Chapter 3

The Little Girl in the Library

"The Jell-O wiggles like this," Nicky and Alex demonstrated for Buffy and Willow on Monday after school. It was around 3 and Giles had gone off on an emergency trip to San Diego for a watchers meeting and wouldn't be back until tomorrow. That left the care of the twins in the hands of the Scooby gang.

Buffy and Willow both giggled and Buffy asked "How does it wiggle again?" Alex looked up at her then shoved a handful of green Jell-O into his mouth.

"You know how Jell-O wiggles Buffy."

"You're starting to sound more like your daddy everyday Alexander Katstopalis," Willow said as Cordelia came into the library in a huff.

"I can't believe he broke up with me!" she cried.

"Me, Cordelia Chase!" Cordelia cried.

"Get over yourself Cordy. That Nathan guy only wanted you as eye candy for that party anyway," Buffy said getting up.

"Willow and I are going to take Nicky and Alex home and put them down for their N-A-P."

"Fine," Cordelia said as Willow picked up Nicky and Buffy picked up Alex. "Leave me here to wallow in my depression." Buffy smiled to herself. Good old Cordelia.

"Boys are so dumb," came a voice. Cordelia turned around and spotted a little girl sitting at a table nearby looking through one of Giles books. She looked to only be around 5 or 6 years old. She looked like she had been to hell and back but her face was so bright. She looked extremely skinny; her face was slathered with dirt and grim. She wore overalls and a pink shirt which didn't look all that bad. What disturbed Cordelia most was the dry blood around her face and on her hands. She ignored these things as best she could and tried to be friendly.

"You're telling me," Cordelia said and sat at the table with the girl.

"I mean a guy would be absolutely crazy to break up with you," the girl offered turning a few pages.

"How so?" Cordelia questioned.

"You have everything a guy looks for; good looks, a fake cheery disposition, a way with words. Yep you're a boy's love puppy." Cordelia was taken aback. This little girl not only was looking through one of Giles books in a high school library but she had the mind of a 17 year old girl.

"How old are you?" Cordelia asked.

"What is it to you?" the girl said sarcastically then she smiled. "I'm 5."

"Do you go to school?" Cordelia asked.

"Yeah right. I wish," the girl said.

"Then how are you reading that book?" Without saying anything the girl read Cordelia a passage from the book then smiled.

"Well smarty pants. Just because you read it doesn't mean you understood it," Cordelia replied. For the next 15 minutes the girl explained to Cordelia what the passage was about and even about the year it had as the copyright was inaccurate because of the period of time the information was resurfaced. Cordelia sat there in amazement for a second then remembered who she was talking to.

"Well twerp. I better get going," she said getting up. The girl looked pained as Cordelia got up from the table.

"Well see you around," she said and quickly vanished.

Cordelia stood there for a second then whispered "Yeah. See you."