Constraints: Around Esteemers.
Synopsis: Daria's school
history changes a little.
Hopeful New Start (Non-Gangland version).
Content: Hi, I'm Psychotol,
your author. Some of the flashbacks will have violence and mild sexual abuse.
Legal: This was not done by
the actual writers of Daria, this is not an actual episode, and should not be
taken for one.
-~-
"Now kids, I know that
starting a new school can be difficult, but we're in a new town, with an
opportunity to make a new start, can you please do your best?"
Quinn stared at Daria for an
answer.
Daria maintained her silence.
Jake maintained his gaze on
her in the rear view mirror.
Daria eventually decided to
ask "If I assure you I will make an effort, can you please refrain from making
out I'm lying?"
Jake sighed, and said "Daria,
this is your last chance, you're out on license, you don't want this to be
highland all over again?"
Daria thought and said "A
clusterfuck like that? Once in a trillion year event."
"And could you please cut
down on the swearing? Pleeeaaaassse?"
"We shall see."
Jake let it drop and
continued to drive, they were almost there.
Quinn then said "If you ruin
things for me, I shall never forgive you," before turning away from her.
Daria did not respond.
The silent treatment she gave
a lot of people was a strategy she had developed at her last high school. She
would not be goaded into anything because it could be a trap. If she felt
herself get angry, she'd just hold everything in and keep any verbal responses
short and calculated, escalation of hostility was generally a bad thing.
On the other hand, if someone
starts a fight, you have to respond or you'll lose something dear to you, like
an ear, a finger, an arm, an eye.
Of course, being deeply
unpopular makes it-
"Daria?" asked Jake.
Daria glanced around, and
realised they were there, and Quinn was already gone.
Daria grabbed her bag and
alighted, closing the door and making her way around Quinn's audience to get
into the school.
She noticed this 40-ish
Korean woman in a grey office suit standing at the entrance as she approached.
The woman looked directly at
her.
The woman was also holding a
folder.
"Miss Morgendorffer," said
the woman.
"Staff," acknowledged Daria
as she stopped, assuming for now the woman wanted to talk to her about
something.
"Let me make a few things
clear: I do not like you, you are not welcome here, the only reason you may
enter is because I'm required to give you a chance to put a foot wrong, and
when you do, you are gone, this is a decent school, not whatever you need, so
please, hurry up and do something."
Daria didn't respond.
"I'll even give you a spray
can."
Daria nodded.
She then looked down at her
jacket lapel and said "you get all that?"
The woman almost turned
albino from fear.
Daria flashed a barely
perceptible smile and asked "Do I go to class now, or are there further
procedures that need completing first?"
The woman stiffly walked away
saying "This way Miss Morgendorffer," in a wavering voice.
"Staff," acknowledged Daria.
-~-
"Now Daria, what do you see?"
"I see two rats about to get
shivved."
The shrink frowned, then
moved onto the next picture.
Quinn squirmed.
"Daria," said the shrink as
she showed Daria a picture of a litter of kittens suckling at their mother,
"please be co-operative here, what do you see happening in this picture?"
Daria knew she had one shot
at a normal school, and yet she made that comment just now, it was like all her
rage was spilling over, but she made this gigantic effort and said "a family of
kittens ... ... ... ... about to ... ... ... star in a soap opera featuring live cats as
characters, or something. I don't know, I haven't exactly been in a very
nurturing environment for the past four years, okay? Until I live in the normal
world long enough to get some nice memories inside me, most the results of
these tests will just show pent up rage."
The shrink nodded and took
down some notes.
"And I was sort of hoping I
would have that time." Added Daria.
"Mmmm-hmmm. We're done now."
Daria and Quinn looked at
each other and a few seconds later they got up and left.
Quinn moved to gain as much
separation from Daria as possible as Daria headed to class.
-~-
Daria watched with some
amusement as the other students flinched at the history teachers emphasised words.
Her old school had teachers
that really knew how to scream, a lot of the time right down your ear hole.
"DARIA, maybe YOU would have
an OPINION on the debate surrounding the DEATH PENALTY!"
Daria said "Staff, the death
penal-"
"IT'S MR DEMARTINO, NOT
STAFF!"
"My apologies, Mr Demartino,
the main arguments for and against the death penalty revolve around deterrence.
Getting killed for your crime is supposed to be a deterrent, whereas possibly
seeing your suspect walk after having a life sentence overturned if you get it
wrong is supposed to be a deterrent against sloppy police work. Another
argument for the death penalty is public protection, dead serial killers don't
kill anyone else, whereas the aforementioned sloppy police work allowed to
secure a conviction if the suspect will be dead before a successful appeal
allows the real killers to remain at large. Drumming up business and allowing
officials to raise taxes to protect the public."
Daria realised that her
presentation had emphasised one of her pet hates a bit, but it was irrelevant.
"Very GOOD Daria, a little
TOO good in fact."
Demartino continued the
lesson.
His next question was about
who it was that supported legislation banning the death penalty federally.
Eventually he threatened the
class with double homework and a quiz tomorrow if he didn't get an answer.
Daria raised her hand.
"DARIA, STOP SHOWING OFF!"
Daria shrugged and lowered
her hand, she was the only one in the class not flinching, and everyone was
looking at her funny.
-~-
"So, as long as nothing bad
happens," said Quinn, looking pointedly at Daria, "I have full choice as to
which school activities I want to sign up for, but I decided to go with the
Fashion Club for now."
"That's great Quinn. Daria,
how about you?" asked Jake.
"Well, no one started a fight
with me, I wasn't made to submit a urine sample for drug testing in front of
the entire class, and all the teachers are set on a low volume setting. So for
me, it was a good day."
"And you're going to make
sure it stays that way, aren't you?" said Helen.
"Provided I somehow get
popular enough that people won't lie to frame me-" said Daria.
"DARIA!" barked Helen.
"Oh, I'm sorry, was I
contradicting Holy Scripture again?" fantasised Daria.
Daria actually hadn't said
anything since Helen had asked 'aren't you?'
Daria eventually said "That's
the plan."
Around her family, sarcastic
comments over their misconception of the events that fucked her over were off
limits, they thought she did it, she knew she hadn't, and the two twats that
had were angry she was getting the "credit" for it.
She ate in a rather
mechanical manner as she processed the same thoughts over her life for the
fuck-knows-how-many-ith time.
She also hoped nothing would
fuck this up for her before she could establish a good reputation.
"Daria? The psychologist said
you have low self esteem."
Daria glanced up from her
food and asked "based on what?"
"The test you had."
Daria doubted a shrink of any
level of competence would reach that conclusion, what she had revealed showed
she was frustrated with how her life had been going, but low self esteem? Where
the fuck had that come from? "Right. Well, then I have low self esteem. Hey,
fits with your beliefs, 'kid turns self hatred outwards and hurts people.' so,
this mean anything?"
Helen scowled, and Daria
reprimanded herself for letting that comment slip.
Daria resumed eating,
prompting "Well?"
"You have to take a self
esteem class."
-~-
Daria walked into the
classroom.
There was one student from her
class that appeared to be sketching something on a legal pad, she glanced up
and looked at Daria, then looked back down at the pad.
No one else gave her any
notice.
Everyone else looked
depressed or nervous, except the girl with the paper, who just looked absorbed
in her work.
Daria picked a seat ahead and
left of the girl. Normally she'd opt for a seat at the back of a room or at
least two desks away from anyone else, but that hadn't been an option so far,
and she was still alive, she felt a thrill at the fact she could now take these
risks, and hoped she could continue as she pulled a notepad and pen.
Low self esteem her wrongly
convicted ass.
The teacher entered and said
"good after-" until the papers he was waving at the students fell out of his hand
"-err-" he bent over to pick them up, nervously placing some on the desk and
organising the others "oh dear, oh dear, errrr, errrm."
Eventually he managed to take
a relaxed looking position sat on his desk, this was comical after his ten
thumbed handed entrance.
He then started "A teen,
esteem, they don't really rhyme, do they? The sounds don't quite ... mesh."
"Close enough for a boy
band's lyrics," commented Daria.
Everyone stared at her.
Daria ignored the stares
saying "continue."
"Right, of course, errr, they
don't quite mesh. And that, in fact, is often the case when it comes to a teen
and esteem. But we are- oh hang o- ... oh, well, we are here to begin realizing
your actuality."
"Sta- ... O'Neill? What's an
actuality?"
"What?" asked the teacher.
"What's an actuality? You
know, for the purposes of this class?"
"Oh, errm ... Questions and
answers are for later."
"Right," said Daria.
"Questions are later," said
the girl behind her.
Daria looked over to her and
asked "so he hasn't a clue what he's on about. ... I wonder if I should be glad I
still feel even a tiny bit surprised at that?"
The girl laughed a little and
then in a
"I'll tell you about it some
time, maybe."
The girl raised an eyebrow
then resumed her drawing.
-~-
"Don't suppose you could wait
a while?" asked Daria as they reached the front door, interrupting their
conversation.
Jane approached asking "You
got a ride?"
"Yeah," said Daria.
"Where do you live?" asked
Jane.
"Glen oaks," said Daria.
"That's not far at all, your
parents don't quite trust you to get home by yourself?"
Daria knew Jane was teasing,
it was a change that the teasing was friendly and not part of a harassment
tactic and a means to muster forces against her, she let the exhilaration of
not being under threat wash over her and said "wish I was kidding, but yes."
Jane's expression changed to
one of concern as she asked "ze special treatment?"
"Yhhheah, we basically have
issues, they don't trust me, and ... I can't stand them."
Jane recoiled a little,
commenting "bummer."
"So, how's it like having a
normal family?" asked Daria.
"Wouldn't know, I seem to
occupy the opposite extreme to what you occupy."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Huh."
After several seconds of
silence, Jane asked "sooooo, why don't they trust you?"
"Think I did something. I
didn't, but mention that around them and they start accusing me of lying to
them, start threatening to fuck me at the next parole meeting if I don't
recant. I could kill them."
Jane looked shocked now.
Daria eventually continued
saying "Well, no, I don't honestly think I could, but I do look forward to my
18th birthday, because then I can fuck off and never have anything
to do with them again."
"Right," said Jane as she
relaxed a little.
Jane did remain fairly
agitated around her.
"What's with the
hyperactivity?" asked Daria.
"No offence, but could you
move around a little more? You look like a statue for fuck's sake."
"Sorry, force of habit. Can
you tell me if I should expect something royally unpleasant on this self esteem
course?"
"Royally unpleasant? ... Hmm ...
Stitches from laughing at your teacher ... Embarrassing conversation about body
image ... What were you expecting?"
"Far, worse, shit, to come."
"Okay ... On a scale of one to
ten where a one is that death wank machine off of Barberella and ten is
something that makes Uday Hussein feel queasy,"
"Twenty."
Jane stared blankly at Daria.
"Actually, more a four being
realistic, but I don't want anything like that again. The last two days have
basically been the best school days I have ever experienced, at least, of those
I can remember."
"Oh. ... " said Jane.
Daria was trying to get a
read on Jane, what was her interest? Gossip material? She tried to remember
what she saw Jane doing throughout the day in their classes, if she was
gossiping, if so, who with? The group dynamic in this school was definitely
different to that of her old school, everyone was visibly more relaxed, Daria
stood out due to how stoic she seemed, she just couldn't relax around these
people because she wasn't used to them not being a potential threat to her
safety.
About the only person she
could understand was the Principle, she viewed Daria as human garbage.
That's what Hope High was, a
landfill site for human garbage, the only place that would have her in the
Highland Area.
She just couldn't relax until
she KNEW she was safe, and right now, she didn't know she was safe.
She would have to wait and
see.
Eventually Helen pulled up
with a screech of the brakes and opened the door.
Daria checked her watch and
said "You realise I could have been halfway home by now?"
"Get in!" said Helen.
Daria obeyed, nodding a
goodbye to Jane.
"See you tomorrow?" said
Jane.
"Yeah," responded Daria
before she closed the door.
Helen then floored it out of
there.
"Who was that girl you were
talking to?" she asked.
"
"She looked strange, I don't
want you around her."
Daria was about to argue with
her, but just said "Right," having hesitated only a few seconds.
'Yeah, I'm sure you can stop
me,' thought Daria as they drove home.
-~-
The room they had selected
for Daria had previously been a padded cell.
The previous owners had sawn
off the bars to sell the house, but then Helen and Jake had gone and replaced
them with a grill of 5mm bars spaced 50mm apart fixed on with nuts on threaded
studs that were then chiselled so that they couldn't be removed, and her door
was now locked from the outside when she went to bed at night.
These measures were only
introduced after a number of incidents the police had talked to them about that
Daria was suspected of involvement in, but this time, they couldn't pin them on
her, and the fact that there were no further fights or anything after they
started doing this made them think that this measure was what had done it.
Well, it was a relatively
minor humiliation, she could live with it for now.
It did annoy her that all the
other students presented their assignments as print outs from computers where
all she could offer was hand written, she considered her handwriting to be of
excellent quality, but she felt she was being cheated of something.
All she felt these days was
anger, she had been convicted more or less of something she hadn't done and any
time she had to defend herself, she was made out to be the aggressor, she had
to learn how to defend herself on the fly, and she did manage to achieve that
eventually, but everyone, even those that were normally victimised along with
her made out she had started it.
Could she feel anything else?
Well, if she stayed out of
prison and didn't get sent to another place like Hope High, possibly, but she
couldn't imagine it right now.
The lights were turned off.
Like her parents didn't trust
her to go to sleep on her own accord if she had control over her own room's
lights.
Stupid selectively paranoid
unquestioning disloyal motherfucking bastards.
Daria got in her bed and
drifted off to sleep, visions of her family in the devil's centre mouth
entertaining her mind.
-~-
"Here comes Jodie," said
Jane.
Daria glanced over to the
black girl with the arm full of ring binders and leaflets who was approaching
students at random and asking them questions.
She felt amusement, at her
old place, you just don't approach students and start talking to them, that
usually invited an ass kicking. The only people that approached other people at
her old school were the bullies that exacerbated the situation.
Jodie then approached them.
"Daria," she said, she then
glanced at Jane saying "Hope Jane hasn't poisoned you too much against school
activities."
"Not successfully, I think
that's more your job."
"Well, take a look at this
list and see if anything appeals."
"Hmm ... ... Chess club, you play
chess there right?"
"Right."
"Any catches? Hazing rituals?
Klingon trial by combat type stuff?"
Jodie chuckled, and eventually
said "no, not really, but if you're good, you may end up having to play other
schools."
"Think if I win, I'll get the
principal off my back?"
Jodie looked a bit concerned
as she asked "Why, what you do?"
"Transfer in from the wrong
school."
Jodie looked at Daria to
continue.
"Long story, kind of
personal, might tell you some time. Basically the principal hates me, tried to
provoke a response the second I showed up so she could expel me."
"Oh. ... ... "
"I also like chess though,
just hope I'm not so rusty that I don't win enough to still enjoy it."
"Okay then."
Jodie noted Down Daria's name
and continued on.
"Chess club? You geek,"
teased Jane.
"You ever play chess?"
"I've drawn chess pieces
occasionally, if you can get your parents to let you out I'll show you some
time."
"Probably have to wait until
I'm a legal adult. I have such grand plans for that day," said Daria with an
evil smile.
Jane shuddered and said
"Yikes."
-~-
The pair of them always
separated after self esteem class.
The purpose of this was to
avoid Helen seeing them together as they emerged from the building.
Daria got in the car and as
they started off, Helen asked "What did I tell you about hanging out with that
girl?"
"That I shouldn't."
"And yet I hear you have."
"We go to the same school,
and besides, there's nothing wrong with her."
"She has almost no parental
supervision, the rest of her family look like bums, she's a bad example."
"Yeah, well, I'm bad at
following examples, this is the first time I've actually made a friend in my
entire life, just give us a chance will you?"
"No, I want you to make
better friends. Friends that will keep you in line."
"Like who?"
-~-
"TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT,
"Gooooo, child emancipation,"
said Daria as she approached the group of cheerleaders in her new uniform,
carrying her pom-poms.
-~-
"Well, that's nice," said
Jane as she read the note.
Dear Jane.
My parents have sources
within the school that have reported
my association with you and
they don't like you, so we're going
to have to communicate like
this for now.
I hate to be so cloak and
dagger about this, but I really want to
keep you as a friend. The
problem is my mom's a skilled lawyer
who could make things extremely
difficult for you and your
family.
I don't want to bring any
shit your way, this is my problem only.
I hope I haven't scared you
off, I really need you, I hope I don't
sound too clingy but I do
(not in the gay way, I really don't make
friends that easily).
Daria.
Jane reviewed what she knew
of Daria.
Daria had an apparently sucky
past, parents that acted like prison wardens, a sister that denied any relation
to her, and was hated by the principal.
Daria's body language made
her look really tough, but as soon as she started opening up to Jane, it was
obvious she was really scared and lonely all the time.
Acted like Sandi, feared like
Stacy.
Jane started drafting a
reply, aside from feeling sorry for Daria, she was also curious about her.
-~-
Daria held up the chess
trophy as she started her victory speech.
"Well, what can I say? ... Oh,
I know: Victory is mine, mwua-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaaaa. ... Anyway, I'd like to
thank anyone who supported me in this game, and hope we can do this again
sometime," she glanced at the Principal as she fumed.
The interschool chess
tournament didn't really draw that much of a crowd, but still, it was too high
profile for what Angela Li wanted. To her, Daria was a huge blot on the
Lawndale High landscape, and having her on the cheerleader squad also annoyed
her. Although Daria didn't really like cheerleading, the fact she was pissing
off Angela almost made up for it.
Daria walked off to meet her
parents.
As she arrived, she said
"Well, everyone's watching, guess you should pretend to like me for now."
Quinn just scowled from under
her huge sunglasses and Hijab, she really didn't want to be seen as being in
Daria's family.
-~-
Several weeks had passed
since the chess tournaments, and Daria's cheerleading career had been reduced
to 'Cheerleader Manager', where she managed logistics.
That meant she carried their
kit around for them.
Daria really had tried here. She
knew it would be shit, but if she had been a successful cheerleader, it would
have gotten her parents off her back and given the principal a fatal aneurism,
and Daria a fatal case of happiness.
Had that happened.
But it hadn't, so all that
happened was Angela was less annoyed with her but still enough to hate Daria.
She got to her locker and
opened it, finding a note.
She opened it and found the
handwriting was not that of Jane.
She then noticed the content
of the letter.
Dear fag girl.
Around here, we do not
tolerate lesbians, this is
your only warning to clear
out before
consequences occur.
Yours sincerely: A servant of
god.
Daria felt a laugh well up
inside her.
"Never heard you laugh
before," said someone behind her.
Daria turned around and saw
this girl in a grey tee shirt and black ankle length skirt, she had eye makeup,
and looked slightly chubby.
"I know it's a long shot, but
does this handwriting look at all familiar to you?" asked Daria as she handed
the girl the note.
The girl read it and said
"huh ... It looks like Sandi's handwriting, but I've never known anyone to use
homophobic terms."
"Not Sandi Griffin by any
chance?" asked Daria.
"Yeah, you know her?"
"Of her, one of Quinn's
friends."
"Right. Well, Sandi normally
hands out compliance notices to those who aren't fashionably dressed, like she
has some sort of authority over everyone else in this sense, it's pathetic
really."
"The compliance notices or
this-s-s-s-s-s-s" Daria started laughing again.
"Both I guess. What you gonna
do?"
"I don't suppose you can get
me a blank report card could you?"
"I suppose, why?"
"I'll show you when we're
ready," said Daria as she took out a red pen and started writing on the letter.
-~-
Quinn looked up and felt
dread wash over her as Daria approached them.
"You okay Quinn? You look
scared or something, was it something I did?" asked Stacy.
Daria got there and put a
sheet of paper down in front of Sandi and said "I've marked your work, and
frankly, well ... it's shit really, that's all I can say. If you keep this up,
you're going to flunk psychological warfare. If you want to insult me, you have
a goldmine of personal information right there," Daria gestured at Quinn who
cowered out of fear of social embarrassment.
"See, homophobic insults
stopped having an effect at the twelve year old level, and I'm used to people
speculating about my sexual orientation, that some thing like this, well," she
pointed at where she wrote 'yawn' under the passage.
"How did I attract your
attention in the first place anyway? I don't think we've even exchanged eye
contact since I got here."
Sandi eventually said "The
principal wants you gone and threatened to disband the Fashion Club if I didn't
help her do that."
Daria's expression changed
from clearly amused to deeply thoughtful.
"This isn't going to achieve
that, and this conflict is going to escalate. I need to have a word with her.
Anyway, thanks." Daria then left the fashionable four to their own things.
Quinn eventually said "YOU
CALLED MY SISTER A FAG GIRL? ... ... ARE YOU INSANE???"
"Ssssisssssteeeerrrrr? ... ...
Iiiiiii thhhhhooouuuughhhhht shhhheeeee waaaaassssss yourrrrrr
cousssssiiiiinnnnnnn."
Quinn clasped her hands to
her mouth with a squeak.
"And why is calling her that
so insane?" asked Sandi with her arms crossed.
"Because she has this history
of violence," admitted Quinn.
-~-
"If you're prepared to use
these kinds of measures, I can only assume that you'll keep escalating until
either something works or you hoist yourself on one of your own petards. Now,
are you afraid I'll do something to embarrass this school, or is this just out
of hatred?"
Angela looked like she had to
think about this.
Eventually she said "that is
none of your concern."
"Right, because all you've
done is declare war on me, not my concern at all. Look, I have no interest in
ruining this place or anything like that, all I'm trying to do is get graduated
and get out, can we just call a truce until then?"
Angela then leant forward and
asked "and what if I don't?"
"Then you'll get fired,
jailed, or whatever else what you do does to you. Just because I came out of
that
They stood there in silence
for the next few minutes, and then the bell for the next class rang.
"Okay, think about it?" asked
Daria as she left to get to class.
-~-
Daria was on her way to the
library when she heard someone ask "And how are you feeling today my strange
but beautiful Daria?"
Daria glanced over at the
hyperactive ginger haired boy and said "well, mostly."
The boy known as Upchuck then
said "Any chance your parents could let you out if I promise to have you back
by 9?"
Daria then said "Afraid
you're a bit strange, they hate strange with a vengeance, made me disassociate
myself from the only close friend I ever made."
"How am I strange?" asked the
boy.
"The way you seem to over
dramatize everything you say. I find it entertaining, but everyone else seems
to find it irritating to outright alarming."
Upchuck then looked pained as
he asked "are you being serious here?"
"Well, yeah ... " Daria
suddenly realised that so was Upchuck.
"But this is supposed to be suave
and cool."
"Errm ... ... it's not."
Daria watched as Upchuck
seemed to go through some kind of grief.
"My condolences?" asked
Daria.
Eventually she turned away
and continued onto the library.
The boy eventually caught up
with her as she selected some books.
"Can you help me?" asked
Upchuck.
"I suppose, I can probably
make you tolerable, but I don't know anything about making you the life of the
party."
"What are you reading there?"
"I want to rig my locker with
a camera that records still, or moving if possible images of anyone accessing
it, the camera needs to be completely silent."
"Well, most micro cameras
are, I use them myself to ... errrrrrrrrrr ... "
"Does that mean you got one
ready made?" asked Daria, barely caring that he could have images of her
showering after numerous PE lessons. Voyeuristic tendencies were nothing
compared to what Hope High had to offer.
"Yeah."
"Okay, can you get it by
tomorrow morning break and meet me here again?"
"Yeah. I'll help you install
it too."
"Right, I'll need to make
sure it goes in without anyone around me noticing it, I'll have to know how to
do it myself."
"I can teach you that."
"Sweet."
-~-
Daria was on her way to her
locker when Stacy stepped in front of her and asked "Daria? Are you still mad at
Sandi? You're not going to hurt her are you?"
"Hurt her over what?"
"The letter she wrote?"
"Stacy,"
"Because I don't think she
really hates lesbians, I mean, she might not like them either, but I'm sure if
she thought about it, she'd realise there's nothing wrong with that sexual
orientation."
"Stacy,"
"And then there's the fact
she didn't really mean it, I-"
"STACY!"
The entire hallway turned and
stared at them.
"I don't have a problem with
Sandi, I've been through far worse, I'm not going to kill her over a nursery
school level taunt, okay?"
"Ohhhhhhhh
thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthanky," said Stacy as she did her impression
of a boa constrictor on Daria.
Daria broke out of Stacy's
hold shoving her back.
"EEEEE!" said Stacy just
before she legged it.
Daria suddenly realised how
she looked.
"Shit," she said as she
relaxed into a normal stance "Good one Daria". She then continued onto her
locker.
-~-
"And then she just flipped,
she looked like she was going to kill me right there!" concluded Stacy.
"Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa,"
commented Tiffany.
"It's okay Stacy, it's over
now," said Sandi.
"I'll handle this," said
Quinn as she headed off.
"Let me help Quinn," said
Joey, Jeffy or Jamie.
"I'll Protect you Quinn,"
said Jeffy, Jamie or Joey.
"She won't even look at you
funny," said Jamie, Joey, or Jeffy.
-~-
Helen entered the principal's
office and asked "What's going on? What happened?"
"I'm afraid your daughter was
seen assaulting a student."
Helen looked like she was
about to have a heart attack.
Daria just felt like it.
"I'm still waiting for more
information to get back to me, but if it turns out to be true, then I will have
no choice but to expel her from school."
"Daria?" asked Helen.
"Stacy hugged me unexpectedly
and I panicked, I broke out of her hold and pushed her back before I could
think, and she fucked off before I could apologise to her."
"Is that everything?" asked
Helen.
"Hmm ... ... When Stacy was gone
I congratulated myself in a facetious manner. ... That's it."
"DARIA, THIS IS NO TIME TO BE
FLIPPANT!"
"Oh yes it is, this situation
is going to be twisted a whole bunch of ways into something that makes me out
to be the next Vincent Jones, you'll believe everyone else over me, game over,
so I see absolutely no incentive what so ever to suck either one of your
clitorii."
"DARIA!" barked Helen.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did I offend
you? I meant to make you suicidally depressive instead, hmm let's see what else
will work. I know, how about your performance as a mother? Let's see, you, with
the resources at your command, the ability to get other investigators in,
decided against lifting a finger to have the case looked at properly in spite
of my until then spotless record, IN SPITE OF MY YEARS OF EXCELLENT BEHAVIOUR,
YOU COULD HAVE CLEARED MY NAME AND PREVENTED ALL OF THIS! INSTEAD, I HAD TO
PRETEND I DID IT TO KEEP OUT OF JAIL, SORT OF, BECAUSE THE LAZY ASS COPS
COULDN'T CARE LESS ABOUT WHAT THEY VIEWED AS A CASE NOT WORTH THEIR TIME!"
"DARIA, YOU WILL STOP THIS
TIRADE RIGHT NOW!"
"OR WHAT? WHAT CAN YOU
POSSIBLY THREATEN ME WITH?"
Helen really had to think
about this.
And she couldn't think of
anything.
"I watched two years of my
life disappear at that training prison, I just hope I can repay you for that
experience somehow."
Helen was now crying as she
calmly stood up straight.
She then left.
Daria then said to Angela
with a relaxed cheer "Well, I guess your dreams just came true, you got your
excuse, have a good one," said Daria as she stepped out.
Angela then smiled at her
victory.
-~-
Daria waited in her room.
Helen had locked her in there
the instant they got back, and now she was waiting for the inevitable arrest.
She would always end up in
prison.
That's what that school's
staff had told her.
-~-
"Group one, period three,"
intoned Daria.
The rest of the class
obviously weren't interested in chemistry.
They might be if they knew it
was what made explosives.
"OKAY, YOU KNOW WHERE SODIUM
IS, WHAT ABOUT THE FACT THE SYMBOL'S MADE OF LETTERS NOT IN THE WORD SODIUM?"
asked Sergeant Bowie.
All the teachers were former
drill instructors.
All of them seemed to be
there for little more than to torment the students.
Daria was the only one to
make an effort, and that seemed to draw their wrath.
"The symbol Na comes from
Natrium, it seems the discoverer of the metal, who by the way also named
Potassium Kalium, hence the K in the next period, couldn't quite make up his
mind. Of course 1807 was long before substance abuse was as frowned upon, so
the good professor Klaproth could also have been experimenting with a certain
herb too."
"ARE YOU ADVOCATING THE USE
OF DRUGS DARIA?"
"No, not outside a genuine
medical emergency anyway."
"WHAT ARE YOU UP TO THEN?"
"Currently, learning
chemistry at twelve million decibels."
"YOU SEE ME LAUGHING DARIA?
DO YOU THINK YOUR CONSTANT WISECRACKS ARE IN ANY WAY AMUSING TO ANYONE BUT
YOURSELF?"
"Never really bothered to
find out."
"TELL YOU WHAT, WHY DON'T WE
MAKE IT A HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT!"
"Okay Staff," said Daria as
she turned in her seat to face the majority of the class "Hands up those who
think my remarks are always funny."
No hands were raised.
Daria noted 'Zero always
funny.'
Daria then proceeded to ask
for numbers of people who thought she was usually funny, occasionally funny,
and never funny.
'Forty never funny.'
"Well, I could run an
experiment that assures voter confidentiality, as I have concerns about voter
intimidation here, but the quick poll indicates never funny."
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE
TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY!" screamed the teacher.
"Does this mean the
assignment's been cancelled?" asked Daria.
"DON'T YOU GET IT DARIA? YOU
ARE DOOMED! YOU ARE HERE BECAUSE YOU ARE UNCONTROLABLE, AND THEREFORE
COMPLETELY WORTHLESS TO THOSE AROUND YOU! AS SOON AS YOU STEP INTO THE
"I'm going to prove you
wrong."
-~-
"Well, they were right,"
commented Daria with a laugh "Better remember to call them when I get to priz."
Daria was considering
smashing up the meagre furniture in her room.
Not like she was going to see
it again.
She approached her writing
desk and cocked her open hand ready to strike downwards right in the centre of
the span over the leg space.
She then found she couldn't.
She eventually stepped back.
Why?
It would piss Helen off if
the room was trashed, a final 'fuck you' from Daria as she was arrested.
But she couldn't.
This room had grown on her.
She may have been confined
here, but during her stay in
Well, there went that last
bit of potential fun.
She sat back on the bed and
then lay back.
Last fucking hours of not
being in prison proper and she couldn't think of anything to do.
-~-
Helen entered the room, Daria
was stood at ease.
"I take it my ride's here."
Helen nodded.
"With or without restraints?"
asked Daria.
"Without," said Helen, she
then asked "Can you forgive me?"
Daria waited a few seconds
and then said "No. ... I've given this a lot of thought, I was hoping to be free
to leave when I turned 18 so I could get Jane over with a cam-corder to record
me taunting you, Dad and Quinn with my freedom and autonomy, before leaving
never to return, except to shit on your grave. The last bit might still be
possible if I don't get done for a capitol offence while defending myself. ... Or
get shivved in the showers or cafeteria. ... Or kill myself after being held down
and molested one too many times. ... Or volunteered for the old 'A Clockwork
Orange' treatment."
Daria then looked around the
room and asked "So, what's this room going to be used for? Now I'm transferring
out?"
"You're not going to prison
Daria," said Helen.
Daria took a few seconds to
process this.
"I'm not?" asked Daria.
"No you're not."
A few more seconds later
Helen continued "Quinn lied about the situation because she feared ostracisation
if she didn't go along with what the others were saying."
Daria eventually asked "Quinn
admitted this? ... She actually has a conscience?"
"Yes ... And Stacy eventually
cleared your name, it seems she didn't realise you were terrified, she thought
you were angry and about to kill her."
"And Angela just accepted the
correction, just like that?"
"No, but the football team
and cheerleaders went on strike."
"Eh?"
"The cheerleaders love you
Daria, and the football team love the cheerleaders, and Angela overturned her
decision to get them back to work, so you're free."
Daria stared hard.
Eventually she said "I can't
levitate."
Helen looked at her funny.
"I'm certain I'm dreaming,
you're contrite, Quinn's come clean, people like me, some dreams I've been able
to levitate and fly around, but I can't seem to here."
"Wakey wakeeeyyyyyyy," said a
familiar voice from the hallway.
Jane entered.
"Now I know I'm dreaming,
Helen hates you."
"Not any more, something
about being grateful for getting you back in school."
Daria looked even more
amazed.
Jane looked at the door to
Daria's room in more detail and said "Soon, this door will open from within
too."
"In two years," said Helen.
Both Daria and Jane looked at
her.
"Daria, pack your things, you
and Quinn are switching rooms."
-~-
Daria entered the Pizza
Prince staring at everything in bewilderment.
The place was packed with
other LHS students and they all cheered her arrival.
"Holy shit," said Daria as
she felt her face ache from the involuntary smile.
"Just remember to look where
you're going when you enter hazardous situations," said Jane.
After the pair of them had
procured a large spicy BBQ chicken pizza, they sat down and began to eat.
"Stacy told me you looked
absolutely terrified. She didn't think too carefully about it, but when I
pointed out that if you had wanted her dead she would have been dead that
instant, she thought a little more carefully."
Daria nodded and said "I
spent practically every day at that place at war. Staff there take out their
frustrations by screaming emotional abuse at the students, they almost never
intervened when the assholes picked on the other students, it would have to get
pretty serious for that to happen."
"How serious?" asked Jane.
"Serious or life threatening
injuries, anything they can potentially get sued for. Unless in class where
most of them give the impression that they are studying, and barely even that, disrupting
a class usually results in detention. And unlike normal schools, you are
detained in a cupboard, they had these .4 by .6 by 2m cells, nothing
extravagant, just a small space you can barely move in and not leave without
someone outside opening the door for you. First time I ended up in there was
after a couple of boys tried to feel me up got their asses kicked by me."
"So, they goosed you, you
slapped them-" started Jane.
"Actually they sat down at
the table I had picked in lunch and started talking to me, friendly as you
like, then the one opposite me grabbed my hands and the ones next to me slipped
their hands under my top and felt my tits. I told them to get off three times
real loud, this was in full view of a number of members of staff, who just
stood there as if this were normal.
"After the third warning went
unheeded I punched my heels into the feet of the boy in front and used elbow
strikes to knock the two beside me off the bench, turning around, I kicked one
in the chest hard just to keep him down while I stepped away, staff then
approached and had a go at me for defending myself. I was then escorted out to
the room where they had the cells and stuck me in one, I later worked out I was
in there for two class periods."
" ... ... Oh." Said Jane, this
was shocking to her.
"And that was my first day at
Hope High," said Daria with sarcastic enthusiasm.
"Suddenly I'm not all that
hungry," said Jane, putting down her slice of pizza.
"Well, I got an allowance
now, so I should be able to pay you back for the Pizza tomorrow or next week,"
said Daria.
"Okay, cheer me up, how did
Quinn react to her new living arrangements?" asked Jane.
-~-
Daria settled back in the
four poster bed in the sickeningly pink room.
The sickeningly pink room she
could leave when she wanted.
She felt glad, and free, and
triumphant.
...
...
And guilty.
...
...
As she was involved in more
skirmishes, her normal reaction of ever escalating violence towards attack
seemed to keep the assholes back, but she had ended up being subjected to a
number of reprisals.
The school kept it's students
in dormitories during the week, she only went home on the weekends, and there
were no half term breaks, summer was one month not two, and only Christmas and
independence day would close the school, so she had to gauge weather or not she
was going to be attacked as the students went to sleep around her, examples of
such attacks included various substances being poured on her face in the middle
of the night, hair being glued to the pillow, she had to cut it off, but
reacting in the middle of the night meant she had to find a way to sleep
propped up against pebble dashed walls and a studded door.
The dormitories were
segregated, can't have any pregnancies in what is supposed to be a strict
environment, but most of the girls were heroin or crack addicts and were in a
weakened state, making them the bottom of the pyramid, so having Daria stand up
for herself and pissing off their higher ups really pissed them off.
Daria could, of course, have
swallowed her pride and fitted in just like the rest of them, but her anger at
having been so thoroughly fitted up by two of the stupidest individuals on the
ENTIRE PLANET, just overwhelmed any possibility of doing that.
Three years in, she was
informed by one of the students before one weekend that the individuals at the
top of the pyramid were talking about killing her, and they sounded serious.
She couldn't get any
specifics on it, and her imagination came up with way too many ways to slot
someone, even in there, and get away with it, that she just couldn't ignore the
rumour.
She had gotten the full names
of the individuals by then, so she could go through the phonebook and ask to
discuss the sons of whoever answered, that would give her addresses, and she
could then neutralise them.
Shops were closed at night,
and besides she didn't want witnesses to her weapons procurement, so she had to
use what was at her home and what was at theirs.
Without leaving or keeping
anything that could connect her to the kills.
This was before her parents
had decided to lock her in at night, so she could get out easily enough, she
used disposable gloves from the garage, binbags from the kitchen, any utensils
from the kitchen or tools from the garage would have to be disposed of.
X-ray one was Fred Vines,
single story stud wall house, easy access under the basement.
Daria located his room and
set up the device under it.
Sodium chlorate from the
garden shed, pulverised and mixed with diesel from a number of trucks she could
steal it from, trowel from the X-rays garden shed or other local source to dig
out some soil, length of hose filled with the diesel/sodium chlorate connecting
to the surface, one foot candle next to that for a delay fuse shielded with a
modified soft drinks carton, the mix would burn to the main charge and that
would cook off shortly after.
Bang.
If the white butterfly effect
didn't kill him, getting thrown half a cherub skywards and freefalling back down
from that would.
X ray two, same job.
X-ray three, same structure,
except for piss poor security, only a screen door separated her from the
inside, obtain weapon from kitchen, sneak in, stab X-ray through brainstem,
speed kill, no fucking about.
...
...
...
She didn't know she was
lingering until she saw him stir a little.
She checked her watch: 01:22.
She was losing time.
She had to remind herself
that he was planning to kill her.
She then cocked her arm with
the knife pointed forwards, and punched it in through the boys neck.
The sound of the knife going
in wouldn't have disturbed her if it was not connected with the sight of the
knife entering his neck, his body convulsing slightly, his eyes searching.
She felt sick.
She desperately held it back as
she carefully withdrew the knife and left the house.
She held the vomit back as
she got as much distance from the target as possible.
She found a drain and puked
into that.
Once she was done barfing,
she continued on, if she stopped now, the remaining X-rays would definitely
kill her.
X-ray four, crap security,
break in, no smoke alarms, kid smokes, piece of piss, cigarette for a delay
fuse, that ignites a load of tracksuits
near the bed, room fills with really toxic smoke, killing X-ray four with carbon
monoxide and hydrogen cyanide.
She found X-ray five wasn't
home.
Shit!
Return later?
Yeah.
If he's still out when she
returns, she'd re-evaluate her options.
X-ray six, also absent.
Damn it!
X-ray seven, was in the back
yard of his property, six and five was with him, they were smoking drugs.
This could be a problem if
she gets the drugs on her.
She fell back to the front of
the property.
She then felt a shockwave
enter her feet from the ground.
Followed by an echoing
explosion.
"What was that?" asked one of
the X-rays.
Daria ran to the open top car
parked in the driveway and she just got around it before the three remaining
X-rays got there.
The next one then went off.
"Let's get over there," said
one.
The three of them got in the
car, apparently not seeing Daria.
Daria waited as they drove
off.
She then got up and went
around the back of their house.
Their drugs were still there.
As were the bongs with their
prints on them.
She entered the house and
dialled 911, and made a croaking noise into the phone, she then, using a bass
voice, said "who are you calling, bitch? Come back and die." Some distance from
the phone, she then used the same voice close up and said "Sorry, wrong
number," and hung up.
That should get them sent to
prison, or send them on the run when they see cops here, either way, they were
now neutral.
Job done, go to disposal
site, incinerate evidence suit, then return to base.
-~-
"Seven people are dead, two
got blown up, one was stabbed through the neck, one was killed by an arson
attack, and three were somehow incited to exchange fire with a number of police
officers and had to be shot. We know you did it, Daria," said the detective
sergeant.
"Did not," said Daria.
"Don't get smart, if there's
even the TINIEST piece of evidence, we got you, and then you're going down."
"Will it get me out of Hope
High?" asked Daria.
The dopey defence lawyer had
nothing to say.
-~-
After she had killed the
threats, the atmosphere of the school changed.
No one dared fuck with her.
She stopped getting involved
in incidents.
Being scary was good for your
health at Hope High, but now she needed friends she could open up to, and she
didn't know how Jane would react to Daria if she knew Daria had killed people.
Would she ever be able to
open up to Jane?
She hated having to lie, she
had to pretend she had done one thing and that she hadn't done another.
Just because those idiots
Beavis and Butthead had seen someone paint someone's face in a cartoon they
decided to try it on Stewart, and when they saw Stewart go into respiratory
arrest, they legged it, colliding with Daria, who ended up with the cans of
paint in her hands.
They continued on, and
everyone who saw this hated Daria for whatever reason, and made out she had
done it.
And now she was saved by
popularity.
She was a manipulative two
faced killer.
But that was to survive.
But that made her into just
about everything she despised.
But she was alive to despise
herself.
It didn't matter.
...
...
Yes it did.
...
...
...
No, it really didn't.
...
...
...
Daria drifted off to sleep as
her rational side started it's normal bitch fight with her emotional side.
She chuckled a little as she
imagined the two sides personified appearing on the Jerry Springer show.
-~-
End.