The Knights of Scooby
Chapter Seven
by Lionheart
*-*-*-*-*
Xander was happy. Ambitious, but happy, as he scanned over his proposed stack of books for his upcoming second æmemorize and learnÆ session.
Amy had been very helpful in sneaking out a stack of their school textbooks from the public libraryÆs back door, far more than he could have checked out on any one card, or two or three for that matter.
She was VERY interested in the results of their experiment, to see if learning all of those really would trivialize the workload they had to suffer next year. And so far the reports from Jesse and Willow said yes, they did, very much help in understanding (and thus inevitably decreasing the workload in) those otherwise droll and boring subjects.
Xander too was VERY eager for some help conquering the worst demon of his life - schoolwork!
So he was going to be kicking it up to the next level, not only defeating the dread textbook menace, but branching out into other areas of the detested æstudyÆ. He already knew most of the martial arts books and stuff, so figured he had room in which to fit a few more school textbooks and things.
AmyÆs mom had even gotten into the act, volunteering that the schoolÆs history books were utter crap, and that if they wanted to pass the English courses then the English textbooks they used werenÆt going to cut it. One was merely a storybook, and there was no point in memorizing that.
Xander did pile on the math, including books for every level they had on that subject. The same for chemistry and biology.
Home Ec. didnÆt have a textbook, so the best substitute they could find was a æJoy of CookingÆ printed in the early 1950Æs that told what the ingredients did and why to use them instead of just how much of what. Xander was further encouraged to learn that one because Amy was sticking by her guns in insisting that the guys handle some of the cooking so that the girls could get in extra archery practice.
The DriverÆs Ed handbook was, of course, included.
HeÆd also obtained the complete course of books (something that the school classes never got through, as it was quite a volume of material) of beginning and intermediate texts for the languages taught at Sunnydale so he could start to have a high school (by which I mean to say pitiful) level of use and comprehension of French, German and Spanish.
The various shop classes did not have textbooks, but heÆd managed to find guides on those anyway.
ôSo, I donÆt get it. Why are you going to be memorizing textbooks for classes you arenÆt even taking?ö Amy question dubiously as she beheld the tower of books Xander intended to learn, and had requested her help in obtaining.
ôAh!ö The teenaged boy adopted his æwise sensei poseÆ. ôYoung Grasshopper, everything has a use. In the construction of houses for example, choice of woods is made. Straight unknotted timber of good appearance is used for the revealed pillars, straight timber with small defects is used for the inner pillars. Timbers of the finest appearance, even if a little weak, is used for the thresholds, lintels, doors, and sliding doors, and so on. Good strong timber, though it be gnarled and knotted, can always be used discreetly in construction. Timber which is weak or knotted throughout should be used as scaffolding, and later for firewood.ö
ôAnd how do you know about houses?ö she doubted, looking at him askance.
Continuing on in the role of æwise Chinese guyÆ Xander bobbed his head. ôI am glad you asked. There is no such thing as a bad student, only Cordelia. Oh! My mistake, excuse please. Meant to say no such thing as bad student, only bad teacher. Now, as you ask, Musashi spoke of carpentry to explain the Way of Strategy. The foreman carpenter allots his men work according to their ability. Floor layers, makers of sliding doors, thresholds and lintels, ceilings and so on. Those of poor ability lay the floor joists, and those of lesser ability carve wedges and do such miscellaneous work. If the foreman knows and deploys his men well the finished work will be good.
ôThe foreman should take into account the abilities and limitations of his men, circulating among them and asking nothing unreasonable. He should know their morale and spirit, and encourage them when necessary. This is the same as the principle of strategy.
ôLike a trooper, the carpenter sharpens his own tools. He carries his equipment in his tool box, and works under the direction of his foreman. He makes columns and girders with an axe, shapes floorboards and shelves with a plane, cuts fine openwork and carvings accurately, giving as excellent a finish as his skill will allow. This is the craft of the carpenters. When the carpenter becomes skilled and understands measures he can become a foreman.
ôThe carpenter's attainment is, having tools which will cut well, to make small shrines, writing shelves, tables, paper lanterns, chopping boards and pot-lids. These are the specialities of the carpenter. Things are similar for the trooper. You ought to think deeply about this.
ôThe attainment of the carpenter is that his work is not warped, that the joints are not misaligned, and that the work is truly planed so that it meets well and is not merely finished in sections. This is essential. And before you say æYeah, whateverÆ, know that chemistry is essential in making bombs to blow vampires or demons away. Math is the key to unlocking chemistry and other sciences. Biology is a component of medicine, and as such required if we ever need to heal our wounds without explaining where they came from. By taking in our language course materials ahead of time I can test out of that requirement and have one more slot available for fun classes. And the books on shop subjects are all about how to use tools to build things. Most of our cantrips function as tools, and we need things. I even have a book or two on sewing in there.ö
Actually, he had three.
What Xander did not choose to tell her at that time was that he would also be taking in most of the oddball stuff heÆd given Willow last time, the books on body language, GrayÆs Anatomy plus those medical encyclopedias, herbal medicine, auto service and repair manuals and so on in addition to their whole collection of school texts, followed by one on how to draw, so he wouldnÆt be reliant on cramps and trances to recreate valuable illustrations anymore.
Plus, there were a few thick, heavy books on computer languages.
Also, each of their summer course martial arts classes had books they want the students to read. Not surprisingly, Xander had already memorized some of what was on those lists. But he wanted to memorize all of the rest, too.
It was, all told, a very pretty pile.
Honestly, even Xander had to admit that this was almost certainly too much, especially to load in all at once. HeÆd had enough troubles trying to take in all of what Mr. Mage Dude had taught him the first time, and he was still a far cry from saying that heÆd absorbed it all. So it could very well be possible that he was premature in doing another session in the first place.
The reason for his reckless haste was hard to explain. Like the roots of a tree, there were lots of little thin ones that individually did not mean much. By themselves, they were easily broken or dismissed as inconsequential, but taken together they had a strong force of grip upon his soul.
Their progress was, by many accounts, amazing. Their martial arts teachers were all very proud of them and their astonishing progress (due, in large part to the Ape charms and spells to aid in memory, but still, there was a fair measure of their own diligence involved there as well).
But 14 years olds, Tai Chi or not, actually fighting vamps equals dead kids.
On one hand, Xander never wanted to face a vamp as long as he lived. On the other, well... there were people dying, and his friends were still not out of any sizable portion of that danger.
Yes, they were staying indoors at night whenever possible. But that wasnÆt always possible, like when moms sent you out after sunset to take out the kitchen garbage or whatever. You couldnÆt just shoot back the response æSorry, IÆll do it in the morning because I donÆt want the vampires to get meÆ, because sheÆd dismiss that as a pitiful sounding excuse and make you go anyway, and there wasnÆt really a good way to break the fact to them that there WERE real vampires out there.
That was only an example. Willow didnÆt have that problem as much as either Jesse or Xander, but Xander had the additional danger of having to escape his parentsÆ drunken binges on little or no notice, so having to slip out at night was almost essential sometimes, even if he didnÆt have to go far.
There were numerous ways and means they could be forced out into the night. And that was not even mentioning the possible troubles by having day-walking demons about. The point was, he didnÆt feel they could avoid contact with icky things forever. Somehow he just didnÆt think their luck would break that way.
And part of him didnÆt want it to.
ôWell,ö Amy told him, still shaking her head dubiously at the mound of reading material that he was planning to chug down at his next opportunity. ôIÆm glad that IÆm not going to be swallowing all of that.ö
Xander chuckled, already rubbing his hands together in a mock evil way. ôNo, you do not understand. This is a perfect method for slacking your way to better grades. You can totally be relaxed at school because youÆve already mastered all of the material. Tests will be like teachers asking you something as well known to you as your dress size. Zero effort, total chill, all year long.ö
A light bulb seemed to go off over AmyÆs head.
The boy teen was near to producing mad scientist laughter. ôAnd, from the better grades come better jobs later on. More money! Vacations! Benefits!ö
And, like it or not, a defender of the innocent still had to pay his bills.
This last was already starting to become important to him, as that whole æDistinguish between gain and loss in worldly mattersÆ thing was biting him. Xander had already come to realize just how financially dependent he was upon two very unreliable people, and even if they did stick around being less than ample providers he could hardly go asking for a raise in his allowance to afford a flamethrower and stakes.
Heck, he was scraping by just to afford pencils by this point. Willow was being very kind to him, in giving him loans and things (although now she was drawing on kisses and snuggles as a form of collateral, and making vague references to when she got to æcollectÆ on those debts in full - brrr! Scary!), otherwise he would not be able to finish out a full summer course of those martial arts and other classes.
But he could hardly keep leaning on her generosity forever! Nor had he managed to grow a tree big enough to sell yet. He was still working on that.
Amy was already smacking her lips appreciatively. Leaning forward, she asked, ôSo, how soon can I get in on all of this?ö
*-*-*-*-*
The answer to AmyÆs question was, of course, æright away.Æ
TheyÆd planned on having Willow do her session as well, however her parents actually came back and wanted to spend the evening with her, so not only did the adorable Jewess not want to waste this precious opportunity for all too rare parental bonding, but they didnÆt really have time to wait without running into conflicts with the Madison family summer vacation plans.
So, Xander got drafted once again.
ôXander! How good to see you. Have you had dinner yet?ö Catherine Madison, AmyÆs mother, welcomed him into their home with a smile, having already set up the guest bedroom for him to spend the night. Xander was glad for the cheerful reception, as he was not overly accustomed to grownup, parental types having any kind of gladness at seeing him.
Still, it was a feeling he could very much grow accustomed to, very quickly, if given any kind of opportunity. ôThanks Mrs. Madison, and yeah, but somehow it doesnÆt feel like it.ö
ôCall me Cathy, and letÆs see if we canÆt scrounge you up something in the fridge. We had ham steak tonight, and it will only take a minute to nuke you a potato. That metabolism spell you thought up was truly revolutionary. I wish IÆd had something like it at your age.ö And it went on, as Catherine thanked him for helping her daughter get ready for cheer practice in the upcoming year while the conversation moved to the kitchen.
He accepted this, mostly brushing it off, eager to get to the food and having no idea how important it was to her.
What Xander had no way of knowing was AmyÆs mom had such a wonderful experience as a cheerleader during her high school years that she had begun to anticipate this for her daughter to such a high degree she was beginning to live vicariously through her.
She had a boring job as a librarian, and it was nothing to compare to her glory years, so a certain amount of escapism was understandable.
CatherineÆs postgraduate life was indeed so dull that her daughterÆs success had become very important to her. Having Amy duplicate her own triumphs was so important that her frustration over Amy's inability to lose the weight and join the cheerleading squad could easily convince the mom to try and take her daughterÆs place to 'help' her, by using her body and doing all the hard work herself.
Amy's mom would never plan on taking over her daughterÆs life. It would only be later that the idea of keeping her body slowly crept in, followed by further moral decay of the evil inherent in using a possession spell on an unwilling target leading her to abandoning other principles in her quest for success.
However, with XanderÆs group there helping Amy exercise and get in shape, that would not become a problem. And, as a bonus, the prospect of high grades for low effort was very appealing to both mother and daughter. In fact, an entirely different idea had begun to percolate in the motherÆs mind.
Or, actually, more to the point, two of them. And she was anticipating one tonight.
ôThanks, Mrs. M, that was great,ö Xander said, pushing away the now empty plate. That ham steak had indeed been truly excellent, even as leftovers.
She was sitting across from him, leaning on the table and smiling. ôI may have to get that spell out of you. I can hardly believe how fast my daughter is conditioning her body.ö
With a shrug, the young man grabbed a piece of note paper from his pack and wrote the spell down before sliding it over to her. ôNo problem, Mrs. M, and thanks again for helping us do this.ö
ôMy daughterÆs grades are important to me. And she canÆt be on the squad if they fall below a certain level, and I know how crushed sheÆd be by that.ö The woman noted conversationally as she picked up the piece of paper and read it.
Xander shrugged again, looking at the note as she read it. ôYou have to cast it again every day. I donÆt have a longer version yet. But so far it is working for us.ö
ôSo I can see,ö she teased him, before adding. ôYouÆre really growing up, Xander. I am impressed. A mother always hopes her daughter will fall for someone like you.ö
ôSorry, already got a girlfriend.ö He chuckled, a bit off kilter as he was still amazed himself at that revelation. ôWillow and I finally got together.ö
ôWell, I am glad for both of you then,ö she replied, schemes getting altered in her mind.
After that, things went according to what had become fairly standard, as far as waiting most of the night asleep, waking to an alarm clock in the early hours, then going to the bedroom of the young lady in question to start the whole trance and memorize thingy.
Her æGreat Mental HealthÆ quote was one provided by her mother, and incidentally very similar to what a cross between JesseÆs and WillowÆs would be: DonÆt be afraid to work hard to develop your abilities.
Catherine had intended that primarily to support her in cheer practice, but felt that if it also helped her in her studies and witchcraft, that was a good bonus.
Amy had then soaked down almost identical materials to what theyÆd used on Jesse. Although at the end there was a different scene yet to what each of the others had seen. Inside of herself there was a young girl trapped in a box, without much room to move.
XanderÆs command had been, ôOpen the box and let her out.ö
Just as he was about to finish up, Catherine walked in at the tail end of the session, with a robe thrown on over her nightgown, and asked, ôXander, could you leave us along for a moment? I have some family spells I want to share with my daughter in private.ö
ôSure, Mrs. M. Just tell her went you want to wake her out of the trance.ö The young man smiled and left, somewhat eager to return to sleep himself.
After the young boy left Catherine walked over to whisper to her daughter, because controlling mothers, especially the well-intended ones, do not simply give up that trait overnight, ôAmy, I want you to listen to me as this is very important. You must fall in love with Xander, as he is the type of young man who will grow up to be a very wealthy man someday. If you have to share him, fine, but get him to fall in love with you as soon as you possibly can. Be good friends with Willow, as that should make everything easier. If you can get her to love you, she will want you to be happy, even if that means sharing her boyfriend with you. Do you understand me?ö
ôYes,ö spoke Amy dreamily, with a smile on her face as there had been a certain guilty attraction budding there already.
ôGood,ö the mother patted the side of her daughterÆs face happily, standing up to exit and smiling. ôDo well at school, dear, and know that I love you. Now Goodnight, and donÆt forget any of what youÆve learned tonight, but donÆt speak to anyone about what I told you either. Now sleep.ö
Smiling broadly now, certain that her daughterÆs future was set, Catherine left the small bedroom and went back to her own. Soon she was asleep, dreaming happy dreams about how well sheÆd done for Amy.
*-*-*-*-*
The next morning, Jesse grinned as he saw his two best friends enter the building holding hands. Then he showed them that he had discovered a new form of game. The arcades in town were generally not places they hung around because on their allowances quarters were too expensive, and those games ate them far too greedily.
One could spend oneÆs entire comic book allowance there in half an hour or less and come away feeling unsatisfied, or buy comic books with it and have a few hours of enjoyment that one could revisit weeks or even months later. It was no contest, and so comic books won.
However, Jesse had progressed sufficiently in theory to begin practice of the most basic transformative cantrip, which turned one very small object into something already closely related to it, for a very short duration.
Sounds useless, doesnÆt it?
Xander and Willow had felt so. However, Jesse had another idea. The spell was supposed to be practiced transforming a pebble into a ring or other small item of jewelry and wearing it, so when it fell off youÆd be alerted and could transform it again. But that was pretty stale and boring if you didnÆt fancy jewelry.
No, but Jesse had discovered another use lurking in the back of that fertile brain of his, and so his two best friends met him in front of the change-sucking machines otherwise known as games, where he was having a blast.
It turned out that a penny was very similar to a quarter, similar enough that the very minor spell worked to turn one into the other, for a very short time of course, but the machines only cared for a second, as it was passing down the pipes. Once it was in the lock box at the heart of the thing it didnÆt care.
So, Jesse was getting twenty five games for a quarter instead of one. So by the time his friends had joined him Jesse was already the champion of using that minor transformation cantrip, and was working on what he liked to call the æcoin of the realmÆ spell, for turning a one dollar bill into a twenty. Only for a few minutes or so, but that was long enough to make change from it.
So the trio found themselves very unexpectedly sitting down to games at the arcade, able to afford drinks and hot dogs and the whole deal.
Jesse grinned as he saw his two friends sit down right next to each other, always in contact yet neither having to really think on that. TheyÆd been together a very short time and yet already both were undergoing changes that young couples did while they were in love, snatching kisses in public and neither even having to think about that.
Amy entered not a long while later and the day began.
The 4th of July had come and gone, and Jesse had gotten together a large amount of leftover fireworks and was wondering how to use them to put down vamps.
The Roman Candle was his best bet so far, but those sparklers looked very promising, too, if only he could figure out how to use them.
However, the newly minted couple of Xander and Willow found they had a problem that didnÆt go stalking and biting in the night.
The Scoobies had each read and memorized a book on how to read peopleÆs emotions by their posture and body language, for helping to interpret their aura images. They were still working that out, as having read the material did not mean they had fully internalized it or knew how to incorporate it as yet, and they would be some time mastering that.
However, some things were so obvious they could not be missed, and so it was that the group learned that Amy had begun crushing on Xander and his new hotness factor, rather badly.
She tried hard to hide it, and to suppress it so she could be a good friend and not intrude on their happiness, but neither were working for the girl, and it shortly began hurting them all to see her suffer like that. If she werenÆt so obviously trying so hard not to reveal it or feel it, they mightÆve felt a great deal less charitable, but as it was she was trying so desperately to be their perfect friend that their hearts were melting just a little.
Still, the conflict wasn't doing anyone any good, and they felt a bit miserable over how relieved they felt as she and her mother left that evening to go see aunts and cousins in Florida for a few days.
*-*-*-*-*
That night, Xander was prepared for his second time through the hypnotism thingy to be a non-event. Most of the tricky stuff like opening the brow chakra would not have to be repeated, all he was doing was just going to be memorizing a whole bunch of books.
A scary pile of books, in fact, one that even intimidated Willow slightly.
It included not only all of the aforementioned books, including everything his high school had to offer, but the newly completed Xander-Dex as well as a book containing the complete works of Shakespeare.
ôWhy this one?ö Willow asked, as she regarded the thick tome with some amount of disbelief at her oldest friendÆs ambition.
ôAh!ö Xander grinned excitedly. ôThere is this natural tendency among people to mistake you for educated if you can quote Shakespeare.ö
ôOkay,ö she said disbelieving that he truly intended to go through with this.
End of Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven
by Lionheart
*-*-*-*-*
Xander was happy. Ambitious, but happy, as he scanned over his proposed stack of books for his upcoming second æmemorize and learnÆ session.
Amy had been very helpful in sneaking out a stack of their school textbooks from the public libraryÆs back door, far more than he could have checked out on any one card, or two or three for that matter.
She was VERY interested in the results of their experiment, to see if learning all of those really would trivialize the workload they had to suffer next year. And so far the reports from Jesse and Willow said yes, they did, very much help in understanding (and thus inevitably decreasing the workload in) those otherwise droll and boring subjects.
Xander too was VERY eager for some help conquering the worst demon of his life - schoolwork!
So he was going to be kicking it up to the next level, not only defeating the dread textbook menace, but branching out into other areas of the detested æstudyÆ. He already knew most of the martial arts books and stuff, so figured he had room in which to fit a few more school textbooks and things.
AmyÆs mom had even gotten into the act, volunteering that the schoolÆs history books were utter crap, and that if they wanted to pass the English courses then the English textbooks they used werenÆt going to cut it. One was merely a storybook, and there was no point in memorizing that.
Xander did pile on the math, including books for every level they had on that subject. The same for chemistry and biology.
Home Ec. didnÆt have a textbook, so the best substitute they could find was a æJoy of CookingÆ printed in the early 1950Æs that told what the ingredients did and why to use them instead of just how much of what. Xander was further encouraged to learn that one because Amy was sticking by her guns in insisting that the guys handle some of the cooking so that the girls could get in extra archery practice.
The DriverÆs Ed handbook was, of course, included.
HeÆd also obtained the complete course of books (something that the school classes never got through, as it was quite a volume of material) of beginning and intermediate texts for the languages taught at Sunnydale so he could start to have a high school (by which I mean to say pitiful) level of use and comprehension of French, German and Spanish.
The various shop classes did not have textbooks, but heÆd managed to find guides on those anyway.
ôSo, I donÆt get it. Why are you going to be memorizing textbooks for classes you arenÆt even taking?ö Amy question dubiously as she beheld the tower of books Xander intended to learn, and had requested her help in obtaining.
ôAh!ö The teenaged boy adopted his æwise sensei poseÆ. ôYoung Grasshopper, everything has a use. In the construction of houses for example, choice of woods is made. Straight unknotted timber of good appearance is used for the revealed pillars, straight timber with small defects is used for the inner pillars. Timbers of the finest appearance, even if a little weak, is used for the thresholds, lintels, doors, and sliding doors, and so on. Good strong timber, though it be gnarled and knotted, can always be used discreetly in construction. Timber which is weak or knotted throughout should be used as scaffolding, and later for firewood.ö
ôAnd how do you know about houses?ö she doubted, looking at him askance.
Continuing on in the role of æwise Chinese guyÆ Xander bobbed his head. ôI am glad you asked. There is no such thing as a bad student, only Cordelia. Oh! My mistake, excuse please. Meant to say no such thing as bad student, only bad teacher. Now, as you ask, Musashi spoke of carpentry to explain the Way of Strategy. The foreman carpenter allots his men work according to their ability. Floor layers, makers of sliding doors, thresholds and lintels, ceilings and so on. Those of poor ability lay the floor joists, and those of lesser ability carve wedges and do such miscellaneous work. If the foreman knows and deploys his men well the finished work will be good.
ôThe foreman should take into account the abilities and limitations of his men, circulating among them and asking nothing unreasonable. He should know their morale and spirit, and encourage them when necessary. This is the same as the principle of strategy.
ôLike a trooper, the carpenter sharpens his own tools. He carries his equipment in his tool box, and works under the direction of his foreman. He makes columns and girders with an axe, shapes floorboards and shelves with a plane, cuts fine openwork and carvings accurately, giving as excellent a finish as his skill will allow. This is the craft of the carpenters. When the carpenter becomes skilled and understands measures he can become a foreman.
ôThe carpenter's attainment is, having tools which will cut well, to make small shrines, writing shelves, tables, paper lanterns, chopping boards and pot-lids. These are the specialities of the carpenter. Things are similar for the trooper. You ought to think deeply about this.
ôThe attainment of the carpenter is that his work is not warped, that the joints are not misaligned, and that the work is truly planed so that it meets well and is not merely finished in sections. This is essential. And before you say æYeah, whateverÆ, know that chemistry is essential in making bombs to blow vampires or demons away. Math is the key to unlocking chemistry and other sciences. Biology is a component of medicine, and as such required if we ever need to heal our wounds without explaining where they came from. By taking in our language course materials ahead of time I can test out of that requirement and have one more slot available for fun classes. And the books on shop subjects are all about how to use tools to build things. Most of our cantrips function as tools, and we need things. I even have a book or two on sewing in there.ö
Actually, he had three.
What Xander did not choose to tell her at that time was that he would also be taking in most of the oddball stuff heÆd given Willow last time, the books on body language, GrayÆs Anatomy plus those medical encyclopedias, herbal medicine, auto service and repair manuals and so on in addition to their whole collection of school texts, followed by one on how to draw, so he wouldnÆt be reliant on cramps and trances to recreate valuable illustrations anymore.
Plus, there were a few thick, heavy books on computer languages.
Also, each of their summer course martial arts classes had books they want the students to read. Not surprisingly, Xander had already memorized some of what was on those lists. But he wanted to memorize all of the rest, too.
It was, all told, a very pretty pile.
Honestly, even Xander had to admit that this was almost certainly too much, especially to load in all at once. HeÆd had enough troubles trying to take in all of what Mr. Mage Dude had taught him the first time, and he was still a far cry from saying that heÆd absorbed it all. So it could very well be possible that he was premature in doing another session in the first place.
The reason for his reckless haste was hard to explain. Like the roots of a tree, there were lots of little thin ones that individually did not mean much. By themselves, they were easily broken or dismissed as inconsequential, but taken together they had a strong force of grip upon his soul.
Their progress was, by many accounts, amazing. Their martial arts teachers were all very proud of them and their astonishing progress (due, in large part to the Ape charms and spells to aid in memory, but still, there was a fair measure of their own diligence involved there as well).
But 14 years olds, Tai Chi or not, actually fighting vamps equals dead kids.
On one hand, Xander never wanted to face a vamp as long as he lived. On the other, well... there were people dying, and his friends were still not out of any sizable portion of that danger.
Yes, they were staying indoors at night whenever possible. But that wasnÆt always possible, like when moms sent you out after sunset to take out the kitchen garbage or whatever. You couldnÆt just shoot back the response æSorry, IÆll do it in the morning because I donÆt want the vampires to get meÆ, because sheÆd dismiss that as a pitiful sounding excuse and make you go anyway, and there wasnÆt really a good way to break the fact to them that there WERE real vampires out there.
That was only an example. Willow didnÆt have that problem as much as either Jesse or Xander, but Xander had the additional danger of having to escape his parentsÆ drunken binges on little or no notice, so having to slip out at night was almost essential sometimes, even if he didnÆt have to go far.
There were numerous ways and means they could be forced out into the night. And that was not even mentioning the possible troubles by having day-walking demons about. The point was, he didnÆt feel they could avoid contact with icky things forever. Somehow he just didnÆt think their luck would break that way.
And part of him didnÆt want it to.
ôWell,ö Amy told him, still shaking her head dubiously at the mound of reading material that he was planning to chug down at his next opportunity. ôIÆm glad that IÆm not going to be swallowing all of that.ö
Xander chuckled, already rubbing his hands together in a mock evil way. ôNo, you do not understand. This is a perfect method for slacking your way to better grades. You can totally be relaxed at school because youÆve already mastered all of the material. Tests will be like teachers asking you something as well known to you as your dress size. Zero effort, total chill, all year long.ö
A light bulb seemed to go off over AmyÆs head.
The boy teen was near to producing mad scientist laughter. ôAnd, from the better grades come better jobs later on. More money! Vacations! Benefits!ö
And, like it or not, a defender of the innocent still had to pay his bills.
This last was already starting to become important to him, as that whole æDistinguish between gain and loss in worldly mattersÆ thing was biting him. Xander had already come to realize just how financially dependent he was upon two very unreliable people, and even if they did stick around being less than ample providers he could hardly go asking for a raise in his allowance to afford a flamethrower and stakes.
Heck, he was scraping by just to afford pencils by this point. Willow was being very kind to him, in giving him loans and things (although now she was drawing on kisses and snuggles as a form of collateral, and making vague references to when she got to æcollectÆ on those debts in full - brrr! Scary!), otherwise he would not be able to finish out a full summer course of those martial arts and other classes.
But he could hardly keep leaning on her generosity forever! Nor had he managed to grow a tree big enough to sell yet. He was still working on that.
Amy was already smacking her lips appreciatively. Leaning forward, she asked, ôSo, how soon can I get in on all of this?ö
*-*-*-*-*
The answer to AmyÆs question was, of course, æright away.Æ
TheyÆd planned on having Willow do her session as well, however her parents actually came back and wanted to spend the evening with her, so not only did the adorable Jewess not want to waste this precious opportunity for all too rare parental bonding, but they didnÆt really have time to wait without running into conflicts with the Madison family summer vacation plans.
So, Xander got drafted once again.
ôXander! How good to see you. Have you had dinner yet?ö Catherine Madison, AmyÆs mother, welcomed him into their home with a smile, having already set up the guest bedroom for him to spend the night. Xander was glad for the cheerful reception, as he was not overly accustomed to grownup, parental types having any kind of gladness at seeing him.
Still, it was a feeling he could very much grow accustomed to, very quickly, if given any kind of opportunity. ôThanks Mrs. Madison, and yeah, but somehow it doesnÆt feel like it.ö
ôCall me Cathy, and letÆs see if we canÆt scrounge you up something in the fridge. We had ham steak tonight, and it will only take a minute to nuke you a potato. That metabolism spell you thought up was truly revolutionary. I wish IÆd had something like it at your age.ö And it went on, as Catherine thanked him for helping her daughter get ready for cheer practice in the upcoming year while the conversation moved to the kitchen.
He accepted this, mostly brushing it off, eager to get to the food and having no idea how important it was to her.
What Xander had no way of knowing was AmyÆs mom had such a wonderful experience as a cheerleader during her high school years that she had begun to anticipate this for her daughter to such a high degree she was beginning to live vicariously through her.
She had a boring job as a librarian, and it was nothing to compare to her glory years, so a certain amount of escapism was understandable.
CatherineÆs postgraduate life was indeed so dull that her daughterÆs success had become very important to her. Having Amy duplicate her own triumphs was so important that her frustration over Amy's inability to lose the weight and join the cheerleading squad could easily convince the mom to try and take her daughterÆs place to 'help' her, by using her body and doing all the hard work herself.
Amy's mom would never plan on taking over her daughterÆs life. It would only be later that the idea of keeping her body slowly crept in, followed by further moral decay of the evil inherent in using a possession spell on an unwilling target leading her to abandoning other principles in her quest for success.
However, with XanderÆs group there helping Amy exercise and get in shape, that would not become a problem. And, as a bonus, the prospect of high grades for low effort was very appealing to both mother and daughter. In fact, an entirely different idea had begun to percolate in the motherÆs mind.
Or, actually, more to the point, two of them. And she was anticipating one tonight.
ôThanks, Mrs. M, that was great,ö Xander said, pushing away the now empty plate. That ham steak had indeed been truly excellent, even as leftovers.
She was sitting across from him, leaning on the table and smiling. ôI may have to get that spell out of you. I can hardly believe how fast my daughter is conditioning her body.ö
With a shrug, the young man grabbed a piece of note paper from his pack and wrote the spell down before sliding it over to her. ôNo problem, Mrs. M, and thanks again for helping us do this.ö
ôMy daughterÆs grades are important to me. And she canÆt be on the squad if they fall below a certain level, and I know how crushed sheÆd be by that.ö The woman noted conversationally as she picked up the piece of paper and read it.
Xander shrugged again, looking at the note as she read it. ôYou have to cast it again every day. I donÆt have a longer version yet. But so far it is working for us.ö
ôSo I can see,ö she teased him, before adding. ôYouÆre really growing up, Xander. I am impressed. A mother always hopes her daughter will fall for someone like you.ö
ôSorry, already got a girlfriend.ö He chuckled, a bit off kilter as he was still amazed himself at that revelation. ôWillow and I finally got together.ö
ôWell, I am glad for both of you then,ö she replied, schemes getting altered in her mind.
After that, things went according to what had become fairly standard, as far as waiting most of the night asleep, waking to an alarm clock in the early hours, then going to the bedroom of the young lady in question to start the whole trance and memorize thingy.
Her æGreat Mental HealthÆ quote was one provided by her mother, and incidentally very similar to what a cross between JesseÆs and WillowÆs would be: DonÆt be afraid to work hard to develop your abilities.
Catherine had intended that primarily to support her in cheer practice, but felt that if it also helped her in her studies and witchcraft, that was a good bonus.
Amy had then soaked down almost identical materials to what theyÆd used on Jesse. Although at the end there was a different scene yet to what each of the others had seen. Inside of herself there was a young girl trapped in a box, without much room to move.
XanderÆs command had been, ôOpen the box and let her out.ö
Just as he was about to finish up, Catherine walked in at the tail end of the session, with a robe thrown on over her nightgown, and asked, ôXander, could you leave us along for a moment? I have some family spells I want to share with my daughter in private.ö
ôSure, Mrs. M. Just tell her went you want to wake her out of the trance.ö The young man smiled and left, somewhat eager to return to sleep himself.
After the young boy left Catherine walked over to whisper to her daughter, because controlling mothers, especially the well-intended ones, do not simply give up that trait overnight, ôAmy, I want you to listen to me as this is very important. You must fall in love with Xander, as he is the type of young man who will grow up to be a very wealthy man someday. If you have to share him, fine, but get him to fall in love with you as soon as you possibly can. Be good friends with Willow, as that should make everything easier. If you can get her to love you, she will want you to be happy, even if that means sharing her boyfriend with you. Do you understand me?ö
ôYes,ö spoke Amy dreamily, with a smile on her face as there had been a certain guilty attraction budding there already.
ôGood,ö the mother patted the side of her daughterÆs face happily, standing up to exit and smiling. ôDo well at school, dear, and know that I love you. Now Goodnight, and donÆt forget any of what youÆve learned tonight, but donÆt speak to anyone about what I told you either. Now sleep.ö
Smiling broadly now, certain that her daughterÆs future was set, Catherine left the small bedroom and went back to her own. Soon she was asleep, dreaming happy dreams about how well sheÆd done for Amy.
*-*-*-*-*
The next morning, Jesse grinned as he saw his two best friends enter the building holding hands. Then he showed them that he had discovered a new form of game. The arcades in town were generally not places they hung around because on their allowances quarters were too expensive, and those games ate them far too greedily.
One could spend oneÆs entire comic book allowance there in half an hour or less and come away feeling unsatisfied, or buy comic books with it and have a few hours of enjoyment that one could revisit weeks or even months later. It was no contest, and so comic books won.
However, Jesse had progressed sufficiently in theory to begin practice of the most basic transformative cantrip, which turned one very small object into something already closely related to it, for a very short duration.
Sounds useless, doesnÆt it?
Xander and Willow had felt so. However, Jesse had another idea. The spell was supposed to be practiced transforming a pebble into a ring or other small item of jewelry and wearing it, so when it fell off youÆd be alerted and could transform it again. But that was pretty stale and boring if you didnÆt fancy jewelry.
No, but Jesse had discovered another use lurking in the back of that fertile brain of his, and so his two best friends met him in front of the change-sucking machines otherwise known as games, where he was having a blast.
It turned out that a penny was very similar to a quarter, similar enough that the very minor spell worked to turn one into the other, for a very short time of course, but the machines only cared for a second, as it was passing down the pipes. Once it was in the lock box at the heart of the thing it didnÆt care.
So, Jesse was getting twenty five games for a quarter instead of one. So by the time his friends had joined him Jesse was already the champion of using that minor transformation cantrip, and was working on what he liked to call the æcoin of the realmÆ spell, for turning a one dollar bill into a twenty. Only for a few minutes or so, but that was long enough to make change from it.
So the trio found themselves very unexpectedly sitting down to games at the arcade, able to afford drinks and hot dogs and the whole deal.
Jesse grinned as he saw his two friends sit down right next to each other, always in contact yet neither having to really think on that. TheyÆd been together a very short time and yet already both were undergoing changes that young couples did while they were in love, snatching kisses in public and neither even having to think about that.
Amy entered not a long while later and the day began.
The 4th of July had come and gone, and Jesse had gotten together a large amount of leftover fireworks and was wondering how to use them to put down vamps.
The Roman Candle was his best bet so far, but those sparklers looked very promising, too, if only he could figure out how to use them.
However, the newly minted couple of Xander and Willow found they had a problem that didnÆt go stalking and biting in the night.
The Scoobies had each read and memorized a book on how to read peopleÆs emotions by their posture and body language, for helping to interpret their aura images. They were still working that out, as having read the material did not mean they had fully internalized it or knew how to incorporate it as yet, and they would be some time mastering that.
However, some things were so obvious they could not be missed, and so it was that the group learned that Amy had begun crushing on Xander and his new hotness factor, rather badly.
She tried hard to hide it, and to suppress it so she could be a good friend and not intrude on their happiness, but neither were working for the girl, and it shortly began hurting them all to see her suffer like that. If she werenÆt so obviously trying so hard not to reveal it or feel it, they mightÆve felt a great deal less charitable, but as it was she was trying so desperately to be their perfect friend that their hearts were melting just a little.
Still, the conflict wasn't doing anyone any good, and they felt a bit miserable over how relieved they felt as she and her mother left that evening to go see aunts and cousins in Florida for a few days.
*-*-*-*-*
That night, Xander was prepared for his second time through the hypnotism thingy to be a non-event. Most of the tricky stuff like opening the brow chakra would not have to be repeated, all he was doing was just going to be memorizing a whole bunch of books.
A scary pile of books, in fact, one that even intimidated Willow slightly.
It included not only all of the aforementioned books, including everything his high school had to offer, but the newly completed Xander-Dex as well as a book containing the complete works of Shakespeare.
ôWhy this one?ö Willow asked, as she regarded the thick tome with some amount of disbelief at her oldest friendÆs ambition.
ôAh!ö Xander grinned excitedly. ôThere is this natural tendency among people to mistake you for educated if you can quote Shakespeare.ö
ôOkay,ö she said disbelieving that he truly intended to go through with this.
End of Chapter Seven
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