Jenny Cervenak

**Jenny Cervenak,** born as **Janna Cervenak** and later known as **Jenny Calendar,** is a part-time magical theorist and full-time computer science teacher who acts as the unofficial liaison between the New Council and the Melete Database. She is also one of the last remaining descendants of Catrinel Sykorova, the only survivor of Angelus's 1898 massacre.

## Pre-canonical biography

### Childhood

Jenny was born in 1968 to Danica Sykorova and Felix Cervenak, in Los Angeles, California. As Danica was often recuperating from various health difficulties, Jenny was primarily raised by her father, whose time spent working as a handyman had a significant influence on her developing interest in how and why things worked the way that they did. Felix was also incredibly permissive, allowing Jenny a level of freedom that most of her other female cousins didn't experience, and rarely seriously disciplining her when she misbehaved (which was often). This led to something of a rift between her and the rest of her extended family, who felt she needed a firmer hand.

When Jenny was ten years old, Danica died, and Felix disappeared after leaving her with his sister Mirela and her family. Over the course of the next four years, Jenny was shuffled between families as Felix's extended relatives worked to try and find her a place to stay.

Felix's side of the family had agreed to allow Jenny's uncle Enyos custody of her if they were unable to find her a permanent living arrangement within their side of the family in four years' time. As such, when Jenny turned fourteen, she was sent to live with her uncle, who was watching over Angelus in New York City.

### Teenage years

Enyos intended to impart upon Jenny the importance of carrying forward their family's mission: watching over Angelus and ensuring his continued suffering. As his own wife and children had been killed by a vampire, and as Danica had recently died, Enyos and Jenny were the last remaining descendants of Catrinel's line, which meant that Jenny was the only existing descendant to continue the mission after Enyos's death. Jenny was reticent and disinterested, so Enyos negotiated that she would be allowed complete freedom if she agreed to carry on her family's legacy.

Jenny spent most of her time in high school aggressively trying to get Enyos's attention through rebellious and dangerous behavior. Some of this involved her relationship with Rex, a garage worker and hedge witch in his early twenties. At sixteen, she ended up dropping out of high school, moving in with Rex a year later. A casual comment from him about marriage influenced her decision to break up with him and move back in with her uncle. She attempted to return to high school, but dropped out again, picking up a part-time job at a computer shop instead.

### Early twenties

Jenny's job at the computer shop established her interest in and knack for computers. Through her job, she met Camilla Ribeiro, a regular customer who she developed a romantic relationship with. Though her relationship with Camilla was relatively short-lived, Jenny was introduced to the larger magical community in her area, and committed herself to exploring casual romantic dalliances with like-minded individuals. Her interest in these pursuits overshadowed her lackluster attempts to return to high school for some time.

A few years into her job at the computer shop, Jenny moved in with some of her magic-inclined friends, one of these friends being Marianna Altomare. Jenny and Marianna bonded quickly, as they had both lost their mothers at a young age. However, Jenny's decision to sleep with Marianna's younger sister, Rhoda, destroyed any potential for a romantic relationship between the two, as Marianna was furious at Jenny for ignoring her worries about Rhoda's tendency for rash, impulsive behavior. Jenny was so greatly affected by Marianna's anger (and the subsequent dressing-down that she gave Jenny) that she actually did commit to returning to high school.

Jenny's job took on a new dimension when it became clear that she had a particular knack for computer repair. Using a combination of the basic electrical skills she learned from her dad, her learned understanding of computers through her time in the shop, and the magic she picked up from her aunts, she began to experiment with the hybridization of magic and tech.

### **Higher education**

Jenny celebrated her graduation from high school by going on a cross-country road trip with some of her friends. They ended up stopping in California, which led Jenny to realize that she missed the West Coast and wanted to stay there. She deliberately avoided making contact with any of Felix's side of the family, despite multiple family members reaching out to her in an attempt to reconnect.

In college, Jenny found her classes grating and tedious. Her natural inclinations to help her struggling classmates combined with her desire to communicate the joy of technology to the rest of the world and solidified her desire to become a computer science teacher. After earning her bachelor's degree, she took a student teaching job in Santa Barbara, which she eventually left in order to begin her position at Sunnydale High.

## Canon timeline

When Jenny was confronted by Angelus in her computer lab, he attempted to taunt her by referencing her pregnancy. Jenny, however, had had no idea that she was pregnant, and this prompted her to take Angelus by surprise and go on the offensive. She managed to escape Sunnydale High through a window, drawing on her unborn baby's magical energy in order to save them both.

Taking into account Angelus's vendetta against her, the dangers of raising a Watcher's child in an active war zone, and her own concerns regarding dividing Rupert's loyalties between his Slayer and his child, Jenny connected the Scooby Gang with the Ritual of Restoration, then left Sunnydale without telling anyone the true reasons why she had chosen to go.