03
Time and Again - Part 1: In The Beginning
Sunnydale High School Library – Monday, 8th September 1997
With her friends gathered around the table in the library before classes the next day, Buffy was recounting her graveyard encounter with a certain amount of relish.
"I know that vamps often have really dated fashion senses, but this one really took the biscuit. I swear he even had snake skin boots. It was just so ridiculous, a style critique from Cordelia would've made him run away in shame, I tell you!"
"He didn't sound like the sensitive type to me, Buff" said Willow. Bright highlights catching in her long red hair as she shook her head emphatically. "He'd more likely try to skin her to make himself a matching belt."
"Eww! That is one visual I really didn't need." Buffy complained screwing up her nose. "Speaking of the annoying one, has anyone seen her since that Weird Science business last week?"
Giles looked up from the book he had been studying with a frown. "Now that you mention it, I don't think she showed up at school today."
"That's odd," Willow said. "She didn't seem to be hurt or anything. You don't suppose anything's happened to her do you?"
Xander snorted from the other end of the table. "Hah! It's probably nothing. After all what could possibly have happened to her on her way home?"
"You're kidding right!" Buffy demanded in surprise. Her blonde hair swirling about her shoulders as she turned to confront him. "We've been back at school less than three weeks and I've already had to rescue her twice. I spend more time rescuing Cordelia than the rest of you put together! Something is ALWAYS happening to her. Plus you know what she's like. She'd accept a lift from the Devil himself if he was driving an expensive enough car."
Xander looked away from her glare hanging his head. "Sorry, that was stupid alright, but Queen C just gets under my skin. It's not like I really want anything bad to happen to her." He paused a moment with a thoughtful look on his face. "At least not unless I get to watch."
"Xander!" Willow exclaimed thumping him on the arm.
"Oww!"
"Enough, children" Giles said wearily. "I think we should at least check to see if anyone has heard anything before we assume the worst."
"Good idea. I've got History next. If Cordelia isn't in class I'll ask the teacher if she's heard anything," volunteered Buffy. Then with a slightly malicious smile she turned to Xander. "Since you've got a free period Xand, why don't you find Harmony and ask her if she knows where Cordy is?"
"What! No. No. And I say again, no." Xander jumped up waving his arms in agitation. "Why don't you ask me to do something safer? Like run naked through the graveyard at night with a sign marked 'Food' around my neck."
"I'd pay to see that," Willow muttered too quietly for anyone to hear. Or so she thought until she saw Buffy staring at her with her mouth hanging open.
"Ah, um, well –" Giles said taking his glasses off and polishing them intently for a moment. Pointedly ignoring Xander's outburst he continued, "I'll check with the school office and see if Cordelia called in sick today."
"Quit the dramatics Xander. It's just Harmony. She's a pain but she's not dangerous."
"Fine," Xander moaned. "But you are all going to owe me for this. And don't say I didn't warn you if I end up with my brains dribbling out my ears from having to listen to her mindless yammering!" And with a last glare around the room he stormed out.
Buffy and Willow shared an amused look at their friend's antics, before getting up as well. "See ya later Giles, but first the dreadful fate that is history class awaits us."
That morning the gang questioned everyone they could think of who might have known anything about Cordelia's whereabouts, but nobody had seen her for days. And strangely nobody seemed to be worried much either.
Harmony told Xander that Cordelia's parents had left for a vacation and that perhaps she had gone with them to "… like, get over the shock of almost getting cooked in that fire, ya' know?" Ignoring a daggered look from Harmony for interrupting her, Aura mentioned that Cordy had failed to show up for a shopping trip they and a couple of their other friends had arranged for Saturday. Nor had she appeared for their arranged date at The Bronze that evening either. But everyone had heard a version of what had happened at the game and knew Cordelia was not always the most reliable person when it came to keeping appointments, so the girls weren't really too surprised.
Giles' questioning of the school secretary revealed that there were no notes or messages asking for Cordelia to be excused from school but the secretary was unconcerned. "Those rich bitches often disappeared for days when the fancy took them."
Catching up to Chris between classes, Buffy learned that he had seen Cordelia heading back towards the locker rooms after speaking with Xander and Willow by the fire trucks, probably to clean up and change out of her cheerleader's uniform. So Buffy went in search of Joy, finally cornering the older cheerleader in the locker room, hoping she might know something, anything, that might give some clue to where Cordelia had gone after that. But Joy hadn't seen or heard from her either. And more worryingly still, Joy pointed out that Cordelia's sports bag and clothes were still where she'd left them that night and that her car was still in the car park.
When the gang regrouped in the library at lunch, they told Giles what they had learned. After hearing all the negative reports, he quietly phoned around the local hospitals to see if she might have been admitted. Then with a sinking feeling in his heart he asked Willow to hack into the Coroners Office's files to check who had turned up in the morgues recently. Thankfully Willow found nobody matching Cordelia's description. By then lunch had ended and they reluctantly split up to go to their afternoon classes.
Back to Fanfiction main page.