The episode "Gifted" as seen through Jane's eyes

Jane and Daria are sitting in study hall. Jane begins to watch Ms. Barch as she forces Mack to write sentences on the board. Jane pulls out her sketchpad and begins to draw the science teacher carrying a whip. She stops for a moment to see what Daria is doing. I wonder what book she is reading now. Her thoughts are broken by Brittany's high pitched voice.

"The Tell-Tale heart. I LOVE romance novels."

Jane smirks at Daria's response. This is why she and I are best friends. Jane returns to her drawing. Her creativity is stalled for a few moments as Ms. Li walks into the room.

"Attention young people. I have an exciting announcement. Grove Hill-THE school for gifted and outstanding students has issued invitations to several of ooouuurrr students to visit it's campus and among those so honored are Ms. Morgendorffer and Ms. Landon."

Jane, Ms. Li and a couple of the other in the class begin to clap. Jane turns to Daria. She can see the "deer in headlights" look on Daria's face. Better come up with something to say to calm her down.

" I knew those straight C's in math would pay off someday."

Jane watched as Daria's facial expression changed. Daria spent the rest of the day in silence. Jane was concerned as they headed to their houses. It wasn't until Jane arrived at Casa Lane that she realized there was a chance that Daria could be leaving Lawndale High.

Jane places a new canvas on her easel. What if Daria's parents take her up there this weekend and just sign her up. Mrs. Morgendorffer is always looking for a way to get Daria to do something to improve her college applications. What better than going to a school like Grove Hills. What if she doesn't give Daria a choice? I can't lose my amiga. I don't want to be alone again. Jane sighs as she stares at the blank page.

Maybe that was why Daria was so quiet the rest of the day. She already knew what her parents were going to say. Maybe it was her way of letting me go. Jane laid down on her bed as memories began to flood her mind. She closed her eyes and began to drift into an uneasy sleep.

Jane woke up around one. I bet Daria and her parents are already there. They are probably signing her up right now. I wonder if they are even going to bother listening to what anyone has to say. I need to get my mind off this for awhile. Jane put on her running shoes and grabbed her cd player. After several miles, Jane turned and headed home. As she went back inside, her thoughts immediately returned to Daria. Please, let Daria have a say on whether or not she goes to Grove Hills. Again, her mind begins to drift. Her thoughts are broken by what she first thought was thunder. After a minute, she realized that someone was knocking on her door. Maybe it's Daria. Maybe she was able to convince her parents to leave or it could be her saying goodbye. She slowly opened the door. Much to her shock and surprise, she sees Quinn standing there.

Quinn begins to go into a lengthy explanation of her day. Jane stares at her for several moments. Why is she worried about serial puppy killers? At first, she was going to send Quinn away. She relented and invited the younger teen in. It only took Jane a few minutes to realize the mistake she had made. Doesn't she ever shut up? If I was Daria, I would want to go to Grove Hills just to get away from her. Damn, doesn't she have a mute button or at least a pause one?

Jane tried her best to ignores Quinn's constant talking to no avail. Quinn's mouth becomes the focal point of the work forming on Jane's canvas. After a couple of hours, Jane lies down on her bed. Quinn is still going strong. Jane falls asleep around six in the morning with the sound of Quinn's voice echoing in her head. Jane woke at noon with a killer headache. Quinn is sitting against her bed, still chatting away. I wonder if Daria and her parents are home yet.

Jane grabs her boots and put them on. She grabs Quinn and heads her down the stairs and out the front door. Her timing is perfect. Jane shoves Quinn up the driveway just as the rest of the Morgendorffer clan is parking. Daria smirks as she sees her friend pushing Quinn toward them.

Jane's exhaustion would only let her mutter out three words. "Take..her..now."

Daria turns to Jane. "This I have to hear."

Jane headed back to her house. She was too tired and too afraid to find out what happened at Grove Hills. I'll call her once I get some more sleep. I need to have a clear mind for that conversation. She fell into a listless sleep. Dreams of Daria leaving Lawndale High were encased by nightmares of Quinn's mouth swallowing Jane whole. Jane woke up for a few minutes a couple of times, but exhaustion won out.

When Jane fully came to, it was seven o'clock Monday morning. Great, now I can only hope that Daria will be at school today. She decided to head school early. She sat down in study hall and watched the door. A mixture of fear and dread fell over her face. Every minute that passed frayed her nerves. With five minutes left before the bell rang, Jane gave up hope. I guess I have my answer. She puts her head down on her desk. Two minutes later, she sees Jodie walk in with Daria right behind her. The veil of sadness lifted off of her. Her amiga was there to stay.

End