"Giles, could you help me with this?" Buffy pointed at a book in front of her and indicated a passage. "I can't figure out if this is future or future perfect. It seems an odd way of phrasing." Giles adjusted his glasses and picked up the text in question.

"What are you reading?" He turned the book over to peer at the cover. "Oh. Nostradamus. Well, that's ambitious. It's future perfect." He recited the passage in question in flawless 16th century French. Buffy closed her eyes and listened to the passage. "What do you think?"

"Lovely, Giles. Can you repeat it?" Buffy mused and nodded as Giles repeated the quatrain. "It's got a little pun in it."

Giles immediately flickered from librarian mode to full Watcher mode. "Oh, of course. I should make a note of that in my diaries."

"Does this passage refer to the slayer?" Buffy chewed on her pinky nail watching the thoughts flicker through Giles' eyes.

"Oh. I don't think so. You could refer to Thessy's Second codex. It has a list of the prophecies of Nostradamus that are thought to be slayer prophecies. I think there are only three dozen that have yet to come to pass, and most of those shouldn't happen for a few centuries yet."

"Sam thinks it might refer to me and Faith."

"Really? Sam who?"

"Sam Mbuto, you know, Kendra's watcher. He asked me to check up on it." Buffy took the book back. "Decided to kill two birds with one stone. I need to do a French poetry report, and I also wanted something slayery. Where's this codex?"

"It's locked in the cage. Mainly because it's valuable, not because it's dangerous. I'll go fetch it for you." Giles walked over to the cage, unlocking it, and pulling out the book in question He flipped through the pages, handing her the book to her open to a page. "The slayer quatrains are listed here."

"It mentions the dark killer. At first he thought it was Kendra, because she was black. And now he thinks it may be Faith. Of course, if the quatrain is a slayer prophecy, I'm probably the dark killer."

"Pah. Oh, hardly. That's ridiculous." Giles gave a chortle. "Where ever did you get that idea?"

"I'm still puzzling over the prophecy, Giles. It's just speculating. You know me, I'm prophecy girl." Buffy laughed humorlessly. "And I know my true name. So I can recognize poor approximations of it in old French."

"Miss Summers!" Snyder crashed through the library doors, leaving them swinging wildly back and forth in his wake.

Buffy didn't look up from her book, but answered politely. "Yes, sir."

"Don't 'yes, sir' me, young lady! Detention, two hours, today. Mrs. Tannenbaum."

"Fine. May I ask why?"

"You did not report to homeroom this morning."

"I was late and signed in at the main office. Mrs. Cleland said since I was a senior, that I didn't need to report to homeroom. But if you say so." Buffy returned to her book.

"Well, you are on academic probation, so you do not have senior privileges."

"Academic probation?"

"Yes. Your first term grades are atrocious."

"I got a B in Chemistry. I fail to see the problem with my grades." Buffy pulled out her new report card. "A, A, A, B, A, A-. Honor roll. This is academic probation?"

"Let me see that!" Snyder snatched the report card from Buffy and looked it over, then began ripping it to little pieces. "I will have a discussion with your teachers. Clearly you are cheating."

"You signed it." Buffy shrugged. "That's not the original."

"I will discuss the problem of your cheating with your teachers. We will have to monitor your examinations more thoroughly. What a waste of time for a burger flinger."

"Burger flinger?" Buffy looked puzzled, then streamed off a few questions to Giles in French. He answered, and she returned her attention to Snyder. "I plan to go to UCLA next year. I doubt I'll be flinging burgers."

"You will never be accepted to UCLA. Don't waste your time." Snyder cackled. "Well, maybe, go ahead. It will be fun to watch you flounder."

"I've already been accepted. Full scholarship. Classics department. In fact, I was accepted for this fall, but decided to stay here and finish out my senior year." Buffy returned to the Codex Giles had fetched, searching the list of Nostradamus quatrains pertaining to slayers. Snyder stood there fuming while Buffy ran her finger down the page, reading each prophecy. "This one happened over the summer, Giles. In August. We can discuss it later." Buffy handed the book back to Giles, who read the quatrain, nodded, and took the book over to the librarian's table in the corner. "Anything else, Mr. Snyder?"

"Hand over your bags, Miss Summers." Snyder snatched her purse from the table. "I'm certain there's some contraband in there."

Giles stepped behind Snyder, picking Buffy's purse from his hand. "Principal Snyder, I must insist that you call the school police officer if you feel the need to search Buffy's private things."

"Oh, I'm sure our fine, upstanding Miss Summers would not want to involve the police."

Buffy smiled sweetly. "Calling the school officer is fine. I'd rather not have you further damaging my belongings."

Snyder grumbled, but the Ripperish glare he was receiving from Giles forced him to retreat to the telephone behind the counter and call the police officer that patrolled the school during the day.

"What seems to be the problem, Principal Snyder?" Sergeant Patrick Maws walked into the room. He was just shy of six foot and built like a linebacker. His black skin gleamed almost blue in the light from the upper windows of the library, his high fine cheekbones and almost-too-delicate mouth combining with his midnight black almond-shaped eyes to create a face that belonged on GQ magazines, not patrolling the hallways of Sunnydale High.

Buffy gave a little dreamy sigh when he grinned at her earning a glower from Giles. She noticed and commented facetiously, "What? I can't look?"

"No." Giles bit out. "He's too old for you."

Buffy sniggered and winked at the police officer, who chuckled, appreciating the attention. "Mr. Snyder here wants you to search my bags for contraband. I don't want Snyder damaging any more of my stuff."

"Certainly, Buffy. Do you want me to call your mom down here for you?"

"Nah. There's nothing in there. But go right ahead and look." Buffy pushed back from the table. "I'll just move out of the way. Buffy picked up the book up from the table and moved away.

"Leave the book there, Miss Summers. It may be contraband." Buffy put the book back down on the table. "Sergeant Maws?"

Giles placed Buffy's purse on the table. Sergeant Maws began removing items from the purse. "Three pencils, one pen, a zippo lighter, one package of clove cigarettes, unopened." The items were placed on the table for Snyder's inspection. "A crucifix, two bottles of… holy water?" Two vials were placed on the table.

Snyder smiled broadly. "That's real likely. Smell them."

Sergeant Maws opened the bottles, took a sniff. "Smells like water to me." Snyder reached for the vials. "I must insist that you stand back Mr. Snyder. Buffy has asked that you not handle her things."

Snyder stiffened, then waved for the sergeant to continue. "Lipstick. Powder."

"Cocaine?" Snyder looked almost giddy with glee.

Maws frowned. "No. Estee Lauder. It's still sealed in plastic. A wallet and checks, and two small books. A prescription for, I can't pronounce it." The slip of paper was set on the table. "A picture album." The final items were placed on the table.

Snyder sulked. "Check the wallet."

"Fine, sir." Sergeant Maws gave Buffy a questioning look; she nodded in response. . He opened the wallet. "Driver's license, motorcycle license, two credit cards, concealed weapons permit, bank card for California National Bank, Blockbuster video card. Roughly three hundred dollars cash, a bank stub. There's nothing of any concern in here."

"How did Miss Summers obtain a concealed weapons permit? She has a criminal record! How did you get three hundred dollars, Miss Summers?"

"I do not have a criminal record! The money is from my wages – look at the bank stub and the receipt from my last paycheck."

Officer Maws studied the two papers in question. "She has a deposit here that matches her wages from Caritas. Withdrew four hundred fifty dollars, one week ago. Mr. Snyder, this is a bit beyond the pale. There is no reason to further harass Buffy."

"Hand me that prescription. What drug is it?" Snyder reached for the slip of paper on the desk, but was stopped when the officer picked it up.

"I can't pronounce it. It's a Dr. Abbotts, prescribed this morning. This is a violation of patient rights."

"Miss Summers has no rights in this school! She will submit to a drug test, and I will call both the physician and a pharmacist and see if this prescription is valid and to what purpose the drug is used. For all I know it is a forged prescription for a restricted drug. Medicinal marijuana?"

Buffy scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. It's hormones. Jane Abbott is an ob-gyn. If you do a drug test, you're wasting your time."

"If you'll accompany me, Miss Summers, we will call your mother and let her see what you've been up to."

"She won't be able to get anymore information than you already have. You can call the pharmacist, but Abbott, legally, can't tell you anything."

Snyder rubbed his hands together almost gleefully. "Oh, but I can tell your mother whatever I please. I'm sure she'll be fascinated to know her daughter is on birth control pills."

"They are not birth control pills!" Buffy rolled her eyes. "Call a pharmacist. It's a perfectly legal prescription for a perfectly legal drug."

"That won't be necessary. Sergeant Maws, over here, please." Giles pulled out a Sunnydale phone book. "Here's Jane Abbott's listing. And here's a pharmaceutical reference book. This is a library, you know. We have resources. With your permission, Buffy?" At her nod, Giles opened the reference book, flipping through it until he came to the drug in question. When he read the information, he slammed the book shut. "Hormones. Says so right here. Not for birth control. Sergeant Maws, please remove Principal Snyder from my library. Principal Snyder, stop harassing, Buffy."

Snyder looked back over his shoulder and glared at Giles on his way out. "I will be calling your mother."

Sergeant Maws yanked a bit on Snyder's arm. "And I will be filing a report about this incident at the precinct."