Something New
Chapter 18
Something New
Chapter 18
Joyce kicked off her heels when she got home, rubbing one foot sorely. �Remind me to get a bigger shoe size,� she said to Spike, joining the group in the kitchen, where Spike was serving up seasoned rice, noodles and pork chops. �Mmm.� She rejoiced at the delicious aromas. �Coming home to an already made, hot meal really is a luxury. I sure am lucky that at least my daughter found a guy who can cook.�
Spike blushed, but was convinced that Buffy hadn�t chosen him, though Joyce thought so. �I�ve found I can make most things that are instant or can be made in three easy steps. Five steps elude me.�
�You should try cooking from scratch.� Joyce said, taking a seat at the table. �Have you ever made your own lasagna?�
�I�m certain that I haven�t.�
�Ah. Your own pizza then?�
�No. Mostly junk food and blood.�
�Oh.� Joyce frowned. �Well I�m sure that you�d enjoy making a pizza from scratch.� She said. �We could mix the dough, and then cheat and buy the sauce and cheese and toppings from the store. But we could cook it in the oven, too.�
�Or save twenty bucks and time the pizza delivery man.� Dawn said. �They think they can get away with it when they�re over 30 minutes, but they can�t.�
�Hmm.� Joyce shrugged. �Give me a chance, William, and I think you�ll know more about cooking. It�s really quite fun, if you get to know how.�
�As long as I don�t end up like that guy� Emeril.� Spike shuddered. �I�m sure he�s possessed.�
�BAM!� Dawn burst out laughing when James jumped.
�Be good, Dawn.� Joyce scolded. �And pass the rice.�
�I�m home.� Buffy called from the doorway, and hung up her coat, finding her way to the kitchen. �Smells good. I got a passing grade on my tests.�
�Oh, that�s wonderful, honey!� Joyce smiled. �What did you get?�
�An 89.� Buffy replied. �Enough to bring my average to a B+. So I�m happy.�
�Very good.� Joyce congratulated. �Did you tell Willow?�
�Yes, and she was extra bouncy.� Buffy smiled, finding a seat. �But she�s never seen a B on her report card in her life, so I think that I fascinate her.�
�Better than I did in school.� Spike shrugged. �And I died before I managed to finish college.�
�Didn�t peg you as college educated.� Dawn said.
�Be nice.� Joyce said. �He�s still got you beat.�
�Yeah, really, Dawn.� Buffy agreed. �I�ll bet he�s at least got two years of college, right?�
�Yeah.� Spike confirmed. �Didn�t do great, of course. So honestly, bit, you should work at it. Be proud to say that you�re smarter than me.�
�And get good grades.� Joyce added.
�I think James should be going to school.� Buffy said softly, getting the noodles.
�He�s only six.� Spike defended.
�Yes, and most kids have already been in preschool for four years.� She said. �He should be in kindergarten. Learning his alphabet, and numbers, and letter sounds. What else do they do? Basics of reading and stuff, I think.�
Spike stayed quiet, stirring up his rice with his fork. He didn�t know anything about kindergarten, much less the things that they taught in school now.
�Well maybe we can manage to sign him up.� Joyce agreed. �I�ll look into it. Isn�t there an elementary school nearby?�
�I think so.� Buffy nodded. �How would you like to go to school, baby boy?�
James looked up at Buffy. �Do they have swimming pools filled with ice cream?�
�I wish!� Dawn blurted.
�No, James, they don�t have swimming pools.� Buffy said. �But you�d be with kids your age and you�d make new friends, and you�d learn to read and count.�
�Why do I gots to know that stuff?�
�Because graduating kindergarten is more important than graduating college.� Dawn retorted.
�What does �graduating� mean?�
�Graduate means that you finish it and move on.� Buffy replied. �After kindergarten, you go to first grade, then second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eight, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, college. Then you become a working adult, like grammy.�
�I wanna watch Bugs Bunny.� James said. �It sounds too hard.�
�It�s required by law.� Dawn said flatly. �You have to go, or trust me, I�d watch Bugs Bunny all day, too.�
�Bugs Bunny comes on in the morning.� Buffy said. �You could still watch it before you�d go to school. After the morning, it�s mostly all boring dumb shows that Spike and big people like to watch. Like soap operas.�
�Can Spike come with me?� James asked.
�Uh� I�m sure he would, but he�s already been through school, and kindergarten is exclusively for your age group.� Buffy told him. �The teacher is the only big person allowed. I bet you�d have fun.�
�I bet I wouldn�t.� James retorted, setting down his utensils and hoping off of his chair, running down into the basement and slamming the door shut.
Buffy was taken back by James� somewhat restrained preternatural outburst. She mentally thought that he was beginning to act a little like Spike.
�I�m sorry.� Buffy said, still taken back, and she looked at Spike, who hadn�t eaten since she�d brought up the subject, and now stared at his plate, glancing at the basement door. �That�s generally the reaction of a child starting school. But sometimes they think it�ll be fun.�
�Twelve years of learning crap that half of which doesn�t even matter and will never apply to life isn�t fun.� Dawn said. �Except for field trips, and homework free days. Kindergarten is easy, but you forget how long a second feels when you�re little. A minute is eternity.�
�Huh. Maybe that�s the key to eternal youth.� Buffy remarked. �Think like a kid. And maybe that�s why Spike � sorry,� She smiled at the implied child joke. �Now�s not the time for small jokes, but I�m not trying to be mean. I�m just saying, as I notice.� She looked at her mother beseechingly. �How will we register Jamie? I don�t know how to do this stuff.�
�I�ll stop by the school tomorrow.� Joyce said. �Or sometime soon. But it�s already nearly Christmas, and I don�t think that there�s any point in sending him now. He won�t have the opportunity to learn as much. We�ll wait until after summer, and we can be sure of everything.�
�We have hospital records, but according to them, he�s not very old at all.� Buffy said. �James is a mystical child.�
�Well I don�t think he�s going to grow anymore rapidly like that.� Joyce said. �Maybe when he�s a teenager. Perhaps I can convince them that they got the date wrong. Change the year?�
Spike quietly got up, picking up his and James� plate and setting on the kitchen sink. �I�m done.� He said to no one in particular, and slipped downstairs.
Buffy frowned, feeling guilty at the silent tension in the air, and Spike�s plate, which had barely been eaten, all of the food still hot and fresh.
*****
Spike found James sitting on the floor, off to the side in what he probably thought was a good hiding place. Spike picked him up, setting him on his bed and sitting down next to him. James merely rearranged himself, either deep in worried thought or completely scared and unknowing to the whole situation.
�Wanna talk?� Spike asked after a long break of listening to James� heart.
�No.� James replied.
�K.� Spike waited patiently for what felt like excruciating hours to the small boy, though only about forty five minutes dragged on. �Rough, that, eh? Everything changing and you don�t have a clue.�
James shrugged.
�It�s not that bad, pet.� Spike assured. �You get up in the morning, like you already do, but you take the bus with Dawn. Schools today� I�m not sure about. But you spend about seven hours a day in a little room with one teacher that may or may not be a bitch, about twenty kids, half of which will never acknowledge you, and the other half that will be your friends, and people you hate that annoy you to death.�
�I don�t think I wanna go to school.�
Spike sat up, scooting over to face James. �I won�t lie to you, pet. School sucks. But I�ll bet that you will make a lot of friends. Good guys that you can play football with, soccer or whatever when you get into the higher grades, and sports are good for you. And it isn�t all so bad. You�ve got music, gym, art, science, English, reading. Probably naps and finger painting for you.�
�What�s football do?�
�Well I can teach you that later, pet.� Spike assured. �And don�t worry. Elementary is a cinch. �Specially kindergarten. First few grades the only things you have to worry about is tracing letters on paper. I�ll bet just learning to read and write is gonna be the hardest for you. But you�re smart. You gotta be. Buffy�s smart, at least. Smart enough to make it to college, and she�ll probably get through four years of it, unlike me. And Joyce is smart, so maybe it passed onto you. My mum was a smart lady. She liked to sew, and do real constructive things with her hands. All I ask is that you get good grades; do your best in everything you do. It�ll matter in high school. And if you prepare yourself, it�s so much easier. High school is fun. You get to do a lot more things that the puny ones don�t get to. You change to different rooms for different classes, so if you hate someone, there�s a good chance you won�t have to deal with them for the rest of the day. And there�s drama, computer class, *football*, track team. It can really be fun. Seems scary, but it will every time you move onto the next grade until you get used to new environments. You�ll grow into it.�
�I�m too small right now.� James protested, certainly feeling that way.
Spike leaned forward and pulled James to him, kissing his hair and letting him settle against him, hugging him. �Not too small, just yet. The classroom changes with you. In Kindergarten they have little chairs, just for you guys. If you compare a high school chair to a kindergarten chair, there�s a big size difference.�
�I don�t wanna go to school for seven hours.� James protested. �It�d be like seven days. I wanna stay here.�
�You don�t have to go to school until the fall.� Spike promised. �And that�s quite a few months away.�
James sniffled. �I dunno.�
�You�ll be fine, pet.� Spike assured. �Bet you�ll have the prettiest girls after you.�
James shrugged. �Is it hard?�
�Gets harder as you go.� Spike considered. �But keep up with your work, and ask for help when you need it, and you�ll be fine.� He assured. �Also, don�t copy any of my bad words or beat anyone up. I�m not a very good example of civilized behavior.�
�I�ll be good.�
�Good.� Spike said. �But, uh, don�t worry about it. Dawn can tell you more about going to school on a bus and classes and things.�
�Okay.� James decidedly kissed Spike�s cheek, then went upstairs to find Dawn about the mysterious yellow bus that picked her up every morning.
Spike exhaled deeply. Six years that he didn�t get to experience, and James was gonna be going to school for half of the day. Who was he supposed to joke with and have to make excuses for watching cartoons?
A few minutes later Buffy cautiously tapped and came downstairs, and Spike didn�t even have the heart to glare at her.
�Hey. S�up?� She took the liberty of sitting down comfortably. �Pretty weird if he goes to school, huh?�
�Yeah. A long, boring day will open up when fall comes.�
�Well, I know James is your buddy,� Buffy said. �But you�d still have him and Bugs Bunny on the weekends. And you could start sleeping in guilt-free. Maybe wake up to have breakfast with him and see him off to school, then goo back to bed or do whatever. You�d have the whole house to yourself until three, and then James�d have lots of stories to tell you.�
Spike shrugged. �Guess so. Still boring, though.�
�Welllll, you could spend the day with Giles, if you prefer.�
�Giles hates me.�
�He doesn�t hate you, he just disapproves of you.� Buffy said. �It doesn�t help that you act like a nut around him.�
Spike pulled his legs up onto the bed and put his chin in his hands, considering this. �Maybe if I bought a suit� or made you but me one.�
Buffy playfully socked him. �You�re not actually considering hanging out with Giles, are you?�
Spike shrugged honestly. �I�d make money, wouldn�t I? And maybe he�s just stiff �cause he doesn�t know me yet. Spend a few days, and then everyone would like me, �cept Xander.�
�Or maybe Giles would be even more annoyed with you.�
�You�re not, are you? �Least, you can�t be too terribly upset with me.�
Buffy sighed. �You�re very touchy, Spike, but you�re not half bad. I�d hate to make you really angry, though.�
�Thanks a bunch.�
�You�re very welcome.� Buffy replied. �Now come on, do you wanna sulk here all day or take your chiplessness for a spin?�