"Yeah," Dawn said vaguely. She didn't really have a good excuse for why she'd be reading all those hefty books and she didn't think she owed a stranger one, anyway. Even a stranger she'd nearly bulldozed.
She shifted her books to one arm and shook the girl's hand. Mel's hand. Her grip was strong, her hand cool and dry. "Dawn. It's nice to meet you." Joyce had tried to instill good manners in both of her daughters, and even if that memory was fake Dawn sometimes fell into old patterns, or what passed for them in her life.
"Um, Sunnydale. California? About an hour outside of LA. It's..." A Hellmouth. "Not much. How 'bout you? Do you go to school here?"