Straightening her hitched up skirt for the hundredth time, Buffy looked in the mirror in her room and sighed. She ruffled her hair and undid the top button of her shirt. That's it, she decided. School uniforms officially suck. It wasn't even like she was going to some posh private school like she always heard about back in the states. No, Buffy Summers was destined for Ashgate Comprehensive, a macabre-looking collection of concrete buildings framed by a 10 foot tall fence. Of course, she only had a 5 second glimpse of the school when they drove past on the way to their new house to go on right now. But that didn't mean she was wrong on her assumption of impending doom beyond the gates of the hell she'd have to go to 5 days a week for the rest of her sophomore year. "Year 11, Buffy. Don't be the weird American girl that no one can understand" she muttered under her breath. It wasn't that she didn't like England. So far it was shaping up to be pretty cool, even if Giles's hometown was in the middle of nowhere, it was really… green.
"Its called the Surrey Hills Buffy, though I'm sure the local county council was toying with the idea of naming it 'land of the leafy and damp'", Giles had chuckled the day before as he unloaded another box from the mover's van into the skinny arms of his reluctant stepdaughter.
"Whatever. You know I'm totally support-o girl of you and Mom and this whole moving back to your roots deal Giles, but do I really have to go to that school? Like England is supposed to be all fancy-schmancy private schools with pretty buildings and fencing and archery and stuff, right? Can't I go to one of them?"
"Contrary to your Americanised perception of Britain, Buffy, not every student is trained in the arts of sword-fighting and arrow-shooting. Besides, had we even a fraction of the money it costs to send you to one of those, I would have thought you adverse to the whole single sex nature of them."
"Sex? Woah, Giles you know I'm not that kind of—"
"Gender, Buffy. The majority of British private schools only accommodate one gender. Therefore, you would attend and all girls school. As in, no boys."
Buffy's eyes widened momentarily at the thought before she struggled to backtrack. "Maybe I just need to give Ashgate a chance…" She hurriedly grabbed the next box and rushed inside the cottage"
Buffy shuddered at the thought of yesterday's conversation. It wasn't that she didn't like girls, it was just in general she found them easier to handle with boys too. She briefly remembered Cordelia Chase, queen bitch of Hemmory High in LA and on –off friend of Buffy. She had been a prime example of why girls were hard to deal with sometimes. Yes, boys will make this OK. Especially with them being British.
Smoothing down her blazer one last time, Buffy headed out of her bedroom and down the stairs, blonde ponytail bouncing against her back. Her mother gave her a warm smile as she scooped up her school bag.
"Have a wonderful day honey. Make lots of friends!" Joyce chirped at her somewhat nervous looking daughter.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "I'll bear it in mind Mom. See you later," if I survive today, she mentally added. With a wave to a toast-munching Giles at the kitchen table, Buffy left the house and headed up the road for her first day of school.