When She Was



Diary entry #1

February 21, 1997
Los Angeles, CA

Dear Diary,

When I was 10 years old I used to pretend I was famous. I would skate in the rink imagining hundreds of people watching my flawless triple axils and cheering me on. I even fantasized about winning a gold medal. People would love me and I would get flowers thrown from the bleachers and everyone would chant my name while I smiled and I would blush and feign shock but secretly I would adore all the attention.

Now I just want to be left alone. I'm famous but not in the way you would think. It's evil that knows my name. It's the thick, black Naughty that follows me around, trying to get my attention. But it doesn't want my autograph. It wants me dead.

I used to be a cheerleader and I was popular. Boys liked me and I even had a boyfriend for a short time. His name was Pike and I saved his life once and then we started hanging out. Maybe it was all the dangerous things that happened at Hemery High that made the stuff between us kinda sexy, but we were really into each other for a while.

Then we went to Las Vegas and that fell apart. I guess the Big Bad Guys that kept following me around sort of got too scary for him. Sure, fighting evil might seem exciting at first, but when it's all you do...it's kind of a drag. You know, I want to be able to watch movies with friends and go on dates and be like a normal girl instead of slaying vampires. Slaying is supposed to be my Destiny. I'm like the Chosen One and it's my duty and I'm the one girl in all the world and blah blah blah. Whatever. I just want to go to the mall.

We are moving to a little town a couple hours away called Sunnydale. It's totally tiny but they do have nice stores and, if I have to, I can always get Mom to lend me the car. I'm thinking of getting a fresh start on life. I'm going to hang out with people who actually can walk around in the daylight, and I'm going to date boys again, and never pick up another book that wasn't written before the invention of sanity. I'm starting my whole life over from scratch.

Yeah, I'm quitting the slayer gig. I totally resign. No more stakes or late nights in the cemetery, and no more blood stains I can't explain to Mom. The stupid Stodgier's Council can find another Chosen because I'm done. I'm officially, as of now, un-Chosen. I'm a brand new Buffy. Starting now.

Buffy Summers