I'm Tagging With the Band: Meeting Daria

"So what do you think of the band?" the girl asked her while taking a drag of her cigarette, not giving a crap about the whole 'you can't smoke indoors thing'.

Daria shrugged as the other girl exhaled, "It's good, and it got me out of English class."

As the girl laughed, Daria took in her appearance, her short cut raven hair had red zig-zags, her ears were covered in piercings, black leather from head to toe, though her belly shirt was a size too small and low cut enough to reveal extensive tattooing.

Daria offered her a rare grin, "I'm sorry I didn't catch your name."

"It's Jane, Jane Lane." the girl replied and then asked for hers as well.

"Daria Morgendorffer," Daria answered before glancing at the auditorium stage where the band, Mystik Spiral was playing.

"So your brother is Trent Lane right?" Daria asked and pointed to the guitarist next to the singer, Tommy Sherman.

Jane nodded as they wrapped up 'Burning Brandy', "I've been tagging along with my brothers band for as long as I can remember, I was there when my brother was a Freshman right here in Lawndale High and he and Jesse were teaching themselves to play guitar."

Daria glanced back at the band and picked out the rhythm guitarist, with his long brown locks, exposed muscular chest, and combat boots.

"The boots seem to be a trend." Daria mused to herself for a brief moment while kicking the floor with her own military issue footwear.

"Well anyway one day the three of us were in the park, trying to scrape some cash when the football bigshot, Tommy Sherman came around and began to make fun of them for their bad playing when I said."

Jane then pitched her voice a couple octaves higher, "Think you can do better?!"

Daria glanced back at the stage where the band was beginning to play their current number one hit, 'Happiness in a Bottle' and said, "Let me guess, he took that as a challenge and began to sing, right?"

Jane nodded, "Yup, and shocked the hell out of everyone when he proved that he had a set of pipes man."

Jane then pointed at the bassist and drummer, "Curtis and Max came later, well the first bassist was a dude named Nick but he knocked up his girl and got kicked out."

Daria nodded, "So if Tommy was a football star, how did he wind up singing for the band?"

Jane grinned, "At first it was a secret indulgence for the big lug, singing on the side while playing ball for the Lawndale Lions."

"Until...?" Daria supplied.

"Until in mid-sophomore year he got sacked so hard that he had a concussion and when me and Trent visited him in the hospital, I can still remember seeing Tommy waking up and muttering, 'This football shit ain't worth it man."

Jane then looked around the packed auditorium of Lawndale High, "And I agree with him, football sucks and so do the kids here, but you seem cool."

"Cool," Daria replied and then added, "So after the hospital thing, I'm guessing that Tommy quit the team and threw himself into music full time, right?"

"Yup!" Jane drawled as she lit up a new smoke, "Tommy took all that energy and focus he put into football and put it all into the band, man I can still hear Trent's complaints about having to practice even when he didn't want too."

Daria and Jane both shared a laugh.

"But it did turn what could have been another failed crappy garage band into a heavy metal machine. And the rest," Jane said indicating to the band, "Is history."

Daria then noted, "And they came back to Lawndale High to rub it in everyone's faces at how successful they became."

Jane nodded, "Yeah, especially since Tommy got a real hard time for leaving the team. Well I say it was the smartest thing he ever did."

Daria laughed again, and secretly wished that this wouldn't be the only time she would get to see this girl. She was easily the most interesting person she had ever met.

"Say Daria?" Jane said questioningly, "We seem to have hit it off, and you told me about your own crappy life here in town."

"Yeah," Daria intoned, "Not to mention my so-called family."

Jane smirked, "Wanna come with us?"

Daria did a double take, "What?"

Jane shrugged, "Wanna come with us? I could use decent company and the band could use another 'Little Sister' to take care of. You'll meet all sorts of interesting people, plus you get the pick of the litter of the hot guys that come to the shows looking for chicks to score with."

Daria became very quiet as she thought it over, it seemed like the most insane idea she had ever heard. Abandon everything at the turn of a dime and follow a band because of a girl she had just met? Ludicrous.

Daria opened her mouth to say no, but heard herself say, "Yes!"

Jane grinned, "Cool, I know a guy that can make Fake IDs, since you look about eighteen no one will really question it. That is when we're in areas that care about that sort of thing."

Daria's heart was pounding and her stomach was doing backflips, but this whole thing felt like gravity, no matter how much she told herself not to do this.

She couldn't stop it from happening, some part of her didn't want it to stop.

Jane took hold of her hand and said, "Just follow me to the backstage area, once the band's done playing we'll slip out with them. No one's going to question it, and the guys will love you. I know I already do."

That cinched it for her, Daria felt an actual wide grin form on her face, bringing forth a special kind of beauty that she had been hiding for years.

This was the start of her new life with the band.