But presumably there was high school before that right? I guess with Riley, I'm not sure the writers cared enough to even bother about that, so we're sort of forced to fanwank to put the pieces together. What about him is the truth and what isn't? We never know; we learn a lot about Angel and Spike's backstories, even if what we get is retconned at times, but the only thing we know about Riley's past is what he tells Buffy in SB; a very appealing Normal Rockwell picture, but true or not? I think we're meant to see it that way, but then he doesn't ever contact his family in S5, he becomes unsettled pretty easily, implying that his past isn't as stable and rosy as it may seem (maybe?) and....I'm way overthinking this, aren't I?