The Willow Files, Volume 1

by Yvonne Navarro

• ISBN13: 9780671039189
• ISBN10: 0671039180
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-12-01
• Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment

Summary

"I like you. You're nice, and you're funny and you don't smoke, and okay, werewolf, but that's not all the time. I mean, three days out of the month I'm not much fun to he around, either." -- Willow When Buffy the Vampire Slayer arrived in Sunnydale, she befriended a bookish, insecure girl named Willow. As a Slayerette, Will uses her computer prowess for good, hacking into electronic government files and researching obscure rituals on the Web. But Willow's love life is severely lacking, consisting of an unfulfilled crush on her friend Xander and a short-lived fling with a deadly demon she met over the Internet. Through her often life-threatening experiences with the Slayer, Willow gains the confidence to just be herself in the peer pressure-filled world of high school. And when her first real boyfriend, Oz, turns out to be a bit...unusual...in his own right, Willow is just the girl to prove that love really is blind...and a little scary.

Excerpts

Chapter 1 "Oh," Buffy said. "Great. A book."Willow Rosenberg looked over from her position in front of one of the scanners and smiled when she saw the disappointed expression on her friend's face. Buffy Summers pulled an oversized, ancient-looking book from the crate she'd just pried open and idly traced the carving on its leather cover. Jenny Calendar, the new computer science teacher, had set up several computers and scanners throughout the library. They were a jarring contrast to what Willow had always felt was the old-world charm of the book-filled room."I haven't gone through the new arrivals," Rupert Giles told Buffy. He gestured toward where Willow stood. "Put it in that pile -- ""Here, I've got it." Dave, a shy, bookish kid with thick blond hair, took the book from Buffy and headed back to his terminal. Next to him, a boy named Fritz worked diligently. Fritz was big and sturdily-built with short hair, the opposite of Dave. But like Willow, both were whizzes in the computer world."Thanks, Dave." Buffy grinned. "The Willow pile.""After I've examined it," Giles said absently, "you can, uh...skim it in.""Scan it, Rupert. Scan it."The door to the library closed behind Ms. Calendar as she strode in and Willow had to hide her smile at the flustered set to Giles's jaw. If Fritz and Dave were different, then Ms. Calendar and Giles had to be polar opposites, literally repelling each other. Where Giles was like the library, old-world and rather charming despite the tweed-saturation level, Ms. Calendar was young and hip. She might have been thirty, but her hair was dark and cut short, and the way she dressed was a slightly more modest version of the rest of the girls in school."Of course," Giles said. His tone was filled with stiff British courtesy, but Willow thought she could hear a touch of venom around the edges.Ms. Calendar, however, was not put off. "I know our ways are strange to you," she said as she regarded the librarian with patient amusement, "but soon you will join us in the twentieth century...with several years to spare!""Ms. Calendar," Giles said archly, "I happen to believe that one can function in modern society without being a slave to the idiot box."Ms. Calendar did an admirable job of holding her expression, although Willow could tell she really wanted to chuckle. "That's TV -- the idiot box is the TV. This is a good box.""Well," Giles said, undaunted. "I still prefer a good book.""The printed page is obsolete," Fritz put in. His stance at his terminal was so relaxed that he might have been a part of the machine. "Information isn't bound up anymore, it's an entity. The only reality is virtual. If you're not jacked in, you're not alive." With that, he nodded to himself and flicked the OFF switch on his computer. A moment later the door to the library closed behind him.They all stared after him, then Ms. Calendar sighed. "Thank you, Fritz, for making us all sound like crazy people." She turned back to Giles. "Fritz comes on a little strong, but he has a point. You know, for the last two years there was more E-mail sent than regular mail? More digitalized information went over phone lines than conversation."Giles folded his arms and his chin lifted. "That is a fact I regard with genuine horror.""I'll bet it is," Ms. Calendar replied. She faced Willow and the others. "All right, guys. Let's wrap it up for the day."Willow glanced at the stack of waiting books, then back at her terminal. She hated to leave stuff undone -- it always came back to haunt you the next morning. "I've just got a few more to do," she told Ms. Calendar. "I'll hang around for a bit.""Cool," the computer teacher said with a smile. "Thanks.""Xander," Willow said before her friend could head out after the others, "you want to stay and help me?"Xander Harris paused, but only for a moment. "Are you kidding?""Yes," Willow s