"Cindy, hey cindy." Buffy waved down the other waitress as she walked through the door.
"Hey kid, what's up?" The bleach blond rounded the counter and began getting ready for her shift.
"I got my own uniform now, just wanted to let you know that I wont be using yours anymore."
"Hey sure. Oh, let me see your new uniform."
"Um well, here it is." Buffy looked down at herself dispassionately.
"Come on, turn around." She spun the unresisting girl in a circle. Kirking an eyebrow at her, "It's a little big."
"Yah it...uh....came that way." Buffy tried to smile, but ended up with a nervous near-grimace.
"Well you should send it back, you can use mine till another one gets here for you."
"No, no, I'm fine." She fiddled with the apron sinching the over-sized uniform in place.
"Come on, I could probably join you in that thing." She grinned jokingly.
"No." Her words came out sharper than she wanted them too, and the look on Cindy's face told her so. "No it's all right, I'm not going to need it that long anyway, I'll probably get another job soon." *Yah, good excuse.*
"Ok, ok. I get it." Cindy eyed the younger blond. Something was up with Buffy, that was for sure. And she intended to find out what.
*********
"Hey Lucy, wait for me." Cindy pulled on her coat and ran after the girl exiting the dark diner like there wouldn't be a tomorrow.
"What?" Buffy had stopped and turned back to look at her, arms wrapped around herself.
"Walk home with me."
"Huh?" bewilderment clouded the true blonds eyes.
"Well, it is the 4th of July."
"And?"
"I bought some fireworks. I was wondering if you might like to set them off with me."
"I really shouldn't, I have work tomorrow."
"Come on, it'll be fun. You look like you need some fun." Cindy grinned encouragingly at her.
"All right." Surprisingly she grinned back, this might just be fun.
The walked together companionably for several blocks. Talking of work, and the new summer crowds. What to do with days off, and their apartments. After nearly a month of working together, they had become friends.
The streets were full of teen-agers and partiers, setting off late-night fireworks. Even the cemetary had a crowd of people in it.
"Hey that's weird." Cindy had stopped and was looking into the cemetary.
"What?"
"Well there was a burial today, I saw it on the way to work."
"Yah, your point." Oh, no this wasn't good. Something was definately fishy.
"All those people are around that new plot."
"Maybe they're just mourners." Fat chance.
"I guess, or maybe they are kids digging up the grave."
"Oh creepy, lets get out of here then." Buffy tried to instill some sincerity into her voice.
"I think that is so stupid. Let's go over there and stop them."
"Uh, there are a lot more of them than us. Let's just call the cops when we get to your apartment, and let them handle it." She was not going to get involved, that part of her life was over.
"I'm going to go tell them to get out of here." Before Buffy could try and stop her she was running into the cemetary.
"Oh this is good. Real good." *Not now, please not now.* She chased after the older waitress hoping she would get there in time.
"What do you think your doing?!" Outrage was clear in Cindy's voice.
"None of your business, get out of here." A girl in the group yelled back, turning to face off with Cindy.
"It's may not be my business, but it sure is the cops. If you don't get out of here right now I'm gonna get the police." Cindy jabbed a finger at the teen-ager.
Buffy ran up behind her, Mr Pointy poised and ready for action. But the crowd ignored her and she discretely hid the stake behind her back. Other than being slightly pale from lack of sun, the group looked alright. Several wore necklaces with wickan symbols, and one held a book of spells, which he had been reading from before Cindy's outburst. There was something though, as sirens went off in her head.
"We're not leaving, but if you were smart you would. We know what we're doing." The girl glared at Cindy, ignoring Buffy's entrance.
"Somehow I doubt that." Buffy countered sarcastically.
"What do you know about it?"
"More than you'd think. Hey Cindy why don't you go call the cops, I'll try and get them out of here."
Though she wanted to argue more on the matter, the timbre of the younger waitresses voice told her to do as told. The older girl ran off acrossed the cemetary in the direction Buffy assumed her apartment must be.
"That was a big mistake. The cops can't do anything here, except maybe get . . ." The boy that had spoken was suddenly cut off by a jab in the side.
"You better get outta here too." The leader of the group glared at Buffy.
"I'm not leaving until all of you are out of here. I can take care of everything." The sun was starting to set and there wasn't much time, she had to get these kids gone. Now.
"No. We know what we're doing, you can stay if you want to get. . ." The boy was standing in a small hole over the grave with a shovel in his hands. He was cut off by the leader.
"Jared just dig." He ignored her and continued to stare between the two combative girls.
"You have no clue what your doing. If you kids don't leave right now you will be dead and I can't protect all of you." Anger rose up instead of fear inside Buffy, they just wouldn't listen and soon it would be too late.
"We're not. . ." A muffled sound of cracking wood below them cut into his words, and the sun set in the west.