Author's Note: Ficlet for the LJ multifandom1000 challenge. June 29's subject: screwy weather. In this case it's not entirely screwy, but it is different than the BtVS norm. Length: 339 words.
Change of Place
By Trisana McGraw
"Dawn!" Buffy shouted up the stairs. "It's time to get going. It's your first day of school and you want to make a good impression."
Dawn rolled her eyes, remembering the last time those words had been spoken to her and her attempt to do the same in her first class at Sunnydale High. Nevertheless, she hurried out of her room and across the hall into the kitchen. Grabbing a meager breakfast — some things never changed — she ran toward the open door where Buffy waited. Dawn shouldered her backpack, the piece of toast in her mouth, and grabbed a coat, but before leaving she skidded to a halt and checked the clock on the wall.
7:00. Half an hour after she had been roused out of her warm, fluffy bed.
"Buffy," she whined. "It's only seven! Why couldn't I sleep in? The school's only twenty minutes away!"
"Because," her sister replied, exaggeratedly patient, "it snowed like crazy last night, and Xander's got to drive through piles of it, which is going to take longer than usual. Besides, it can't hurt if you're a bit early; we don't want any trouble at your new school."
"Fine," Dawn sighed, starting out the door again. "I wish I didn't have to go. You're so lucky you've graduated."
"Do you think I'm any happier?" Buffy shot back, her arms crossed over her chest. "I've got a million places to visit where I have to hear boring Slayer information that I already know. And I have to walk to these places; I don't get a heated car to transport me around. And every time I enter a room I have to take off the many layers of jackets I've stacked over myself, then put them back on before walking to my next destination. Do you know how much that messes up my hair?" She closed her eyes briefly. "Things are very different, for everybody. But we've got to adjust."
Dawn shrugged. "It wasn't my fault that we had to move to Cleveland," she muttered.
