Episode 7: The First Day
A cold wind blew across the dead grass and over the rounded hills. The sun shone in the sky, a golden ball of flames that offered no warmth. It was like looking at a picture. Fray felt herself shiver but knew that it was not from the cold wind that whipped her hair around causing it to sting her cheeks.
Low hills covered with brown grass surrounded her and Fray was overcome with a sense of vulnerability and fear. She started climbing the hill in front of her and when she reached the top, a wide valley stretched out in front of her. Thousands upon thousands of people stood in the valley dressed in a huge array of clothes and armor, some carrying shields and wearing helmets. All carried weapons, swords, axes, spears, maces, and a number of unidentifiable ones. Fray turned to her left and saw a young man scurrying across the hill top. He smiled as he stood in front of her. His handsome face was accented by piercing blue eyes that held both strength and kindness in a single glance. "The troops are ready Fader. The hoards won't have a chance anymore. We will follow you to victory."
"There will be death," Fray heard herself say.
"We accept death," the young man said.
"There will be pain."
"We accept pain."
"There will be sorrow and loss."
"We accept sorrow and loss."
"Then you are ready for victory. You are ready for war."
The young man handed her an unidentifiable weapon and knelt before her. "I am yours Fader. In life and death."
Fray knelt beside him and lifted his chin with one finger. "I am yours shielder. In love and hate, in pain and sorrow and happiness and joy. You brought me back. I am yours."
Fray bent forward and kissed the young man softly on the lips. "Now we fight."
Fray stood up, the shielder standing next to her. She turned around and saw another army, this one no more than a mass of dark twisted shapes. A vision of evil standing in the dead valley behind her. Fray turned back to her army. "For victory," she yelled, raising her weapon above her head. "For us!"
The army lunged up the hill, the dark shadowed army climbing up the other side. With an inhuman shriek the armies clashed and the world turned black.
Fray opened her eyes to find herself floating in a world of darkness. Her arms and legs bound by thick chains. "We need you Fader," the young man's voice echoed through her head. "They are coming. You must remember and I will guide you. I can only show you the path. You must walk it. Without you we are doomed. You must remember."
"I'm trying," Fray yelled into the darkness. "But I don't know where to start."
"I will show you," the voice said. "Be ready."
Fray sat up in bed, sweat running down her face. She jumped when she heard a hard knock on the bedroom door. Kennedy pushed the door open slightly and peered in. Her forehead creased when she saw Fray. "Are you alright?" she asked.
Fray nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Kennedy looked at her, her eyes showing disbelief. "Sure," Kennedy said slowly. "Dawn should be here in about an hour. Get ready to go."
"Oh joy," Fray groaned, falling back on her pillow. "School."
Kennedy just smiled and shut the door as she left.
Fray ran a hand through her hair as she sat down at the kitchen table. Her dream still haunted her vision but she quickly shook it away. She had a lot more important things to focus on right now. Like school for the most part. A lot of the things she said didn't sound stupid to any of the people she had spent so much time with but if she let something slip at school most of the kids there wouldn't understand. Kennedy sat down across from her and looked at her, her dark eyes intense. "Do you want to tell me about this dream?" Kennedy asked quietly.
"It's not important," Fray said, shaking her head.
Kennedy watched her. "I think it is."
"It's not a big deal so just lay off," Fray snapped.
Kennedy nodded and stood up. "Kennedy I'm." Fray started.
Kennedy didn't look back; she just walked out the front door. "What was that all about?" Willow asked, walking into the kitchen.
Fray buried her face in her hands. "I had a dream last night that sort of shook me and she was bugging me to tell her. I guess I just want to be normal for today. I don't want anything to affect me or make me say something stupid. I sort of snapped at her and I think she got mad."
Willow smiled and sat down next to Fray, laying a kind hand on her shoulder. "Kennedy doesn't like it when she's helpless in a situation. In her own words she's used to getting what she wants. She wants to help you but she doesn't really know how to and it's really bugging her. I'll talk to her tonight."
"Thanks," Fray said, giving Willow a quick hug.
Willow smiled. "I want to help to so if you ever want to talk just let me know."
"You're just curious about the dream," Fray said.
Willow laughed. "You're killing me here. I feel like I'm in high school again."
"Yeah, well I want to get through my first day without a hitch. I'll tell you later this evening when I get home. That way you'll have to wait."
Willow smiled and held up her hands. "Fair enough."
There was a knock on the door and Willow got up to answer it. "Hey Dawn," Willow said, giving the young girl a hug.
Dawn walked inside and handed Fray a piece of paper. "We're both registered as Junior's so I got Principal Wood to give us most of the same classes. If you ever need to meet with me I have second period in the Library when you have a free period. We can meet in there and it should be pretty quiet."
"What's this?" Fray asked, taking the paper from Dawn.
"Class schedule, locker number and combination and a map of the school. Principal Wood said he'd call you down to his office during first period and go over some stuff with you."
Fray nodded and smiled at Dawn. "Thanks for all the help," she said.
Dawn smiled and waved a hand. "No problem. We'd better get going though if we don't want to be late." Fray nodded and hurried to her bedroom to get her backpack. She had gotten all her books from Wood the day before and they were now packed in there. The bag was heavy but Fray just threw it over her shoulder like it was no problem. For her it wasn't. Dawn was waiting for her by the door and Fray waved goodbye to Willow before leaving with Dawn.
New Sunnydale High School was a sprawling brick building with a two story gymnasium and auditorium in the center and hallways weaving a spider web around the center structure. The entrance of the school was surrounded on both sides by long hallways that jutted out a few feet on either side of the glass doors. The basic prison-style windows surrounded the building head high every few feet. Cars and motorcycles were parked in the parking lot and a long bike rack was full. Some students were taking off their roller blades on the few steps that led from the sidewalk up to the entrance of the school and even more carried skateboards on their shoulders.
Principal Wood was standing in the doorway watching the students walk inside and yelling the occasional hello or threatening the students that walked in with backwards caps. A small fight broke out in front of the doorway but was quickly stopped when he stepped in the way. Both of the boys glared at each other but backed up quickly. Robin waved at Dawn and Fray as they walked inside. "You're registered as Nicole Defray since we obviously can't call you Fray."
"Yeah," Fray smiled. "I'm sure that would go over really well. But did it have to be Nicole. I just don't look like a Nicole."
"How?"
"I don't have enough silicone."
Dawn laughed. "Hey be careful. With all the girls we have at the Coven I'm sure one of them is named Nicole."
Fray nodded. "Good point and I don't want the slayer mob to attack me. I don't think even I could handle that."
Dawn led Fray to her locker and showed her how to work the lock. "Meet me in a few minutes near the cafeteria. You can't miss it. I need to go check on something."
Fray put most of her books in her locker except for the History book she would need for her morning class. She also kept out a notebook and shoved a few pens into her pocket. Fray smiled as she shut her locker. She was ready now and nothing could faze her. She was almost sure that she had been to school before since the environment was so familiar. She let out a relieved sigh and turned around. Suddenly her sigh caught in her chest. The boy walking down the hallway had the same short spiked black hair, the same strong chin, broad shoulders and most of all, the piercing blue eyes. She was staring at the boy in her dreams.
"Hey," he said, as he walked to the locker next to her. "Are you new here?"
"Yeah," Fray croaked, when she finally found her voice.
The boy smiled at her. "Yeah, my first day was yesterday. I moved here from Kansas just last week."
"Yeah," Fray said again before finally snapping out of her daze. "I just moved from LA. A messy divorce and I ended up here. I'm Nicole Defray."
The boy looked down at her. "You don't look like a Nicole."
"Yeah," Fray said, a small smile playing across her lips. "I get that a lot."
"Sorry," the boy laughed. "Where are my manners? I'm Hunter Greenwell. It's nice to meet you Nicole. I hope I'll see you around sometime."
"Yeah," Fray said again, wondering just how repetitive that word was being. "I'm sure we will, what with our lockers being together and everything."
"Yeah," Hunter said, closing his locker. "Well, I'll see you later."
Fray watched him walk away and she shook her head. The voice was the same too. Maybe it was him, the Shielder from her dreams. Either that or her mind was playing tricks on her. Fray started walking and tried to keep her mind off the young man. Finally she gave up and just walked towards the cafeteria to find Dawn.
Fray found Dawn sitting on a bench outside the cafeteria reading a book and scribbling in a notebook. "Algebra," she said. "I was a little busy last night."
"Can't we get a waver or something for crime fighting?"
"Nope," Dawn said. "Only for major internal bleeding and multiple stab wounds. And even then, only occasional cases."
Fray nodded and sat down next to Dawn. They young girl looked over at her and closed her notebook. "What's wrong?" Dawn asked. "You look a little shaky."
"I met a boy," Fray said.
Dawn smiled. "Already! Damn you work fast."
Fray smiled and shook her head. "No, I know that I saw him in a dream that I had last night. Remember what Set said about me being at the head of an army with a man by my side. In my dream I was. There was a giant army that I was leading and this boy was my Shielder, whatever that was. He spoke to me and told me that he'd show me the way but didn't really say anything beyond that. That boy that I just saw was the one in my dreams. He even had the same voice."
"What's his name?"
"Hunter Greenwell. He moved here yesterday from Kansas apparently. Do you think it could just be coincidence?"
Dawn smiled sadly and shook her head. "Nothing was ever coincidence in Sunnydale and New Sunnydale is no different. He's here for a reason and we need to find out what it is. You talk to Principal Wood about him and I'll see what I can find out from some of the other kids around here. Be careful though. We still don't know if a Shielder is one of the good guys or one of the bad guys."
"All I know is he was with me but that could go either way."
Dawn stood up and turned back towards Fray. "If he was with you then he was a good guy."
Fray nodded sadly and Dawn walked away.
"You said his name was Hunter Greenwell?" Robin Wood asked, typing the name into his computer.
Fray nodded. She was sitting on the other side of his desk after having been called down from her first history class. It hadn't been too bad. None of the names or places meant anything to her but she could learn quickly enough. She had had to fight to pay attention to what her teacher was saying though since her mind was still on the mysterious boy.
"Here we go," Wood said, clicking on a name from a student list. "Hunter Greenwell, seventeen years old, a senior transferred her from a private school in Kansas. His father moved here since Sunnydale was his hometown and he works with a construction company. One of the ones under Xander if I'm reading this right."
"Maybe we can call Xander and ask if he's got a Greenwell working for him. If not we'll know that there's something going on."
Wood turned back to the computer and kept reading. "He's got a good record from his last school if the information's actually true and so far he hasn't had any trouble adjusting. All his teachers say that he's an intelligent and nice boy according to their first opinions."
Fray chewed on a fingernail and kept staring at Wood. "I just can't get the nagging feeling out of my stomach."
"I understand," Wood said. "I'll call Xander this afternoon and ask him to check out the name. Until then why don't you just have fun? Dawn will be in the library in a few minutes. You can wait for her there."
Fray nodded and stood up. "Thanks Principal Wood. You've got a nice school here."
Robin smiled. "Thank you Fray. Have a good day."
Fray nodded and walked out of his office.
Fray waited for Dawn at one of the round tables in the school's library. Dawn had been right, the room was deserted and the librarian was a small mousy man that spent most of his time in his office with the door shut tightly. Fray's hands were clasped together on the table while she read some of her history book. She had a lot of catching up to do. Finally the bell rang and a few seconds later Dawn walked in. She saw Fray and sat down across from her. "Did you find anything out about your mystery man?"
"Yeah," Fray said, shutting her book. "Robin said that his dad worked for one of the construction teams under Xander. He's going to call and see if Xander has anyone on his team with that name. What about you?"
"Besides the normal giggle girls that have commented on his total hotness a couple of boys were saying that he whizzed through the PT test yesterday. He did the mile in 7 minutes; he did 100 pushups without stopping and 250 sit ups. The boy's a machine. He's just like you."
"Thanks," Fray said.
"No," Dawn said, "I mean he's stronger than anyone here just like you. I'll bet you could take him on but no one else here can. I think he's the guy you're looking for."
Fray shook her head. "I don't know if I'm looking for him or if I should be staying away. Just when I start to find some answers this shows up and leaves me with more questions."
Dawn smiled. "Doesn't it just work that way?"
Fray leaned back in her chair. "I guess he could give me answers to most of the questions that I have if he is this shielder thing but then again, they might not be the answers I want."
Dawn nodded. "There's always a possibility of that."
Fray exhaled and shook her head. A small smile broke out on Dawn's face. "What?" Fray asked.
"You need a break. Some of the girls and I from the Coven are going to the BRONZE 2 tonight for its grand opening. I have an extra ticket if you want to come."
"Sure," Fray said. "Why not?"
"Great," Dawn smiled. "I've got some work to do but I'll see you at lunch. Bye."
Fray waved goodbye and opened her history book again.
The rest of the day when by smoothly. It was twenty minutes until the last bell rang when the phone in Fray's Algebra class started ringing. The teacher picked it up and spoke for a second before looking at Fray. "Nicole," she said after she had hung up. "Principal Wood wants to see you in his office. Something about registration."
A knot formed in Fray's stomach as she stood up and gathered up her books. She started to jog slowly as soon as she got outside the classroom.
Principal Wood was sitting behind his desk when she walked through the open door. She shut it when she saw the serious look on his face. "Hunter said his father's name was Mitchell Greenwell. I called his cell phone number, it was disconnected. I called Xander and there is no one working under that name in any of his companies and I also called Hunter's house. Hunter's voice is the one on the answering machine. I don't think a father exists."
"Can you give me his address?"
"I can give you the one that he gave me but I don't know if that's real or not."
Wood pulled off a piece of paper and wrote down the number. "Be careful," he warned. "It's obvious that he wants to hide something and he might not like you sneaking around."
"I have to," Fray said. "I saw him for a reason and I want to know what it is."
Wood nodded. "You know that you can call me or Faith any time if you get into trouble and don't want Willow or Kennedy to find out."
Fray smiled. "Thanks but I'll try to stay out of it tonight. It's just going to be a little recon."
Wood smiled and waved and Fray walked out the door. Fray looked at the paper and memorized the address. She knew where the street was. She had seen it a few days ago when she had planned on leaving. As Fray threw the paper into a nearby trashcan her stomach started to unknot. It was time to find out who she was and where she came from. Finally she would get answers on her own and be able to leave her friends out of her hectic life. With that last thought the bell rang and teenagers filled the hallway.
A cold wind blew across the dead grass and over the rounded hills. The sun shone in the sky, a golden ball of flames that offered no warmth. It was like looking at a picture. Fray felt herself shiver but knew that it was not from the cold wind that whipped her hair around causing it to sting her cheeks.
Low hills covered with brown grass surrounded her and Fray was overcome with a sense of vulnerability and fear. She started climbing the hill in front of her and when she reached the top, a wide valley stretched out in front of her. Thousands upon thousands of people stood in the valley dressed in a huge array of clothes and armor, some carrying shields and wearing helmets. All carried weapons, swords, axes, spears, maces, and a number of unidentifiable ones. Fray turned to her left and saw a young man scurrying across the hill top. He smiled as he stood in front of her. His handsome face was accented by piercing blue eyes that held both strength and kindness in a single glance. "The troops are ready Fader. The hoards won't have a chance anymore. We will follow you to victory."
"There will be death," Fray heard herself say.
"We accept death," the young man said.
"There will be pain."
"We accept pain."
"There will be sorrow and loss."
"We accept sorrow and loss."
"Then you are ready for victory. You are ready for war."
The young man handed her an unidentifiable weapon and knelt before her. "I am yours Fader. In life and death."
Fray knelt beside him and lifted his chin with one finger. "I am yours shielder. In love and hate, in pain and sorrow and happiness and joy. You brought me back. I am yours."
Fray bent forward and kissed the young man softly on the lips. "Now we fight."
Fray stood up, the shielder standing next to her. She turned around and saw another army, this one no more than a mass of dark twisted shapes. A vision of evil standing in the dead valley behind her. Fray turned back to her army. "For victory," she yelled, raising her weapon above her head. "For us!"
The army lunged up the hill, the dark shadowed army climbing up the other side. With an inhuman shriek the armies clashed and the world turned black.
Fray opened her eyes to find herself floating in a world of darkness. Her arms and legs bound by thick chains. "We need you Fader," the young man's voice echoed through her head. "They are coming. You must remember and I will guide you. I can only show you the path. You must walk it. Without you we are doomed. You must remember."
"I'm trying," Fray yelled into the darkness. "But I don't know where to start."
"I will show you," the voice said. "Be ready."
Fray sat up in bed, sweat running down her face. She jumped when she heard a hard knock on the bedroom door. Kennedy pushed the door open slightly and peered in. Her forehead creased when she saw Fray. "Are you alright?" she asked.
Fray nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Kennedy looked at her, her eyes showing disbelief. "Sure," Kennedy said slowly. "Dawn should be here in about an hour. Get ready to go."
"Oh joy," Fray groaned, falling back on her pillow. "School."
Kennedy just smiled and shut the door as she left.
Fray ran a hand through her hair as she sat down at the kitchen table. Her dream still haunted her vision but she quickly shook it away. She had a lot more important things to focus on right now. Like school for the most part. A lot of the things she said didn't sound stupid to any of the people she had spent so much time with but if she let something slip at school most of the kids there wouldn't understand. Kennedy sat down across from her and looked at her, her dark eyes intense. "Do you want to tell me about this dream?" Kennedy asked quietly.
"It's not important," Fray said, shaking her head.
Kennedy watched her. "I think it is."
"It's not a big deal so just lay off," Fray snapped.
Kennedy nodded and stood up. "Kennedy I'm." Fray started.
Kennedy didn't look back; she just walked out the front door. "What was that all about?" Willow asked, walking into the kitchen.
Fray buried her face in her hands. "I had a dream last night that sort of shook me and she was bugging me to tell her. I guess I just want to be normal for today. I don't want anything to affect me or make me say something stupid. I sort of snapped at her and I think she got mad."
Willow smiled and sat down next to Fray, laying a kind hand on her shoulder. "Kennedy doesn't like it when she's helpless in a situation. In her own words she's used to getting what she wants. She wants to help you but she doesn't really know how to and it's really bugging her. I'll talk to her tonight."
"Thanks," Fray said, giving Willow a quick hug.
Willow smiled. "I want to help to so if you ever want to talk just let me know."
"You're just curious about the dream," Fray said.
Willow laughed. "You're killing me here. I feel like I'm in high school again."
"Yeah, well I want to get through my first day without a hitch. I'll tell you later this evening when I get home. That way you'll have to wait."
Willow smiled and held up her hands. "Fair enough."
There was a knock on the door and Willow got up to answer it. "Hey Dawn," Willow said, giving the young girl a hug.
Dawn walked inside and handed Fray a piece of paper. "We're both registered as Junior's so I got Principal Wood to give us most of the same classes. If you ever need to meet with me I have second period in the Library when you have a free period. We can meet in there and it should be pretty quiet."
"What's this?" Fray asked, taking the paper from Dawn.
"Class schedule, locker number and combination and a map of the school. Principal Wood said he'd call you down to his office during first period and go over some stuff with you."
Fray nodded and smiled at Dawn. "Thanks for all the help," she said.
Dawn smiled and waved a hand. "No problem. We'd better get going though if we don't want to be late." Fray nodded and hurried to her bedroom to get her backpack. She had gotten all her books from Wood the day before and they were now packed in there. The bag was heavy but Fray just threw it over her shoulder like it was no problem. For her it wasn't. Dawn was waiting for her by the door and Fray waved goodbye to Willow before leaving with Dawn.
New Sunnydale High School was a sprawling brick building with a two story gymnasium and auditorium in the center and hallways weaving a spider web around the center structure. The entrance of the school was surrounded on both sides by long hallways that jutted out a few feet on either side of the glass doors. The basic prison-style windows surrounded the building head high every few feet. Cars and motorcycles were parked in the parking lot and a long bike rack was full. Some students were taking off their roller blades on the few steps that led from the sidewalk up to the entrance of the school and even more carried skateboards on their shoulders.
Principal Wood was standing in the doorway watching the students walk inside and yelling the occasional hello or threatening the students that walked in with backwards caps. A small fight broke out in front of the doorway but was quickly stopped when he stepped in the way. Both of the boys glared at each other but backed up quickly. Robin waved at Dawn and Fray as they walked inside. "You're registered as Nicole Defray since we obviously can't call you Fray."
"Yeah," Fray smiled. "I'm sure that would go over really well. But did it have to be Nicole. I just don't look like a Nicole."
"How?"
"I don't have enough silicone."
Dawn laughed. "Hey be careful. With all the girls we have at the Coven I'm sure one of them is named Nicole."
Fray nodded. "Good point and I don't want the slayer mob to attack me. I don't think even I could handle that."
Dawn led Fray to her locker and showed her how to work the lock. "Meet me in a few minutes near the cafeteria. You can't miss it. I need to go check on something."
Fray put most of her books in her locker except for the History book she would need for her morning class. She also kept out a notebook and shoved a few pens into her pocket. Fray smiled as she shut her locker. She was ready now and nothing could faze her. She was almost sure that she had been to school before since the environment was so familiar. She let out a relieved sigh and turned around. Suddenly her sigh caught in her chest. The boy walking down the hallway had the same short spiked black hair, the same strong chin, broad shoulders and most of all, the piercing blue eyes. She was staring at the boy in her dreams.
"Hey," he said, as he walked to the locker next to her. "Are you new here?"
"Yeah," Fray croaked, when she finally found her voice.
The boy smiled at her. "Yeah, my first day was yesterday. I moved here from Kansas just last week."
"Yeah," Fray said again before finally snapping out of her daze. "I just moved from LA. A messy divorce and I ended up here. I'm Nicole Defray."
The boy looked down at her. "You don't look like a Nicole."
"Yeah," Fray said, a small smile playing across her lips. "I get that a lot."
"Sorry," the boy laughed. "Where are my manners? I'm Hunter Greenwell. It's nice to meet you Nicole. I hope I'll see you around sometime."
"Yeah," Fray said again, wondering just how repetitive that word was being. "I'm sure we will, what with our lockers being together and everything."
"Yeah," Hunter said, closing his locker. "Well, I'll see you later."
Fray watched him walk away and she shook her head. The voice was the same too. Maybe it was him, the Shielder from her dreams. Either that or her mind was playing tricks on her. Fray started walking and tried to keep her mind off the young man. Finally she gave up and just walked towards the cafeteria to find Dawn.
Fray found Dawn sitting on a bench outside the cafeteria reading a book and scribbling in a notebook. "Algebra," she said. "I was a little busy last night."
"Can't we get a waver or something for crime fighting?"
"Nope," Dawn said. "Only for major internal bleeding and multiple stab wounds. And even then, only occasional cases."
Fray nodded and sat down next to Dawn. They young girl looked over at her and closed her notebook. "What's wrong?" Dawn asked. "You look a little shaky."
"I met a boy," Fray said.
Dawn smiled. "Already! Damn you work fast."
Fray smiled and shook her head. "No, I know that I saw him in a dream that I had last night. Remember what Set said about me being at the head of an army with a man by my side. In my dream I was. There was a giant army that I was leading and this boy was my Shielder, whatever that was. He spoke to me and told me that he'd show me the way but didn't really say anything beyond that. That boy that I just saw was the one in my dreams. He even had the same voice."
"What's his name?"
"Hunter Greenwell. He moved here yesterday from Kansas apparently. Do you think it could just be coincidence?"
Dawn smiled sadly and shook her head. "Nothing was ever coincidence in Sunnydale and New Sunnydale is no different. He's here for a reason and we need to find out what it is. You talk to Principal Wood about him and I'll see what I can find out from some of the other kids around here. Be careful though. We still don't know if a Shielder is one of the good guys or one of the bad guys."
"All I know is he was with me but that could go either way."
Dawn stood up and turned back towards Fray. "If he was with you then he was a good guy."
Fray nodded sadly and Dawn walked away.
"You said his name was Hunter Greenwell?" Robin Wood asked, typing the name into his computer.
Fray nodded. She was sitting on the other side of his desk after having been called down from her first history class. It hadn't been too bad. None of the names or places meant anything to her but she could learn quickly enough. She had had to fight to pay attention to what her teacher was saying though since her mind was still on the mysterious boy.
"Here we go," Wood said, clicking on a name from a student list. "Hunter Greenwell, seventeen years old, a senior transferred her from a private school in Kansas. His father moved here since Sunnydale was his hometown and he works with a construction company. One of the ones under Xander if I'm reading this right."
"Maybe we can call Xander and ask if he's got a Greenwell working for him. If not we'll know that there's something going on."
Wood turned back to the computer and kept reading. "He's got a good record from his last school if the information's actually true and so far he hasn't had any trouble adjusting. All his teachers say that he's an intelligent and nice boy according to their first opinions."
Fray chewed on a fingernail and kept staring at Wood. "I just can't get the nagging feeling out of my stomach."
"I understand," Wood said. "I'll call Xander this afternoon and ask him to check out the name. Until then why don't you just have fun? Dawn will be in the library in a few minutes. You can wait for her there."
Fray nodded and stood up. "Thanks Principal Wood. You've got a nice school here."
Robin smiled. "Thank you Fray. Have a good day."
Fray nodded and walked out of his office.
Fray waited for Dawn at one of the round tables in the school's library. Dawn had been right, the room was deserted and the librarian was a small mousy man that spent most of his time in his office with the door shut tightly. Fray's hands were clasped together on the table while she read some of her history book. She had a lot of catching up to do. Finally the bell rang and a few seconds later Dawn walked in. She saw Fray and sat down across from her. "Did you find anything out about your mystery man?"
"Yeah," Fray said, shutting her book. "Robin said that his dad worked for one of the construction teams under Xander. He's going to call and see if Xander has anyone on his team with that name. What about you?"
"Besides the normal giggle girls that have commented on his total hotness a couple of boys were saying that he whizzed through the PT test yesterday. He did the mile in 7 minutes; he did 100 pushups without stopping and 250 sit ups. The boy's a machine. He's just like you."
"Thanks," Fray said.
"No," Dawn said, "I mean he's stronger than anyone here just like you. I'll bet you could take him on but no one else here can. I think he's the guy you're looking for."
Fray shook her head. "I don't know if I'm looking for him or if I should be staying away. Just when I start to find some answers this shows up and leaves me with more questions."
Dawn smiled. "Doesn't it just work that way?"
Fray leaned back in her chair. "I guess he could give me answers to most of the questions that I have if he is this shielder thing but then again, they might not be the answers I want."
Dawn nodded. "There's always a possibility of that."
Fray exhaled and shook her head. A small smile broke out on Dawn's face. "What?" Fray asked.
"You need a break. Some of the girls and I from the Coven are going to the BRONZE 2 tonight for its grand opening. I have an extra ticket if you want to come."
"Sure," Fray said. "Why not?"
"Great," Dawn smiled. "I've got some work to do but I'll see you at lunch. Bye."
Fray waved goodbye and opened her history book again.
The rest of the day when by smoothly. It was twenty minutes until the last bell rang when the phone in Fray's Algebra class started ringing. The teacher picked it up and spoke for a second before looking at Fray. "Nicole," she said after she had hung up. "Principal Wood wants to see you in his office. Something about registration."
A knot formed in Fray's stomach as she stood up and gathered up her books. She started to jog slowly as soon as she got outside the classroom.
Principal Wood was sitting behind his desk when she walked through the open door. She shut it when she saw the serious look on his face. "Hunter said his father's name was Mitchell Greenwell. I called his cell phone number, it was disconnected. I called Xander and there is no one working under that name in any of his companies and I also called Hunter's house. Hunter's voice is the one on the answering machine. I don't think a father exists."
"Can you give me his address?"
"I can give you the one that he gave me but I don't know if that's real or not."
Wood pulled off a piece of paper and wrote down the number. "Be careful," he warned. "It's obvious that he wants to hide something and he might not like you sneaking around."
"I have to," Fray said. "I saw him for a reason and I want to know what it is."
Wood nodded. "You know that you can call me or Faith any time if you get into trouble and don't want Willow or Kennedy to find out."
Fray smiled. "Thanks but I'll try to stay out of it tonight. It's just going to be a little recon."
Wood smiled and waved and Fray walked out the door. Fray looked at the paper and memorized the address. She knew where the street was. She had seen it a few days ago when she had planned on leaving. As Fray threw the paper into a nearby trashcan her stomach started to unknot. It was time to find out who she was and where she came from. Finally she would get answers on her own and be able to leave her friends out of her hectic life. With that last thought the bell rang and teenagers filled the hallway.