Xander arrived at his house without incident, which in Sunnydale is quite
an unusual happenstance indeed. Xander unlocked the thick wooden door and
hurriedly stepped inside, just in case those unseen baddies out there left
him unmolested just to get at him in his house. He closed the heavy oaken
door, and began to turn the two thick deadbolts locking the door into
place.
Once satisfied that he was securely in his home, Xander called out to his mom and dad to tell them he was home, but as always only silence replied to his calls. "You know, just once I'd like them to be home when my world comes crashing down around me. But you know the next time they put me ahead of their booze and careers, it'd be the first time."
Xander walked into his kitchen to see if he could find his customary note from his parents on the fridge. Sure enough, posted to the fridge, with a smiley face magnet that Willow had given him, was a note with a hundred- dollar bill underneath.
The note read: "Xander- Your father and I have to go to a conference for the next week or so. We left some money for food and going out with your friends. If you need us you can call one of our offices and they'll get in touch with us for you. But, unless it's a real emergency, I'm sure you could call the Rosenbergs and they would take care of you. Behave yourself, but have a good time. - Love, Mom & Dad."
"Great, not only do they NOT tell me where they are staying, they tell me to call Willow's parents unless I have a 'real' emergency. Is that what their office is for? To determine whether or not I have an emergency? Somehow I doubt that they were even there when I was born!" Xander took the money and placed it in his billfold. Running his hand through his hair Xander walked up the stairs to his room.
He opened the door to his room, relieved to find that it was in its usual state of disarray. His mom was always promising that if he didn't clean it up then she would do it for hi m, and he'd just have to live with where she put things. Of course, that was just another broken promise made by his parents, one in a long string of them. I remember when Willow described my room as 'A pile for everything and everything in its pile'. Xander pushed a couple of piles of clothes aside in his closet to uncover a padlocked footlocker. Xander dialed Willow's birthday into the padlock and with a click, it opened.
He opened up the footlocker to reveal his array of Slayerette weaponry, and a few additional items that weren't exactly included in the Slayer's Handbook. He took two of those weapons, checked them to ensure that they were in proper working order, and placed them together on the floor. Xander searched inside the footlocker to ensure he had everything... satisfied that he did, he closed the footlocker and replaced the lock. Xander walked over to his unmade bed and placed his weapons on top. Then he began to undress, tossing each item of clothing on a different pile. Xander hunted around for a few seconds looking for his Army surplus duffel bag. He found the duffel buried under a pile of clean clothes in the far corner of the room. Xander slung the duffel up onto the bed and dumped its contents onto the bed. He pulled on a pair of jet-black commando pants, a black tank top, and his well-worn combat boots. He took the cross from the stack of weapons and placed it around his neck. Xander then picked up his weapons, placed them in the small of his back, and threw on a black tactical jacket after hiding a couple of stakes in the inner pockets.
Xander looked at himself in the mirror, ensuring that nothing was showing that might cause suspicions in the casual viewer. "Of course, there's absolutely NOTHING suspicious about a teenager dressed in black Army gear... roaming the streets... in the middle of the night. Nope, nothing suspicious at all! God help me if the cops have finally decided to see Pat Sajak about buying a clue." Xander ran downstairs and bolted out the door, just barely pausing to close it. Damn! I should've locked the door, but there are worse things in Sunnydale to worry about than petty thieves. Let's hope all I have to worry about tonight is that unlocked door. After a brisk two-mile jog to the cemetery, Xander paused at the entrance to survey the situation. Past the slightly ajar gate hung a light mist, which cast a shroud around the interior of the graveyard. "Just perfect! I can't see squat, and I'm planning on going into the graveyard anyway... witness my stupidity!" Xander ran a reassuring hand over his weapons and cross and entered the foreboding burial grounds.
Once satisfied that he was securely in his home, Xander called out to his mom and dad to tell them he was home, but as always only silence replied to his calls. "You know, just once I'd like them to be home when my world comes crashing down around me. But you know the next time they put me ahead of their booze and careers, it'd be the first time."
Xander walked into his kitchen to see if he could find his customary note from his parents on the fridge. Sure enough, posted to the fridge, with a smiley face magnet that Willow had given him, was a note with a hundred- dollar bill underneath.
The note read: "Xander- Your father and I have to go to a conference for the next week or so. We left some money for food and going out with your friends. If you need us you can call one of our offices and they'll get in touch with us for you. But, unless it's a real emergency, I'm sure you could call the Rosenbergs and they would take care of you. Behave yourself, but have a good time. - Love, Mom & Dad."
"Great, not only do they NOT tell me where they are staying, they tell me to call Willow's parents unless I have a 'real' emergency. Is that what their office is for? To determine whether or not I have an emergency? Somehow I doubt that they were even there when I was born!" Xander took the money and placed it in his billfold. Running his hand through his hair Xander walked up the stairs to his room.
He opened the door to his room, relieved to find that it was in its usual state of disarray. His mom was always promising that if he didn't clean it up then she would do it for hi m, and he'd just have to live with where she put things. Of course, that was just another broken promise made by his parents, one in a long string of them. I remember when Willow described my room as 'A pile for everything and everything in its pile'. Xander pushed a couple of piles of clothes aside in his closet to uncover a padlocked footlocker. Xander dialed Willow's birthday into the padlock and with a click, it opened.
He opened up the footlocker to reveal his array of Slayerette weaponry, and a few additional items that weren't exactly included in the Slayer's Handbook. He took two of those weapons, checked them to ensure that they were in proper working order, and placed them together on the floor. Xander searched inside the footlocker to ensure he had everything... satisfied that he did, he closed the footlocker and replaced the lock. Xander walked over to his unmade bed and placed his weapons on top. Then he began to undress, tossing each item of clothing on a different pile. Xander hunted around for a few seconds looking for his Army surplus duffel bag. He found the duffel buried under a pile of clean clothes in the far corner of the room. Xander slung the duffel up onto the bed and dumped its contents onto the bed. He pulled on a pair of jet-black commando pants, a black tank top, and his well-worn combat boots. He took the cross from the stack of weapons and placed it around his neck. Xander then picked up his weapons, placed them in the small of his back, and threw on a black tactical jacket after hiding a couple of stakes in the inner pockets.
Xander looked at himself in the mirror, ensuring that nothing was showing that might cause suspicions in the casual viewer. "Of course, there's absolutely NOTHING suspicious about a teenager dressed in black Army gear... roaming the streets... in the middle of the night. Nope, nothing suspicious at all! God help me if the cops have finally decided to see Pat Sajak about buying a clue." Xander ran downstairs and bolted out the door, just barely pausing to close it. Damn! I should've locked the door, but there are worse things in Sunnydale to worry about than petty thieves. Let's hope all I have to worry about tonight is that unlocked door. After a brisk two-mile jog to the cemetery, Xander paused at the entrance to survey the situation. Past the slightly ajar gate hung a light mist, which cast a shroud around the interior of the graveyard. "Just perfect! I can't see squat, and I'm planning on going into the graveyard anyway... witness my stupidity!" Xander ran a reassuring hand over his weapons and cross and entered the foreboding burial grounds.