The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson."
-Tom Bodett
Episode 3:
"Ramoona, Goo-Goo Ga-Ga." Daria sat back and watched as Quinn attempted to be cute and loving to their little blond haired cousin as they sat in some distant relatives house. Ramona who was holding a tiny book walked up to Quinn, her tiny nose sniffling a little bit. Teenage queen ^#*$ vs. a 2 year old girl. A real battle of the minds here. Ramona suddenly sneezed on Quinn's leg, drawing a disgusted eeww out of her and a large grin on Daria's face. Ten points to Ramona.
"Now Daria is more of a late bloomer socially, and there's nothing wrong with that." Helen said to the younger couple, Daria simply rolling her eyes at the comment.
The little girl shambled over to Helen and climbed up next to her, handing her a book. "Read me." The little girl said with a look that would break melt even the coldest heart. Helen smiled warmly picking up the book. "Of course sweetie, what are you reading?" Helen turned the book over, confused by the title of S.A.T's for children.
"We're trying to get our little girl ready for school as soon as she's ready. I mean it's hard enough to get into a good school now." The mother said as she picked up Ramona, placing her on her lap. Yes, as opposed to letting her have a normal childhood, this is much better. The next words to come out of the young couples mouth broke her inner monologue, the promise of a future headache to come.
"So what are you doing to get them ready for college?"
The drive back home was silent, Jake and Helen sitting in the front while Quinn and Daria sat in the back. Daria knew she was already doomed, might as well get some fun out of it.
"One more time: I am not taking a college prep course. Actually, I may just skip college and stay home. It'll save me the trouble of moving back in later." Jake's eyes widened almost comically at this, his hands giving a jerk which almost put him on the other side of traffic. "WHATCH THE ROAD! Daria, if you don't get into a good school your life will be ruined, end of discussion."
"Way to go mom." Quinn chimed in, still somewhat sore about the party incident last week. "She can't have her way all the time." Daria simply raised an eyebrow in amusement, sitting back to watch her sister's blunder play out. Rule one in parent/sibling relationships, if your parent is disciplining one child it's best to be quiet and stay out of the way.
"Actually, Quinn, it wouldn't hurt if you took the course too." Helen said in response to Quinn's attempt to chisel her sister. "Wait a minute!" Quinn said out, only stopping at Helen's glare.
Of course Daria was there to fill the silence, as well as throw salt on the wound.
"Maybe we can sit together."
Despite the joy she took from watching Quinn do her best to remain incognito in the college prep course she found herself bored out of her mind. She could understand her parents wanting her to get prepared for college, but whatever convinced them to enroll the two in the high school course was beyond her. Not to mention the teacher was young, good looking but obviously reading from script. So the chance of her learning something she needed to was slim. Still for her friends who had been roped into this class, it could be potentially useful.
"Today's admission standards are more rigorous than ever, which is why..."
"Can we get on with this? I have someplace to go." Jane said sitting to Daria's left. Jodie who was sitting nearby gave the girl a questioning look, Jane simply shrugging her shoulders. "TV counts as a place."
"Okay okay, this is an informational sheet 'Push Comes to Love' sends around to 600 leading colleges. It's called My Personal Goals and Aspirations. Let's all talk about college..."
Daria began to tone the teachers voice out as she wrote on the questionnaire. The questions were loaded, with certain answers being more acceptable than others. Within five minutes she had written the paper out and from there had discreetly taken out a diary under her desk and began writing. Jane who had just come out of her little day dream looked over at her new best friend, curious about what she was doing.
"Planning a torture session for our teach, Taser Lass?" Daria frowned at the nickname, since the incident with the cop a few weeks back the girls would occasionally call her that nickname in commemoration of her triumph over the donut cop. While it had been amusing at first now it felt kind of old.
How does Jennifer stand being referred to as burnout? "Yes, but I'm also making sure to right mmy thoughts and feelings in the borders as doodles."
"Ohh la la." Jane said as she leaned forward, a smirk coming on her lips as she leaned to the left. "An insight to the mind of Daria. Tell me, if I look at the dark secrets contained within will I slowly descend into madness?"
"No, but you will after I'm finished with you if you ever try and sneak a peak Jane. Some things are meant to be private." Daria said, closing the book with a crisp motion as the bell rang. Jane frowned a little as she put her stuff away. "A little testy today Morgendorffer, another infamous Quinn/Daria battle in the mix?"
Daria shook her head, standing up as Andrea and Burnout girl came to join them. "No, it's just that this class is happening at a real bad time. I was expecting to get a call during this time."
"Why during this specific time? Can't you just call them back?" Jane said, confused by the question. Daria sighed as the group headed outside of the class. "It's more complicated then that. He's my…uncle Jimmy, and he and my mom didn't part on the best of terms. I can't call him directly because-."
"Because your detail oriented lawyer mother manages everything in the house, including the house bill." Andrea said, her black backpack slung over her shoulder. "So why don't you just make the call at Jane's place?"
Daria stopped walking, a surprised look on her face before continuing to walk, her face in slight embarrassment. "I'm such an idiot, why didn't I think of that?"
"Because your human? I think you are anyway." Jane laughed as the girls exited the school. "Look your coming over to the house tonight to watch when Animal Pet's Turn Rogue, just go and make the phone call once you come over. Speaking of which Jen, Andrea are you coming over?"
The goth nodded her head yes, but surprisingly Jennifer shook her head no. "I'm sorry, I have some…things I have to do tonight. I'll see you guys tomorrow though alright?" Daria and the other two looked at each other before nodding to her, watching as she went off on her skate board.
Andrea and Jane looked at each other and shrugged before walking away, but Daria lingered for a moment, a curious expression on her face. "Have either of you ever been to Jennifer's house? Or seen her with her family?"
The two girls shook their head no, an action that made Daria's eyebrows frown. She didn't say anything anymore, but the frown didn't leave her face.
"So we filled out this worksheet and that was pretty much it. Money well spent, since it wasn't my money." Daria said as she adjusted one of the rings on her hand, preparing herself for another meal of Lasagna and pre-mixed salad.
"You left out the best part." Quinn said sitting back in her chair. Daria rolled her eyes, taking a bite of her lasagna. "A date with the instructor is only the best part for you."
"It's not a date." Quinn said with a clueless glare. "Were meeting to discuss scholarship options."
"Scholarship? Way to go, sweetie." Jake said having come out of his usual clueless state for a few seconds. Daria looked at the two feeling somewhat in despair. To think I came from the same gene pool
"There's no such thing as a making-out scholarship." Daria said, both to Quinn as much as Jake in the tiny hope it would penetrate their skulls. No such luck.
"Uh, excuse me, but I think he would know better than you. Anyway, the best part, I meant, was the trip." Helen having just sat down look at the two girls, interest in her eyes. "What trip?"
"We have to visit a college of our choosing." Quinn said, a grin spread across her face. This was wiped off by her mother's next comment.
"Great! We'll go to Middleton!" Jake immediately brightened at the mention of his former college. "Hey yeah, we'll all head up to the old alma mater this weekend!"
Daria felt her face fall a little at the mention of the school. Her father had talked it up for years so a few years back she looked it up. From what she could tell it wasn't very promising, tuition was unnaturally high while the actual value of the education had been plummeting. And the way it had been going, it wasn't likely to be reversing.
"Wait a minute, we get to pick the school, and nobody said you could come." Quinn said, clearly having expected to be walking around the campus herself.
"But Quinn, your father and I would love it if you kids followed in our footsteps." Helen said, images of her time in college passing through her head.
"We're WALKING?! UGGHHH!" Quinn stormed off, a nasty snarl on her face. "You know." Daria said drawing her parents attention to her. "I hate to agree with Ms. Anti-Brain, but Quinn has a point. It should be up to us which college we get to visit. Especially since the alternative is going to Middleton."
"But kiddo, Middleton is a great college, it's where your mother and I met and where she got her master degree." Jake said, memories of college and freedom filtering through his mind. "Well." Daria said before her father could get to lost in the past. "As much as I am grateful for you two meeting, considering it's how I exist, I'd rather not go to Middleton. In the past it was a good school but now it's gone down in terms of it's academics and up in terms of tuition and other expenses. I'd rather go to a school I might be applying for in the future like Raft or Vance." Helen sighed, seeing her daughters point but knowing she would have to disappoint her.
"Raft is in Boston which is a four hour round trip at minimum, and Vance is even further away in New York. I'm sorry dear, but we simply can't travel that far east in one day. It's either Middleton or Lawndale State honey." Daria frowned at this, but saw that it would be pointless to argue it. "Alright, fine. I'm heading over to Jane's, I should be back before ten."
Daria stood up and began walking from the table, grabbing her backpack from where it lay on the wall and headed towards the door. Helen felt guilt build up inside of her, Daria rarely asked for anything and when it was something this important, she hated to say no.
"Daria?" The named teen turned back from the door to see her mother standing up from her place at the table, near the archway of the dining room. "I'm sorry we can't go to Boston Daria, if I wasn't so swamped for work I would take us there. I promise you, the next time you ask me to do something consider it done."
Daria was surprised by her mother, usually she was very adamant on these decisions and was surprised to seeing her give away something like this. Daria gave her mother a nod and a half smile opening the door. "I'm going to hold you to that Mom. I'll see you both later."
As the door shut Helen felt both relief and anxiety at that sentence. Relief because she had helped Daria feel better, and anxiety because she just gave her daughter considerable leverage. Oh well, I'm sure whatever she asks me for won't be to much.
Daria walked up to the front of the Lane house and saw a note on the front of the door. Taking out her phone she held it up and read.
-Daria, Andrea cancelled on me and my brother needed help with a gig tonight. Please feel free to use the phone though, I'll see you tomorrow.
-Jane
Daria crumpled the note and put it in her pocket. She looked around to see if anyone was watching before going into the house. Last thing she wanted was somebody seeing her and mistaking her for a burglar.
Sitting on the couch she picked up the phone, but put it down when she felt something sticky. Putting her finger to her nose she took a sniff, recognizing the smell of peanut. Guess Trent had a sandwich today. Or at least sometime close to today. Carefully she wiped the peanut butter off the phone with a napkin from the table, before dialing it and putting it to her ear.
The phone rang three times, like it always did before a familiar voice answered the phone. "Yeah? Who's calling?" Daria smirked at the question/response, having missed it after nearly a month.
"I see your etiquette is still the same Tony, I thought Jimmy would have had you trained by now." Tony on the other end laughed, his brisk tone becoming more friendly. "Daria good to hear from you. Hold on a sec, the boss just walked in." There was the sound of muffled voices and the phone being passed from one hand to the other.
"Hey kid it's good to see your still kicking. How's Lawndull treating you?" Daria smirked at the nickname for the town, she'd have to share that with Jane later. "Better than I thought Jimmy, believe it or not I've actually met some people with half a brain. I even got invited to a party."
"Yeah Dinozzo told me about that. Apparently he supplied you with some self-defense items…and then apparently some cop got assaulted with these later in the evening. Wasn't that little bit risky kid?" The remark was said warmly, but also said in a manner that demanded explanation. Daria felt her cheeks blush at this, despite not even being in front of the man.
"Didn't exactly have a choice Jimmy, it was either him or my friends. One of them has a….side business that isn't looked upon very highly by society. At least not openly" On the other end Jimmy laughed a little, Daria's brow scrunching together in frustration at it. "I know you didn't kid, and don't worry from what Dinozzo's contacts say the cop never saw who took him down. I'm just saying to be careful, these cops are a little sharper than the yokels back here in Highland."
"Speaking of which." Daria said changing the topic. "How are things going back in Highland? Hopefully the town is being destroyed in an invasion of Cyber boars or from a massive food poisoning epidemic.." Jimmy snorted a little, although somehow on him it sounded sophisticated. "No such luck unfortunately, Highland still hot and still as boring as you remember. Besides, it's not as much fun playing Chess anymore without a proper challenge. So anything coming up for you kid?"
"Actually yes." Daria said settling back in the couch. "My parents are dragging us to their old alma mater Middleton College in the hope it will magically prepare us for college. In lieu of a savings account or education fund. In any case it'll only be for one day, from what I've heard the school was a cesspool before the recession struck."
"Middleton College you say?" Jimmy said, an interested tone set in his voice. "Is your side business friend going with you?" Daria shrugged her shoulders, before scolding herself since he couldn't see her. "I don't know, should she be?"
"Yeah, my buddy Dinozzo has his nephew in that place, he works in the bursar's office. They do a bunch of renovation and other projects down there. Bring her along Daria, I'll get you and your friend set up there in the campus." Daria smiled at this, even as her mind went into business mode. "Okay, how much of a percentage do you want?"
"5% of the gross, which will come out of the 15% that you'll pay to Mr. Dinozzo." Jimmy said before the sound of him taking a sip of tea could be heard on the other end. "That can be arranged, but I'd also like to get this money cleaned for my friend and I. I'd need one dummy account set up for me, while I'd need two set up for my friend. One account should be a fake inheritance account set up directly for her and be where the first charge goes, while the next one would be for future deposit's. Could Mr. Dinozzo handle this for me as well?"
"Hmm." The line was silent for a moment as Jimmy pondered on this. "Certainly, but he'll charge you ten percent of all money washed clean, as well as a subcharge of $2000 dollars for every transaction. However if your friend has any money saved up I could convince him to waive the fee for this first amount, in exchange for a favor."
"Which is?" Daria said, a little hesitant and curious at what she might be asked. "I don't know yet, using favors is like playing a hand in poker, you don't play them unless you either need to or it's in your favor to do so. Do we have a deal kid?"
"I'll have to convince my friend first, but yes we have a deal. In return for a favor of my own." Daria couldn't seeit but Jimmy smiled on the other end as if expecting it. "And what would that favor be?"
"I need the address of my friend, I haven't been to her place yet and I need to check on something myself. I'd also like a background check on her as well as her family."
"Interesting, seems mundane for you but I suppose there's more to this situation. I'd ask you why but I figure you have a right to your secrets. Send me her name and I'll forward the info to your phone by Saturday afternoon, I'll also arrange things with Dinozzo. It was good to hear from you Daria, we all miss you and good luck with your new business kid."
"Yeah…you to Jimmy." Daria said in a said voice before Jimmy hung up the phone. Placing the phone back on the holder she stared into the darkness of the lining room for awhile before slipping back out of the house and heading home.
The next day Daria came up to Jennifer at her locker, face set in a neutral expression. The blonde girl was getting ready for the last period and didn't seem to notice her.
"Hey Jen, you got a minute to talk?" The blond girl nodded as she took her books out of her locker, putting them inside her bag. "Yeah, but you'll have to make it quick, I have math to go to and then I have to get home and make some business deliveries."
"Math class can wait Jen, Mr. Ewing won't notice your gone anyways. And I have some questions for you." Daria drawled leaning up against the locker. "I have a business proposition to discuss with you, I figured we'd head to your house to discuss it."
Jennifer looked nervous at this, her hand shutting the door to her locker. "Umm can we do it someplace else, my parents…they don't know about my side business and I'd rather they didn't find out."
Daria felt her face frown, but knew it wasn't the time to press her on it. Not without exact information in any case. "Alright, the girls bathroom then." The two walked into it and waited until it was empty before locking the door. Jennifer was going to talk but Daria held up a hand for her to wait, hopping up onto the sink and reaching into the corner where a camera was, unplugging it before sitting down. "Well now that Li is no longer part of the conversation you ready to hear me out? We should have at least ten minutes before she notices."
"Sure Daria, what's up?" Jen said hopping and taking a seat on the sink next to her.
"I've got a contact at Middleton College I'd like you to meet with. He represents some people interested in us doing business there, and maybe on other campuses if we do well enough. We'd have to pay them a percentage but in exchange they'll also help clean your money. And it would give you a new market to sell any excess product you'd happen to produce. You interested?"
Jen put her hand in her chin, thinking about it for a moment. After a bit she looked up with a smile and nodded her head. "Yeah I guess I owe you for last weekend with the cop, and if you trust them so will I. How much do you want for your share?"
"Hmm 10% will be acceptable, this way you'll be pulling in 75% of the net. Any money you have stored up bring to the meeting and they'll clean it for free the first time. All future deposits will come with a service fee and a ten percent fee."
Jennifer nodded at this, reaching a hand out to Daria. Daria stared at it for a moment before realizing what she wanted, reaching out and shaking it in turn. "Awesome, thanks Daria. We'll, since I've already missed the first half of class I might as well miss the rest of it. I'll be at your house in the morning in time to leave okay?" Daria nodded her head, the two unlocking the door and slipping down the hall and out the main door just as Principal Li and a security guard came around the corner.
"That's alright Jen, I wouldn't want you to have to walk all the way from your house, how about you head home and get your things, then spend the night at my house." Jennifer looked at the girl in surprise, then smiled in a relieved manner. "Yeah, I'll just swing by to ask my parents and then I'll be over in a bit."
Daria and Jennifer were seated next to each other at the dinner table, the former reading her newspaper while the latter was surprisingly tearing into one of Jake's attempts at cooking, something that immensely pleased the man. Quinn for her part was doing her best to ignore, eating as little as necessary than heading up to her room, phone glued to her ear. She had just left when Helen came through the front door, shoulders slumped from a hard days work.
"Sorry to be late, but Eric wanted me to go over a few clauses in the contract and I had to constantly…oh hello there." Helen said spotting the leather wearing blond girl at the table. Daria lowered her newspaper gesturing off to the side. "Mom, this is my friend Jennifer Burns, she wanted to go to Middleton but her parents couldn't take her. Is it okay if she comes with us?"
Helen beamed at this, sitting down in the empty chair left by Quinn. "Of course it's alright dear, I'm actually pleased to get a chance to know one of your friends. So, Jennifer right?" The blonde girl nodded her head, having finished swallowing down the unspeakable horror. "Yes mam?"
A glint appeared in Helens eye, one Daria had seen on the days when Helen was going to close a tough deal. "Tell me about yourself Jennifer, Daria doesn't have her friends over often and I'd like to get to know you."
After what seemed like to the girls hours Helen had allowed the two to leave the table, satisfied that Jennifer was okay. Now the two sat in the room as Daria got a sleeping roll out for the blonde girl. "Sorry about the interrogation, my mother meant well but it's hard for her to get past the lawyer persona at times."
"Not a problem, they're letting me stay the night and they fed me, so they have a right to be a little curious." Daria smirked at this, tossing a pillow from her bed to the girl, who had changed into a pair of plaid pajama pants with a white shirt. "You're the first person I've met who could actually stomach my dad's food, if it wasn't for our new partnership I'd harvest your stomach for science. But speaking of business, we have to get ready for tomorrow."
Jennifer nodded, immediately walking over to Daria's closet and opening the door, pulling a non-descript backpack out from behind a piece of the padded wall.
"What's the total sum of the money collected, that way I can give a full accounting to the Bursar as well as my contact?" Jennifer grinned at that, patting the side of the non-descript gymbag she took out of the closet, having stashed it before opening it up and pulling a square plastic wrapped cube of bills out. "100,450 dollars, my earnings for the last year and a half. You'd be amazed the amount of money that one can make with the right contacts. It'll be nice to actually be able to use this money outside of pizza."
If my suspicions are right, it won't be the only way it's used in the future. Daria snapped out of her own thoughts and nodded, indicating for the girl to set the money on the table. "We can't bring the money in like that, we can't risk campus police searching us then deciding to confiscatethe bag for our own good. So we're going to have to improvise."
"Improvise?" Jennifer said, looking confused by the comment. Daria sighed, reaching over to her desk and pulling out a thick hard copy of the Webster dictionary. As well as a small pocket knife and some sticky magnets. "Yes but before we do that I must first offer an apology to the god of knowledge and my fellow Brains for the sacrilege I'm about to commit."
The ride had been a short one, thankful that Helen had decided to drive and Jake slept in the shotgun seat, sparing the rest of the group from road songs. Upon arrival the five of them walked across the campus, taking in the sight of young adults slacking off. After watching her dad make a fool of himself they came across a red haired girl in a yellowish white jacket waiting for them.
"Hi, are you the Morgendorffers? I'm your tour guide, Heather. Welcome to Middleton." The girl said in that chipper voice students could always tell was fake but adults just seemed oblivious to.
Hey, Heather. What's up?" Jake said in a failed attempt to sound cool and suave. The girl only rolled her eyes in response, turning away with a good hearted smile.
"Uh... shall we get started?" Heather walked the group through the campus, pointing out the various buildings and their signifigance (or actual lack of). She stopped momentarily to point out a small cluster of buildings, sticking out amongst the new age buildings like a sore old thumb.
"These buildings date from when Middleton was a colonial religious college. Back then, the all-male student body attended chapel twice a day, and endured whippings as punishment for impure thoughts." It was at this point that a water balloon almost hit the group, coincidently being Jake's old college dorm, drawing the two parents away.
Parents lost in the memories of their youth, check. Now to ditch redhead without getting into trouble later. Fortunately Daria was saved from this by Quinn asking where the sorority's were located. A one block walk later and the fashion annoyance was off her back. Still it was better to make sure not to leave a potential powder keg near a furnace.
"Heather, just to ask she'll be fine here right?" Heather nodded her head, a cigarette hanging between her lips. "Physically she'll be fine, the Theta's may be self-righteous bitches but they make sure to keep their freshman safe. As to her confidence and self-esteem-
"I'm not concerned about that, as long as she doesn't end up in a body bag she can suffer as she see's fit." Daria said, with Jennifer stifling a snigger behind her hand. Heather had no such inhibitions, laughing out and fixing her with a small smirk. "Good to see your well versed in sarcasm, believe me it will save you later on. Let's get out of here this place gives me the creeps. We can go hang out in my dorm till your parents come looking for you."
"Normally I'd go for that, but we have to meet with the bursar for part of our class assignment. Could you walk us there? We can meet up with you at the dorm later." Daria asked the girl. Heather nodded her head in response. "Sure, let's get going."
"So this is what college is like huh? I could get used to this." Andrea said as she and Jane were lazing about on a blanket in front of one of the Lawndale dorms, the two of them close to snoozing as they sat next to their guide. The girl nodded her head, passing out the complimentary sandwiches to the two girls as they sat back.
"Yeah unless your one of those college hardcore eggheads, or a med or pre-law student college is a bit of a breeze. Ten hours in class a week at most with the rest of your time to yourself, minus homework and nap time. Plus you get to party the weekend away." The girl said before taking a bite of her roast beef. Jane nodded her head sleepily, watching as a group of half drunk fraternity guys stumbled by, one of them being half dragged by two of his buddies. "And with all the idiots and posers I could get some great ideas for sketches."
She and the other girls chuckled as they sat back and relaxed, enjoying the true college experience.
While her other friends were enjoying themselves back in Lawndale, a sentence that would have drawn a snort from her, Daria and Burnout found themselves sitting outside the bursar's office. Heather had just dropped them off and they promised that they would meet up with them later. Daria looked over at the blode girl, noticing her hands were gripping her backpack a little tightly.
"Relax Jen, we go in and give basic information of how we will be operating. We then hand him the parcel, he gives us the account information and we walk out." The blonde girl nodded her head in response, loosening her grip on her backpack and giving Daria a tight smile. "S-Sorry."
Daria smiled in turn, giving the girl a soft squeeze on the shoulder. "It's not a problem Jen, just let me do most of the talking except in regards to growing processes. Oh and no names, the people who need to know who we are already do."
Before the Jennifer could respond the door to the office opened, a small eep coming out from the girls mouth. "Hello Ms. D. and B., please come on in." A man said from the doorway, the two girls walking in."
Inside the office it was cramped to the walls with paperwork, folders and a desk, with two chairs barely set in front of it. Behind the desk sat a thin man, his obvious tupee set to try and cover his balding head. "Ah thank you young ladies for being prompt. I'm Christopher Dinozzo, bursar of Middleton College. My uncle said we are getting into business together, I look forward to it." The man reached forward with a hand to shake, one Daria hesitantly returned.
"Well." Christopher said sitting back as the two girls sat down. "I have been given the basic details of what you'll be doing business in, but I would like to be told some of the details if you don't mind."
"Alright, but only basic details, the less you know the better it will be for everybody. We'll be doing business indirectly with those already set up to cater to the college kids. We'll be indirectly supplying these individuals with product which they will then distribute. Every now and then we will bring a parcel to be cleaned and transferred, from which you will take your families end as well as subcharge for the cleaning. These parcels after today will never be delivered by us, nor will we meet again after this meeting" Daria said, indicating to Jennifer to hand her her backpack over.
Reaching in she pulled out the Webster dictionary, opening it up to reveal the inside hollowed out, removing the cash and handing it over the desk. "This is the first package, just over a hundred g's, now do you have the information we need?" Christopher nodded, reaching behind him and handing her a folder, which Daria began skimming. "Three accounts set up, as per your instructions. The money should be transferred by the next business day since you told us in advance, however future transactions will take more time in order to transfer through properly. Now tell me a little bit about the product itself."
At this Daria indicated to Jennifer, who began speaking as only an expert can. "The product is grown in a controlled and hidden environment, far away from the view of the local police. The operation is completely organic, no chemicals or outside sources that might otherwise taint the product. You also wont have to worry about us in regards to more exotic or dangerous drugs, as we don't deal in those products. Besides that I won't say anymore."
"Well then, I think that is all that I need to hear. Good luck with your new business young ladies, I expect good things out of both of you." Christopher said, putting the money into a safe before standing up. "Thank you sir, and give our regards to your uncle for us." Daria said, as the two girls stood up and shook hands with him. Finished with their business the two walked out, shutting the door behind them.
The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful, the two girls hanging in Heather's dorm room until the time came to find the rest of the clan. Where they got to enjoy watching Quinn and her parents get chewed out by the local police. The ride home was quiet with her parents illusions of college having been shattered, Quinn staring off dreamily from the car and Jennifer passed out on her shoulder. It was just as they were pulling back into Lawndale close to midnight that her phone gave off a ding, Daria pulling it out to read the email sent by Jimmy. Her face visibly darkened at what she was reading, a frown that Helen caught sight of in the rear view mirror.
"Daria, sweety, is everything alright?" Daria shook her head, looking up at her mother. "Mom, can we go to Jennifer's house please? It's over on Pine Brook road near Lover's Quarry." Helen was going to ask her why, when she saw the rare look of concern on her face. "of course dear, it's on the way home anyway."
Driving towards the house they passed by the abandoned quarry and into the lower end of Lawndale. As they drove further and further into the area the houses got older, more dilapidated. Eventually Daria saw the house that was listed and asked her mother to stop the car.
If the houses they had passed by were in bad shape, Jennifer's was downright abysmal. The windows were smashed in, small boards and rags having been put over them in order to keep out the wind. Much of the siding was cracked or torn off and the paint had long since peeled away to reveal the rotting wood beneath. Worst of all though was the way the house seemed to slump inwards, it looked like the house could collapse at any minute.
"Uhgh, who would choose to live in this dump?" Quinn said with her usual amount of candor. "Quinn.." Daria growled threateningly, however she stopped when seeing Jennifer rise from her slumber. "Are we at the school?" The blonde girl said wearily, rubbing her eyes open.
What awaited her when she got her sight back was Daria giving her a cold stare, her dilapidated house sitting behind her in the distance. "Mom, Jen and I are going to go have a quick talk in her house, we'll be out in a minute." With that Daria unbuckled and opened the door, ushering her friend out of the car and into the house. Helen had felt like going after her, but something in her tone made her stop. The way she had spoken to her, it reminded Helen of her mother when she had disciplined her and her two sisters as kids. The tone brooked no argument and made it clear it wasn't a request so much as a command.
It was times like these she could honestly admit her daughter intimidated her.
Inside the house the damage seemed even worse than it did on the outside, though it was hard to tell. The walls were filled with holes in and tears, the source of which was hard to tell, while what little furniture was inside was old and broken down. Looking around what amounted to the living room they had walked into, Daria saw that this also served as the bedroom, a mothy old blanket stretched across the couch.
"So Jen, where are your parents right now, the ones who gave you permission to come with me. Because judging from the state of this house it seems that I owe them an ass kicking." Daria said with a frown as she actually saw a mouse scitter across the floor and into a hole in the wall.
"Daria I know it, this looks bad." Jennifer said trying to placate her friend. "But with how the job market is my parents have had to cut back on a few things to make ends meet."
"Such as a proper living environment for their child as an example?" Daria said pointing to a loose floor board and stomping on it, causing it to snap in two. Jennifer winced at this action, but tried going another way. "They-they work so hard Daria, two- sometimes three jobs to make ends meet. They spend so little time at the house I doubt they'd notice the damage.
Daria smiled at this for a second, impressed by the cleverness of the girls comment. A lie is much more effective when you sprinkle it with the truth, huh Jen? To bad I peeked at the cards. "Somehow I doubt they'll notice, considering they've been living in San Francisco while you're forced to live in this shit heap."
The color drained out of Jen's face and her exposed eye grew wide. Daria took the girl by her shoulders and walked her over to the old couch, forcibly making her sit down "How-How did you…Have you been following me?" Daria shook her head, an action that gave little comfort to the blond. "I checked up on you through means most likely legal. The warning signs were there Jen, you act fishy anytime anything relating to your home is brought up and you always wear the same clothes. I didn't know things were this bad however. Unless all of your pants have a tear in the exact same spot."
"So do you!" Jen said, a slight edge forming in her voice. "Incorrect, I wear the same types of clothes, but you wear the same change of clothes everyday, you simply wash them so we won't notice the smell." Daria snapped back.
"So what if I do, it's none of your business what I do. I didn't take you for someone to judge them for such trivial things." Daria frowned at this, arms crossed over her chest. "Don't be dense, it's my right as a friend to check in on you when you're acting strange. Now how long have you been living by yourself?"
Jennifer was going to bark something back at Daria, only to feel it wither and away and die when Daria reached up and took off her glasses. Her grey eyes, now at their normal size seemed to be piercing her in place. "Jennifer, how long?"
"A year and a half. One day I woke up and they were just…gone. My grandmother used to live with us, a-and she kept my mom on track. After she died though…mom just lost it. She started doing things, getting into trouble, eventually she dragged my dad into it. To be honest I wasn't even sure if they were alive until you told me." Jennifer sat down on the sink at this point, eyes starting to grow moist
Daria sighed at the girl, putting her glasses back on. "Why didn't you tell anybody? And more importantly how did nobody notice?" Jenn sniffled, wiping her sleeve across her eyes. "My parents, even when they were around never came around very much. After they left I just forged their signatures on the necessary paperwork and made what house payments I could with what was left in the account. After a while, I just got good at hiding it and pretended like nothing was wrong."
"What about your other family, I mean a grandmother, an uncle, just somebody?" Daria said grasping for straws. Jen shook her head getting more upset by the minute. "No, Mom and Dad were only children, I've never even met any of their cousins. What little they told me wasn't very reassuring. I didn't think I'd be very welcome with them, considering our- my black sheep status."
Daria looked at her friend in a rare moment of pity, before sighing and pulling the girl in for a hug. For a few minutes the two girls sat there, Jennifer crying while Daria rubbed the girls back. Eventually she pulled away and reached a hand up, brushing the last of the tears from the girls face.
"Jennifer I want you to listen to me. Go throughout the house and pack yourself a bag. Take only the things you need or that are truly important to you. Anything else you think of we can come back for later. No don't argue." Daria said as Jennifer opened a mouth to say something. "In five minutes you and I are walking out of this place, if that means I have to drag you out I will."
"And then what?" Jennifer asked looking at her friend. "I don't have anywhere to go. This is all I have, I don't w-want to end up in a foster home."
Daria frowned at this, standing the girl up. "That's not going to happen, not if my mother wants to have the right to call me her daughter. I'm going to swing it so you can live with me from now on. You can stand my father's food, so he's already in your pocket. As for my mother once I explain the situation her only concern will be financial support, and it just so happens your grandmother left you a secret college fund no one knew about. That'll settle Helen, although she'll probably try to contact any relatives you have first, as well as the police."
Jennifer looked at her stunned for a moment, before the girl gave a croaky laugh at the brunette. "I wonder why you had two accounts set up for me. You've been planning this for awhile. Before I agree to this though, I have to know why? Why are you doing this for me? Is it because we're in business new?"
Daria gave a sigh at this, eyes looking down at her shoes. "In some small part, yes I am interested in keeping you off the streets or out of the government hands, but it's not the main reason. You, Jane and Andrea are the only friends I've ever had, and I don't want to see you in trouble or unhappy. Besides, it might be nice for both of us to have a real sibling for a change. So, do you trust me?"
Jennifer took a moment to think on it, before nodding her head a smile plastered on her tear streaked face.
It had only been a few minutes since Daria and Jennifer had gone into the decrepit house, and yet already Helen felt like going in after them. This place just gave her a bad feeling and she didn't like it. She felt her arm gripping the arm rest of her seat in a vice, while Jake was lucid enough for once to be looking around the neighborhood nervously.
Just as Helen was going to leave the car she saw Daria and Jen walk out of the house, the latter carrying a duffel bag on her shoulder in a subdues manner. With a swift motion Daria opened the car and took the bag from her, tossing it in the back before guiding the girl in. "Daria honey, what's going-." Daria cut her mother off, wrapping an arm protectively around the girl while speaking to her father. "Dad, let's go home."
Jake didn't need to be told twice, with speed than was probably necessary. The ride home was short and uncomfortable, Jen seeming to cling near Daria while Helen discreetly watched the two in the back, the curiosity eating away at her. Helen's phone buzzed with a text, the lawyer pulling it out expecting it to be her boss. We'll talk at home, away from gossipy ears. Helen looked back at her daughter, discretion be damned but Daria seemed to not notice, speaking in a low voice to Jennifer.
Getting home Jake and Quinn both went to bed, while Daria ushered her friend to her bedroom before coming back down, finding her mother waiting for her. The woman stood at attention, arms crossed over her chest, the lawyer in her having taken over.
"Mom, remember how you said the next thing I asked for you would grant? Well, here's the deal…"
About an hour of debate Daria trudged up the stairs, tired but pleased with the conversation. Helen had grilled her for most of it, specifically how and when Daria had known about her friends living condition. Daria was truthful for the most part, explaining how her suspicions had started and the files she had been sent confirming the parental abandonment. When Helen brought up the question of both contacting her family as well as financial support, Daria told her about Jen's black sheep status as well as her "Grandmothers" college account.
Daria smiled when she saw Helen eventually consent in her arguments, but said that after contacting the police the next day if no one came forward she would begin proceeds to make herself Jen's legal guardian. Daria decided to do the daughterly thing and hugged her mother while thanking her, cementing the deal.
She of course changed how she got the information, Helen didn't need to know she was still in contact with Jimmy.
Daria entered her room quietly, lest her friend was potentially sleeping. It was unnecessary however, as the blonde was sitting on her bed, boots kicked off and coat discarded.. Jennifer was still wearing her day attire and looked over at Daria, eyes weary but hopeful.
"It's all taken care of, the cops will be taking your statement in the morning but Helen agreed to let you stay, as long as none of your family comes forward for you." Daria said as she kicked off her boots before dropping down next to the girl. "I…I think I'll like that. I'll have to thank her in the morning."
Daria gave a small humph, taking her glasses off and setting them on the table. "I'd hold the thanks for a little bit, your going to have to endure a clothes shopping trip with my mother tomorrow. Try not to let her push you into anything pink and frilly."
"Eh it wont be so bad." Jennifer said barely stiffening a yawn. "It's been a while since I had any fresh clothes. It might be nice." Daria looked away at that, a little embarrassed that she had forgotten that.
"Sorry, that was insensitive of me." Jennifer simply gave a tired grin, giving a light punch to her shoulder. "Don't apologize, this is new for me to after all. I wonder if Helen would object to me bringing Jamie over here."
"You and Jamie a thing?" Daria asked as her eyes began to droop. Jennifer laughed and shook her head. "Not yet, but there is potential. Besides he's a sweet guy if a bit oblivious at times."
"At times might be a bit generous, but I'll admit he's not all muscle and testosterone. Just let me know if he needs a good kicking all right?" Daria said as she laid back on the bed.
"Daria?" Jennifer said sounding nervous all of a sudden. Daria opened her eyes, looked over at the girl, seeing her laying by her. "Yes Jen?"
The blonde hesitated for a moment before reaching over, wrapping her friend in a hug. "Thank you." With that the girl let go and turned over, closing her eyes as sleep overtaking her. With what little strength left to her Daria managed to pull up the blanket over the two and went to sleep, but not before whispering one thing.
"Don't mention it, sis."
Sorry it took so long to update, my computer crashed and I was forced to retype this. It may be a bit before I can update again, final stretch of college to get through. I promise though if I can update I will. Hope you enjoyed this and see you