Chapter 14
The sweltering sun beamed down upon the citizens of Lawndale as they scurried about, making final preparations for the evening celebrations. Daria and Jane sat side by side under the shelter of a small roofed picnic table on the edge of Lawndale's Municipal Park; the greater and more frequented of Lawndale's public spaces, watching the stalls and entertainment rides being erected, Not a word had been exchanged since leaving the quarry an hour and a half earlier. Daria had been observing Jane, she seemed a little rattled but not as much as she should have been after witnessing Artie's very public suicide. Daria was unsure whether or not this was a front or Jane truly didn't care.
Eyes set on the stalls in front of them, Jane cleared her throat and asked, "Did you know what was going to happen this morning?"
"No," Daria replied after a moment's hesitation, not liking where the conversation was likely headed.
"But you knew something was going down, you said it yourself that Artie was a source. His story was your story, for your article." Jane continued, eyes still set firmly ahead.
"Ah… Yeah, I was told he had a story to tell… It wasn't until I spoke to him that I knew what he had planned," Daria said, her voice unsteady as she began to tread into dangerous territory. She hadn't lied, she knew nothing of the planned mass suicide, although she knew for sure there would only be one death at the quarry since she hadn't seen any of her colleagues at the site.
"Oh, it's just…" Jane started.
"Just what?" Daria probed, the urge to tell all suddenly took hold and she struggled to quash the impulse.
"Nothing, don't worry about it," Jane replied as she turned to face Daria. "Are you hungry? I could go a pizza." She said as she stood and waited.
"Sure, overly processed, greasy food sounds great." Daria said. Her next reap was at seven pm and she had six hours to waste.
They entered the pizza place, sat in a booth seat and ordered a pizza to share.
"So where is Quinn? I haven't seen her in a while," Daria asked, being careful to hide her curiosity.
"Her dad's moving out today, and he asked her to help him," Jane replied.
"Oh… okay." She had forgotten about her parents' pending divorce, she had dismissed the notion entirely since empty divorce threats were exchanged quite often when Daria had been alive. Maybe that's why her parents had finally called it quits, the added stress of losing a daughter finally peaked their intolerance for each other. She guessed the time that should have been spent as a family mourning together had resulted in Helen going overboard at work, and Jake ceasing to operate completely. Poor Quinn had been caught in the middle…
***
As Quinn busied herself in her room, selecting which cherished objects would be relocated to her dad's new place of residence, she heard the sound of a car door shutting, followed by the opening of the front door. She glanced at her alarm clock, 1:35 pm. Jake had called her earlier to inform her that he would be late in picking her up and to expect him at three.
"Must have gotten off early," she said aloud as she made her way over to a window and peered down at the driveway.
Helen's SUV was stationed in its usual spot.
Quinn gave a small groan as she heard her mother's footsteps as she climbed the stairs. A moment later a quiet knock came from the opposite side of Quinn's bedroom door.
"Hi Mom," Quinn called as Helen opened the door and entered the room.
"Hi sweetie, what are you doing home? I thought you would be out with one of your friends, I just saw Jane and another girl over by the park."
"Maybe later, I'm not in the mood right now," Quinn said.
"Hmmm, well I have something that will cheer you up. I've been asked to invite you to the dinner party tonight at Governors Park." Helen beamed.
"Why? So you can parade me around in front of your would-be clients under the guise of being a happy family? No thanks," Quinn said, making no attempt to mask the hostility in her voice.
"This matter isn't up for discussion Quinn," Helen said sternly.
"Who's discussing it? I'm not going, I won't be used as a tool to help further your career, besides, I'm busy."
"Helping your father settle into his new abode? Quinn for now you're living under my roof, so you will do as I say. I will pick you up from your father's at eight."
"Fine, if I have to do as you say while I'm under your roof, I'll move out. I'm going to live with dad. He won't order me around like you."
"Don't even try that game. Don't play us off each other, because you won't win. No more arguments, you are coming to dinner," Helen said finally and exited the room.
Quinn stared at the back of the shut door. She stifled an angry scream and hurled the plush bear she had been holding at it.
***
The danger points were everywhere. The old rusty fairground rides. The questionable carnival food. Game stalls involving darts, BB guns and hard balls... Daria had learned quickly that anything could cause death, most would consider a baseball a harmless thing to play with, but she now knew better after the sports center incident…. She shuddered as the memories rushed back. The park had been transformed, under the blanket of darkness the park took on a whimsical and slightly maniacal glow. Daria glanced at Jane who was taking it all in, the bright colors and tinny fairground music seemed to have put her into a regressive trance-like state, she was like a child moving from attraction to attraction with uncharacteristic glee.
Daria had less than half an hour until her scheduled reap, and she had yet to find them. J. White, the name was familiar, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember what the 'J' stood for. She didn't dare ask Jane, she didn't want to be caught out twice in the one day.
"Hey, you want to go on the Tilt-O-Whirl?" Jane asked.
"Maybe later." Daria responded.
"You want to wait for me while I ride it?"
"Sure," Daria said. She could use the time alone to scout for her reap.
"Cool," said Jane as they began to walk toward it.
As they stood in line a group of guys lined up behind them.
"Dude, I can't believe the girls bailed on us," said the short haired brunette.
"I know, I thought I was actually getting somewhere with Stacy," said the black haired one.
"I just wish Quinn was hanging out with them. She seems to have just disappeared since summer vacation started," said the blond.
Daria turned, the three guys were Quinn's old suitors. Joey, Jeffy and… 'Jamie! Jamie White.'
Daria breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Jane. "I'll wait for you outside, okay?"
"Sure, see you on the other side," Jane said with a smirk.
Daria turned and excused her way through the line, making sure to push past Jamie and collect his soul.
***
Daria stood and watched Jane lead the people onto the ride. Daria jumped as the ride let out an exhausted moan and the motor began to whir as the ride started to spin. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted more of her ex-classmates goofing off behind the ride in a deserted area on the outskirts of the park. Kevin Thompson and a few of his teammates were huddled in a tight circle, obviously up to no good.
A small cheer sounded out as a bright light flashed and Kevin held up a Roman Candle in one hand and another unlit firework in the other. The candle immediately began to shoot out bursts of white light into the air. The boys cried out in joy and cheered as they watched Kevin flap his arms and send the lights across the sky.
Daria groaned as she watched the unlit firework cross the path of the lit one and the wick catch fire.
The joyous cries turned into ones of warning as the boys began to run away. Kevin threw both the fire works on the ground and followed suit, taking cover behind the tree line.
A high pitched squeal rang out as the firework was propelled across the field. It landed in Jamie's Tilt-O-Whirl booth and was caught in his safety harness.
Blood curdling screams rose above the ride's music and mechanical noises as the firework exploded, sending shimmering colors of blue and white up into the sky. Combined with the shower of dull red from Jamie that accompanied it, Daria thought the display was very patriotic.