Chapter 7
Buffy
The alarm is buzzing and I can't bring myself to turn it off. I was
having such a nice dream and I'm reluctant to leave it. In my dream,
Mom was alive and Dawn and I were two normal girls. We were sitting
around the table eating a big Christmas dinner and opening holiday
cards from Dad. There was a guy sitting next to me at the table and I
knew that he was my boyfriend, but I couldn't see his face. I just knew
we were in love. Right before dessert, he pulls out a box and asks me
to marry him but there's this big blob thingy over his face. I say yes
and Mom and Dawn immediately start planning the wedding. It was going
to be in June and I was going to wear white and Giles, who was my
step-dad for some reason, was going to give me away. It was a nice
dream. I wish it was a Slayer dream.
I finally smack the alarm and stare at the ceiling, letting the
familiar dread of my life settle into my stomach. It's Wednesday so I
only have to work at the Dreadmeat Palace today, that's a plus...but I
close, so why did I set my alarm again?
Let's see, pay day is Friday and I have about $423 coming to me. We
need groceries now that we have power and I'm going to pay Tara back
the money she spent feeding Dawn. Ooh, the car payment is due- I really
need to look into selling that- the gas bill is due as well, but the
water bill can wait until I get paid from the Bronze.
Panic spreads through my body and I sit straight up. I remember why I
set the alarm; the Department of Child and Family Services is coming
over today to find out how Dawn is doing. I run out of my room, yelling
at Dawn to get up as I try to make myself look presentable in the
mirror. No time to shower and I really, really smell bad.
When the doorbell rings, I'm just trying to brush my teeth and clean
the sink at the same time. Oh God, I hope Dawn remembered to clean the
living room!
"Quick check," I say to Dawn as she presents herself. She looks okay, a
little thin but okay.
"Toothpaste," Dawn says wiping the corner of my mouth.
We both put on our best customer service smiles and run to open the
door.
"Hi," I say brightly to the middle-aged woman at the door.
She doesn't smile back. "Are you Ms. Buffy Summers?"
"Yes, that's me," I answer. "Please come in. This is my sister, Dawn."
Dawn smiles and nervously stands on her toes a moment.
"I am Mrs. Rothchild." She rolls her r slightly. "I am
here to conduct a visit to see if you are a fit guardian for your
sister and to see if she is thriving in your care."
"Oh, don't worry," Dawn says. "I'm thriving away here. This is a house
of thrivingness."
Mrs. Rothchild frowns. "I'll be the judge of that. Do you have a job,
Ms. Summers?"
Good, an easy question. "Yes, I work full time at the Doublemeat
Palace."
"And you make enough to live on this job?"
Lie or tell the truth. Lie or tell the truth. "I also work part-time at
the Bronze."
"Would you say that you work more than 50 hours a week?"
"Yes," I say slowly.
"I see. And what does Dawn do while you are gone?"
"Oh, I have a job too," Dawn answers brightly.
My eyes widen and I try to get her to stop by signaling behind Mrs.
Rothchild's back, but she merely looks confused and Mrs. Rothchild
spins around to face me. I pretend to scratch my head.
"She works?" Mrs. Rothchild asks.
"Yes," I say, trying to sound like my mother. "I think it's good for
someone her age to earn money to buy herself fun things like, um, books
and CDs." That sounded good, I think.
"Where do you work, Dawn?"
"At the video store."
"Who takes care of you when your sister is at work and you are not?"
"Tara during the day and Spike usually at night."
"And either this Tara person or this Spike person licensed
child care givers?" Mrs. Rothchild asks with a sneer over Spike's name.
"Um, n-no, they're friends of mine," I say lamely.
"I see," Mrs. Rothchild says as she makes another note on her pad. "Do
you pay them to take care of your sister?"
"No...should I?" I had never thought about that. I mean, I had
thought about it but I lacked the funds to do anything about it.
"I see. We will now commence with the house tour."
Without waiting for one of use to lead the way, Mrs. Rothchild begins
walking around aimlessly, looking at various things and making notes on
her pad. I notice the table with the bills on it and feel a burst of
panic in my stomach. I had meant to get up and put the bills away
before she showed up. It's too late to distract her.
"Quite a lot of bills with the words "Last Notice" stamped on them,"
she remarks.
"Um, they're mostly medical bills," I stammer. "Mom didn't have
insurance, but I'm paying them off a little at a time."
"What about this threat to turn off your electricity," she asks holding
up the electric bill from last week.
"Already taken care of," I say smiling brightly. "Check was lost in the
mail, so I went down and paid it off." Okay, so a little lie.
Mrs. Rothchild makes a hmpf noise under her breath, marks her pad
again, and walks into the kitchen.
"Ms. Summers, may I look in your refrigerator and cabinets? You may say
no but I wouldn't recommend it."
"Um, o-okay, I was going to go grocery shopping today after you left,
so..." I trail off. I can't really explain the empty cabinets and fridge
away.
"Ms. Summers, how do you expect a growing teenage girl to live on a
diet of frozen pizza and cereal?" Mrs. Rothchild asks marking her damn
pad yet again. "Just in case you're wondering, this review is not
going well and we are only on the first floor. All you need is one more
bad mark and you will lose custody of your sister. Do you
understand?"
I gulp loudly. Oh God, oh God, oh God. Please don't let anything else
be wrong. "I assure you that you will not find anything else in this
house..." I trail off as Mrs. Rothchild opens up a cabinet and is hit in
the head with a stake. Why there is a stake in the cabinet...I have no
idea.
"WHAT IS THIS?" Mrs. Rothchild roars.
"Um, it's a stake for our tent?" I try.
"Oh, yeah. Buffy and I like to go camping every once in a while," Dawn
says.
"With a wooden stake?! Camping stakes are metal!" Mrs. Rothchild makes
a big show of marking her pad again. "Ms. Summers, I now have enough
marks on here to remove your sister immediately. You have her being
watched by unlicensed care givers, you have no nutritional food in your
house, you have numerous unpaid bills, and you have weapons in
your cabinets. If I have my way, I will have your sister out of here by
the end of the day!"
"But..."
"I don't want to hear it!" With a slam of the door, Mrs. Rothchild is
out of the house...the stake still in her hand.
I sink to my knees with Dawn right beside me. Now what are we going to
do?
XXX
Dawn
Mrs. Rothchild was good on her word and within a few hours there was
another knock on the door. Two policeman and Mrs. Rothchild pushed
their way into the house and demanded that I pack my things.
"You can't do this!" Buffy yelled. "You can't take my sister!"
"I'm not going," I said firmly.
"Yes, you are," Mrs. Rothchild said.
Buffy stood in front of me, effectively blocking me from the police.
"Try and make her," she said.
The smaller of the two cops started to walk forward and Buffy tensed,
her fists coming up into a fighting stance.
"You really do not want to do that, ma'am," The officer said. "It is a
federal offense to assault an officer of the law."
"Buffy, don't," I say and then lean into her ear to whisper. "They're
human."
"I don't care," she said. "I'm not letting them take you. They can't
take you. We're doing the best we can."
"Well, your best isn't good enough," Mrs. Rothchild interrupted. "One
would think that you want what is best for your sister instead of being
selfish and forcing her into this life."
"She's not forcing me into anything," I say. "It is my choice to be
here."
"No, it is not. You are not a legal adult and your opinion counts for
nothing. You will stay with a foster family until we can contact your
father. I'm quite sure he had no idea of what was happening here."
Buffy and I both snort at the same time.
"Our father hasn't tried to contact us in almost three years," Buffy
says. "Hasn't sent child support either."
"Well, then Dawn will simply stay with a foster family until she is
adopted," Mrs. Rothchild said, unfazed.
"NO!" I yell. "I am not going to some White Oleander type house
so that I can become all messed up. I'm fine here."
Mrs. Rothchild look offended at my comment. "How dare you compare the
Department of Child and Family Services to a trashy work of fiction? We
save young people's lives, and we will save yours. Some day
you'll thank me. Now get your things or I will have your sister
arrested for harboring a minor."
Buffy looks like she's going to attack the cops again and I know that I
can't let that happen. One of them already has his hand resting on his
gun. Somehow I don't think Slayer healing handles gun shots so well.
"Fine, let's go," I say.
Buffy spins around to face me and the hurt on her face brings tears to
my eyes. "Wha?" she whispers. "Dawnie?"
"You'll get me back, I know you will. It won't be for long," I reassure
her.
"I knew you'd see things my way. Now get your things." Mrs. Rothchild
looks pleased.
"No," I say. "I'm bringing nothing because I will be coming
back here tonight."
Mrs. Rothchild puts a hand on my shoulder and shoves me out of the
house before I can hug Buffy.
"No, you won't."
XXX