Live the Life of Quinn by Chris Mack
Email: saberhaagen@yahoo.com
Description: Quinn and Daria's bodies are switched. Uh-oh!


"Daria? Daria? Daria, get up!"

I awoke with a start. That voice was familiar. "What's going on here?" I asked. Was that rich, bubbly voice coming from my mouth?

"Daria, something terrible has happened!" I blinked, and nearly screamed.

The person in front of me--was ME! "What the hell happened here?" I asked in the same high voice. "Quinn--is that YOU?"

"No, it's the Easter bunny," Quinn said sarcastically. "I think that experiment I did last night backfired."

"Experimet? What experiment?" I was feeling lightheaded. I need makeup! Lots of makeup! I scrambled to my mirror--and ran right into the closet!

"Daria, stop! What are you trying to do, wreck my body?" Quinn said in her mysteriously deadpan voice.

Suddenly I realized what had happened. In my last year at Lawndale High, Miss Barch had forced us to transfer personalities from one mouse to the other (for the guys, she said if they got a C or below, she'd flunk them out of school. I guess Mr. O'Neill was really warming her heart to men). But, being Quinn, she probably spilled the chemicals used, thereby causing everyone at the house to switch bodies--the mice, me, and Quinn!

That night, I had come home from the college to say hello. It was the first week I had been gone, after all. Quinn had to do the silly project, and I had to pull some serious all-nighters.

"Quinn, where's the makeup?" I asked. Suddenly a more horrifying realization occured in my brain. Now that I was Quinn, I'd begin acting like her. You know, shallow or whatever.

"In my room. But I don't feel like wearing any today. Maybe because I'm you, and you're me, we've had our personalities switched," she said.

"Duh! What was your first clue?" I asked sardonically. "Now, switch me back before I go to your room and start getting you a new wardrobe! It'll consist of a green jacket, some boots, and maybe more than that. And I think the room hasn't been redecorated yet, so I'll do that for you, too!"

"You wouldn't dare!" she cried out, wide-eyed and terrified. I was pleased. She was still superficial. "Try me," I said evilly. She sighed, and yelled, "All right, all right! But whatever you do, don't mess me up with the Fashion Club."

"How long will this take?" I asked. "And hurry up explaining. I have a shower to attend to in five minutes."

"Actually, in two minutes," said my sister. "But that's beside the point. I read the directions, and it said if an accident occurs, it should reverse with in 24 hours."

I was going to scream. My own sister had trapped me in her body and superficiality--for an entire day, no less. Oh, joy.

Without another word, I excused myself from my dreary room, I left towards the shower. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, I thought. Haven't I always wondered what life was like for Quinn? I snickered silently to myself. That had to be the dumbest question of the year. Of course I didn't! How could I wonder when she was such a popular, bubbly, superficial, conventional, and easy- going girl with no problems complicating her life. How sad.



After the shower (and eating some carrot sticks--I suddenly lost my taste for most foods, especially things high in carbs) I got dressed and went to Jane's house. I mean, just because she was unpopular didn't make her a complete stranger, did it?

DING DONG! As usual, Jane answered the door. "Hi, Jane," I said. "May I come in?"

Jane looked confuse, but finally said, "No, you'll just drive me insane talking about accessories again. Goodbye!"

"Wait!" I almost shrieked. "I can explain--I think."

"No, you don't think. You're too upper crust to think. Now get away, you...shallow person, you, stay in this neighborhood you'll get more of the same," Jane said before slamming the door in my face.

I couldn't believe it. My only friend at Lawndale had just closed her doors to me. I walked away, hurt. I was so upset, I was about to cry. I suddenly hated my bubbly new body.



Twelve noon. I was eating luch at the unpopular table. Stacey, who marked me as her role model, came over and sat with me.

"Quinn. What's wrong?" she asked with emotion in her voice. "Did you have pay for Joey, Jeffy, and Jonny's dinner again? Always knew they were dead beets."

"Huh? No, this is where I always sit," I replied in a depressed tone. "Oh my God!" Stacey shrieked. "Quinn, did you get a low grade on that project like the rest of us?"

"Stacey, did you, perchance, read the directions on the back?" I asked. She nodded, saying, "They were easy as carrot sticks."

"Well, you know where it said that if you mess up you'd switch bodies for an entire day?" She nodded at that, too, with the words, "Imagine me being my father. Oh, the humanity!"

"Well, lets just say that Quinn and Daria are spending a little extra family time." Stacey stared at me, confused. Suddenly it must have dawned on her heavily-shampooed little brain. "Oh no!" she squealed. "This calls for an emergency meeting of larger-than-life porportions!"




Four o' clock. I was at my average home waiting for Quinn to come back from the local college. But when I opened the door after waiting two hours, I was shocked to find her on the couch reading the latest issue of Waif magazine. "What are you doing here?" I demanded to know. "You're supposed to be at Raft College with the other freshmen!"

She put down the magazine and said, "Well, I didn't know where it was, and besides, it's not like I committed any major sin (not that I ever did in the past), so stop acting like it's any big deal."

"It is a big deal--to me," I almost yelled at my kid sister. "If I don't show up for class, I could get expelled--not that you'd ever know what that means, Miss 'My-Size Barbie' doll!"

"Oh, you think it's so easy being attractive and popular!" Quinn shouted. "I may spend more than I have, but at least I know how to fit in with the crowd, unlike you, you loner!"

That hurt. It also ticked me off. "That's it!" I screamed. "If you don't reverse this by eight, you'll wish that you'd never been born!"

I stopped and thought to myself. What was I doing. Screaming? Threatening my sister? Threatening her for skipping a school day? This wasn't her fault. Well, actually it was, but she was too superficial to know what could hapopen to kids who cut class. But it wasagainst the law, and if she was caught, it wouldn't be her that would be arrested, it would be me. So who could blame me for my anger? But still... "Quinn I'm so sorry!" I ran towards my sister, and she ran to me. We hugged, cried, and suddenly felt this strange feeling starting at our toes and working its way up.

"What's happening?" asked Quinn. Her voice sounded a bit higher, more shallow. I figured it out before she did. The curse had been lifted.

"Quinn--it's not the twenty-four hours that reverses the spell--its ending sibling rivalry!"

By the time I had finished that sentence, we were both back to normal. The clothes I were wearing felt a bit tight. I really didn't belong in mini skirts. I immediately ran up to my room to change, and Quinn did the same with a gleeful smile on her face. She had returned to superficial, and I had gone back to being a deep-minded college freshman.



Later that night, Quinn was out on a date. Apparently the Fashion Club had considered sanctions, but Stacey talked them into letting Quinn date some guy named Tommy. Dad was home, wearing his "Kiss the Cook" apron and cooking something called "bouillabaisse". It might taste good, but you never know.

"So, how was your day, kiddo?" Dad asked. "Dad, you know that being called kiddo stunts my maturity," I replied. "And as for my day, I'd say it was as if nothing had ever changed."


The end.