Kristine Sutherland credited as playing...
Joyce Summers
- Joyce Summers: [re the vicious-looking bared-fangs mask] Oh, look. It's, uh, Nigerian. We got a very exciting shipment in at the gallery. I, um, thought I'd hang a few pieces in here. It cheers up the room.
- Buffy Summers: It's angry at the room, Mom. It wants the room to suffer.
- Joyce Summers: You have no appreciation of primitive art.
- Principal Snyder: Absolutely not. Under no circumstances.
- Joyce Summers: But... you can't keep her out of school. You don't have the right.
- Principal Snyder: I have not only the right, but also a nearly physical sensation of pleasure at the thought of keeping her out of school. I'd describe myself as tingly.
- Joyce Summers: Buffy was cleared of all those charges.
- Principal Snyder: Yes, and while she may live up to the not-a-murderer requirement for enrollment, she is a troublemaker, destructive to school property and the occasional student. And her grade point average is enough to... I'm sorry. Another tingle moment.
- Joyce Summers: You going out?
- Buffy Summers: Oh. Um... well, i-if it's okay. I, um... I'd like to find Willow and Xander.
- Joyce Summers: Will you be slaying?
- Buffy Summers: Only if they give me lip.
- Joyce Summers: Don't worry about school, honey. If we can't get you back into Sunnydale, maybe we can swing private school.
- Buffy Summers: Private school? You mean like jackets and kilts? You want me to get field hockey knees?
- Joyce Summers: It's not that bad.
- Buffy Summers: What about home schooling? You know, it's not just for scary religious people anymore.
- Joyce Summers: We'll work something out. Okay? Say hi to Willow?
- Joyce Summers: Uh, as for private schools, um, Miss Porter's accepts late admissions. I, uh, I wrote the information down for you.
- Buffy Summers: A girls' school...? So now it's jackets, kilts, and no boys? Care to throw in a little foot-binding?
- Joyce Summers: You know what? That's it. You and I are gonna have a talk.
- Buffy Summers: Mom, please.
- Joyce Summers: You know what? I don't care! I don't care what your friends think of me or you for that matter, because you put me through the wringer, Buffy. I mean it. And I've had schnapps. Do you have any idea what it's been like?
- Buffy Summers: Mom, this isn't the place...
- Joyce Summers: You can't imagine months of not knowing, not knowing whether you're lying dead in a ditch somewhere or, I don't know, living it up!
- Buffy Summers: But you told me! You're the one who said I should go! You said if I leave this house, don't come back! You found out who I really was and you couldn't deal! Don't you remember?
- Joyce Summers: [more angry] Buffy, you didn't give me time! You just dump this thing on me and you expected me to get it? Well, guess what. Mom's not perfect, okay? I handled it badly! But that doesn't give you the right to punish me by running away!
- Buffy Summers: Punish you? I didn't do this to punish you.
- Xander Harris: Well, you did. You should've seen what you put her through.
- Buffy Summers: Great. Thanks. Anybody else want to weigh in here? How about you by the dip?
- Jonathan Levinson: [taken aback, hesitates before taking another bite] No, thanks... I'm good.
- Xander Harris: You know, maybe you don't want to hear it, Buffy... but taking off like you did was incredibly selfish and stupid!
- Buffy Summers: Okay. Okay! I screwed up! I know this! But you have no idea! You have... you have no idea what happened to me or what I was feeling!
- Xander Harris: Did you even try talking to anybody?
- Buffy Summers: No. There was nothing anybody could do. Okay? I just had to deal with this on my own!
- Xander Harris: Yeah, and you see how well that one worked out. You can't just bury stuff, Buffy. It'll come right back up to get you.
- [first lines]
- [Joyce hammering a nail into the wall as Buffy enters]
- Buffy Summers: Mom?
- [startled she puts the hammer through the wall]
- Joyce Summers: Oh! Buffy... Um...
- Buffy Summers: Sorry.
- Joyce Summers: No, no, no. Don't worry about it. I guess I just got used to all the quiet while you were gone.