The Lawndale Stomp
Shuddering as she felt male eyes on her, Daria adjusted her green bikini once again, aware that the act of adjustment was fodder for the onlookers' perverse dreams in itself. She looked down at the massive vat just below her perch and turned to her partner in crime.
"Tell me again, Lane," Daria began in a low voice just loud enough to be overheard over the catcalls of Lawndale High's football players. "Why am I in a bikini and about to jump into a wooden vat full of purple mulberries?"
Jane finished securing her black hair high in a scrunchie, adjusted her own red tinier-than-Daria's bikini before she turned to her chum.
"Why, for the greater glory of Lawndale High, amiga." Jane smirked. "And to promote adoption of the mulberry as Maryland's state tree. The humble but tasty mulberry is a better symbol than the brutish white oak."
"And because Trent pooled your college-fund savings with Principal Li and invested in two-hundred acres of mulberry trees," Daria growled. "You want the publicity from people ogling me so they'll buy your mulberry pie and wine."
"Yeah!" Jane grinned maniacally. "Do it for Trent!"
Daria blushed and said no more. She handed her glasses for safe keeping to a helpful Jodie and once again wondered how Jodie had been chosen to record the ordeal and not stomp mulberries with her and Jane.
Jane turned to the third member of their stomping party, "Ready, baby?"
Jennifer "Burnout" Burns turned a skeptical eye on her girlfriend. "God, I need a cigarette but yeah, 'babe', I'm ready. You owe me, big time."
Jennifer unabashedly adjusted her bikini, black with strategic skull-and-crossbones designs. Then she turned and presented a centuries-old gesture to the gathered throng of onlookers. Jennifer sighed and squeezed Jane's hand.
"Never mind, Jane sweetie, you don't owe me anything. Happy to help my bunnykins."
Daria goggled and nearly gagged at hearing Jane called 'sweetie' and, and that, that other endearing term; she had to turn her attention to the dark purple mass below her.
Meanwhile one vat over:
"So, Quinn," Sandi said in answer to Quinn's objection. "I believe the three of us with the largest feet will be the most efficient at stomping. Plus someone needs to run this complicated camera my mother was kind enough to lend to record the Fashion Club doing our bit for Maryland state history."
Coral-bikinied Quinn looked about to bring up further objections but she pursed her lips and turned to look at her stomping team of black-bikinied Stacy, and Tiffany in a skimpy sky-blue two-piece. Stacy looked predictably near-manic while Tiffany wore a predictable look of wondering if berry-stomping would burn enough calories to make her not look fat.
"Students of Lawwwwndale High," Principal Li's amplified by technology and coffee split the morning calm. "Students, honored assembled Maryland representatives and members of the press. We are delighted to welcome you to our first annual mulberry stomp for the needy. The juice collected by the stomping of our generous volunteers will be donated to food shelves, with some portion diverted for more, uh, recreational usage. Now girls, on the count of three jump in and commence stomping. One…two…three!"
"GERONIMO!" Jane shouted as she jumped, pulling Jennifer and a less willing Daria forward and downward.
"Hm, not so bad," the five-foot, two-inch Daria thought as she sank mid-thigh into the surprisingly cool mass of purple fruit. She trudged a couple steps in either direction avoiding the can-can the arm-linked Jane and Jennifer had commenced.
Meanwhile one vat over:
"EWWW…" all three Fashion Club stompers had instinctively sounded as they sank into the purple mass. "Ummm…" all three said appreciatively a few moments later as they linked hands and began a pre-arranged, fast three-girl jitterbug.
Camera-toting Jodie and Sandi got closer to the action both careful to avoid flying squirts of purple juice. They also recorded the rivulets of purplish juice flowing from spigots at the bottom of each vat, through strainers and into a large tank.
Daria's competitive, usually dormant instincts took over when she realized Quinn's team was stomping out mulberry juice in more copious amounts.
"Let's up our game, ladies." Daria commanded bringing her partners out of the slow waltz they were lost in. She linked hands with Jennifer and Jane and the trio began an efficient churning clockwise, counter-clockwise, center-ward, edge-ward. Satisfying gurgles and streams of juice soon began flowing.
At that moment a stealth-bomber prototype meant to have gnat-like radar, sonic and air presence flew over from Andrews Air Force Base and as it broke the sound barrier proved to its designers and engineers that something was amiss. A loud sonic boom KA-BOOM rattled each vat and each stomper.
Six girls simultaneously fell over, some face-first, all fully immersed in the warming mash of mulberries.
Daria and Quinn would have been surprised to learn that each shared the same thought, "Ummm, that feels good. I'll just hold my breath and enjoy it."
A moment later all six girls had pulled each other up and were wiping mulberry mushy mash from their faces and were gazing at each other in surprise.
"We're all blue." Tiffany drawled.
Jennifer gazed upon an azure Jane. "Lover, you look like my favorite flavor of cotton candy."
Spectators were rendered speechless even as many of the boys related the sight to adolescent science-fiction inspired dreams. Trent was looking at a cerulean Daria in a new light. Jodie and Sandi kept filming even as the six climbed out of the vats and dashed to the heavily curtained area Principal Li had provided for showering.
"Wait, wait," that functionary commanded. "There is yet much pulp to be stomped and juice to be extracted."
Jane, Jennifer, Tiffany, Stacy, Quinn and Daria all jumped as the cold water from the
temporary shower heads hit them in powerful streams sluicing off mulberries and juices.
"No time for modesty," Daria stripped off her bikini now an impossible shade of blue-green.
Daria cast her eyes quickly skyward after taking a look at her companions who had stripped off their swimwear as well then returned her eyes as all six said as one.
"We're all blue!"
"No," they heard two voices assure them. Jodie and Sandi had mercifully stopped filming as they entered the enclosure with the intention to help their friends.
Jodie and Sandi glanced at each other and smiled as they moved in on the six.
Jodie nodded as Sandi said, "Not blue, aubergine."