Between The Boards: Daria
Daria groaned when she heard her alarm go off at 6:00a.m. She swatted at the cursed buzzing noise until she finally hit the off button. Grabbing her glasses, Daria reached for her braces. Mom will kill me if she found out that I took those off, but I can't sleep with those damn things on. Sitting up in bed, she picked her crutches off the floor and made her way over to her weight bench. Getting lost in her workout, Daria almost didn't hear someone pounding on her door. Her door opened to reveal a tall, thin, yet muscular red-head on the other side.
"I'm up if you want to go ahead and take your shower,"
"Thanks, Quinn. Can you grab my favorite jersey out of my closet for me?" Daria stood up and started towards the bathroom.
"Sure," Quinn grabbed the Ray Bourque jersey, a pair of baggy black cargo pants, and underclothing.
Quinn headed for the bathroom while Daria set up her shower bench. Despite her small size, neither of Daria's legs were strong enough to support her weight and sitting in the tub would have been a nightmare. Their usual morning routine had begun - Quinn stood at the mirror and began to apply her make-up while Daria started the shower. They talked about how they thought their new school would be like. As Daria turned the water off, they heard their parents bedroom door open.
"Good morning, kiddos. Breakfast will be ready in fifteen," Jake said as walked past the bathroom door.
"Okay, dad." The girls said in unison.
Quinn waited for Daria to get dressed before heading downstairs. One of the main reasons why the Morgendorffers purchased the house was the lift that had been built to accommodate the previous owner's wheelchair bound aunt. Daria laid the crutches across her lap as she and Quinn continued their conversation. They were halfway through with their breakfast when their mom came running down the stairs. Seeing Daria wearing the jersey, Helen shook her head. Helen gave each of them a hug, grabbed a toast, complained about running late, and bolted out the door. Daria drew in a long breath and sighed. Jake reached over and gave his daughter's shoulder a gentle squeeze.
"I just wish she would spend more than two minutes in a room with me."
"Give her time, Daria. Your mom loves you and it just hurts her to see you in this situation."
"She needs to get over it soon because this 'situation' ain't changing," Daria growled as she stood up from the table.
Jake and Quinn watched Daria walk away. Quinn gave her dad a quick hug, put their dishes in the dishwasher, and joined Daria at the car. A few moments later, the three of them were on their way to Lawndale High. Quinn turned on the radio so that they could listen to ESPNradio on AM1430. Daria and Quinn playfully teased each other the entire ride. When they pulled up to the school, Quinn got out first and inspected their surroundings. While she was doing that, three boys immediately came up to her and offered their assistance. Deeming that there were no obstacles or issues, she opened the back door. Quinn took Daria's crutches and steadied them so that her older sister could get out of the car. Daria quickly glanced around at the students who were outside. Three girls were looking at her sister with intense jealousy. They don't want to piss Quinn off cause she'll shove a hockey stick up their asses. The three boys talked about the school's hockey program as they led the two sisters towards the principal's office.
After a quick tour followed by some toying with the school's so-called psychologist, Quinn was given a pass and directions to her first class. The principal; Ms. Li, asked Daria to step back into her office. When Daria did, she saw a taller, raven-haired girl sitting down. Staring at Daria with bright blue eyes, a smile came over the other girl's red lips as she noticed their almost matching Doc Martens. Ms. Li offered Daria a seat, but Daria politely declined.
"Ms. Morgendorffer, I want you to meet Ms. Lane. Because you two will be sharing all of your classes together, Ms. Lane was chosen to be your assistant for the next couple of weeks until you get used to getting around Lawwwwwwnnndale High," Ms. Li wrote out two hall passes and sent them on their way.
"So, Ms. Lane - do you have a first name?" Daria asked.
"Most people here call me the weird art chick, but you can call me Jane," the girl smirked.
"Daria - so why did you really get picked for this job? You don't look like someone who would just volunteer for Lawwwwwndale High."
"Ms. Li gave me the option of doing this or attending self-esteem class for the seventh time. Now, I'll have more time after school to work on my art and watch Sick, Sad World."
"I love that show. I would come home from hockey practice and immediately turn the tv on and if we had a game, I would record it."
Jane smirked at the shorter girl, "This looks like the start of a beautiful friendship."
Daria was enjoying her classes despite some of the stares she got from a couple of the other students. She wondered how Quinn's day was going. They saw each other at lunch. Daria and Jane were already sitting down when Quinn asked if she could join them. Jane listened as the red-head talked to Daria about the upcoming hockey try-outs. Daria smiled and told her that she would be in the stands to watch. The red head then waved at Jane and headed for the table where Daria recognized the three boys from this morning.
"I take it that's your sister," Jane said.
"Yeah - that's Quinn. From what the three guys who she's sitting with told us this morning, she'll give the team a major boost," Daria's voice trailed off and she had a distant look in her eyes.
"Hey, maybe you can join next year," Jane said trying to be encouraging.
Daria closed her eyes and sadly shook her head. "I'll never be able to walk again without these damn crutches."
"Way to stick your foot in your mouth, Lane."
"Don't worry about it, Jane. Care to join me in the stands?"
Jane looked over at Daria, "You did say that you record Sick Sad World right?"
Daria nodded. "I have about twenty tapes full of episodes."
"Well, I was taking applications for someone to hang out with and I think you fit the job perfectly," Jane smiled and stuck out her hand. Daria returned the smile as they shook hands.
End
