Origins of a burnout
Daria looked over at the girl wearing the heavy jacket. The girls blonde hair feel onto her face so as to hide one of her eyes. Her expression was one of either strange serenity or perhaps silent resignation. Her cargo pants had seen enough wear to have holes in a few places. From what though was a mystery, although the activity was probably the origin of the athletic body that was revealed in gym class. Visually intriguing, that was certain, but was she as interesting mentally and emotionally. Well there was only one way to find out.
"Ask her," Jane said. "I'm pretty sure Jennifer doesn't bite. Of course she may have been restraining herself in the interest of our science grades."
"So you can't tell me anything more about her?" Daria asked.
"Like I said we were lab partners. We were mainly focused on the work, I even managed to snag myself a b minus because of her."
"Wasn't she in self esteem class with us?"
"That perplexed me," Jane said. "I always got the impression Jennifer was comfortable with who she is. Maybe she did something to annoy Ms Manson like you did. Maybe she has nothing better to do with her afternoons like I used to."
Daria frowned. She believed Jane in regards to her later forays into the class but one day she would ask her artist friend about the first time she attended the unhelpful after school course. Jennifer had finished conversing with that guy every one at Lawndale high knew as Shaggy. The aspiring author decided to was now or never.
"Um hi Jennifer," she said as she approached.
"Daria isn't it," Jennifer said lazily. "I liked that story of yours Mr. O'Neil read to us the other day."
"I really wish he would stop doing that," Daria groaned.
"Don't worry about it," Jennifer said. "I think everyone got it, even Brittany, and Kevin would have appreciated the twelve minutes he wasn't required to be obligated to attempt to think. So what can I do for you?"
"Well I kind of need your permission to use your likeness in this story I'm working on right now," Daria explained. "It's a kind of post apocalyptic thing, but while the disaster is fresh in the survivor's memory rebuilding society has begun."
"Sounds cool," Jennifer said as she lent against her locker. "But why do you need my permission? I've seen you use thinly veiled caricatuires of Ms Li before and I caught a glimpse of a piece of your work once that named actual people, I think Mr O'Neil was eager to read it and had moved it to the top of the essay pile."
"Teachers are fair game and some people are deserving of open ridicule," Daria explained. "You don't deserve that when I barely know you, sure I know what you look like, it's the reason I want to use you in the story. But honestly I really think this story has the possibility of being published and that could affect the rest of your life."
"It sounds cool to me," Jennifer replied. "Maybe if they make it into a movie I could play myself."
"I was wondering though," Daria said. "If you could tell me a little about yourself, so that I can incorporate it into the character's pre-apocalypse back story."
"Sure anything in particular you want to know?" Jennifer asked.
"Well I've heard some people call you burnout girl," Daria commented. "I'm guessing..."
"I've only partook once or twice," Jennifer interupted. "Well okay maybe more like twenty and in the past year only when I finally got sick of those DJs."
Daria nodded remembering her own problems with that particular plan of Ms. Li's to bring honour, glory and money to Lawndale High.
"Believe it or not that name actually pre-dates any experimentation with those kind of things," Jennifer explained. "I got it in middle school."
"I sense a really interesting story here," Daria said.
"It really isn't," Jennifer replied. "You know Jodie Landon right?"
"Of course," Daria replied.
"Imagine trying to be like she is but at a feeder school fro Grove Hills academy," Jennifer said. "That was me, trying to do everything for everyone, trying to bring recognition to the school by getting all the students to do charitable works."
"Hmm," Daria said. "Jodie said that Grove Hills would kill her and I didn't think my apathy was a match to their institution."
"Well as you can see I survived the middle school," Jennifer said. "It was close though. Anyway people kept telling me to give up one or two things before I was burnt out, I of course didn't listen to their advice and it all came to a head when I was planning a school dance. Some girls called it lame and I right up punched one of them in the nose and I got suspended for a few days."
"Go on."
"Anyway during those few days I got the idea that no one appreciated my work," Jennifer said. "So I just up a quit the dance committee even though I was its chair person. I suddenly had this thing called free time I could actually use to relax. I liked it, so I started to give up most of my other clubs citing the reason I was feeling burnt out, until I didn't have any extracricular activities left to give up. Soon I had people refering to my as that burnt out girl and finally my friends just started to call me burnout girl."
"So why not attend Grove Hills?" Daria asked.
"I'm guessing you and Jodie heard about the other small percentage of Grove Hills students," Jennifer explained. "I discussed it with my parents and we all decided that it was best if I didn't go there. I just hope my friend who does go there doesn't end up like that, I can only get her an afternoon of goofing off time once a month."
"Anything you regret about giving up all those extraciriculars?" Daria asked.
"Not really," Jennifer sighed. "Although in hindsight I maybe could have kept the one or two I actually enjoyed and actually helped my friends with the big events when they asked. That's why I always volunteer for behind the scenes stuff whenever Ms. Li springs an emergency fund raiser on Jodie."
"Really?" Daria asked. "Jane and I always just try to get her to relax for five minutes when she comes around selling tickets or what have you."
"I think she appreciates it," Jennifer said.
"One more thing," Daria said. "Self esteem class?"
"I didn't antagonize Ms. Mason like I heard you did," Jennifer said with a smile. "I actual requested to be put in the class myself."
"Why?" Daria asked wondering why some one would volunteer to be subjected to Mr. O'Neil.
"That is something I don't really want to talk about," Jennifer said. "I can tell you it's the reason I first tried pot. You're imaginative you could probably think of something believable for whatever the character you're basing on me evolves into."
"Thanks," Daria said. "I'll get you a copy of the story for your approval when it gets done, just in case there is anything you think reflects to badly on yourself or whatever."
"You really think this story is going places don't you," Jennifer said.
"Yeah I hope so," Daria replied. "Bye."
"Later Daria."
Daria returned to Jane.
"So seems like you made a new friend," Jane teased.
"Maybe," Daria mumbled back.
"So why can't I be in your story?" Jane asked.
"I suppose I could have you die in the apocalypse," Daria said. "Could give the character I'm basing on Brittany the nessecary tragic backstory."
"Better her than Kevin," Jane replied with a smirk.