'Tradition-Schmadition'
by: Sailor Danielle

Daria, Jane and Tom away at college, how's life back in Lawndale without them? And Jane, actually showing some "college spirit"? Can't be! (A note: there was a mistake in 'Time of your life', Dorthy was the only girl in Jane's suite she COULDN'T stand, now that that's cleared up...) Daria makes a descion, and Jane makes an interesting friend... so Tradition Schmadition!

La la LA la la
La la LA la la.....



Daria sat up with a start at her computer screen, she looked over at the clock, trying to get her eyes into focus, she was pretty sure it said 2:12. The history paper was due in two days, but she had just started it at 11:30 that evening, and it wasn't going to write itself. Her proffessor was an asshole, assigning as much homework as humanly possible to everyone every class. Piper stumbled into the room, half stoned- half asleep. She rubbed her eyes as she sat on her black satin sheet with a loud yawn.

"Professor Larch?" she asked. Daria nodded taking a sip of bitter coffee. "I have him, different days," Piper laid down, staring at the ceiling. "Was the ceiling always that low?" she asked. Daria sighed.

The RA lived down the hall, his name was Ray and he liked Daria better than most of the other freshman, he had met her by chance in the library, they were headed for the same book. He didn't mind letting her have it, it was refreshing to see a student who didn't care about the on-campus parties for the intelligence challenged. He knocked on Daria and Piper's door a few times and Daria didn't budge, she was engrossed in a grammatical error the spellcheck had found. Piper finally answered the door.

"What? I wasn't playing my music loud, I wasn't smoking pot and I wasn't fucking," Piper stepped back.

"Not that I would care, I'm not campus police," Ray shrugged, "Daria around?"

"In here, she's writing a paper," Piper laid back on her bed.

"Hey Daria," Ray walked over to her chair and read a few lines of her paper to himself.

"Hovering," Daria warned.

"Sorry to bother you at this ungodly hour but, do you still have "A complete critism of Shakespear's works?" I'm studying for a test in my seventeenth century lit class, can I borrow it for an hour or so?" Ray looked at his watch.

"Uh, yeah, it's on the bed," Daria began typing again after a moment of thought. With her lack of sleep most of her sarcastic edge was gone. A lot of the freshman were still up, studying, Professor Larch was the cause of most of it.

Ray picked up his book, and looked at Daria for a brief instant, before leaving.



Jane sat in the living room of her suit, working on a sketch. She wasn't taking many art classes at the moment, mostly required courses, but still found some time to work a little on art. Gale came in with a bag of groceries, setting them down on the floor. She fell into the computer chair and sighed.

"So Jane, what are you doing for the week?" Gale asked.

"What do you mean?" Jane asked.

"Freshman week! All the freshman do something silly or stupid, it's a tradition."

"I don't do the tradition thing," Jane smudged over a line. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Gale yelled. A tall guy with spikey blond frosted hair and glasses entered.

"Hey Gale," he said.

"Hi," Gale noticed Jane looking at her friend. "Jane this is Will," Will looked over and noticed that someone else was in the room.

"Hi," he said smiling and extending his hand.

"Hey," Jane replied, it was all she could manage to say.

"My computer is screwed up, can I type up my thesis on yours?" Will asked turing around.

"I guess," Gale got up and then planted herself next to Jane.

"So Jane, you a freshman?" Will asked.

"Yeah," Jane drew another line.

"What are you doing for Freshman week?" he asked sitting forward.

"I uh-" Jane looked up at Gale, who had a smart-ass smirk plastered on her face. "Well, I have something good planned," Jane muttered.



Tom looked up at a crack in the ceiling, there was nothing much to do, his roomate and his new friends went to a Frat party. He didn't feel like interacting with anyone. Laying back on his bed he listened to himself breathe in and out. The only other one in the dorms that evening was a guy named Paul. Openly gay, he didn't make too many friends with his "efem" behavior. He and Tom hit it off because they were both pegged as outcasts, although now people thought Tom was gay, and Paul's boyfriend. He had gotten the package from Daria that morning, he knew the tape was inside but he was too afraid to look at it, let alone open it. There was a knock at the door.

"Come in," he yelled.

"Hi hello," said Paul coming in.

"Good evening Tom's feeling shitty and can't talk right now, please leave a message."

"What's this?" Paul picked up the package and looked at it.

"Give me that!" Tom yanked it from his hands and cradled it for a moment near his chest.

"Now I'm really curious," Paul said with an edge to his voice.

"Okay, okay, it's a letter from my girlfriend Daria," Tom confessed plopping down on his bed again.

"Damn, you have a girlfriend. I always pegged you as-"

"Not so," Tom cut Paul off.

"Darnit!" Paul muttered.

"It's going to change my life one way or another," Tom said quietly.

"So, why haven't you opened it?" Paul asked raising an eyebrow.

"I'm a little worried."

"So, I'll watch it instead!" Paul grabbed the tape and ripped open the packaging. He shoved it into the VCR and pressed play.

Tom watched the screen and he saw himself on the tape. His heart sank with each moment that he saw himself. He blinked back slight tears. Suddenly the screen snowed up and Daria came on.

"Hi Tom. Listen I think that we should go meeting by meeting. Let's say that when we meet up at Christmas break back in Lawndale we'll see how things go then, until then I'd like to say I'm dating you but not excusivly. If either one of us meets someone then we can see them. If you agree then e~mail me." The tape went black.



Back in Lawndale the school year had begun and Quinn was changing, it was senior year after all. She began hanging out with the Fashion Club less and less, and it was funny, Sandi didn't seem to notice. She went to a Mystik Spiral gig when Daria told her that she had to see them play at least once. By some miracle she managed to get Stacy to go with her. They told Sandi they both had dates with hot guys. She would be out with Spencer, at Chez Pierre all evening so no phone calls to their houses could be made to destroy their lie.

"Hi Trent," Quinn walked up to the band before they were to set up.

"Who are you?" Trent asked, but not in an unkind way, turning around.

"I'm Quinn, Daria's sister, I met you once before."

"Oh, Daria's sister, cool," Trent strummed his guitar.

"I'm Stacy," Stacy stepped to the side of Quinn.

"Hey," Nick smiled up from his bass. Stacy smiled back.

After the band was taking a break, Stacy decided to find Nick again, he was adorable.

"I'm going to the bathroom," Stacy told Quinn who nodded, not brave enough to join her. Stacy found a door, it wasn't marked and somehow she ended up outside.

In the alley a cat ran from behind a trashcan and she jumped back. Turning around her eyes met a sight that shocked her for about a moment. It was Nick and Max, and they were kissing.

They broke the kiss at the sound of the trash can and looked at Stacy fearful, ashamed.

Stacy was making a combination of whimpering and screaming. Nick grabbed her wrist gently. He looked into her eyes and was almost tearful as he pleaded in a low voice, "please don't tell anyone."



Jane got ready. She adjusted her running sneakers and checked around the corner one more time to make sure that Will was there. Gale had a digital camera ready and with her stood Phi and Reni, for moral support more or less. She took a deep breath and ran, across the grass and concrete and across the most crowded part of the quad. Will looked up, shocked for a moment and then a big smile crossed his face. Jane was so busy waving to him and the camera that she didn't notice the pond coming up. She tripped on a rock and fell into the water head-first, naked and with the ducks flying up around her in a panic. She looked up at Will with an embarassed smile and crossed her arms.



"So you ran naked across the campus?" Daria typed.

"Yeah, I think I impressed everyone."

"Meaning you impressed Will."

"Shut up. So did you talk to Tom yet?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"And, what?"

"What's going on?"

"We're going to go meeting by meeting, at least it's what I hope we can agree too."

"Well, I'm gonna go, me Gale, Phi, Reka and Reni are going out with Will for pizza and drinks."

"I've got to finish a paper."

"Adios Amiga."

"See ya."



What will happen to Max and Nick? Does Stacy have the ability to keep the secret? What about Jane and Will? And what's going to happen with Ray, Piper and Daria? Well Loyal veiwer you'll have to turn in next time for Daria: the College Years ep 3, "Crazy for this boy"