Chapter 04: Cute, Clever, Mischievous…Dangerous
Calvin Deckard sat at his desk, grading tests from some of his earlier classes. He heard footsteps outside his door and looked up to see Jane and Daria through the door window. "Come on in," he said. Daria and Jane entered the classroom swiftly, with Daria holding a big shoebox in her hands. "Is the… animal in there?" Deckard asked her.
Daria nodded her head. "Alright, set it down over at one of the lab tables," Deckard said, pointing at the lab tables as he stood up. He had made it half-way to the tables when he heard loud voices coming from the hallway. He could recognize them s belonging to Janet Barch and Timothy O'Neil as they drew closer.
Eventually, the two teachers entered Deckard's classroom. "Janet, it isn't as though Miss Li wants you to quit, she just…has a skewered view of how to manage funds," O'Neil said to her in an attempt to be rational. "Um, can I help you, Miss Barch?" Deckard asked as Janet walked closer to him.
"Listen up, Jerk; Principal Li is trying to cut funding for all of the non-athletic classes again, which means that we have to consolidate our supplies even more!" Barch explained angrily. "Doesn't she have enough security measures in the building? And what ever happened to that polygraph machine that she blew money on?" "Oh, I stole it and took it to an empty field with Timothy and DeMartino, along with some baseball bats and a shovel," Janet said with a devious smirk.
"Say, what's in that box?" O'Neil asked. "Oh, um, the girls here found a strange animal that they want me to look at," Deckard explained. "Oh, sure, go ask a man to explain something new to you, not a woman who also happens to be a science teacher!" "Now, Janet, you were busy today, so I'm sure that, hi Daria, um, Daria and Jane here simply sought out Calvin because he wasn't quite as busy," O'Neil said in an attempt to placate Barch.
"Fine," she said, still clearly annoyed. "But girls, if this man touches you or does anything-" "Please, Miss Barch, I'm insulted that you'd even think that of me! I put my hand on your leg by accident once, just once! I had fallen onto the floor because it was wet and I didn't realize it was your leg I was grabbing. How many times must I apologize? I'm not a pedophile or an ephebophile!" Deckard protested. "Janet, he's right," Timothy O'Neil said.
"Fine, Tim," Janet said. "So, what's in the box again?" Daria and Jane looked at each other before motioning for the three adults to come over. "This is what's in the box," Daria said as they looked at the Mogwai inside of it. Gizmo had been left at home, and one of his offspring had been selected instead.
"Um, what is it, exactly?" Mr. O'Neil asked curiously. "It's a Mogwai," Jane said simply. "A… Mogwai?" Deckard asked curiously. "Yeah, that's what it's called," Jane replied. "Where did you find this?" Deckard asked them.
"My dad found one at a shop in Chinatown during a business trip," Daria said. "One? There are more?" Deckard asked her. "Mmhm," she replied. "Is this one male or female?" Deckard asked them. "Actually, they reproduce through what seems to be a form of parthenogenesis, or something similar, so they don't really have any defined sexes the way we do," Daria replied. "Where's the fun in that?" Miss Barch asked rhetorically.
Deckard and O'Neil glanced briefly at Barch before returning their attention to the girls and the Mogwai. "So, how do you know their method of reproduction?" Deckard asked Daria. "May I borrow a water-dropper thing?" she asked him. "Sure, but why?" "Watch," Daria replied.
Deckard handed her a small dropper and she collected a small amount of water in it before letting one drop fall onto the Mogwai. The three teachers watched in fascination as a ball of fur shot out of the Mogwai's back and landed on the table. "What the?" Deckard asked quietly as the ball of fur grew to the size of the other Mogwai and uncurled. O'Neil's eyes widened at the sight of the newly born Mogwai.
"That's amazing," O'Neil said under his breath. "Well I'll be damned," Barch said. "Cool," Deckard whispered. Jane raised an eyebrow at hearing one of her teachers say "cool," but didn't comment. Daria looked up and saw one of the security cameras in the room focused on them. "So, how long until Miss Li barges in here to confiscate the Mogwai?" Daria asked flatly.
"She's currently dealing with DeMartino and Defoe because I told them about her plans for the budget," Barch said. "Um, Daria, Jane, is it okay if I take one of these with me so I can run some tests?" Deckard asked. "Uh, sure, but there are some things you need to know first," Jane said. "Such as?" Deckard asked. "Well, Mogwai are extremely sensitive to bright lights, and sunlight will literally kill them."
The three adults all raised eyebrows at this information. "Also, getting them wet causes them to multiply, as we've already demonstrated. Now, there's one very last thing to remember: don't feed them after midnight. To be safe, don't give it any food between ten p.m. and three a.m."
"What happens if they eat food in that time frame?" Deckard asked. "We don't know," Daria answered bluntly. "We're not exactly anxious to find out, either," Jane added. "Okay. I'm going to need something to transport it in. We probably won't have school tomorrow, so I don't want to leave it here alone all day," Deckard said as he searched his classroom's cabinets for some kind of container to transport the Mogwai.
At the Morgendorffer house…
"Sandi, we really shouldn't be doing this," Stacey said nervously as Sandi held her water bottle above the Mogwai. Quinn was currently in the bathroom, so Sandi had used this time to hatch her scheme. She let two drops of water fall from the bottle onto one of the Mogwai below.
"Hey guys, what's going-Sandi, what are you doing!?" Quinn cried as she saw the two balls of fur shoot up from one of the Mogwai. "Relax, Quinn, I've made sure that only two of them are produced," Sandi said. "Besides, I didn't touch the one with the weird hairdo," Sandi said.
Quinn looked over at Stripe, who was watching the proceedings with interest. There was a light of some kind in his eyes, as though he were hatching a scheme of his own. A tiny, faint smile formed on his lips. Aside from Stripe, none of the other Mogwai actually seemed to be very aggressive. They mostly followed Stripe's lead, but otherwise they remained rather docile, very much like Gizmo.
Maybe Stripe is just the odd one out, like a runt of the litter or something, Quinn thought as she watched the two newest Mogwai grow. "Quinn, I'm going to take one of these Mogwai home with me, and Stacey will take on home with her," Sandi said. "Do you remember the rules I told you about?" Quinn asked her. "Well of course I remember the rules!" Sandi said haughtily. "Okay, what are they?" Quinn asked. "No sunlight, water makes more of them, and no eating around midnight," Sandi said.
"Okay," Quinn said with uncertainty in her voice, "Just make sure that your brothers don't break those rules." "Oh, don't worry," Sandi said deviously, "I have a special surprise for them if they try anything." "Stacey, will you be okay taking care of a Mogwai?" Quinn asked her. "Sure! I've memorized the rules, and I convinced my parents to let me have a pet!"
"Okay. Tiffany? Tiff-oh yeah, she had to do that thing with her family after school today," Quinn said out loud. "Alright, Quinn, we will see you tomorrow, or the next day, if the roads and sidewalks aren't too bad," Sandi said as she placed her Mogwai into her backpack. Stacey followed suit. "See you later, Quinn!" Stacey called out as she followed Sandi out of Quinn's room. Quinn looked back at the Mogwai and noticed that there were only four of them.
"Hey, guys, wait!" Quinn called as she ran out of her room and caught up with her friends. "There are only four Mogwai in my room; there should be five!" "Are you implying that one of us-" Just then, the front door opened and Daria and Jane walked inside, carrying a shoebox.
"What's in the box?" Quinn asked. "One of the Mogwai. We took it over to show Mr. Deckard after school today," Jane replied. "Mr. Deckard? That boring science teacher?" Quinn asked them. "He used to be a veterinarian," Jane said. "He used to help poor injured animals?" Stacey asked in awe. "No, only the rich injured ones," Jane said. "Come on, Stacey, we need to get going while we can still see," Sandi said she and Stacey left the Morgendorffer house.
"So, what are the odds that Mr. Decker Deckard will screw up with his Mogwai?" Jane asked Daria as they walked up the stairs. Quinn, overhearing this, raced to catch up with them. "Wait, you got that one wet?" she asked. "One tiny drop of water in a controlled environment. There were no fashion magazines to harm its intellectual growth and sense of self-worth," Daria replied in her usual flat tone.
"Ha-ha, very funny," Quinn said in an annoyed tone. "You remembered to tell Mr. Deckard the rules, though, right?" she then asked her sister. "Yes, Quinn," Daria said. Quinn became unusually quiet as the three girls made their way up into Quinn's room. Daria noticed the conflicted look on Quinn's face when she returned the Mogwai to the rest of the group.
"Quinn, is there something you want to tell us?" Daria asked her pointedly. "Um, well…Sandi and Stacey have their own Mogwai now," Quinn blurted out. "Excuse me?" Daria asked. "While I was in the bathroom, Sandi dropped some water onto one of the Mogwai and made two more, which she and Stacey took home with them," Quinn explained nervously. She saw the disapproving looks on Daria and Jane's faces. "I made sure that they remembered the rules!" Quin said in a plea. "Please, Daria, I know I shouldn't have left Sandi alone with the Mogwai, but I couldn't bring her into the bathroom with me! I had to go really badly!"
"You're certain that they both remembered the rules?" Daria asked her in a serious tone. "Yes, I made Sandi recite them to me before she left. She got all of them right," Quinn responded. "Okay, but we need to keep this under tighter control," Daria said. They could keep a small number of Mogwai under control and prevent any more rules from being broken, but the more Mogwai there were, the more difficult that task would become.
Later that evening, at Mr. Deckard's home…
"Okay, now, Earl, I'm going to take a sample of your blood," Calvin Deckard said calmly as he prepared a syringe and an anti-septic pad. Since it was mostly alcohol, he reasoned that it probably wouldn't cause the Mogwai to reproduce. "Alright, let me see your arm," Calvin said as he gently took hold of Earl's furry arm and carefully pierced him with the needle. The Mogwai became startled and tried to pull away. "You're okay," Calvin said. A few seconds later her pulled the syringe out and wiped the spot on Earl's arm gently with the pad.
"There, there; we all get blood tests now and then," Calvin said calmly as he put away his work kit and gave Earl a small piece of fruit. He made sure of what the time was when he did so, remembering Daria and Jane's words. Better safe than sorry, he reasoned. He reached over and gently petted Earl's back. "There, now. Nothing to worry about," Calvin said as he placed Earl into a cardboard box with a towel and some newspaper.
He was about to prepare his own dinner when the phone rang. Picking it up, he heard Principal Li's voice. "Mr. Deckard, I'm calling all teachers to inform them to the roads will not be cleared until midday tomorrow. The students will have off, but I need all teachers to come into the building in the afternoon to make preparations for the next day's classes. You won't need to arrive until noon, when the roads should be cleared up," Li informed him.
"Thank you, Angela. I'll be there tomorrow around noon. Bye," Calvin said as he hung up the phone. Well, I guess I can take Earl with me tomorrow, Calvin thought as he went back to his freezer to pull out a TV dinner. "Maybe the holiday season will make her feel generous and she'll raise our pay by a few cents this year… if we're lucky," he muttered to himself as he heated up his meal.
Early the following morning…
Daria was sitting down at the table reading the newspaper with her father while Helen was outside trying to clear snow off of the driveway and her car. Quinn was still sleeping, and the snow was still coming down, but very lightly compared to the previous day. "Dammit, they're still printing the stocks in that stupid tiny font," Jake grumbled.
Daria and her father continued reading the paper in silence for a few minutes until they heard a scream outside. "Helen!?" Jake asked concerned as he got out of his chair and made a dash for the front door. Daria quickly followed him. Outside, Helen was lying on her side on the driveway. "Helen!" Jake cried as he ran over to help her up. He didn't mind the cold.
"I'm okay, I just-aah!" Helen cried as she tried to stand. "My ankle!" she said, trying to take deep breaths to deal with the pain. "Don't worry, Helen," Jake said. "Come on, Daria, help me get her inside." Daria kept the door opened and let Helen put her arm around her shoulder as she helped her father carry her inside. Daria and Jake carefully brought Helen over to the couch in the living room and set her down.
"Helen, are you hurt anywhere else?" Jake asked while Daria went back to close the door. "My hip hurts a bit too, but that should go away shortly," Helen said painfully. "Helen, don't take this the wrong way, but why were you wearing heels out there instead of boots?" Jake asked her. "I was hoping that I could get right in my car and head to the office after clearing off the snow," Helen answered. "Eric called and told me that he needed my assistance on an urgent matter," she explained. "Helen, even so, you still should have put on boots or something," Jake said.
After closing the door, Daria went to the kitchen and took an ice pack out of the freezer. She brought it over and set in on Helen's ankle after taking her shoes and socks off. "Daria, could you get me my phone? I need to call the office and let them know that I won't be able to make it today," Helen said regretfully.
"And if you push yourself too hard, you'll just make your injuries worse," Daria said. "Then you'll have to stay away from the office even longer." Helen narrowed her eyes before admitting that Daria had a point. "Fine," she said with a sigh. When Daria returned with the phone, Helen made a quick call to her workplace, Vitale, Horowitz, Riordan, Schrecter, Schrecter, and Schrecter, or VHRSSS for short.
While Helen was busy calling her workplace, Daria head the tell-tale sounds of footsteps on the stairs. Turning around, she saw Quinn walking down the stairs. "Morning everyone," Quinn said with a yawn as she made her way around to the kitchen and dining area. "Mom, why are you laying on the couch like that?" Quinn asked after noticing her mother's presence.
"I had a bad fall while cleaning up the snow outside," Helen said into the phone, although Quinn hadn't noticed that she was on the phone. "Thank you, Marianne. Yes, well if I don't let my leg heal, then things will be worse later on," Helen continued. Quinn was startled at first, but after realizing that her mother hadn't even been talking to her at all, she walked over to the kitchen in a slightly dejected manner.
Daria quickly followed her sister into the kitchen, along with her father. "So… how bad was Mom's fall?" Quinn asked as she opened the refrigerator door and grabbed the carton of orange juice. "Um, she hurt her ankle, and since she landed on her side, her hip and leg might started feeling some real pain pretty soon too," Daria said.
"I knew I should have put ice-melt on the driveway as soon as I got out of bed," Jake muttered to himself as he sat down. "Dad, we all know how Mom gets when she's called into work," Daria said. "Stupid Eric Schrecter. Sometimes, I swear, Helen spends more time talking to him in a single day than she does to me! Or any of us," he added after glancing at his daughters.
After a short while, Quinn returned upstairs to her room. She quickly went over to her closet to pick out something to wear, not noticing that her alarm clock was in a slightly different position than it had been when she had left the room, or that the box for the Mogwai had been moved into a position that blocked the view of the wall socket where the clock was supposed to be plugged in. Quinn was too busy concentrating on her wardrobe to notice this.
She quickly walked over to the Mogwai box and patted one of the little fur balls on the head, making sure to keep her hand away from Stripe. She noticed him looking at her strangely, but thought nothing of it. Stripe always had a strange look on his face.
"Okay, guys, I'm heading out to see Stacey and Sandi. You behave yourselves while I'm gone, alright?" Quinn said sweetly to the Mogwai. Two of them nodded their heads, while rest just looked around and chirped and made little noises. Quinn giggled at their behavior before turning around and getting dressed. A few minutes after she'd left the room, Stripe smiled and began climbing out of the box.