

"Why would there be any cleaning supplies in the library?"

"What? Library? Oh. I really should pay more attention in class."

I was saved from Snyder's stares as Xander and Willow exited the library. "And you two," Snyder said as they appeared. "You should be..."

"Principal Snyder," Willow cut in, "I need to talk to you about Larry's grades."

"I don't care about..."

"I'm afraid I might have to give him a failure. He won't be able to play football this season. I know it is..."

"My office, now," Snyder said as he marched away.

As Willow walked away I heard her whisper to Xander, "Fix this."

"Fix what?" I asked as the two of them headed back to catch up with Cordelia.

"Just the problems with Snyder," Xander said quickly.

"Hey, where is Willow?" Cordelia said as she came up. "Is she skipping out on..."

I saw Xander pull out his crystal. "Hey, you know what would help. We could probably do a hypnosis session right now. I bet it would make the time go faster."

"We...shouldn't...in public," I managed to mutter. The crystal was so pretty.

"Oh, yeah, but I think we're in the clear," Xander told us. "Just watch the crystal for a second. Listen to my voice. Willow's already prepped a few options for today. Let's see, how best to focus on cleaning and expand your mindset."

A) Cleaning is traditionally a woman's role, but modern girls are changing traditions... (2)

B) Cleaning is a group project, you should expect others to be close to you... (5)

C) Cleaning isn't our responsibility, let's cut loose... (3)