Size does matter

Story ©2008 by BlackHole
Daria and associated characters are ©2008 MTV Networks
(who still deprive the Daria community of a decent DVD box set containing all Daria episodes
— preferably in uncut condition with the original soundtrack)
Used without explicit permission and with explicit appreciation
Thanks for beta-reading etc. to:
JPAGC, RLobinske, Kristen Bealer, and vladimir1

Part 2

Daria prepared for school. Packing her P.E. stuff she wondered how that class would work out. Downstairs Helen and Jake rushed through the final stages of their morning preparations, guzzling down coffee (‘Gah! Dammit, hot!’) and collecting files. Daria poured herself a nice bowl of cereal with milk and a glass of OJ to get herself started for her day.

Helen announced that she would have her first day in court today, just as a visitor to get to know the judges and so on, and therefore did not know when she would be back in. Jake, however, said that he just had some interviews for the part time secretary during the morning at the office, and would likely be back home in the early afternoon after he ran some errands for his office.

Quinn came down just in time to say goodbye to Jake and Helen, who mounted their vehicles and left. Daria addressed her sister immediately afterwards.

“I’m going to leave a little early. I’m not ready to face the masses yet.”

“You can’t hide forever, Daria.”
Quinn said between the bites she took from an apple.

That said, Daria left and walked through the pleasant October sun towards Lawndale High. Today she would stick to the main road, but from tomorrow on she would look for a quieter and maybe shorter path to school.

*****

Sandi Griffin rode her convertible with the top down to enjoy the last rays of sunshine the year offered. The installed wind deflector ensured that her carefully styled hair did not get messed up by the draft.

Green army jacket, dark trousers, tall. Sandi was sure and slowed her approach. That was the new guy she had gotten a glimpse at yesterday, before he had vanished into the building. Sandi slowed down to bit above a pedestrian’s pace about eighty yards behind him to get a closer look. The reddish morning sun brought out some really red highlights in his brown wavey hair, which was well kept for a guy. He walked with a sure walk, and even if his butt ugly clothing hid most of his figure, it was clear that he had much to offer in that department.

The clothing could be exchanged easily, and her intuition was that his face would be sufficiently cute to match his body. This was a guy worthy to be seen with Sandi Griffin, the president of the Fashion Club. Sandi closed the distance between her and the guy, and as soon as she was level with him, she addressed him, diverting her attention between him and the road.

“Hey, you, like, the new guy. I’m Sandi Griffin, the president of the Lawndale High Fashion Club. I really like strong tall guys. Could you take me to an decent restaurant, I’m usually, like, hungry after school?”

«One. Crap. And I haven’t even made it to school yet.»
“Me too. On both accounts.”

Sandi hit the brake and looked at the guy who stopped as well.
“Ex-cuse me? What was that?”

Daria turned towards the girl, who sat in a yellow convertible, and elaborated her answer.
“I like strong tall guys and am usually hungry after school as well.”

“You’re, like, gay?”
Sandi was dejected. The guy had a soft face with full lips and a rather small nose for a guy. His complexion was even with not even a hint of beard. His pecs, hidden under the jacket, were spectacular, as far as Sandi could see from her car. If well behaved, a guy like him was a definite candidate for a steady date.

«With that ego, there can’t be any room for thoughts in her head. And now I’m gay»
“No. Look Sandi Griffin, president of the Lawndale High Fashion Club. We’re both girls, and we both like guys. So let’s get on with our lives.”

Daria turned and continued on her way to school without looking back.
«That pass yesterday had at least some class, in a wicked sense.»
Daria would have preferred to go home. But she knew it would be futile.

Sandi looked at the leaving figure. «Soooo hot ... hold it. RIGHT NOW. SHE. Girl. Female. Unattractive.
What is it with me?»

Sandi noted the clock on the dashboard. She’d have to hurry to make it in time for the pre-school color coordination meeting of the Fashion Club.

*****

Jane Lane hurried to pack her school things, trying not to forget anything important. She had not overslept since she had not slept at all. Her thoughts had been too busy processing the events of yesterday’s afternoon. It took a pot of weapon grade coffee to get her going this morning, and her sleepy eyes spoke volumes. Luckily the Lane pantry was well stocked after the trip to the Food Lord the evening before. Trent’s plan to distract her had worked pretty well. Until she was back alone in her room.

Her pondering had led to no solution. She liked guys, that she was sure of. She was attracted to the body she had seen, that was sure as well. And it did not matter to her if it was a boy’s or a girl’s body. That was something she needed to come to terms with.

The girl was likely a senior, likely related to that tall red head that had been in the tour group as well. Because of this Jane was unlikely to cross her path, and could stall any thoughts of how to act around her - after the incident the day before - until the issue arose. In self-esteem class.

*****

Daria continued her trek to school. She really hated this. It would pass away, but she hated it anyway. She’d love to lose the bet she’d made with her dad. She’d always hated to be a weedy bookish wallflower and would have liked some of the attention her sister got. That was, until about 3 years ago. Then she got all the attention she had ever wanted - and then some.
«Beware of your wishes. They may come true.»

Maybe things wouldn’t get that bad this time, and she would find her niche, make some acquaintances and mark her time at high school in peace. Maybe even a real friend. Male or female wouldn’t matter that much. Or maybe even a nice, clean cut boyfriend that would be able to deal with her. Nothing for an eternity. Just for the time at school would be a perfect start.

She still did not understand how Quinn could revel in all the gawking, pointing and the questions. They were freaks of nature that did not fit in. Well, that wasn’t right. She was a too large square peg and Quinn a too large round peg. Both did not fit into the round hole, but at least Quinn looked as if she could.

Only a few other students milled around as she passed the main gate. They looked, but nothing more. Convenient, to Daria’s taste. On her way to the main entrance she saw two girls occupying the same spot as the group of three had done the day before. Maybe waiting for number three to complete their circle.

*****

Stacy and Tiffany waited at the usual spot for their pre-school meeting. Stacy glanced nervously at her watch. It was only two minutes until the meeting would begin, and Sandi was still not present. Sandi was always early. Did they change the location and she missed it? Would she lose her post as the Fashion Club’s secretary? Would she be thrown out of the club entirely?

Tiffany nodded towards the main gate and Stacy followed her gaze. There he was, tall as the day before. He wore basically the same clothes as yesterday, but seeing his front was new. He wore glasses and had a soft oval face. His step was purposeful, with a surprising grace. And between the straps of his backpack, his jacket revealed a nice set of breasts.

Stacy’s glance wandered down, and found what she was looking for, but not really expecting. Adam’s apple: missing. Hips; female hips. Not prominent but present. Omygosh. A girl. That verified, she continued.

Tiffany’s gaze speechlessly followed the - Boy? Girl? - as - He? She? - walked towards the entrance. Once she passed the pair, Tiffany spoke up.

“Did you see that, did you see that? It’s a girl, a woman. But she’s got muscles all over. Her hair’s nice. I don’t know about her face, the glasses need to go. But that chest and those shoulders...”

*****

Sandi ran a little late due to her strange encounter with that ... girl. She still shivered inwardly at the thought of that episode. Her thoughts during that conversation had been so wrong. Walking fast, but graceful, Sandi reached her friends. Running was so geeky.

“Hello Stacy, hello Tiffany, I notice you really made it on time to our meeting.”

“There’s big news. The guy from yesterday passed us again. Well, not really, because he isn’t. A guy I mean. She’s a girl. And wears glasses.”

“Gee Stacy, I have my own sources in the gossip network. And I think they are better informed than yours.”
«There is no need for them to know about the less then stellar encounter between me and that ... freak.»

“Yes, Sandi. The tall girl .... the other tall girl, Quinn, did not pass by until now.”

“I hope you did not overlook her while ogling that she-male person, feeling attracted to a girl. Being attracted to a girl is a big fashion don’t. Think about those, like, you know, losers. Ew. Let’s talk about something non-disgusting, say, the latest Waif issue; I cannot afford to waste my precious time by just waiting. Did you see those ....”

This started the color coordination meeting of the Fashion Club. Every now and then a boy dropped by to beg for a date, or a girl to beg about a membership. An unusual amount of people, especially boys, hung around the school yard in general, and the noise level was basically too high for an effective Fashion Club meeting. Some people were just rude.

«The sophomore, junior and senior students must be like total ignorgas..., clueless people. Not a single one of them talked to me since we started our freshman year at LHS. They must be simply blind to real beauty.»

Stacy whispered and pulled Sandi back to reality.
“Sandi! Sandi! She’s here. She’s heading straight over to us. You’re the president, must do something! I couldn’t talk to her yesterday and she will totally hate me and I will not be able to talk to her either and I do not know how many classes we will share and ...”

And indeed, that Quinn girl came over. Sandi scrutinized her during her approach thoroughly. She was tall. She had long, flowing red hair. Her long legs and well defined hips turned the school yard into a catwalk and gave her an air of superiority. She wore boot cut blue jeans sporting some fashionable sneakers underneath. No heels. A pink baby-T showed off a decent amount of midriff including a flat tummy. It stretched a little bit across her chest, just the right amount to make men drool and women envious. Over that she wore a simple cut jacket against the fresh breeze. Sandi did not have to look around to know that no boy in the vicinity talked, and that all of their eyes were on her. She was very mature for a freshman and positively a looker. Sandi knew that her opponent had arrived.

She stopped a step away from the group. Sandi was about to consider this rude, but as she tried to look her in the eyes, she knew better. The place where she usually looked was occupied by the girl’s breasts.

“Hi, I’m Quinn Morgendorffer, aren’t you the girl that sat next to me in science class the other day?”
she addressed Stacy who looked like a deer in the headlights.

“Hel-lo. I am Sandi Griffin, the president of the Lawndale High Fashion Club. This is Stacy Rowe, our secretary, and Tiffany Blum-Deckler, our color coordination officer.”

Stacy limited herself to a nod. Tiffany did nothing; her mind was completely occupied with processing the visual image of Quinn.

“You are new at our school, one of the students that transferred in yesterday? Then you could not possibly know that Ms. Barch does not endorse conversations and note passing during class. As does any other teacher at this school.”

“Ah, yes, but I was not aware that violations are punishable by death. At least Stacy’s reaction looked like that.”

Stacy became a little nervous as she became aware that her reaction had looked tremendously impolite. The same nervousness that had made her react that way in the first place.

Sandi elaborated.
“Ms.Barch reserves capital punishment for males. But even as a female I would not recommend straining her patience.”

“Yes. And it gives girls the chance for an easy grade in science, which is why Stacy is in that class.”

“Hi Quinn!” Stacy said, now a little bit reassured. The tall girl was an impressive sight, but seemed to be quite amicable.

Sandi spoke up again to control the conversation. She was the president of the Fashion Club. She would do the talking.
“But your inconsiderate behaviour could have really put Stacy on the spot and thus cast a bad light at the Fashion Club. Therefore I must urge you to refrain from that kind of interaction with any members of the Fashion Club.”

“I’ll bear it in mind, since I like to stay out of trouble firsthand. What does your ‘Fashion Club’ do to begin with?”

“We set an example for the total population of Lawndale on how to dress fashionably, and inspire people to see the error of their ways of fashion. Sometimes it takes real effort to make people realize how ugly they dress. The fashion violations seem to increase with every passing day.”

Quinn wasn’t sure if the girl meant to be rude, or just sounded that way.
“Fashion violations?”

“You for example are just abnormally tall. But that she-male that transferred in yesterday as well is a total butt-ugly freak. I can’t believe the laws of nature allow the existence of such a foul creature. And its sense of fashion is simply non existant.”

Sandi still could not forgive that girl for tricking her to think she was a boy. Thank god her mishap had happened out of sight of anyone. If that episode had happened on school grounds ... the possible rumors and the permanent damage those allegations could have to her popularity. Too bad that she was a girl...

Quinn’s esteem for Sandi Griffin, the Fashion Club president, dropped from ‘moron’ over ‘scum’ straight to ‘piece of shit’.
“You mean like a wee bit smaller than me, brown hair, green jacket?”

Stacy’s eyes got big. The words were polite, the voice was sweet, but a slight change in Quinn’s body language promised trouble. She glanced at Tiffany, who returned the glance with an equal queasy feeling.

Sandi was pleased that the new arrival obviously had spotted the problem as well.
“Ah, yes, you have seen that ‘girl’ up close. She’s, like, optical pollution.”

Stacy knew she wasn’t a genius, but she could spot trouble. There was a reason why one does not call a football player stupid - at least not to their faces. She inwardly shivered at the idea of raw physical power unleashed. You could not keep a can of pepper spray at hand all the time.

“That makes it even worse, because that girl, like, has someone with a sense for fashion around but still does not know how to dress fashionably.”

«You really failed the last reality check, didn’t you?»
“That girl has a name, it’s Daria, and I’d recommend not calling her any of that to her face. I don’t like people hurting other people. And I’d prefer if you would not badmouth my sister at all to begin with. I think it would be wise if you would not talk to or about her at all.”
«Unlike you, Daria has a soul. Even if she does not like to admit it.»

Sandi’s sortie did not have the effect she expected. The slight glance in Quinn’s eyes made it clear that she’d better drop the subject. Right now any road led to a phalli..., pyro...., bad victory. Appeasement seemed much better.

“At least you dress fashionably, but those jeans you’re wearing could use an update.”

Quinn smoldered, but decided to play nice. «It took a while, but you finally realize that it’s about time to shut up, Puny Griffin.»
“Well, I’m new in town, so I’m sure you can point me to a store around here that carries jeans in my size. During my stay in New York during the summer I had a really hard time finding clothes that come in my size and are fashionable, but I’m confident that you know where to find some here ... in the big city of Lawndale.”

Stacy had a hard time not smiling. This girl was somebody that could easily match Sandi. She felt a little uneasy about Quinn’s sister. She was the most unique girl she had come across so far, and simply intimidated her; even more than Sandi. But maybe that was just a prejudice.

Sandi tried to slowly regain the upper hand.
“I think we may accept your company on one of our Fashion Club shopping trips and show you the stores with acceptable apparel. You moved from New York to Lawndale?”

The girls chatted a little about less sensitive topics to get to know each other. Quinn learned about Ms. Barch’s dislike for anything male, and wondered if Daria had any classes with her. Quinn also learned about the characters of the Fashion Club’s members. Sandi was not impolite towards her and her sister because they were new. Sandi was generally impolite to everyone that was not herself. She seemed to love to control people. Either she did not know what image she projected, or she didn’t care. Dealing with her would be straining. Stacy was basically a sweet girl, but a scaredy-cat. She babbled a lot about vain things, and remained silent about anything important. Her eyes told about her inner conflict in such situations, so Quinn couldn’t label her dumb and superficial. Tiffany was difficult to understand. She didn’t talk much. In that regard she was like Daria. If she spoke, she spoke slow and simple - the exact opposite of Daria. Quinn got the impression that Tiffany was in general a little simple - and hoped to be wrong.

*****

Jane Lane made it into homeroom just in time. As usual, she grabbed her sketchbook from her backpack and flipped it to an empty page. She stalled at the sketches of Daria when Jane thought of her as a ‘Darius’ and recalled her images from her memory. She couldn’t help it. Even if she knew that this was a girl, she felt still an attraction. Maybe it was the glorious figure. Maybe it was just the aura she projected. Maybe Jane was starting to come to terms that life was not as straight forward as she thought it would be.

After homeroom Jane made it on time to her American history class, where Mr DeMartino prepared to ream any unlucky students out that came in any second after the ring of the bell. Most students were already present, and as usual she avoided eye contact with anyone as she walked towards her customary seat on the left side of the class. Something felt different, and so she looked up and scanned the class room. Teacher’s pets: present. Jocks: present. Popular people: present. Nerds and geeks: present. Stoners: physically present. Weirdos, including herself: present. Big green blop slumped over a table in the last row: present.

«Damn! She’s a sophomore! She’s in this class! I ... have no clue what to do.»

Jane drew a blank and switched to auto-mode. Ignore everybody, sit down, take notebook/sketchpad out. Sketch until class begins. Avoid being caught sketching by Mr. D.

*****

Charles Ruttheimer III arrived early at school as usual. He had to watch the girls, which was his favorite occupation during his time at school, since the classes didn’t really pose a challenge. The week was so far still undecided. On Monday, the rumor of some really really luscious lady transferring in reached him. He was only able to spot her between two classes from afar, and found the rumours about her size being true. As for her hotness, he hadn’t seen much, but really liked the little that he had seen. He had scheduled a thorough investigation for today.

He arrived as usual just on time at home room - with Mr. DeMartino right before the American history class - and found this ... person slouched over in the usually unoccupied chair next to him. Approaching his seat he filed the person under ‘yet another football jock’. A jock with glasses, an unusual haircut and a weird taste in clothes, but a jock nevertheless.

Homeroom with its announcements had been unremarkable beside the surprised look that the taut gazelle that was Jane Lane had cast at the jock next to him. What was the story between those two? That did not seem right.

Mr. DeMartino introduced the jock, and immediately put his crosshairs on him with the intent to display his dislike of Kevin-alikes by thoroughly humiliating them. Charles had been about to fade into a nice daydream as he noted that Mr D’s plan did not work out. Charles started to listen. The guy was very smart, and went straight head on with Mr. D. And something was wrong with his voice.

*****

Jane followed the discussion and not her habit to immediately indulge in sketching as soon as Mr. DeMartino had picked a target. He was going unusually hard after Daria, for no reason she could fathom. And Daria kept up with profound answers. That girl was clearly smart. Smarter than Jane herself.

Jane listened to the voice that had haunted her through the night. A deep alto, but if you knew it, a girl’s voice. She felt compelled to look.
«Don’t turn! Don’t look at her! Jane, if you don’t keep looking at Mr D. you may miss his eye pop out for good! That’s better. But I really like her voice. Monotone, but soothing. It makes me feel so safe. And she’s a smart kid, too. I don’t even know what language the last part was in.»

*****

Looking sideways Charles noted a rather soft face. What was the name, again? Daria. Ain’t that female? The realization came slowly onto Charles. That person was neither a jock nor a guy. That was the weirdest chick that had ever come under his eyes. And for the first time he encountered a female that he would reject. She was not for his taste. Clearly too masculine. He learned three valuable lessons during that class. Even he did not go for everything female including sheep, and he was positively not gay.

*****

Jane listened to the conversation. Daria did not know the teacher, but did not yield. That was a risky gamble, especially with Mr. DeMartino, who knew his subject well. And had a somewhat unpredictable personality with a streak of cruelty.

She shuddered at the memory of the episode when he had caught her sketching once. Of course he called her on it. Of course he figured out after 30 seconds that she had not done the assigned reading. Of course he spent an eternity grilling her and point out every tiny hole in her knowledge, liberally salted with condescending remarks about her scholastic abilities. Which were, considering her knowledge, or more the lack thereof, justified. Jane learned some valuable lessons that time.

Don’t get caught sketching the class away. At least skim the assigned chapters. Public humiliation is a damn good motivator. And she would never ever forget a single fact that she was supposed to know, but didn’t at that time.

Daria was lucky. She went head on with an opponent she didn’t know a thing about. That was not good practice, but at least she did not get into a defensive position. That line about not having any ethics was creative, but likely a blatant lie. She considered the concept, so at least she had some vague ideas about it. Even Brittany had ethics - even if she didn’t know about it.

Daria knew the answers and presented them with a weird sense of humor. The good kind of weird. And in addition, Daria had a serious backbone. Not only physically, but mentally as well. Jane liked that. If she could ever look that girl in the eyes again, she would be a person worth knowing.

*****

“Two wars. More like a warlett and a war, in direct comparison.”
«What is your goddamn problem?! I didn’t do a thing to you.»

Mr. DeMartino chuckled at her last comment. The girl had brainpower and matched him so far, and was amusing in her own way. He would shift his focus to an easier target.

“You can put it that way. NOW Kevin, what was the name of the first of the said wars?”

As Mr. DeMartino shifted his focus off of Daria and returned to his class Daria took some time to have a look at her new classmates between taking notes. In the front row sat a football player in his uniform currently making a fool out of himself by jumbling up about every historical fact he tried to come up with to answer the questions.

«I can’t believe there are people as dumb as him. And wear their sports uniform to class. That blow-up doll next to him seems to be his girlfriend. And she’s hardly smarter. God, should they ever successfully reproduce, Darwin is going to spin in his grave fast enough to undig himself.»

Immediately afterwards Daria scolded herself for that thought. Despite often being subjected to prejudice on her own, she was not as free of them as she’d like to be. At least she had noticed and would now consciously give them a chance.

A pair of black students, a rare sight at LHS, sat in the front row as well. Make that a couple, the way they glance at each other every now and then. The black guy was of nice build, as far as she could tell from her position. The petite girl with the red hair sat in this class as well. She spotted her looking and gave a nod. Daria was not exactly happy with that, but nodded back to be polite. A row in front of her, several seats to her left sat the girl from self-esteem class. She busied herself with sketching.

«I didn’t notice that yesterday, but I bet she has been sketching me all way through that class. She hasn’t seen me yet - or decides to ignore me. Suits me fine.»

Other than that, the most remarking thing about the class was Mr DeMartino’s speech pattern. He emphasized syllables - and in unison his eye seemed to get a little bigger.

«Either he’s a vet with an injury, or teaching at a high school is really as bad as I always suspected it was. Or both. But he isn’t half bad at teaching, knows his subject and makes funny remarks. Maybe we will get along after that sordid little episode.»

*****

Charles received the last lesson after the class ended, while everybody got up to head for the next class. He stood up as Daria was picking up her backpack from the floor. To his own amazement, the thought to goose her didn’t even cross his mind. This was not the third lesson. That was the mortal fear he felt when Daria erected herself about a foot away from him. Well over 6 foot tall and at least 180 pounds of muscle she towered next to him, when the thought that she could have sat beside him for a reason crossed his mind. That she was the prototype of a female according to teachings of Barch. That she was likely out to get him.

He hightailed into the safety of the hallway and knew that his looks at Daria would match the looks Jane Lane gave her this morning.

*****

The bell ended Daria’s first class at her new school. Things hadn’t been bad so far, but until now she had been able to avoid most of her class mates. It helped that she had arrived early and that her homeroom had also been her first class. She stood up and grabbed her backpack. The students that just looked at her before now became really interested, and the boy with curly hair in Quinn’s color fled the room. It was likely the guy that had run into her in the hallway the day before. At least she wouldn’t have to explain about her gender with these people, her introduction by name had given that one away.

As she headed towards the door, the ‘QB’ approached her, accompanied by his girlfriend.
“Hey, new dude, you look like football player material. I see these things, because I’m the QB. Are you going to try out for the team?”

«You got your chance, you messed up. You are stupid and/or slow.»
“I’m a girl, Kevin.”

«Two. At least he does not try any high strung pick-up lines on me. Anyway, this has to be joke.»
“I will not try out for the football team, Kevin.”

His girlfriend had eyed her throughout the conversation. She had verified Daria’s gender. For some reason, she did not seem to like the result and spoke up.
“Kevvie, she’s a girl. She can’t be on the team.”

For the second time that day, Daria could not resist.
“We’d have to shower together. Every day. You would like that?”

Kevin’s answer was instantaneous - he had not spent a single thought on it.
“Sure!”

Brittany was not amused.
“Kevvie! You just want her ... ooooooohhhhhhh! Pervert! Impure-thoughts-haver! You have me and still try... and she isn’t even a cheerleader...”
With that Brittany started to berate and swat Kevin out of the class room. Before they were through the door, Brittany looked over her shoulder and shot Daria a real nasty glare.

«Game - set - match. This was so... unbelievable that I can’t even be mad at him.»
Daria was a little baffled. That girl likely felt threatened by her. And not physically. Well, kind of, but not in the bad way. That did not happen often and made Daria feel pleased.
«I’m such a mess. I like it when people hate me.»

*****

Jane watched as Daria got up and moved towards the door, but was intercepted by Kevin. The comparison to ‘the QB’ was impressive. She was taller, and while Kevin looked more muscular, she was. Jane’s artistic eye had no problem mentally subtracting the padding he was wearing. She took the opportunity to vanish from the class room while Daria was distracted by Kevin’s stupidity to make sure she would not talk to her. She simply wasn’t prepared to face her.

The last thing Jane saw from the hallway was Mack and Jodie approach Daria from behind. She had even Mack beat. And he on his own was impressive. Jane had no idea what Jodie did to keep him. If it wasn’t for her, the girls would line up all around the block for him to choose.

*****

Daria turned around to find the black couple standing behind her, grinning widely. The boy, who had addressed her, spoke up again.

“Hi Michael, hi Jodie. I’m Daria, but you know that unless you slept through class.”

Close up Michael was a nice view. Three inches smaller than her, but with a nice build. His obvious girlfriend Jodie was the perfect match for him. She joined the conversation.

“Call me Mack, Daria. That was a really wicked move to sick Brit on him. But I guess that won’t work for me.”

Daria was pleasantly surprised by the friendly conversation with people who appreciated her humor.
“I didn’t expect it to work that well. And you showering with Kevin isn’t a threat to Brit. I hope for Jodie here.”

Mack laughed. That girl was little hard to read, but smart, witty and with a good sense of humor. Jodie went to defend her man.

“Nah, I’m very sure that it isn’t. Mack’ll have to think of his own ways to get to Kevin.”

Jodie blushed a little as she saw the tiny smirk Daria directed at her. She had picked up the implicit information that Jodie didn’t intend to give.

“I’m the captain of the football team, and this is a hard job with him around.”

Daria immediately saw the problem.
“No doubt about that. Sorry, but I need to get to my next class. Math.”

The offer was clear to Daria, but this was much too early to start to get chummy with other students.
“Sorry, I need to stop by my locker. We’ll meet up there.”
«Jodie, you may be a nice girl, but you scream ‘work’ all over. I bet there’s hardly a club that you’re not a member of. I’d better stay clear of you, unless I want to be swamped with ‘voluntary’ extracurricular activities. You’d better found a ‘keep-Michael-happy’ society and be the sole member.»

Jodie and Mack walked off in silence. Before they reached the class room, Mack spoke up again.

“It’s going to take a while to get used to her. I have some mixed feelings about her.”

“Mack, she’s an about 16 year old girl that is taller than you and likely outweights you - and not by additional fat. She’s smart as well. And that does not strike me as a healthy combination.”
«I know what kind of girls you like. That glare Brit shot at her really worries me.»

“No, Mack. But discretion is the better part of valor. I’d like to know her a little better before I get all chummy with her.”
«That girl will need some friends. Just friends. I’m sure.»

«Jodie, you don’t have enough time to be all chummy with yourself.»
“Hmm. We’ll see.”

*****

The math class was pleasantly unexciting. The teacher did welcome Daria, but did not try to single her out as Mr. DeMartino did. Of course he called on her to probe her level, but he seemed to be satisfied by a single correct answer. After the class a boy asked her how tall she was, and several students stuck around to make sure they overheard the answer. The boy was polite about it, and was not obvious about looking her over. So Daria answered politely, and left an awed crowd behind as she headed for PE.

Daria was a little anxious about PE. She wasn’t bad at sports. She wasn’t afraid to change in the locker room - what for? But the possible reactions of the other girls could be... adverse. Well, time to find out. Daria steeled herself, entered the girls locker room and moved towards an empty spot on the benches to change.

“HEY YOU! THIS IS THE GIRLS LOCKER ROOM!” screamed a girl that had faced away from Daria as she passed by her and turned around to identify the unfamiliar silhouette.

The herd-like behaviour kicked in at full throttle. Daria’s attempts of an explanation were drowned out by the multiple exclamations of ‘Get Out!’, ‘Pervert!’, ‘Get the coach!’, ‘Peeping Tom!’ as more and more girls joined in. Things started to get really out of hand as Daria caught the first soap bar that was flung at her. She started to get agitated and knew that early venting would be the best way to prevent a blow up.

“I’M A FEMALE AND I AM REQUIRED TO CHANGE IN HERE!” she roared at the top of her voice. Reverberating from the tiled areas of the locker room her words stood in impressive contrast to the then ensuing silence. Daria had to strain herself not to fling the soap bar back at its owner. But she felt better now.

“What’s going on in here?” demanded Ms. Morris into the silence as she hurried into the locker room to investigate the ruckus. She spotted the big girl standing in the aisle between two rows oflockers, and several of the other girls in different states of undress up the aisle trying to cover themselves up. She remembered Ms. Li’s short briefing. Two new girls, both tall; one lanky, Quinn, one muscular, Daria. No doubt, that was Daria. And her figure matched in shape the senior football players. Impressive.

«You’ve been briefed, haven’t you?»
“Ignorance, blindness, prejudices, general cluelessness?” offered Daria a little peeved. That was more hostility than she had expected.

Seeing Daria from the front, the realization slowly sunk in with the other girls.

“You thought wrong. I recommend verifying your assumptions before you start accusing next time. Unless you want to see Ms. Li for harassment, that is. Do I make myself clear, ladies? You’re Daria, right? Go change. And anybody late is going to do 10 additional laps.”

Ms. Morris left and the silence was replaced by a multitude of murmurs that merged into a constant background noise. Daria was sure she was the sole topic of all conversations, but also knew that there was no way to change that fact. She just headed over to the spot she had in mind right from the beginning, and started to change. None of the girls that started the ruckus made any attempt to offer an apology, but she could feel their stares as she started to undress. Jacket. Boots. Socks. Jeans. T-shirt. Switching bra and panties for something suitable for PE she put on her LHS PE uniform - the male version in XL size. She thought she had heard someone whistle, but couldn’t tell for sure. And if so, it was likely for the nasty bruise she had still on her back from her final training in Highland. But that didn’t matter.

*****

After coach Morris settled the things in the girls’ locker room, Jane retreated back into her corner into the cover of the locker row. But Daria settled down at the end of the bench that Jane just had an unobstructed view on. Jane was already changed, but instead of immediately heading into the sports hall and getting some laps done Jane opted for observation.

Daria did not make a fuss but undressed systematically. Without her clothes, her body had a nice muscular tone without the obtrusiveness of those body building types. Her waistline and hips were not as prominent as usual with women, but Jane was in no position to comment negatively on that. A large ageing bruise was prominent on her left shoulder blade.

«Did she get into a fight? There must be some story to it... Did somebody just whistle? You’re in for a disappointment; she likes boys. I know it right from the horse’s mouth.»

Daria wore a surprisingly nice set of bra and panties. Jane had expected her to wear the utilitarian sports underwear she put on for PE. To her own amazement, Jane’s subtle feeling of attraction to her did not diminish after having Daria’s femininity on full display.

«She’s female, no doubt about that. Compared to her, everyone else in here is not just tiny, but also just a girl. This really weirds me out a little. And having her around in every other class does not exactly help. At least she did get a boys’ size PE uniform. Smart move, I think even the girls’ XL would mean ‘bare midriff’ for her. And be as tight around her chest as Brittany’s.»

Jane stopped her observation and headed for the hall before Daria noted her staring at her. That would have been a very undesirable development.

*****

After the scene in the locker room, the PE class was relaxingly uneventful. No girl wanted to do the back stretches with Daria, but that was for the good reason that none came even close to her height and weight. Ms. Morris filled in, but had a hard time lifting Daria.

Ms. Morris monitored Daria’s performance closely. She was strong. Her well toned muscles moved under her skin as she moved. Ms. Morris spotted a few girls looking more than necessary. She had endurance as well, but wasn’t a good runner due to her body mass. Her body coordination was quite good, and she was sufficiently flexible, but not exactly graceful. As expected, Daria was athletic, but not in any of the core activities of the class. Ms. Morris shuddered at the idea of what that kid would do in game of volley or basket ball among the girls. Or soccer.

Maybe she would have to deal with her similar to that Lane kid, who would purposefully piss her off to be sent off to run laps. This was a good deal for both parties. The Lane girl got to run - and she did not slack off at running; she could only be a half-Lane, at most - and stayed clear of Ms. Morris. Ms. Morris would have liked to forgo the pissing-off, but that ensured that nobody could get on her back for favoritism.

Ms. Morris was pleased to see that Daria was quite well versed in safety. Once assigned the job, she diligently and skillfully secured all girls during their jumps. She never lost the focus on the task, and Ms. Morris was sure that Daria would catch a falling girl - not just soften the fall by using her own body as padding, as the other girls did. That had potential.

“OK ladies! That’s it, hit the showers!” Ms. Morris dismissed the class, and found Daria heading straight towards her.

*****

Doing her laps, circling the entire gymnasium, Jane watched Daria being directed through the different exercises by Ms. Morris. She didn’t do badly, but not exactly well either. That stuff was obviously not up her lane. It was funny, though, to see her ‘throw’ a girl across the vaulting horse that took too little startup while Daria was on safety duty.

After Ms. Morris dismissed the class, Jane immediately headed for the showers. She’d been running more than half an hour non-stop and broken a nice sweat. She used the time to think about exactly that: the shower. Daria in the shower. And Jane reluctantly had to admit to herself that she was looking forward to it.

«Is she too anxious to shower with the other girls after what happened before and planning to stall into the lunch break? She’s not shy per se, as openly as she changed before class.»

As Jane pondered, Daria walked into the showers wearing nothing but flip-flops, her towel over her right shoulder and the soap in her hand. She took the first available shower, adjusted the much too low shower head and cleaned herself. Jane’s eyes nearly bugged out.

«She did not even think about covering herself! I’m not exactly modest, but I try to limit my exposure. Shy and anxious? I bet she needs a dictionary to look those words up.»

Jane took her time under the shower to watch Daria. She really enjoyed the show that came with a clinical shower. She glanced at the other girls in the shower. Some were scandalized by her open display. Some seemed envious about that athletic body. Others just awed by its size. But some others seemed to enjoy the show at least to Jane’s level. In general, suspiciously few girls left the showers while Daria was in there. Those who did, left in quite a hurry.

«Girl, are you aware that this show will grant you the star role in numerous upcoming squishy lesbian wet dreams? You better write yourself a sign: ‘I like boys’. No. ‘I like men’.»

Jane inconspicuously left the shower as she saw that Daria was nearly done with her task, toweled herself and changed into her street clothes. The visual she had gotten during the shower would require several studies to process. Maybe she could do a first charcoal sketch during art class.

*****

Having PE just before the lunch break was a blessing that Daria knew to appreciate. After unloading her backpack into her locker she headed straight for the lunch room and queued for a lunch. With a laden try, she sat down at a sparsely occupied table that seemed to promise some privacy during her lunch.

Daria found her fear of the local cafeteria food confirmed. The food was plain bad. The soup was a salt lake. How does one manage to mess noodles up? The meat was either road kill or Soylent Green. The vegetables were ... recognizable as vegetables. Barely. Her father’s meals were a challenge, but better. And what was it with the meal that looked like leftovers from the day before? Daria was planning to give the food a try this week, and unless it improved dramatically, she would start to bring a boxed lunch.
«Dream on girl.»

The voice woke Daria from her thoughts. The Ankh-girl was standing across from her with her tray in hand and pointed at the chair. Daria shook her head.

«I’ve been pinpointed enough for you to get my name, but...»
“Hello Ms. Pennsylvania.”

“Oh, I didn’t give you my name yet. My name is ... just call me Scarlett, as everybody else does.”

«I don’t care what your name is. Just do not make puppy eyes at me.»
“Enjoy your meal, Scarlett.”

Providing an opportunity to stall any conversation, Daria attacked her meal with new vigor. Scarlett watched a while and ate herself a little.

“I realize you’re having a different selection than I am, but I doubt your choice is so much better than mine. What’s with the eagerness? Do you want me to leave?”

«You’re a tough nut to crack. But even if this is going to take a while, from what I’ve seen in PE this is so going to be worth the effort...»

Daria and Scarlett ate in silence, each in her own world, and did not care about the rest of the lunch room. Silence was a state that suited Daria. With the proper people, talking was just not required. With the wrong people, it was pointless.

*****

Jodie sat across from Mack and ate her lunch while retelling the events that led to the ruckus in the girls’ locker room before PE. Mack got a good laugh out of it and returned the favor by telling some of the even more stupid than usual antics that Kevin performed during PE. Like pulling a Tommy Sherman. Jodie decidedly did not tell anything else about Daria. What she had seen in the showers had her really worried. Daria gave a very male first impression. But seeing her au naturel in the shower left no doubt that she was a healthy girl. Make that woman. Different from your usual expectations, but a woman all right. Mack did not need to know that.

Brittany sat with her fellow cheerleaders to gossip before hooking up with their respective boyfriends (or not) from the football team. Part of the gossip were the new girls, obviously. Daria was found to be a girl, and a shameless one at that. Even the cheerleaders had their limits when it came to handling a razor. Otherwise her body was a failure. Muscles all over, and unless naked hard to distinguish from a guy. Brittany’s initial assessment of her was found to be wrong. No healthy guy would go for a girl like her, but the lesbians would be all over her. And most likely she would fit in perfectly with that bunch, given how she was sitting with the petite red head that made, very discreetly, puppy eyes at her.

The tall red head was another deal. She was just a freshman and only two weeks into the year there weren’t any freshman on the squad yet, so the gossip was severely limited. She was tremendously cute, tall and mature for being a freshman. All guys - not just the freshman - really enjoyed looking at her. But her size was also her weak spot. Hardly any boy could approach a girl like her without getting dwarfed. The verdict was, that she was likely to stir up the popular circles (she had been seen hanging around with the Fashion Club!), but was no threat to the cheerleading squad. At least not yet.

*****

Quinn’s classes progressed slowly but steadily. The chairs at LHS were seriously small for a person of her size, and unless she extended her legs way under the chair in front of her, she was really cramped. She shared many of her classes with at least one of the girls from that Fashion Club. She was not sure if they made potential friends. That Sandi girl was incredibly snotty.

Quinn quickly learned about the groups at high school; they weren’t that different from the ones at middle school. There were jocks from the teams, who associated with the cheerleaders and the other popular people. The ‘involved’ students. The nerds and geeks that stuck to themselves. Skaters. Metal heads. Punks. Stoners. Well, those were new compared to middle school, at least in their abundance. Goths. All those had found their friends and were integrated in a group, even the freshman.

Transferring schools just two weeks into the term was really a bad time. People had just made new acquaintances and were too busy converting them to friends to have time to care for some new arrivals. Quinn had seen the outcasts, who stuck to themselves. They could be a large group, but just didn’t interact. Quinn was sure that this was the not-group that Daria would join. She had her own agenda and would welcome the solitude. Daria was like a leopard. She needed her freedom and walked alone. And Quinn knew she was capable of sleek movements that simply betrayed her frame.

Quinn, however, was like a bunny. Maybe a huge bunny, but a bunny nevertheless. A life like that was her worst nightmare. It would kill her. Very, very slowly and painfully. Her mom would be on her back, her dad would be clueless, and Daria would neither see nor understand her problem. Quinn knew she wouldn’t make friends immediately, but she could not allow herself to wait too long before acting. Maybe those Fashion Club girls, they knew about dating, and fashion and...

She was aware of the stares she got. Much more than in middle school. The students talked abouther without including her. Some girls and boys asked about her size, and she saw some bills being passed around after her answer. Daria would so fit into this. Not a single boy made an attempt to really talk to her. That really sucked.

At least her teachers gave her much leeway and didn’t single her out. She was new at high school and had missed two weeks. But that was going to be temporary. Quinn was glad that she had a capable and willing tutor at call. Daria.

Daria seemed to have made an impact as well. There was gossip about a new guy, likely senior, that looked as a perfect addition to the football team. And since Quinn knew there was no such guy among the group of new arrivals, she was sure that someone had mistaken Daria - again.

PE class would settle that rumor. And like a hydra’s heads there would be three new rumors in an instant. Quinn was not happy about that. Daria didn’t like attention. She would be moody. Quinn would have to plan in order to minimize her stay at home during the upcoming weekend.

*****

After her previous experience in the self-esteem class with Mr. O’Neill Daria was not happy with him being her English teacher as well. While English was her favorite subject, a teacher like him had the potential to ruin it permanently for her. Her hope was that his intellectual capacity would not limit him to reciting paragraphs from ‘Shakespeare for dummies’, as it did in that darn self-esteem class. Otherwise she would have to consider a hipflask with some serious drink to fast-forward through his class.
«Mom and Dad would reaaaally love that.»

She was relieved that the focus on her had dropped a little once she was in the classroom. Most of the people in this class had seen her in one of the previous classes that day, so her novelty had worn off. Jodie and Mack were in the class as well as Brittany and Kevin. Daria set off to occupy an arbitrary seat, but as she passed Jodie’s first row seat on the way, the black girl spoke up.

Confused, Daria stopped and faced Jodie. Her decidedly neutral voice let Daria answer in the best monotone she could muster.
“Why that?”

Jodie was not comfortable around Daria. History and PE had shown that the girl had brain and body. Lots, and they shared too many classes.
“O’Neill needs a seating chart.”

«That guy gets better and better...»
“Ah, he never forgets a name - just the face that goes with it.”

Jodie and Mack gave a little chuckle at her comment, but to Daria Jodie’s sounded forced.
“There is no way that he’s going to mistake you for someone else. The original occupant of the seat however...well, let’s say I just don’t want to have to prompt for him all the time.”

«You make yourself everyone’s lackey, don’t you?»
Daria shrugged and headed back to the door. She noted that the Lane girl was in the class as well, and she busied herself with her sketchpad while ignoring the world around her.
«Hmm, maybe writing through class is an option. At least it’s more approved than getting drunk. And kills less brain cells.»

Daria sat in the chair next to the door waiting for Mr. O’Neill’s arrival until its original occupant showed up. Being primed by Jodie, she willingly vacated the seat and leant to the wall next to it. She used the waiting time to observe her class mates. The ankh-girl, Scarlett, was in this class aswell. The rest of her class mates were rather nondescript. A girl in a goth-type outfit caught her eye; she wore a single glove.
«Asymmetry. The brain just notices it without really knowing what is odd.»

Daria’s observation was interrupted when Mr. O’Neill entered the classroom and closed the door. His eyes went a little wide as he spotted her, but that was the limit of his reaction. If he was nervous all the time to begin with. Putting his notes on the desk, he surveyed the class, squinted at his seating plan, and made a note on it.

“Hello class, we have a new student in our English course, Miss Darla Morgendotter.”

“Daria. Delta-Alpha-Romeo-India-Alpha. Morgendorffer. Mike-Oscar-Romeo-Golf-Echo-November-Delta-Romeo-double Foxtrot-Echo-Romeo.”

Mr. O’Neill squinted at his notes again. “Hm, sorry, yes, Daria. Please take the empty seat over there. Class, please make Daria feel welcome.”

Daria made her way to the indicated seat in the back at the classroom. The pattern to sit her in the back in order for her not to obstruct the view of any possible students behind her was obvious. She hoped that her eyes would keep up with it. Even with glasses her vision was less then stellar.

“And as she has missed the first two weeks of classes, she would surely hugely appreciate if someone could give her some pointers about the ...”

“‘Tiny appreciation’ simply seems impossible” someone said and provoked a laughter from the class and a groan from Daria.

“‘Small hearted’ won’t do either! No way!” More laughter from the class.

Daria wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. The jokes were on her, but also on Mr. O’Neill and not exactly mean. And that teacher was just...

“Well, then let’s start with the lecture. We’re currently looking at the poems of Shakespeare. Daria, to welcome you to the class I’d like you to read one of the great sonnets ...”

Suppressed giggles filled the room as Daria picked up her textbook and recited the poem that Mr. O’Neill assigned.

*****

English turned out to be another class that Jane shared with Daria. She was briefed by Jodie about Mr. O’Neill’s quirks. Those two seemed to get along just fine. After the class started and Daria had again ended up in the back row, Jane was ready to sketch all the way through the class. The laughter at Mr. O’Neill’s size references - and Daria’s size - was amusing. Daria seemed to take it well. Jane had the distinct feeling that Daria had gotten quite a lot of teasing during her life. She stuck out, and the hammer usually hits the nail that sticks out most.

As Daria read the poem, Jane was again mesmerized by her voice. Yes, her reading was rather monotone, but she didn’t make a single mistake and brought the rhythm (what was the proper term for it again?) of the sonnet out the right way. Her voice had a soothing quality to Jane, but she did recall the incident in the locker room. Ouch.

Somehow, Daria’s voice did not match her body, but Jane could not tell why she felt that way.

*****

The self-esteem class was unremarkable. Daria had been early again, but this time chose a seat in the back row. After the second teacher asked her to stay in the back in order to give the other students an unobstructed view to the board, she did so automatically. The ‘QB’, who wasn’t exactly small and always wore his padding, was seated in the front row in every class he shared with Daria. If Mack was present, he was seated right beside him. Obviously Mack and the teacher were required to keep the Kevin in line.

Sitting in the back had its perks, as it gave her a good view of her fellow students. It did not take long to figure out who belonged into what clique. At least the social structure of LHS did not differ too much from her old school. That Lane girl shared several classes with Daria, but went miles to avoid her.
«I wonder what is with her. I think I was quite friendly with my reply, must be her disappointment.»

Interestingly, she did not belong to the jock group as Daria initially suspected, but seemed to be one of the outcasts that no group would have. Or that would have no group. Her way of dressing fit that way as well. Interestingly, the Coach had sent her running laps quite early in PE. That had looked pretty much like some extra time for track team training.

When Lane entered the self-esteem class, just before the bell rang, Daria observed her systematically looking for her - in order to chose a seat that brought the biggest distance between the two girls. Afterwards, Lane immediately immersed herself into drawing.

Sitting in the back of classes had also its drawbacks. Besides Daria’s bad eyesight, that made the board a little hard to read, there were the ‘less interested’ students that stuck to the back of the classroom as well. And their continuous chatter and antics irritated Daria a little, but at least there were no brain dead idiots like Beavis and Butthead around. The goth with the fishnet glove had stuck in the back as well, and as she was silent during class - neither snoring nor chatter - Daria had seated herself next to her as often as possible. They hadn’t exchanged a single word and hardly a look, which suited Daria fine - and the goth as well.

The self-esteem class passed by Daria in a blur, and she only took sparse notes to be able to identify the used books later on. The school library was not likely to stock them, the local library neither, but with OPAC and remote borrowing that was not a real problem.

*****

“Well, the usual rumors revolving around who-dates-who and so on are currently just background noise. The two new girls are the main topic.”

“So, Stacy, would you like to elaborate. And please stick to our main problem. Quinn.”
«My main problem will be dealt with later.»

“It seems like we’re currently among the students best informed about Quinn. Our talk before school was about the longest she had with a single group all day. We witnessed her in class by ourselves, she’s ok, but not brainy.”

“The talk among the guys is ambivalent; everybody is awed by her presence and consider her a major hottie. I quote: ‘I know what image will be on my mind this evening when I’m ...’”

Despite the offensiveness of Stacy’s words, Sandi did not dare to ignore the facts that they conveyed.
«That development was somehow to be expected. As long as this is only a temporary effect due to her novelty, it’s all right. Permanent however...»

“No member of the Fashion Club should say such things. Even if it was verbatim. You better not even think about such things. Do you need a week’s worth of fashion sabbatical to sort your thoughts out?”

“Do so, but please bear the statutes of the Fashion Club in mind while doing so. Go on.”

“Well, the boys think she’s hot, but so hot that she seems unapproachable.”

“There is another very important piece of information that I got from Heather that overheard Quinn talking to Jodie Landon. Quinn rebuffed any participation in clubs and extracurricular activities with reference to her part time job as a model. Between that, homework and an occasional date she just has no time.”

This information had an impact on Sandi like a Daisy Cutter. That girl did not only look like a model, she was a model. That changed things completely. Just observing and manipulating every now and then would not be sufficient to control her popularity. Every circle would be falling over themselves to get her as a member. That had the potential of serious trouble in the long term. Sandi made an ad-hoc decision. Quinn was unwilling to become a member of any activity. But likely she would give in and join a club to stop the whining. One club. And that would be the Fashion Club. That called for some serious scheming. She did not expect any suitable help from Tiffany, and the danger of Stacy being a leak outweighed her usefulness.

“This is an important development. Maybe she will be able to provide us with some contacts. Even if she just models for the local copy shop, the photographers are usually well networked. Stacy, try to get any additional information on that topic. Anything else?”

“Yes Sandi, I’ll try to. What’s next? Ah, for the rumor of Quinn being, well, you know, as said by the girls that had been next to her in the PE locker room, this seems to be true. Her sister is, well, so too. And that has been verified by every sophomore girl that shares PE with Daria. Daria is said to be even, hmm, less self-conscious than Quinn.”

«Everything, I’d really like to see... crap, that is an image that I really don’t need in my head right now. Get a grip, Alexandra!»

“That gave Daria an instant recognition among the girls who, well, do not like boys.”

“So Daria could be a lesbian, but at least she’s a slut. Maybe Quinn is too. But I doubt the two of them can exploit their lewdness with their repulsive bodies. We cannot entrust the Fashion Club’s popularity standing on the possibility of Quinn having cheerleader morals. We’ll have to have a close eye on her. Do I make myself clear?”

“I think it would be wise to wait for Quinn tomorrow morning to trick her into talking to us, just as she did today. OK? Meeting adjourned.”

*****

The smell reached Daria as soon as she opened the door to her home. Her father had kept his promise and had taken care of the dinner by conducting some chemical experiment with the intent of creating some stew. Daria announced herself and got an answer from her father. Her mother waved at her from the living room, whereshe had spread several files on the table and was busy talking on her cell phone. Quinn was not to be seen. Daria went into the kitchen, and immediately started to set the table, as it wasn’t prepared.

“Hey kiddo, good you’re back! I made some stew. How’s that self-esteem coming?”

«Kiddo my ass.»
“Brilliant. I got mistaken for a guy six times today. That does wonders for one’s self-esteem. You owe me a twenty.”

Daria picked up Jake’s wallet from the sideboard, presented it to him, and at his nod removed two ten dollar bills in his sight, which she pocketed.

«Ah, kiddo, that sucks. People just don’t see what a sweet little girl you are.»
“That’s not nice, but you haven’t run into any real trouble so far, have you, Daria?”

“No. Actually, it’s better than I expected. Having Quinn around distributes all the attention between the two of us. I just don’t know how she can like it.”
«And the head cheerleader seems to see me as a threat in regard to her bozo boyfriend. No matter how stupid that is, it delights me in a wicked way.»

“She is just the way she is. She can’t have enough attention. Here, try the stew! I tried an old secret recipe from military school!”

“If she takes my share, I’ll do her chores for a week. A month. The stew is ok dad, stay clear of any additional spices.”

Daria immediately made contingency plans: Distract Jake, insert potatoes, let them simmer a bit, extract potatoes before Jake notices, hope for the best, and serve.

“Dad, you’ve already cooked. I’ll take over, you go and get mom and Quinn.”

*****

Twenty minutes later the Morgendorffer family was rounded up at the table, and the stew was served.

Helen and Quinn held back a little until Jake and Daria swallowed the first spoon of the concoction, and after seeing no adverse reaction started eating by themselves.

“It’s good, Jakey. Hot, but not too hot, one can still taste the ingredients.”

“Well, then ‘kiss the cook’!” Jake said and presented his cheek to his wife.

Quinn looked at Daria who rolled her eyes as her father got what he wanted. Quinn had the inkling that Daria had somehow intervened to ensure the edibility of their dinner. The kitchen was Daria’s realm, even if Jake and Helen thought otherwise.
«God, I hope those two will not get any funny ideas tonight.»

“Tell a little about your day, Quinn.” Helen was not wasting her time by just eating.

“Well, I met these three girls that are the Fashion Club, and they really know how to dress nicely, but it’s much easier for them as stores just carry their sizes. And they asked me to join the pep-squad, but ...”

Jake dug into his stew, which was for some reason rather bland, and listened to his little girl tell about her school day.

Daria listened as well, and was amazed at the ease with which Quinn settled in at high school.
«Well, being asked about your size offers an invitation for a conversation, but really loses its appeal after the fifteenth time. And not being asked out by any boys on your first day is not a natural disaster, Queen Quinn.»
«They may need some time to find the courage to approach you - outside of their imagination. And that you are not completely up-to-date in your classes is to be expected after missing the first two weeks. If you keep up that studying you did yesterday, you’ll be on track by the start of next week. At least you don’t have that bozo Kevin in your class. If he is as stupid as he seems, he shouldn’t be able to tell the teams apart on the field.»

*****

Jane sat at the kitchen table in the same spot as the day before. She wore the same expression on her face as the day before. As Trent arrived in the kitchen and saw her, he knew that she was still troubled. He had just wanted to pick up a soft drink and head back to the basement to continue to practice the Open-D tuning on his acoustic, but that could wait. Trent sat down across from Jane, as the day before.

He opened his soda can and prepared for some time in silence before he would try to talk to Jane, but Jane started the conversation by herself.

Trent offered her his soda, which she accepted. While he got himself another can, Jane continued.

“I wanted to prepare myself to face her again. In self-esteem class. I would have had time all day. To sort out what is going on.”

“Brrr This store brand stuff does not really replace Ultra Cola. Neither in caffeine nor in sugar nor in taste. Well. It didn’t work. She’s a sophomore. We share classes. I walked into Mr D’s class, and there she was. My brain shut down.”

“And Mr D caught you sketching.” Trent grinned a little at the memory of Mr D chewing him out for nodding off in class.

“No. No, he didn’t. He was busy trying to show her up for some reason. Didn’t work though.”

“No, but she’s a smart kid. Very smart. I think they negotiated a ceasefire someway through class.”

*****

Helen encouraged Quinn to keep going by asking a question every now and then, but even Quinn ran out of news after a while. So Helen shifted her focus to her other daughter.

“Some weird girl hit on me before I even reached school grounds. My history teacher either hates me or just wanted to test me. ‘The QB’ asked me to try out for the football team. I nearly got kicked out of the girls’ locker room before PE. I’m afraid I have an admirer, ah, make that an admireress. I hope she gets ‘NO!’ and isn’t the persistent type. I really hate that situation.”

Compassion and weariness filled Helen’s soul. Did Daria manage to get into trouble on her first real day at the new school?
«Daria, why can’t you be a little more like me and understand it as a second option?»
“What happened in PE?”

“Some girls hadn’t seen me before and mistook me for a guy. The coach calmed things down. I think most of them had to see the complete evidence before they felt safe.”

“Any problems in your PE class, Quinn?” Helen shifted her focus on her other daughter.

“I’m not any good at it, but you know that. And getting sweaty is just gross. But to answer your question: Some of the girls were surprised, but no Miss goody-two-shoes started to call me names or something.”

“Ah, girls, those stuck-up kids just don’t know what is good.” Jake chimed in.

«Jake, I agree with you on the advantages, but they are your daughters.»
“Daria?”

“I think nobody really noticed - they were busy looking at the rest of me. And if: I’m a freak anyway.”

“Should they start giving you trouble, tell them the truth. If they won’t stop...” Helen did not have to spell the “or else” out.

“The other girls are going to be so jealous that we never have to shave our legs...” Quinn smirked. Daria decided to divert from the current topic.

“I asked the PE coach about the school’s gym today. There are two-hour ‘girls only’ slots on Tuesday and Thursday after school. I’m going to attend this Thursday after that self-esteem class, if that’s alright with you, mom, dad?”
«And...»

“Of course Daria. And Quinn will accompany you. She needs to keep up with her physiotherapy exercises. A ‘girls only’ class is perfect for that.”

“Mo-om! I’ll get all sweaty! And look like a jock! You can’t do that to me!”

“You will go. And Daria, you will make sure that she does her exercises properly!”

*****

“PE was ... strange. When she came into the locker room, some girls that hadn’t seen her before mistook her for a guy and made a ruckus. Coach Morris came in and calmed them down. After changing there was no more doubt she’s a girl. The shower after PE really got to me.”

“She doesn’t hide herself. I got a realllly good glance at her ... and I really liked what I saw. She’s all hard but soft at the same time. Nice and smooth movements. God, this is so disturbing.”

“No. That’s not the point, Trent. I like that body. And that’s ok. But I’m not sure if I like it because it belongs to a girl or in spite of it belonging to a girl. Damn.”

«Ooooook....time for a little diversion.»
“And what do the other girls think?”

“How should I know Trent!? Am I a mind reader?! Ah, sorry, I’m ... She’s intimidating. Her physique, I mean. Strong and agile, but totally sucks at gymnastics.”
Jane laughed a little and fished her sketchbook from her backpack.
“So much like a guy. Look at these sketches.”

To Trent said sketches initially looked the same as the ones yesterday. But on the second glance he noted a slight difference in proportions. The greek athlete was now a female. And wore glasses, giving the picture a surreal feeling.

“Those should be pretty accurate. I had a good look at the original in its natural state. Her jacket conceals a lot when you look at her from behind.”

Trent was tempted to ask Jane about the accuracy of those sketches. But implying that Jane took artistic liberties when she claimed she hadn’t was bad practice, so he remained silent.

After two seconds, the color of Jane’s face approached the hue of her jacket. His sister was embarrassed, on at least two accounts. Trent didn’t press on, but had an idea how to help her a little - in the long run.

As Jane didn’t answer he knew she had some thinking to do. He picked up his soda and headed for the basement. Trent could nearly touch the blues Jane emitted. Blues. Open-D tuning. Hmm. Maybe he could get a good song out of this situation.

*****

Later that evening Daria went downstairs to make a call. The internal phone wiring was still faulty, so the phone in her room didn’t work. Not that she would need it as often as Quinn already did hers.

“I’m calling about my training classes.” Daria announced to her parents as she picked up the phone. She read the number from a Post-It and keyed it in. After the fourth ring, somebody picked up.

“Hello Mr Reynolds, my name is Daria Morgendorffer, we just moved in from Highland,Texas, and...”

Daria heard the smile in the man’s voice and couldn’t help but smile herself. She could still remember how she had gotten that nickname during her first training. She was a short, fragile kid back then, when Helen had made the girls attend those classes with her. Quinn was already taller, and that didn’t sit too well with Daria. She hated being mocked and called names at school because of her size.

But when the 6’something 190+pound ex-marine teaching those classes named her Tiny, he did so for a very good reason and with no ill intent: compared to him she simply was, and of course she was the smallest participant to begin with. That nickname stuck, even as she grew, and she had come to like it for the memories that were attached to it. Memories of her being a much more normal kid that could just blend in if she had to. She wasn’t sure if those times had been happier, but they hadn’t been as bad as as they seemed then.

“Buzzcut told me to expect your call. He was right on that one. You’d like to join the classes, I suppose?”

“Yes, I got used to them. It is really a pity that I’ll have to commute to Oakwood, you’re sure there are no classes at Lawndale?”

“We currently meet four times a week. Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday at 7pm, usually ’til 10. Many people have other things to do on Friday evening, so it’s mostly the ‘enthusiasts’ on that day.”

“The parking lot of the Tellerman office complex on the side of the highway to Middleton. One of the security crew is a student as well. We’re in the city green Sunday and Monday after.”

“Parking lot. Ouch. But I think I can make that. See you on Friday, Mr Reynolds.”

“No pain no gain...See you, Tiny. And I’m really curious how much of the description Buzzcut gave me was part of his imagination...”

Daria jotted time and location on the Post-It thatdid hold the phone number. Getting a ride this Friday was doable. A regular ride would be difficult. She would have to put some serious thought in the carpool idea. Buzzcut had been right. She had the feeling she would fit in this group as well.

*****

After dinner and watching a little TV downstairs Quinn had retreated into her room to work on the books on her reading list, which was the most time consuming aspect of changing schools.
«If you haven’t read those books on your own, anyway.»

Daria turned and followed Quinn into her room. Daria wondered if permanent exposure to those colors could cause ocular cancer.

Quinn held up her school issued copy of ‘Shakespeare, selected pieces’ and sat down again at her desk, facing Daria. Getting extra high desks and chairs had been a real pain, but was a necessity. For a while Daria had to use bricks under her desk’s legs to heighten its top.

“... well, I understand this weird language now, I get what is going on, but...”

«If that is true, our last sessions paid out. Good.»
“That’s nice, but what’s more?”

“I keep forgetting things. It does not fit in my head anymore. That was about the fiftieth boring drama with boring people and weirdo language that I’ve read and it’s, like, all the same in my mind! One large blot of pointless mumbo-jumbo! Even that stupid guy ran out of titles and just numbered the junk. Doesn’t he know that one starts with one - and not with two or four?”
The frustration was palpable in Quinn’s voice.

Inwardly Daria smiled. Quinn was paying the price for an easy summer. Betting on cramming was a bad choice, but Quinn had made it. Now she had to deal with the consequences.
“And you want my help to forget the ‘mumbo-jumbo’? Sorry, I don’t do brain surgery.”

“No, I cannot remember things for you. That’s something you’ve got to do on your own.”

“Daria, I just can’t. Help me here. Please. If I come home with a ‘D’ essay mom’s going to be so pissed off. You don’t want that either.”

“You’ve got a point there.”
Daria contemplated how to help Quinn. To skip out of helping her was not an option; one word to their mother, and Helen would raise hell. Daria’s eyes were on Quinn, but out of focus while she was lost in thought.

Daria did not the like the surprised look on Quinn’s face.
“The notes on the stories you’ve read.”

“I’ve read them. I didn’t take any notes.”
Quinn started to realize her mistake.

“Hey, I’m supposed to read the books on the reading list! That’s what I’m doing!”

“True. But being on the reading list does not ban taking notes on the texts. And if you keep forgetting things, you obviously should have takennotes.”

Quinn was a little bit embarrassed and felt stupid. The thought to take notes while reading had not once crossed her mind. She had been proud that she was forcing herself to do the reading, but her brainy big sister immediately had put her back in her place.
“So, what now?”

“You don’t have to. Quickly browsing through them should be enough to recall the main points.”

Quinn looked unhappily at her issue of ‘Shakespeare, selected pieces’ and came up with another way to end this quick. She put on her pleading face.
“Would you give me your notes?”

«Have you ever considered that the HHS freshman reading list may differ from the LHS list?»
“No. And that is solely because only taking your own notes will really help you remember.”

Daria had put her arms akimbo during that sentence, and this told Quinn that the last word on that matter had been spoken. Likely she was right. Unhappy, she put the book back on the desk and mourned the hours she would waste taking her own notes. But then Daria would help her. She got up from her chair and faced her sister.

Quinn stepped over to her sister and hugged her. Quinn could use a hug, her first whole day at high school was a bigger strain than she had let on. High school was even more of a war zone than middle school had been. Getting out of there unscathed would be much more difficult to her than to her self-reliant sister. Most things just ricocheted off of her armor.

Daria was a little surprised, but returned the hug willingly. She liked being hugged, because it made her feel so trustworthy. But her experience thaught her never to initiate a hug on her own. That made some people uncomfortable - for obvious reasons. As nice as being hugged by Quinn was, it always brought up some bad thoughts. She had stopped in her growth, but Quinn was taller. Again. She could never be a proper ‘big sister’ to Quinn. And holding her sister’s delicate body always remembered her of her own messed up figure. Quinn was tall, but had all the right curves of a woman. Long firm legs, a creamy white complexion with just the right amount of freckles that were a natural red head’s trademark. Quinn was so soft. Her looks provided Quinn with a lot of attention, but she just basked in it. Daria would not be really comfortable with it, but at least it was good attention. At least compared to what she herself got.

As Daria returned the hug heartily, Quinn felt immediately better. Daria’s arms around her made her feel so protected. Strong, but loving. Daria may be a little smaller than her, but outweighed her by about twenty-five pounds and thus was her BIG sister. She always had been. Quinn remembered the one time when she had thrown a fit about a year ago and tried to lunge at Daria. She had felt like a rag doll during the eyeblink that it took Daria to pin her on the floor. Luckily Daria was not angry at her and just waited until she had calmed down.

Quinn took another look at her sister in her orange shirt and jeans. Daria was strong in mind and body, which Quinn was not. The people admired Quinn as they would admire a piece of artwork, but people respected Daria. On first sight for her physique, but soon after for her mind. That respect was worth so much more thanall the shallow attention she got.

Daria left Quinn’s room to return to her own, and Quinn sat down at her desk again. Her view fell on the dreadful book again, but her mind was not set to contemplate the works of Shakespeare. Her future at LHS seemed to loom over her.

*****

Daria returned to her room in a better mood than before. Seeing Quinn interested in more useful things than fashion gave her hope that her sister would not turn out as a living display dummy. Her mother’s move to tie Quinn’s modelling jobs and classes to her academic standing obviously provided a strong motivation. The hug she got out of it was a nice bonus. Quinn felt for some reason unknown to Daria safe around her, but Daria would not complain.

Daria closed her door, and ‘accidentally’ knocked her backpack over in such a manner that any attempt to open the door would hit it and cause enough noise to make her notice. Daria grabbed her diary from its obvious hiding spot behind some other books in her shelf and started to write the entries for the day before and the present day.

New school with a power mad principal, visit at the shrink who did not like her question about the last shooting rampage at that institution. Being sentenced to a freak class with a teacher who seems to be permanently on drugs. Being propositioned by two total hotties (for, but of wrong, sex) and one total dumbass (for football). A beer on Monday evening, unpacking her stuff. The history teacher with the pneumatic eye. The shouting match in the locker room. The girl who lost her Ben Wa balls in the shower after P.E. Having talked about the local venues to hold black celebrations with that girl during lunch. Her dad’s failed attempt at stew. A shot of H for dessert. A little bonding with Quinn.

Daria powered her computer up, and while the machine booted, she stored the diary in its new old spot that no snoop would miss. The bait was laid out again. She then logged onto the machine, extracted her personal data from the family video (last Christmas, courtesy of Jake) it was hidden in, decrypted it and opened her journal. After finishing the two missing entries, encryption and re-embedding the data into the video she lamented the missing internet connectivity due to the defect internal cable and phone lines. She had to make sure that they would be fixed ASAP, or some work around like a wireless connection was installed. She’d have to talk to her dad about that.

*****

Her father told her that he wanted to look into the cable problem by himself before calling an expert.

“Maybe it’s just a loose connection we can fix ourselves and save some money.”

He was going to be too busy during the week and thus planning the investigation for the weekend. Daria decided to wait until then and she would make sure to assist her father. In other words: monitor him, to ensure that he would connect neither the phones nor himself to the mains.

“My self-defence classes. There are none in Lawndale, and the Friday evening class at Oakwood seemed best to me to start with.”

“Your class, I remember, you said something along those lines. When is it on Friday?”

With a ‘Gotta make some calls!’ and a wicked gleam in his eyes her father left, mumbling to himself. He was definitely up to something.

Daria wished she was already allowed to drive on her own. That would solve that problem, she’d just have to bum a car.

*****

Daria was in the bathroom brushing her teeth as Quinn entered as well. Daria finished up, and made room for her sister.

“Yes, it’s alright, but I want it completely healed before I start my training again.”

“Ouch. Nice coloring. Mostly green-yellowish with a tad of teal. I was already wondering why you were wearing that thing.”

Quinn started to rub the salve onto her sister’s shoulder, admiring her muscles.
«That bruise will take some more days to vanish.»

The ointment created a pleasant coolness on Daria’s back. Quinn was careful, and did not rub hard enough to cause any aches.

Quinn saw an opportunity and seized it.
“If I have to keep this up this week, I demand compensation.”

“No. I wasn’t thinking of money. During the move I saw you have a book on massage...”

“Don’t tell me you don’t want to try it out. If you want me to nurse your back this week, you owe me a nice back massage the coming weekend.”
«I know how fast you learn, and you’re strong enough to give a good massage. And I have a good idea why you would be interested in that topic.»

“Ah, and you would rather unexperiencedly hurt your boyfriend...he would not be up for anyth...”

“Quinn!”
«...get your mind out of the gutter. There are some things that we should have never talked about.»

Quinn just smirked at her sister, who looked at her via the mirror, but was not inclined to blush.

“Daria, go see a doctor. Or ask mom to help you, she is going to be so delighted seeing that bruise.”

Daria reached for the bruise. She was barely able to touch the spot, but in no way to efficiently apply the ointment. Quinn smiled at Daria’s futile contortions. She was in for a nice and relaxing back massage.

“Damn. You win. But I can’t make any promises.”
«I’ll have to make sure that it sucks big time!»

Quinn went back to work.
“I know you’ll try your best. That stuff smells really rank.”

Quinn capped the jar and handed it back to Daria after she had put her shirt back on.

Quinn smirked. Getting the upper hand on her sister wasn’t something she could accomplish often.

Daria went back to her room and contemplated a way to get back at her sister. They would be together in the gym on Thursday.
«I think I can make sure that you are really going to need that massage...»