| abstract
| - In a deserted suburban high school, two teenagers are breaking in. A leery young man drags a jittery Catholic School Girls Rule to the gym roof, allegedly for stargazing purposes. Just as they are about to kiss, she pulls away and claims to hear a noise. Coast is clear. Suddenly, her lovely face sprouts fangs! Bet you didn't expect that! Somewhere else, a teenage girl sleeps fitfully; visions of cemeteries, monsters, and rivers of blood interrupting her rest. She jerks awake just in time to hear her mother call her name. This is Buffy Summers, Vampire Slayer. She's not like other teenagers. It's also her first day at her new school. Pan up to Sunnydale High. Xander Harris is menacing schoolmates with his out-of-control skateboarding. He looks over to see Buffy walk past, then smacks into a guardrail. Dazed, he looks up to see a redhead (Willow) stand smilingly over him. These two are obviously good friends. On the way inside, hey bump into Xander's friend Jesse, who has also noticed the new girl. Xander presses him for details, and Jesse dutifully reports, "New girl!" This one is obviously quite dumb. Elsewhere, Buffy is in a meeting with her jovial Principal to hash over her colorful dossier. Principal Flutie symbolically rips up her school record, only to tape it back together when he reads that Buffy burned down a school gym. Things go all downhill from there. As Buffy exits the office, she bumps into another student, spilling the contents of her bag all over the floor. Xander sees this and seizes the opportunity to play Rico Suave. As they gather her things, Buffy thanks him and goes back to her business. Xander notices she left something behind ("Oh, hey! You forgot your... stake."), but she is long gone. In a classroom, a teacher is lecturing about the Black Death. Buffy sits besides a popular girl, Cordelia, who shares her book with her. These two are obviously destined to be good friends. Cordelia immediately takes Buffy under her wing and proceeds to give her the entrance exam for the "in" crowd; she determines Buffy will fit in just fine. When they run into Willow at the water fountain. Cordelia's sweet tone immediately does a 180° as she barks at Willow to beat it, but not before a crack about her outfit. Buffy looks droopy, but says nothing. Cordelia invites Buffy to the Bronze, which is apparently in the bad part of town, located about half a block from the good part of town. Buffy heads into the school's cavernous library to pick up some textbooks. There she meets Giles, the school librarian. Buffy introduces herself to Giles and tell him that she's the new student. Giles immediately identifies her, then cuts her off because he knows what she's looking for. He whips a giant tome marked Vampyr. Buffy, upset, tells him he's mistaken. Giles apologizes, but Buffy is long gone (Again). In the girls locker room, two students are gossiping about Buffy. Her reputation precedes her. As they continue to dish dirt, one of the girls opens her locker and a dead body falls out. It's our wannabe-Romeo from earlier. Outside, Buffy joins Willow for lunch. Willow is uncertain why Buffy, who clearly could be popular, is choosing to sit with her. Xander and Jesse join them, and return Buffy's stake. Cordelia with the news that gym is canceled "due to the extreme dead guy in the locker." Buffy, alarmed, wants to know how the guy died and if he had any marks on him, but Cordelia's squicked out by her questions. At a loose end, Buffy breaks into the cordoned-off locker room and finds a bite mark on the deceased's neck. Buffy returns to the library to confront Giles. She tells him that she has retired from slaying, but Giles reminds her who she is - the Slayer, the one girl in all the world with the strength to fight vampires, et cetera. He also tells her that Sunnydale is built on a convergence of mystical forces, making it a mecca for supernatural baddies. Buffy suggests that if he's so keen on slaying, then why doesn't Giles do it? He asserts that he is a Watcher -- he trains and mentors the Slayer. Buffy asks him to prepare her for getting kicked out of school and losing all her friends, then leaves in a huff. Behind them, Xander pops out of the stacks with a WTF look on his face. As Buffy heads to the Bronze, she is followed by a silhouetted figure. He tails her into an alley, then glances about impotently. Actually, Buffy is doing a handstand on a bar spanning the alleyway. She y swings down and bowls him over with a kick. The stranger (actually, Angel, but you're not supposed to know that), irritated, straightens his jacket and claims that they have a common goal - to kill all the vampires. He reaches into his coat and tosses Buffy a small box, telling her to be ready for "the Harvest." When Buffy asks the man who he is, he replies he's a friend, but not necessarily hers. After he departs, Buffy opens the box to reveal a silver crucifix. Buffy rejoins Willow at the bar. They discuss Willow's crush on Xander, dating back to when they were both five, and Willow explains that she's nervous around boys. Buffy tries to draw Willow out of her shell and says that her life philosophy is "seize the moment." She then spots Giles lurking about on the upper deck of the Bronze and jets off to chastise him for being creepy. Giles grumbles that he's come to persuade Buffy to take her Slayer duties seriously. Buffy replies that she knows trouble is coming because Giles's "friend" told her, but from Giles's look of surprise, we can assume he didn't send the "dark, gorgeous in an annoying sort of way" man in the alley. Downstairs, Jesse approaches Cordelia and asks her to dance. Cordy makes a blech face and gives him the brush-off. Burned again, Jesse glances around for fresh prospects. Back on the landing, Giles opines that the club is a perfect hunting ground for vamps. He encourages Buffy to try and sniff out a vampire in the room. "There's one," she points. Giles is skeptical, not believing her. Buffy says the vintage eighties fashions are the giveaway. Suddenly, the vampire moves and reveals his date: it's Willow, seizing the moment. D'oh. Alarmed, Buffy draws her stake and chases them into a back alley, but finds only Cordelia in a snit. Cordelia immediately telephones the entire student body about this shocking devlopment. Meanwhile, we see Jesse chatting up the homicidal Catholic schoolgirl (Darla) from before. Underground, a grotesque figure rises from the pit of blood. It's a vampire, but one who doesn't look remotely human. The kneeling vampire, Luke, addresses his "Master." The wizened vampire reaches out and passes his hand across an invisible barrier, which ripples as he touches it. They discuss how the Harvest will restore the his power. Luke has sent his servants for food for the Master, who requests something "young." Buffy runs into Xander outside the Bronze. He makes a pointed comment about slaying vampires. Buffy gruffly wonders if there was an announcement in the newspaper. Xander thinks Buffy is suffering from delusions of grandeur, but Buffy convinces him of her serious need to find Willow fast. The vampire stops outside a crypt and tries to entice Willow to go in. When she declines, he shoves her inside; this is not a democracy. They are soon joined by Darla and Jesse, whose throat is bleeding. Game faces on, the vamp are about to chow down when Buffy arrives. The two vampires circle her, unsure what to make of this. Topside, Willow, Xander, and Jesse are scrambling to safety. They come to a dead stop when several leering vampires surrounding them. Buffy cracks wise to Darla about how she just wanted a quiet life, but Luke comes from behind and grabs her by the neck. He throws Buffy across the crypt and then bitches Darla out for not bringing the Master his dinner. Luke tells Darla to leave and seems pretty assured that he can take care of the little girl himself. Buffy grabs a stake and is just about to drive it into Luke's heart, but he breaks it in half with his hand. He flings Buffy ass over teacup into a stone coffin, then vanishes. The room is silent. Hust when Buffy has gotten up the courage to peek out, Luke leaps in with her. He grabs her and prepares to bite her neck. To Be Continued.
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