NO ONE LOVES A FASHION DIVA

Disclaimer: Daria is a trademark of MTV, as if you didn't know.


CHAPTER 1: THE START OF THE BREAKDOWN

Things weren't going well for Sandi Griffin.

For starters, her brothers drove her crazy over the past few
weeks. Once, they were griping to each other, "You suck,
you suck!!"
"Stop that, you stupid bastard rugrats!!" said the brunette.
"You know we can't be stopped," said Sam.
"Uh-huh," said Chris. "We're GOOD boys......."
Much later in the day, the brothers sneaked up behind
Sandi, and stuck some lit firecrackers in her pocket.
Turnig to Sam and Chris, she glowered, "Just WHAT do
you think you're doin'?!?"
"What's it to you?!?" sneered Sam.
"Just get lost, you ol' horse!!" said Chris.
Sandi, for her part, made scratching gestures to them before they
hightailed it--and that was when the firecrackers went off in her pocket,
causing her to jump all over the place.
"YEE-OUCH!! FIRE!! FIRE!! MY BUTT'S ON FIRE!! YOU RUG RATS DID
THAT, YOU...."
Running for the hot tub outside, she wasted no time in jumping in it,
dousing out the fircrackers, but even so, the hapless brunette soon
found a burnt hole in the back pocket of her $120.00 trousers. Upon
discovering that, she sobbed, "What did I do to deserve it......?"
But the worst thing of all was when Sandi came home one day and
discovered that her brothers had torn out all the pages of her Waif
magazines and made paper airplanes out of them, and were flying
them all over the house.
"OH--------------NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" shrieked Sandi,
who crumbled to the ground, sobbing wildly.
The end to a perfect day.

Then her Fashion Club was nearly falling apart, with
an indecisive Tiffany to a wimpy, sobbing Stacy. Right now,
it was during one of their meetings when Sandi got to the
debate on whatever or not spaghetti strap blouses should be a
Fashion Do--until Tiffany said, "Uh........I don't know...those
make you look kind of fat, don't they........?"
"Tiffany.......,"  hissed Sandi, "what's with you today?!? First you
say those tops were in, and now you change your mind, saying they
make you look FAT?!?"
"Sorry. They're in for sure."
"TIFFANY!! What in hell is wrong with you, that you can't make
a decision?!? They're in, or not!! One or the other!!"
That was when Stacy spoke up with, "Don't be so hard on Tiffany.
You know how she is on decisions."
"STA-A-ACY!!!!" barked an irate Sandi, whose face was getting redder.
"As if Tiffany's cluelessness wasn't bad enough, now, I've got to deal with
your ST-------UU-------PID wimpiness!! Can't you learn to be a real woman
and not a cry baby?!? For so many years, you two have become absolute
headaches to me, and I CAN'T TAKE IT!!"
Bursting into tears, Stacy wailed, "Forgive me, Sandi!!"
Antagonized by that, and near the point of losing her mind, Sandi roared,
"FINE!! ALL OF YOU, SCRAM!!!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!"
That was all it took for Tiffany, Stacy and Quinn to hightail it from
the Griffin household, leaving a sobbing Sandi to bemoan, "Oh,
WHY did I hire those two to be part of The Fashion Club in the
first place...........?!?"

Then, there was her blowout fight she had with Quinn.
One week after the disasterous Fashion Club meeting, Quinn
paid a visit to Sandi, who was laying on her bed crying.
"Sandi.........? asked Quinn, upon entering her bedroom. "What's
the matter?"
No answer.
"Sandi?" Still no answer.
Approaching the bed, Quinn placed a hand on her friend's shoulder,
and Sandi shook it off, muttering, "Don't do that!! What do you want?"
Trying to dredge up some courage, Quinn stammered, "I am so worried
for you, Sandi. It's bad enough that you treat Stacy and Tiffany like dirt,
but when you hide out, avoiding everyone, and stopping all meetings, well
..........it scares me."
Looking up, her tear streaked eyes glowering like furnaces, Sandi sneered,
her words bitingly, "You saying that what I did wasn't the right thing to do?!?
Gee, Quinn, why don't you have my head examined?!?"
"Sandi, settle down. All I did was come by here to see if you were fine.
You've never been the same since last week, and The Fashion Club is
falling apart. Tiffany, Stacy and me, we're all worried. You don't need
to get wound up over a simple question."
"Worried, eh?" charged the brunette. "Maybe YOU should be the new
President of The Fashion Club, and take those sorry members I used to
know as friends with you!!"
"Now wait a minute!!" said the redhead. "If it's Stacy and Tiffany you're
referring to, you're crazy!! Sure, they've got their bad points, but that
doesen't mean they ain't got their moments as well!! And besides, I am
getting fed up with you saying that I should be the new President.
Sometimes I wonder if you're truly a REAL friend. But you're so
egotistical and narcisstic!! What a fool I was!!"
Getting up, Sandi stated, "Take that back."
"Not on your life," said Quinn. "It's a matter of principle now. I mean,
I had a feeling you couln't stand me in real life--which is just you've been
hiding from me all those years."
Jumping out, her nails ready to scratch, Sandi roared, "I CAN'T
STAND YOU, QUINN!! THAT IS JUST WHAT I
WOULD'VE SAID!! I HATED YOU SINCE YOU FIRST
JOINED UP!!"
From there, it was an all out, knock down, all tumble, dragout slugfest.
starting with Quinn trying to choke Sandi, only for the brunette to break
loose. Then the girls were pulling each other's hair before Quinn scratched
at Sandi's face. Then they took to trading blows with their fists till they
each had a black eye apiece. Last of all, with one roundhouse haymaker,
Sandi and Quinn sent each other sprawling. In the end, Quinn was sobbing,
before she got up crying out, "Sandi.......how could you.....?!?" From there,
she ran out, before Sandi, muttered, "And don't come back.....!!"
But it wasn't until minutes after the redhead left did the brunette come to her
senses that it was a petty fight--and that she had beaten up and fought with
the only real best friend she had--and now she had lost Quinn on account
of that fight.
Upon discovering that fact, tears were streaming down Sandi's face before
she wailed, "Quinn.........oh, Quinn.........!! Quinn, PLEASE COME
BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!"
It was such problems like that which were troubling the brunette deep, way
deep behind her super***** mask. A mask she wore to hide all the troubles
she had as a child. And far worse was compounding them still.


CHAPTER 2: HANGING BY A THREAD

Worst of all, one by one, her past boyfriends lost interest
in her.

Time after time, Sandi tried to phone a boy for a date,
but one by one,  they--Bret Strand, Skyler and Marco--
all of them made all sorts of excuses to escape from
even dating her:

*Bret, when asked on a date, said, "I'd love to go on
a date with you, Sandi, but I got to go to my aunt's
funeral."

*When Sandi tried to ask Skyler on a date, his reply was,
"Sorry, Sandi, but I just got a new job at my uncle's
office."

*But it was Marco's excuse that topped them all; when
Sandi asked him for a date, he said, "Just a moment,
I got to check with my mom." Then while Sandi waited
on the other end, he paused before replying, "Sorry, but
I got to take a trumpet lesson."
"I didn't know you played one," said Sandi.
"I don't--which is why I've got to take a lesson."

For Sandi, it didn't take a PhD to know that no boy at all
would want her, much less date her. And all that rejection
was making things worse for her, building up behind her
egotist mask. No one to love her and no one to love. So
while the other girls of Lawndale High were out with their
beaus, Sandi was alone at home, crying sadly, while her
mother, Linda, didn't give a hang.


CHAPTER 3: THE SO CALLED GOOD MOTHER

All of which added to the chronic depression she hid behind
her narcisstic and egotistical mask she wore--but then, that,
plus her fights with her equally tyrannical mother, Linda,
wasn't helping matters at all.

Once, while trying to make up her bed, Sandi was met by Linda
who was complaining, "Can't you do any better for me?!?"
"Do any better for what?" said the brunette.
"I just heard, that Helen's daughter Quinn just got nominated
as Lawndale High's Fashion Queen. We've got to take action to
get you even more prettier, so you can win over Quinn!!"
At the mention of Quinn, Sandi almost sobbed. "PLEASE
don't even mention Quinn.......I don't even FEEL like taking part in
anything  at all!!"
"But you must!!" said the brunette's mother, who was sounding
a bit exasperated. "We Griffins must protect our reputation
to always stay on top of it all!! Even against the Morgendorffers!!
Remember--since you were born, I always taught you to get on top,
if you want to live in such a dog eat dog world!! And now you don't feel
like taking part?!?"
"No, I don't. Things just don't seem to going right for me--The Fashion
Club is crumbling, no boy wants me, and I just lost the only friend I loved
so much......." Tears were pouring down Sandi's face.
Glowering at her sobbing daughter, Linda roughly brushed her aside, saying,
"Don't come sobbing to me with your problems!! You brought it all on
yourself!! I heard how you and Quinn scrapped it out. Then there's you lack of
paitence with Stacy and Tiffany--who I never regarded as real friends,
just like Quinn.  And the way you act, well, what boy would  want you?
Besides, thanks to your efforts, we can prove to those losers and their
mothers, that we Griffins, stand supreme!!"
Upon hearing that, Sandi turned pale. All that time she had been used. Not
as a daughter, but as a pawn. A puppet. A vassal. Someone for Linda to
succeed to compete with the other Lawndale mothers and their daughters
in the worst way. To her mother she asked, "Y-you mean all that time  you
used me for your own personal ambitions........?!?"
"What do you think?" said Linda dryly.
Clenching her fist, the brunette threw her head back and sobbed, "Betrayed....!!
You USED me!!  You're no good mother!! What a fool!! What a fool I was!!"
"Ungrateful brat!!" growled Linda. "Is that the thanks I get after I went and gave
you the money for what YOU wanted!! Fine!! You're no daughter of mine!!"
"WHAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!" wailed Sandi .After that, she turned and ran
for the back door of the house, while Linda muttered, "Lousy failure...."

It wasn't until today, that the latest fracas was THE ultimate
crunch--in her depression, Sandi took to hanging out late
at night, sneaking out to drown her sorrows at, of all places, the
Zen, smoking, and almost causing a nuisince. In the end, the icing on the
cake was applied when Linda got wind of her depressed daughter's
escapades. In a livid mood, she decided enough was enough; with that
in mind, Linda up and stole all of poor Sandi's car keys, before grounding her
daughter.

When it was over, the evil Linda left, locking Sandi's bedroom door,
the brunette sobbing all alone. For Sandi, that was proof that
everyone hated her, and no one wanted to help her at all. And like
all teens, the brunette knew only one last resort was left: suicide,
to escape all her troubles.
With no hope at all left, Sandi took a piece of paper and a pen and
wrote down some lines. Soon after that, she thought of the choices
to end her life. Guns? She didn't know where Tom and Linda stored
their weapons. A drug overdose? Linda guarded her sleeping pills
jealously, besides, that was just an old stereotype for women.
Hanging? The ceilings in the Griffin house were plaster which could
break apart, even with her weight. Slashing her wrists? No. just
another female stereotype. That was when she rembered the film,
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, in where the character Billy Bibbit
used a piece of glass to cut his jugular vein and his catroid artery, which
were located in his neck. With that in mind, she took a shoe, and threw
it at her dresser mirror;  it broke into many pieces. True it made some
noise, but Sandi  figured her mother would think the brunette broke it
during one of her tantrums. Picking up one of the sharp pieces, she set
to the task at hand...........

Several hours later, Linda unlocked the door to Sandi's
bedroom, and turned on the light before stepping inside.
"OK, young lady," she said crisply, "it's time to fess up."
What happened next was an absolute shock--for there on
the floor, in a huge pool of blood, a note on her stomach,
her throat slashed with the broken piece of mirror glass,
was Sandi, dead. Linda, for her part, screamed, not for
losing her daughter to suicide, but for seeing something
so unexpected.....all of which brought her spouse Tom
to the scene. Soon after that, the next many hours in
the Griffin house was absolute chaos--paramedics rushing
over there and pronnouncing Sandi dead, having lost a lot of
blood. After that, the police came here, to rule out the
possibility of murder, and piling on a hefty quota of questions
on Tom and Linda, and the note that was found which read:

"I can't take it no more!! No one loves a fashion diva--
not to mention an egotistical and narcisstic one no less!!
My life is SO SENSELESS, and I am so TIRED of everyone
hating me........!! Worst still, even Quinn, the best friend I've
got, don't love me no more..........what did I do to deserve it?
The Fashion Club is a failure.....and so am I.  I got no one to
turn to, let alone no one to help me, no one to love me, and
no one to love.....goodby........

..........forever.......

Alexandra "Sandi" Jillian Griffin."


4TH & LAST CHAPTER: THE AFTERMATH


The next day, Angela Li was on the Lawndale High P.A. system,
stating, "Attention students and staff of Lawndale High.
Just now, I got a sad annoucment....one of our students,
Sandi Griffin, was found dead last night at home. Our grief
outreach experts will be on hand for anything. That is all."

Many of the students were saddened at the brunette's death,
like Tiffany, Stacy and especially Quinn; right now, they were in
the bathroom when they heard the news. For them, it was like a
kick in the head.
"Sandi.......killed herself......?!?" said Tiffany. "That is SO wrong.....and
SO sad......!! You don't think it was my fault she....."
"No, it's mine....." sobbed Stacy. "She never could stand me, all because
I was a crybaby, and so whiny.........if only.........!!"
"No, it's mine.....," said Quinn. "Me and Sandi had a fight long ago; I tried to
point out to her how worried we were.....and then she sort of said something
that pushed my buttons.......and we ended up brawling it out I ran out on her,
vowing never to have anything to do with her..........now......." The redhead
was lost in her sobs. "Sandi...........GONE!!!! It can't be happening!!!!"
Needless to say, it didn't take long for Quinn, Stacy and Tiffany to start
crying sadly in the most hysterical heartbroken sobs.

Not even Daria and Jane missed the news of Sandi's end;for them, though
they had almost never talked with, much less hung out with the now late
brunette, it was a shock nonetheless. They, along with Kevin, Brittany,
Mack  and Jodie, were in Tim O' Neill's room when the news came over
the P. A. system.. Upon hearing that, several of the students went agahst,
Mack and Kevin were quiet, Jodie, Brittany and a handful of the girls there
cried quietly, Jane froze in shock.......but Daria paled as if she had turned
into a zombie.

Much later, at The Pizza King, Jane said. "Boy, oh boy, I didn't think she'd
do such a thing. Not someone like her."
Daria, on the other hand, was way beyond somber. "Poor girl."
"Poor girl? Sandi? Why her, Daria? She kind of got what she deserved.
She's a stuck up snob that never hung with me and you, much less had
anything kind to say."
"All true," said the auburn cynic, " but when I think of it, I'd feel sorry if
you had been in her shoes."
"Say WHAT?" said a shocked Jane.
"I know for a fact that Quinn had come home crying to Mom over the
fight she and Sandi had, sobbing that it was over between her and her
former best friend, saying, 'How could my only friend do THAT to me?!?
We loved each other......and now she hates me.......!!!!' In short, Sandi is
to Quinn, what you're to me......"
"Now that I think of it......," said Jane, "If we had a fight, just like we had
over Tom, and whupped our butts and broke up, I'd be saddened if you
had ended your life."
"I'd cry if it had been you," said Daria.


However, Daria, knowing the way her sister would feel right now, chose to
stay in hiding when at home, sometimes hiding in the refridgerator box
that reminded her of her childhood past (remember Boxing Daria?), or under
the bed or other times in the closet, skipping dinner, or eating in her bedroom,
or eating at the Lane house, or at Tom Sloane's home. Sometimes Daria would
stay some nights with Jane. Other times she'd head to school in disguise and
incognito, hanging out when and where Quinn wasn't around. Once, when Daria
was hiding under the bed, Helen had asked her to be with Quinn and try to
comfort her, but Daria had said, "I don't think so. I know she wants to be alone,
and if I say anything, she'll hate me."
"Oh come on, Daria," said the mother/lawyer. "She's your sister. She
loves you."
"How can I be sure? All I can say is: I am scared of her......."
Helen could only sigh in despair.

But in the end, it wasn't until that night that Quinn found her eldest
sister trying to do a book report on Kafka, and went up to her
till she was facing her, the redhead's face drenched in tears.
Turning to her shallow sibling, Daria jumped in shock.
Holding up a hand, Quinn said, "It's just me. Listen.....I don't blame you
for not wanting to upset me......but right now, I need you.....you're my
sister.....I love you....."
There was a few seconds of quiet before the auburn said gently, "I know that
Sandi killed herself.........and all joking aside, so help me, I am
sorry."
Shaking in her wild sobs, Quinn wailed shrilly, "OH, DARIA!!!!"
Instantly, she threw her arms 'round her older sister and cried
loudly and violently for the next several hours.
For Daria, it was understandable why Quinn had turned to her;
true, sorrow--and other issues--was something you shared
with your friends, depending on the circumstances. But there
were SOME matters you could only share with--in Quinn's case
--your sister.

When Quinn had calmed down, Daria said, "I don't blame you.......
if it had been Jane instead of Sandi that killed herself, I'd
turn to you to cry on. For all her diva ways, Sandi was to
you, what Jane was to me......the only best friend there was."
Nodding in agreement, Quinn said, "You're right. But what
hurts me the worst, is that the last time I met with Sandi,
was we were in a bitter quarrel, over something petty
..........all of it so unforgivable....!! I wish I could
sell my soul to see her one last time, so I could tell
her how sorry I am......!! Now she'll never know how I
feel.......!!"

To the chagrin of Linda, who flatly refused it from day one,
Tom Griffin, and Daria and Quinn's mom Helen, believing that
Sandi should be given the benefit of clergy, arranged
for the funeral.
"Absolutely NOT!!" the irate businesswoman said. "There
is NO WAY IN HELL that girl will be buried on holy ground!!
She was no good from the day she was born, and she was
no good when she ended her crummy life!!"
"Be reasonable, Linda," said Tom. "It wouldn't seem right if Sandi
wasn't buried without benefit of clergy."
"Like hell!! That failure of a girl got what she deserved when she
took her life, bringing it all on herself, and now she's burning in Hell.
She's definitely NOT worthy!!!!"
Fuming over the fact his  selfish wife had gone too far, Tom then stated,
"You've gone too far, Linda!! For so many years, I contended with your wily
ways, all just to make a name for yourself!! Worse still, you had to use your
own daughter, just for your own treachery!! I've had it, Linda, we're
THROUGH!!  As of now, I am filing for a divorce--with Helen Morgendorffer
as my lawyer, no less. YOU, can get custody of Sam and Chris."
Linda, for her part, was crestfallen beyond crestfallen. "OH--------BOY!!"
she sobbed.

The day of the funeral, the two Toms, Sloane and Griffin, Jake, Helen,
Kevin, Brittany, Mack, Jodie, Jane, Trent, Vincent, Amanda, Amy,
Daria, the Lawndale High cheerleaders, the 3 J's, Quinn, Stacy and Tiffany
were there, while the priest and his helpers performed the Roman Catholic
funeral ritual. After that, Stacy, Tiffany and Quinn each did a eulogy. First
was Quinn, who sobbed heavily, "S-Sandi............I love you so much.........
I should've known better to give up on you..........but you're gone, and I'll
never, NEVER see you no more........!!!! PLEASE forgive me!!!!"
Next came an equally sobbing Stacy who said, "I am so sorry, Sandi..........
I couldn't help the way I am........WE ALL MISS YOU!!!!!!!!"
Last came Tiffany. "Sandi.......," she said, "we've should've been there for
you.....if only it was a nightmare, that we'd wake up, and see you again,
but we know better..........we will never forget you........"
After Sandi's coffin was placed in the hole, it was covered in tons of
white roses, which were the brunette's favorite flowers.

For some in Lawndale, who had gone through their own
troubles that were similar to Sandi's, in a way, it illustrated
what would happen if a depressed person like Sandi
wasn't treated right, let alone given all the help and support
he/she needed so much. The brunette had tried to reach out
to anyone that would help her and love her, but no one would
help her out, much less care for her, especially on account
of her shallow, egotist narcisstic stuck up snobby ways. But
then it was those said ways that also compounded Sandi's
depression.

For Sandi, after what Linda had put her through, she felt
the world, even The Fashion Club was best off without her.
And that was when the idea of suicide came--a permament
solution to her problems.

But in ending her own life, Sandi had sealed the fate of
The Fashion Club in the worst way; for Tiffany, Stacy and
Quinn, try as they might, were unable to carry on without
the brunette. And even when Quinn was the new leader, it wasn't
the same.

Quinn called Tiffany and Stacy to the Morgendorffer home for a
meeting; once there, she then said somberly, the tears pouring
from her eyes:
"Everyone, listen to me. It's been days since Sandi killed herself,
and her folks were divorced. But even with me as the new leader
of The Fashion Club, it just ain't the sme. Without Sandi, we ain't
going to make it at all."
"Amen," said Tiffany. "There can be no Fashion Club at all without
Sandi."
"No matter how she was to me," wept Stacy, "when it comes to
breaking up The Fashion Club, Sandi would've wanted it that way."
"Agreed," said Quinn. "So today is our last meeting of The Fashion
Club......." Bursting into tears, she, Stacy and Tiffany held each other.
"Goodby, Stacy and Tiffany!!" the redhead sobbed.
"I am going to miss you two girls!!" wept Stacy.
"Goodby........and take care.......," said Tiffany.

 And so, to the dismay of Angela Li, who only wanted
glory to Lawndale High, The Fashion  Club disbanded for good.
Overall, it wasn't the most illustrious moment in Lawndale
High history. More's the pity.

OWARI (THE END)