CHAPTER FIVE: LAURIE
Wednesday: 4am14th March 1990
London: Watcher's Council
Beth had been awake all night. She usually slept fairly well, but tonight was an exception. Something was going to happen. She could feel it. She had asked two of the other Potentials about it, and they said that they knew something was coming as well. Something that had to do with slaying.
During her sparring session earlier the previous day with one of the older Potentials, she had asked if the other girl knew what it had meant. Sixteen-year-old Laurette 'Laurie' Grasner had told her that one of them was going to be Called.
Beth had known within her soul, the second that Laurie had told her that a new Slayer was going to be Called, that the next Slayer would be Laurie. She didn't know how she knew that it would be Laurie, but she just knew. She didn't tell Laurie her suspicions, only asking casually.
"Who do you think will be next?" Beth asked.
Laurie had shrugged and tried to stun Buffy with a right hook. The small blonde girl had ducked under Laurie's punch and kicked out at the older Potential, sending Laurie stumbling back.
"I'm not too sure. Maybe Alex or MJ," Laurie replied. "It may not even be a Potential from here."
Beth nodded and faked right, delivering a left hook to the older girl. Laurie caught it easily but had trouble pushing the younger girl away. Laurie loved Beth like a sister, but she hated sparring with her. At nine-years-old, Beth was one of the best fighters that the Council had ever seen. And, as one of the oldest Potentials, sparring with the young blonde girl was sometimes incredibly embarrassing when she didn't win. Although, none of the other Potentials ever won against the youngest girl either.
"You don't think it could be you?" Beth asked.
Laurie just shook her head. "I don't think so. Why would anyone chose me?"
As though to add weight to her statement, Laurie was thrown to the ground by the young girl. Beth helped her up, not even aware of the embarrassment burning within the older girl. It wasn't often that they sparred together, but their trainers knew that Beth could easily take down the girls her own age. There was no point in making Beth spar with opponents that were too easily beaten.
"You're a good fighter," Beth said.
Laurie just shook her head. "Says the nine-year-old who just took me down."
Beth shook her head. "I'm just smaller, makes me harder to hit. I've seen you spar with MJ, you move like a Slayer."
Beth was about to go into a longer explanation when she heard a voice behind her calling her name. She froze instantly. Quentin Travers. The one man she feared above all others. She turned and looked up at him, incredibly conscious of his incredible height compared to hers.
"Miss Summers, what have I told you about talking during training?" he asked.
Beth swallowed hard. She had hated this man since she could remember. She had vague memories of yelling at this man when she had first come to the Council, though she couldn't rightly remember about what.
"I'm sorry sir," she apologised nervously.
"This is the third time this week," Travers continued.
Laurie looked at the younger girl sympathetically. The other Potentials had stopped their training to watch the confrontation between Watcher and Potential, nine sets of eyes staring at them.
"I know," Beth whispered.
Travers looked around and saw the other Potentials watching them. He gave them a quick glare and they quickly went back to their own sparring, all of them still managing to keep an eye on Beth.
All of the Potentials adored the small blonde girl. Even though it was discouraged to take an interest in each other, they all agreed that the young American girl was too cute for words. She was the favourite among them all, her fire and her spirit making all nine other Potentials drawn to her. They hated to see her punished for being friendly to the other girls, but all of them were too afraid of Quentin to speak up about it.
"Perhaps we should take a walk to my office where you can learn your lesson properly," Travers suggested.
Buffy's eyes went wide and she felt her heart drop. She'd been taken to his office at least twenty times before and each time she had ended up with bruises and welts from Travers' cane.
"No, sir, I promise," she said frantically. "No more talking, I swear."
Travers shook his head and stepped towards the small girl, putting a hand on the middle of her shoulders and pushing her towards the door. She would have struggled but she knew that even though she could take any of the Potentials down easily, Travers was a different matter. He wasn't skilled in fighting, but he had the advantage of strength over her. He could easily pick her up and had done so on previous occasions when he had thought her to be overly insolent.
The door slammed shut behind them and the nine Potentials winced in sympathy. With heavy hearts, they went back to their training.
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The bedside clock ticked over to 4:15, and Beth still couldn't sleep. Her back was aching, ten red strips running across her flesh. She had managed to hold back tears whilst Travers had been teaching her a lesson, but as soon as he had let her go with a warning of a worse punishment if it were to happen again, she had run down the corridor towards her room and burst into tears.
She hadn't been to dinner, which was another reason why she was still awake. Her stomach was growling and her back was protesting, and she couldn't seem to get comfortable. And, she knew that Laurie was going to be Called.
It was a quarter to five before she finally drifted off to sleep.
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Beth ran down the hall, running slightly late to the first lesson of the day. The teacher gave her a stern look, but when Miss Watson had seen the red-rimmed face of the youngest Potential, she had just given the girl a warning and told her to take her seat. The relief and thankfulness written on the girl's face had been enough to show Miss Watson that she had done the right thing in not scolding the girl.
Beth looked around the room hurriedly, and sighed in relief when she saw that Laurie was still in her regular seat at the back. They were seated in age order, which meant that Beth was at the front for every class, something that she hated seeing as a lot of the teachers tended to pick on her, especially teachers that were heavily under Travers' influence.
The lesson flew by quickly, Beth taking notes that were neat and accurate. She hated classes, but more than anything she knew that if she didn't learn what was being taught she would be punished.
Travers hated her for some unknown reason, and he took great pleasure in reminding her of it, if not verbally, than in other ways. The other Potentials were punished for larger offences, but if Beth did the slightest thing wrong, she would be taught to never do so again. She had once thought that Travers had treated all the Potentials fairly, but one of the other girls, a fifteen year old by the name of Alexandria had quickly told her otherwise.
"Why's he so horrible to you Bethie? He's never been that mean to any of us."
Beth had been six years old at the time. She had been at the Council for a year and although her protests had been long and loud for the first month, she had learned not to say anything bad about the Council very quickly. At first, the punishments had been light; slaps on the hands with rulers, or small smacks on her bottom. It hadn't been any worse than what her parents had done to her.
Six months later, when she had finally started her sparring training, Travers had declared that she would have to gain a higher tolerance of pain, and her punishments had been harsh. Beatings with a cane, and often depriving her of meals. His favourite was having someone shadow her for the day and making sure she didn't talk at all, unless it was to answer a question from either a trainer or a teacher.
Beth was a naturally chatty person, and even after four years within the Council walls, it had never been taken from her. It was the main reason that all the other Potentials loved the girl, and the same reason that Travers disliked her with a violent passion.
Beth grinned at Laurie who smiled back, wondering how Beth could bounce back so easily after being beaten by Travers. Laurie had only once had that as a form of punishment, two strokes across her back. She'd been sullen for the next two days.
Beth managed to catch up to Laurie on her walk down the corridor to the next lesson.
"You okay?" Beth asked.
Laurie looked down at the girl, genuinely confused.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"
Beth waved the question away, determined to get an answer from Laurie before they went into their next class.
"I'm serious. Are you alright?"
Laurie nodded, still unsure as to what the young girl was trying to say.
"I'm fine Bethie, why do you ask?"
Beth hesitated but finally blurted out the truth. "I think you're gonna be the next one Called."
Laurie's eyes went wide. "Is this cos of what we were talking about yesterday?"
Beth nodded. "Don't ask me how, but…I know it's gonna be you."
Laurie smiled gently and just shook her head. "It won't be me. Trust me Bethie. Alex is far better than I am. She'll be the next one."
They had entered the classroom and Beth had immediately closed her mouth. Mr Ramond was notorious for picking on the young Potential, and she didn't want to give him any ammunition before the class even began. She desperately wanted to talk to Laurie, but kept her instincts to herself for the next hour, frantically writing notes to keep up with Mr Ramond's rapid-fire way of teaching.
Half an hour into the lesson though, Laurie gasped and clutched at her chest. The entire class went silent and turned to look at the girl. Beth went pale as she realised what had just happened.
"Miss Grasner, is there a problem?" Mr Ramond asked, agitation in his voice. He hated being interrupted.
Laurie nodded, trying to regulate her breathing. She got herself under control and looked towards Beth with wide and frightened eyes.
"No sir. I'm alright."
Mr Ramond nodded and went back to teaching. He was interrupted two minutes later when someone knocked on the door. Annoyed, Mr Ramond answered it. Beth strained to hear what was said.
Quentin Travers entered the room, glaring at Beth before his gaze fell on Laurie.
"Miss Grasner, if you would come with me please."
Laurie swallowed nervously and cast an anxious look towards Beth who just gave her an encouraging smile. She stood and left her books on the table, following Quentin Travers out of the room.
Beth blinked back tears and knew that she would never see Laurie again.