ÒCanape?Ó

The two looked over at each other and their eyes met for a brief second. She didnÕt answer right away, and he broke the gaze first. He nodded as he put the tray down on the coffee table in front of them. ÒIÕm beginning to think IÕm getting addicted to these things,Ó he said.

She looked at it quizzically. ÒWhatÕs in it?Ó she asked.

He glanced back at the tray, then shrugged, looking back at her. ÒIÕm not sure, really. It sounds French, though. I know this part is a cracker. And IÕm not sure what this is. Probably pate or something to make the cracker look presentable. Because if all you had was a cracker, then people could just go to the nearest corner store and pick up a box of Ritz or Saltines or something, and then what do you have? A cracker. But cracker or not, itÕs good.Ó Oh, wow, was he rambling. Maybe if he stopped talking so much and give her a chance to say something.

She nodded and started looking around. Strange, she never would have thought that this strange-looking room was actually part of the school. It still seemed incredibly X-Files to her.

ÒOh, IÕm Oz,Ó he said suddenly, in an attempt to make conversation. ÒIntroductions help.Ó

ÒIÕm Willow,Ó she said with a little smile. ÒSo... Um, any idea why weÕre here?Ó

ÒBesides to meet with this McCarthy guy?Ó Oz said. ÒNope. IÕm figuring maybe we stepped into a Twilight Zone episode, but I could be wrong.Ó

Willow giggled. ÒThatÕs what IÕve been thinking.Ó

ÒCool. IÕd say brilliant minds think alike, but IÕm not all that brilliant and I donÕt know you well enough to say that.Ó He paused, wondering how to bring this up to her. ÒYou know, I think IÕve seen you around somewhere. You look familiar.Ó

ÒReally?Ó Willow said, flattered that someone would remember her. SheÕd never seen herself as a person easily remembered.

ÒYeah. The World Cultures Dance thingie. You were an Eskimo, right?Ó He didnÕt want her to know that heÕd been trying just to bump into her, but at least she would know that he knew she was there.

ÒOh my God,Ó she said with a surprised gasp, amazed that she had been noticed among the scantily-clad likes of Cordelia. ÒYeah, I was. I, um, I donÕt think I saw you there.Ó

ÒI was playing in the band. The Dingoes.Ó

Her eyebrows shot up. ÒThe Dingoes?Ó

ÒThe band. ThatÕs our name. Dingoes Ate My Baby.Ó

She recognized that. ÒFrom that Seinfeld episode?Ó

ÒThatÕs what they tell me,Ó Oz said. ÒFor the longest time I thought we took it from that episode of the Tick.Ó

Willow turned herself on an angle so that she was almost completely facing him. ÒI think I saw that one. So what do you play?Ó

ÒLead guitar. Back-up vocals when IÕm needed.Ó Was this some kind of interest she had in his activities? This was a plus...

ÒSo youÕre in the same band as Devon?Ó

ÒYeah. Why? You know Devon?Ó

ÒWell, not really. IÕm kind of a... a frie- no, not really a friend,Ó she stammered, not sure what to say. She was already feeling a rush of heat rise to her cheeks in embarrassment. Oh, God! She was back to making those vowel sounds again! ÒIÕm an, um... an acquaintance of Cordelia, and she was talking for a while about how she was dating a guy in a band. I remember they were playing that night,Ó she said. ÒBut you would know. You were there, werenÕt you?Ó

ÒFrom what I remember, yeah,Ó Oz said.

For the next minute, the conversation died down, and there was silence. ÒSo youÕre a computer person, huh?Ó said Willow.

Oz shrugged. ÒNot really. Well, kind of. Depends on how you look at it. I mean, I battled a horrible online addiction for quite a while. An intervention was threatened and everything. Now IÕm just a closet Internet geek. I guess some useful computer stuff just seeped in through osmosis. Basically, though, IÕm pretty clueless. But you can get into that computer nerd thing when you donÕt want anyone to bother you. IÕll go into the lab and look like IÕm doing work when I just play games or something. You?Ó He decided then that he had to shut up. He usually didnÕt talk this much, just when he got nervous. And he never had anything to be nervous about. Until now.

ÒIÕm just an addict,Ó she admitted. ÒItÕs not like I have anything better to do.Ó This wasnÕt mentioning that most of the time she was on the computer, she was looking for information on the supernatural. But Oz didnÕt have to know that.

ÒCan you hack?Ó

ÒYeah,Ó Willow said, almost shyly. Why was she admitting this? Rule number one of any kind of illegal activity: DonÕt tell anyone else what youÕre doing! ÒThatÕs probably not something I should say out loud, is it?Ó

ÒDonÕt worry,Ó he said, waving dismissively. ÒItÕs not like IÕm gonna tell. Besides, itÕs probably the reason they brought you here.Ó

Hm. ÒI didnÕt think about that.Ó

ÒWhat I want to know is how they found me,Ó Oz said. ÒI wouldnÕt even know where to start with that hacking stuff. But like I said, itÕs like the Twilight Zone and these guys have probably been following us for months.Ó

ÒThey told me they had been tracking me for a while,Ó Willow said.

ÒSo I was right. Cool. Did you not get your test back, either?Ó

ÒNo. But I donÕt know if the test was irrelevant, why did they have us take it?Ó

ÒBusy work?Ó

She smiled. ÒSo, this Twilight Zone episode you were talking about... What would be the point?Ó

This immediately got Oz to smile. ÒI have a theory about that.Ó

ÒReally?Ó

ÒWell, IÕve been bored. Do you want to hear it?Ó

ÒShoot.Ó

ÒOkay. Maybe this is all part of a diabolical plan to have us help the worldÕs computer corporations by somehow forcing us both to spend the rest of our life inside a modem.Ó

For a moment Willow just looked at him, her eyebrows raised, and Oz wondered whether that was the wrong thing to say to her. Then the corners of her mouth turned up a little and he could tell that she was trying not to laugh at the very idea of it. ÒCool,Ó he said. ÒThat didnÕt completely bomb.Ó

At that point one of the men in business suits that had brought both of them came back into the little enclosed room. ÒMr. McCarthy is on his way. He should be here in a matter of minutes,Ó he told them. ÒIs there anything you need?Ó

ÒSomething to wash down all the canape?Ó Oz suggested.

The man nodded, then left again. The two looked at it each other. ÒReady to be propositioned by a huge high-paying computer software place?Ó Oz asked her.

Willow nodded. ÒWhy not?Ó Then she reached for a canape.