A/N:
Last of the 10 Ways! Enjoy!
9
Buffy stared out of the car windshield in shock as the fire hydrant imbedded in her car sprayed water straight up into the air and back down onto the gold hood. Automatically, she reached out and turned on the wipers. She was sure she'd hit a woman. Dressed in a long floating dress, her red hair held back from her face by ribbons and her arms filled with shopping bags, she'd stepped off the sidewalk as Buffy had nipped round the intersection. Buffy had hit the brakes, turning the steering wheel to avoid her, skidded and hit the woman and then the fire hydrant.
Shaking, Buffy turned off the engine and checked her mirrors. Where was she? The people passing by were giving her a wide berth, to avoid the gushing water, so she had a clear view of the groceries strewn across the sidewalk and street but there was no sign of the woman. Unclipping her seatbelt, Buffy swivelled in her seat to get a better look. Nothing.
Grabbing the umbrella her time in England had taught her to keep in the car, Buffy opened the car door and stepped out, her expensive sandals crunching some sort of sparkly gravel underfoot. Protected by the umbrella, she stepped around the car, bent down and turned the hydrant off. As she crouched, Buffy checked under her car, just in case. Fortunately, the woman wasn't underneath it. Her Manolo Blahnik's scraped against the grit on the sidewalk as she shifted and Buffy frowned, picking up some of the glittering stones before standing. Shiny.
Closing her umbrella, Buffy stared at the busy street in bewilderment. A bus roared past, crushing a lettuce under its wheels. There had been a woman. Buffy glanced at the silver shards she held in her hand. Hadn't there?
She sighed and looked at her watch. She was late! Giles was going to kill her! Or at least be icily polite about it in a stiff upper lip British way. But as she rushed to the driver's door, Buffy heard a soft warbling coo and a warm wetness splattered across her left shoulder.
Buffy cried out in disgust, coming to a complete halt and throwing her arms up as she gingerly looked at her shoulder. The loud clatter of wings behind her sent her spinning around in time to catch a glimpse of feathers before another familiar present landed on her right shoulder.
She retreated to the car. A wise move as birds began to appear as if from thin air. Quickly reversing the car (nearly running over an old woman carrying a large sack of bird seed in the process), Buffy had to switch on her wipers to drive back to her apartment for a shower and a change of clothes.