Story: Brenn
Chapter 3
Career Day
"Dawn! Brenn! Time for school!" Buffy shouted up the stairs.
"School?" Brenn said, rolling off the bed with a thump. "But it's Saturday."
She took a shower, got dressed. She was just pulling her shirt down as she was going down the stairs when it got stuck over her eyes. It had shrunk in the wash.
"Shit!!!! I liked this shirt!"
She couldn't see a damn thing, and she didn't know the house well enough to find her way around blind.
"Buffy! Dawn! I need some help!"
"Neither are here at the moment, but I would be happy to serve you," said a male voice.
"Who's there?"
"No one but your," he said, tugging her shirt up, "friendly," higher, "neighbourhood," almost over her eyes.
"Xander!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her cheeks hot.
"Buffy asked me to drive you and Dawn to school."
"But it's Saturday. And where did Buffy go?"
Xander explained.
"Buffy had to go and run a few errands. She told me to make sure to get you to school for Career Day."
"That stupid thing! Those tests didn't make any sense at all."
"They can be useful. And Career Day isn't that stupid. Willow met her first boyfriend there."
"Xander. I'm the farthest thing from looking for a boyfriend, so if you don't mind, I'm going to get another shirt," she said, and stomped up the stairs.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Brenn kicked the wall, not caring if she busted it or not. They had been dropped off at the school, immediately running to the bulletin board. Dawn had jumped for joy. She was spending the day with this computer specialist. Brenn had punched the wall. She was
spending the day with a writer. With a damn writer!
"Brenn, did you hear what I just said?" Dawn asked, slighted agitated.
"No, I didn't. What?"
"I said I'm going now."
"Oh, whatever. Bye."
Dawn walked away, shaking her head.
Brenn sunk down to the floor, sitting with her feet on a garbage can. She reached into her bag and pulled out headphones. She pressed play and lost herself in the music.
"I asked if you were Brenn Richardson?" someone asked as they poked her.
"What do you want?"
"I'm Marie Chester, your teacher for the day."
"Oh, it's you."
"Should we go now?"
"Whatever."
Brenn got up, but right away she had to go back down, her shoe was untied. She sighed.
What was that smell? She was suddenly really alert. She breathed deep again. It was still there. Like a decaying corpse. She straightened up. Taking another whiff, she felt over powered.
"Could you please not?" she asked Marie, who was spraying an enormous amount of perfume on herself.
"Sure," she replied, still spraying.
"Like now? I have a really sensitive sense of smell."
"Fine," she said, and put the bottle away.
"Thank-you," she wasn't even trying to hide the agitation in her voice.
Marie turned and walked towards the door. Brenn followed, desperately trying to rid her nose of the perfume.
"What the hell is that lady wearing? Ode de Garlic?"
She got into Marie's car and was hit with an even stronger smell. Who would have thought a convertible would have lingering smells of floor cleaner, flowers, and garlic.
"Wouldn't a simple air freshener suffice?" she managed to cough out.
"Doesn't help. I don't have that much of a sense of smell," Marie said with a shrug.
Brenn believed her. No one with a sense of smell, even a weak one, would be overpowered by this stuff.
Marie turned the radio on, an oldies station. Brenn sighed. Turning again to her CD player, she settled in for a long ride.
"Brenn, we're here."
Brenn got out of the car, and yawned. That's the response the house brought on her. It was a plain brown house in a neighbourhood filled with similar houses.
Marie unlocked the door and went in. Brenn went in, and yawned once again. The inside was the same as the out, plain, brown, uninteresting.
"Let's have a snack before we get started, shall we?" Marie said, gesturing towards the kitchen. Brenn wasn't really hungry after the smells, but maybe the fruit Marie was getting out would help.
"Thanks," she said, and took an apple. Biting in she immediately felt better, than she felt ill.
"Marie, I think there is something wrong with yo-" Brenn tried to finish, but she fell on the floor, unconscious.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Brenn snapped her head up.
"Oww!"
It had hit the wall, hard. She waited for her head and eyes to clear, then she looked around. She was in a dirt room, underground, really just a hole in the ground. In the middle of the room was a pit. She moved her hands and found herself chained to a wall.
WHOOSH!
Candles flickered on, so bright they nearly blinded her.
"Nutha, nixom, fantho," a voice chanted.
"Marie?"
She stepped out of the shadows, cloaked in a long brown robe. Her face was covered with a green substance. As she kept chanting, it disappeared, and her skin began to rot. She stopped chanting when the decay stopped spreading. Brenn had ton hold her breath, the smell was so bad.
"Marie," she coughed out, "what are you doing to me?"
"I must make a sacrifice so I can live."
"Why?"
"Are you stupid? Can't you see that I'm dead. The gods told me that if I make a yearly sacrifice, they will grant me new skin and life to live."
While she was talking, Brenn was working the chains out of the walls. She got them loose, swung them around, hitting Marie, knocking her into the pit.
"Well, that was easy."
Chapter 3
Career Day
"Dawn! Brenn! Time for school!" Buffy shouted up the stairs.
"School?" Brenn said, rolling off the bed with a thump. "But it's Saturday."
She took a shower, got dressed. She was just pulling her shirt down as she was going down the stairs when it got stuck over her eyes. It had shrunk in the wash.
"Shit!!!! I liked this shirt!"
She couldn't see a damn thing, and she didn't know the house well enough to find her way around blind.
"Buffy! Dawn! I need some help!"
"Neither are here at the moment, but I would be happy to serve you," said a male voice.
"Who's there?"
"No one but your," he said, tugging her shirt up, "friendly," higher, "neighbourhood," almost over her eyes.
"Xander!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her cheeks hot.
"Buffy asked me to drive you and Dawn to school."
"But it's Saturday. And where did Buffy go?"
Xander explained.
"Buffy had to go and run a few errands. She told me to make sure to get you to school for Career Day."
"That stupid thing! Those tests didn't make any sense at all."
"They can be useful. And Career Day isn't that stupid. Willow met her first boyfriend there."
"Xander. I'm the farthest thing from looking for a boyfriend, so if you don't mind, I'm going to get another shirt," she said, and stomped up the stairs.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Brenn kicked the wall, not caring if she busted it or not. They had been dropped off at the school, immediately running to the bulletin board. Dawn had jumped for joy. She was spending the day with this computer specialist. Brenn had punched the wall. She was
spending the day with a writer. With a damn writer!
"Brenn, did you hear what I just said?" Dawn asked, slighted agitated.
"No, I didn't. What?"
"I said I'm going now."
"Oh, whatever. Bye."
Dawn walked away, shaking her head.
Brenn sunk down to the floor, sitting with her feet on a garbage can. She reached into her bag and pulled out headphones. She pressed play and lost herself in the music.
"I asked if you were Brenn Richardson?" someone asked as they poked her.
"What do you want?"
"I'm Marie Chester, your teacher for the day."
"Oh, it's you."
"Should we go now?"
"Whatever."
Brenn got up, but right away she had to go back down, her shoe was untied. She sighed.
What was that smell? She was suddenly really alert. She breathed deep again. It was still there. Like a decaying corpse. She straightened up. Taking another whiff, she felt over powered.
"Could you please not?" she asked Marie, who was spraying an enormous amount of perfume on herself.
"Sure," she replied, still spraying.
"Like now? I have a really sensitive sense of smell."
"Fine," she said, and put the bottle away.
"Thank-you," she wasn't even trying to hide the agitation in her voice.
Marie turned and walked towards the door. Brenn followed, desperately trying to rid her nose of the perfume.
"What the hell is that lady wearing? Ode de Garlic?"
She got into Marie's car and was hit with an even stronger smell. Who would have thought a convertible would have lingering smells of floor cleaner, flowers, and garlic.
"Wouldn't a simple air freshener suffice?" she managed to cough out.
"Doesn't help. I don't have that much of a sense of smell," Marie said with a shrug.
Brenn believed her. No one with a sense of smell, even a weak one, would be overpowered by this stuff.
Marie turned the radio on, an oldies station. Brenn sighed. Turning again to her CD player, she settled in for a long ride.
"Brenn, we're here."
Brenn got out of the car, and yawned. That's the response the house brought on her. It was a plain brown house in a neighbourhood filled with similar houses.
Marie unlocked the door and went in. Brenn went in, and yawned once again. The inside was the same as the out, plain, brown, uninteresting.
"Let's have a snack before we get started, shall we?" Marie said, gesturing towards the kitchen. Brenn wasn't really hungry after the smells, but maybe the fruit Marie was getting out would help.
"Thanks," she said, and took an apple. Biting in she immediately felt better, than she felt ill.
"Marie, I think there is something wrong with yo-" Brenn tried to finish, but she fell on the floor, unconscious.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Brenn snapped her head up.
"Oww!"
It had hit the wall, hard. She waited for her head and eyes to clear, then she looked around. She was in a dirt room, underground, really just a hole in the ground. In the middle of the room was a pit. She moved her hands and found herself chained to a wall.
WHOOSH!
Candles flickered on, so bright they nearly blinded her.
"Nutha, nixom, fantho," a voice chanted.
"Marie?"
She stepped out of the shadows, cloaked in a long brown robe. Her face was covered with a green substance. As she kept chanting, it disappeared, and her skin began to rot. She stopped chanting when the decay stopped spreading. Brenn had ton hold her breath, the smell was so bad.
"Marie," she coughed out, "what are you doing to me?"
"I must make a sacrifice so I can live."
"Why?"
"Are you stupid? Can't you see that I'm dead. The gods told me that if I make a yearly sacrifice, they will grant me new skin and life to live."
While she was talking, Brenn was working the chains out of the walls. She got them loose, swung them around, hitting Marie, knocking her into the pit.
"Well, that was easy."