Buffy the Vampire Slayer Page #15

MERRICK:

Oh. Good.

She starts again.

BUFFY:

Who we gonna beat?

Who do we defeat?

Who will we be pulverizing

Into cream of wheat?

Gradually, Buffy gets more into the cheer. The steps become

more complicated as she repeats the verse.

CLOSEUP - MERRICK'S HAND

We see a knife slip out of Merrick's sleeve. He palms it,

hands behind his back.

In the middle of her routine, he hurls it at her. She catches

it, reflexively, inches from her face. Stops dead. Then bursts

into tears. Merrick is thrown off by this reaction.

BUFFY:

Oh, what the hell is wrong with

you? You threw a knife at my head!

MERRICK:

I had to test you.

BUFFY:

But you threw a knife at my head!

MERRICK:

And you caught it! Only the chosen

one could have done that.

BUFFY:

I don't want to be the chosen one,

okay? I don't want to spend the

rest of my life chasing after

vampires! I just want to graduate

from high school, go to Europe,

marry Charlie Sheen and die. It

may not sound too exciting to a

sconehead like you, but I think

it's swell. And then you come

along... and... and then I'm a

member of the hairy mole club, so

you throw things at me!

She is coming at him now. He begins to back up.

MERRICK:

It was necessary.

BUFFY:

(realizing)

Last night. You knew I was sitting

on a fresh grave, didn't you?

MERRICK:

I don't think you understand the

full implications of --

Buffy punches him in the face. He goes flying a good ways,

lands on his back. His nose bleed merrily. Buffy stops.

BUFFY:

Oh. Sorry.

MERRICK:

(getting up)

Don't you see what's happening?

You're changing. You've got powers

you've only just begun to tap.

Physical, mental prowess you've

never dreamed of.

(pulling a handkerchief out

of his pocket)

God, this hurts. I've administered

a few shocks to your system to start

the adrenaline working. I'm sorry

I have to take so many shortcuts in

the training process.

BUFFY:

Put your head back.

MERRICK:

Two days ago, would you have even

hit me? Let alone so powerfully?

BUFFY:

No... I guess I would have gotten

Jeffrey to hit you.

MERRICK:

Exactly. You're changing. You're

becoming something extraordinarily

powerful.

Buffy looks at the knife in her hand. The MUSIC COMES UP and

we...

CUT TO:

A SERIES OF IMAGES AND INTERCUT SCENES

Buffy's period of training. Over the difficult course of it,

she is obviously becoming more self-possessed, more at ease.

Her style of dress loosens a bit: a little punkier. Stops

dying her hair blonde and her roots start showing. Accumulates

a few more holes in her ears.

EXT. THE WAREHOUSE - NIGHT

Buffy doing a series of gymnastic flips, swinging on vines,

etc.

CUT TO:

EXT. SCHOOL - DAY

Buffy arriving late for class.

CUT TO:

INT. BRENTANO'S - DAY

Buffy charging some books: Lawson's Treatis on Demonology,

Psychological Interpretations of Vampirism, The Book of the

Dead, and The Complete Garlic Cookbook.

CUT TO:

INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT

Merrick sits on a crate, reading the obituaries and circling

certain entries.

Buffy stands on her head, sweating with concentration. The

CAMERA TILTS up to reveal her feet. Between the toes of one

is a nail brush, with which she is very carefully painting her

toenails.

CUT TO:

INT. MELROSE CLOTHING STORE ("ROCK STAR") - NIGHT

Amilyn and a few of the old-world vampires are on a spree,

trying on various leather jackets. As they cavort, the CAMERA

TRACKS behind the counter, where we find the clerk, bloody and

dead, slumped on the floor.

CUT TO:

EXT. SCHOOL - DAY

Buffy kissing Jeffrey goodbye after school. A long, lingering

kiss, during which she pulls away, anxious to get going. She

starts off, comes back and plants a big ol' on his lips one

last time before splitting.

CUT TO:

EXT. MINIATURE GOLF COURSE - AFTERNOON

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