"Just Another Day In Paradise"
A Piece Of Daria Fanfiction By
Brandon League
(Brnleague@aol.com)

Legalese-Daria Morgendorffer and her pals are owned by MTV/Viacom and NOT me. There, you happy?

Summary-Two little girls meet for the first time in a day care center.
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Carla DeVille sighed as she watched the shy four-year-old girl staring apprehensively out the window. She knew what the little girl was afraid of; she had seen it a thousand times before.

The poor thing was afraid that her mother would never return.

Carla had worked at the 'Playland Paradise' day care center for over eight years and she had long ago learned to spot the signs of this very common fear. It broke her heart to see that black-haired little girl fighting back tears as she looked in vain for a mother that would not come to pick her up for another two hours.

She needs to make a friend or two, Carla told herself. She looked at the little girl and frowned. Carla knew that was easier said than done. Of all the kids at the center, she's easily the most introverted...but damnit, she needs to do more than just cry and look out the window! She needs to...

"Excuse me? Miss?"

Carla almost jumped. She gathered herself quickly and turned to see who had addressed her.

It was a young Asian woman. She appeared to be in her mid-to-late twenties. She was dressed rather casually, in blue jeans and a red sweater. Holding her hand for dear life was a very young Asian girl. The little girl wore a white, lacy dress and stared up at Carla with huge, friendly eyes. She was simply adorable, and Carla wasn't afraid to say so.

"She's gorgeous!" Carla gasped, putting her hands to her cheeks. "My, isn't that a pretty dress!"

The young woman flushed with pleasure and turned to her daughter. "Say thank you, Tiffany."

The little girl looked up at Carla, and after about ten seconds of staring, she said softly, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, sweetie."

The young Asian woman stared at Carla for a few seconds, almost as if she were sizing her up, and said, "I'm Diana Blum-Deckler. I spoke to you on the phone."

Carla consulted the Rolodex on her desk. "Let's see here. Bartlett. Bingham. Blackburn. Ah! Here we are. Blum-Deckler!"

"I usually don't leave Tiffany with strangers," Diana said, looking rather sheepish, "but her father was in a freak accident. His office is on the second floor of the new Professional Building and he fell down a flight of stairs. They think he broke his wrist."

"That's awful!" Carla exclaimed. She put a reassuring hand on top of Diana's hand. "Don't worry, honey. We're HARDLY strange here."

Diana looked embarrassed. "No, no, I didn't mean..."

Carla chuckled. "I know, I know. I have a daughter myself. She's a freshman at Lawndale High now, but when she was Tiffany's age, I was very protective of her."

Diana looked relieved.

Carla cleared her throat and immediately got down to business. "Okay, how long do you need Tiffany to stay with us?"

Diana thought a minute. "Well her father is in the emergency room at Cedars Of Lawndale and we ALL know about the wait in an emergency room..."

Carla snorted. "Tell me about it."

Diana thought a little longer and finally said, "Could you watch her a couple of hours? I'll come back and get her around five o'clock."

Carla nodded. "That would be fine."

The two women finalized the deal. Diana signed a couple of legal forms and they discussed the day care center's rates and then, that done, Diana knelt down and put her hands on her daughter's shoulders.

"Tiffany, baby. You're going to stay here for a couple of hours, while I go and see about your Daddy. This nice lady here is going to take good care of you, okay. Will you be a good girl?"

Tiffany blinked. She thought hard for a moment and said airily, "Okay, Mommy. Hurry back."

Diana kissed her daughter and pulled her into a fierce hug. "I love you, baby."

Carla smiled. She had seen this a thousand times as well. Mothers tended to be that way. "Now, now...Mrs. Blum-Deckler. Tiffany is going to be fine. We're going to have lots of fun, aren't we Tiffany?"

Diana took a deep breath and released her daughter. "I'll be back later, okay?"

Tiffany smiled at her mother. "Okay, Mommy."

Diana gave one last look to her daughter, and then she turned and rushed out the door. Tiffany stared after her for a long minute and then turned those huge, amicable eyes toward Carla. Now what?

For a few seconds, Carla was completely at a loss for ideas. Then, a doozy of an idea hit her. She came around the desk and knelt in front of Tiffany.

"Tiffany. Would you like to make a new friend?"

Tiffany regarded Carla for a moment. Carla thought, and hated herself for thinking it, that the little girl looked like a Pomeranian trying to do an algebra problem.

"Sure." Tiffany smiled warmly at Carla.

Carla took Tiffany by the hand and led her over to where the shy, sad little girl was staring wistfully out of the window. She looked up and sniffed sadly as she looked at Carla.

"Tiffany Blum-Deckler. I'd like you to meet Jane Lane."
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TO BE CONTINUED
Feel free to send me your input. Good, bad or indifferent. I'm writing additional chapter(s) due to popular demand. Enjoy!

Go to Part 2