Part 3
"Er.. Uhm.. Excuse me," Stacy lightly tapped Daria on the shoulder. Her eyes had that worried, frightened look, actually they always had regardless of any situation. Daria turned around and looked her straight into the eyes."AHH!! It's all too scary.. I can't take this.. Sandi you do it.."
Sandi pushed her aside and took a deep breath. Daria closed her locker and took a step ready to leave but Sandi held her back.
"What the hell do you want,' Daria muttered in her usual monotone voice. "I don't have all day to stand here and watch you take turns trying to tell me something I probably don't even care about.
"We need you as a replacement for Quinn in the club pictures," Sandi said reluctantly and she couldn't keep a steady gaze with Daria whose eyes seemed to intimidate hers. Daria's eyes narrowed.
"I wouldn't do that even if I were madly insane," she replied and took another attempt to leave but was stopped again. Daria was getting really irritated, she slapped her arm away. Sandi looked shock and stumbled back a little, but continued despite of it.
"Please, we spent alot of time.. Not to mention money on this.. It really means alot to us.. As well as Quinn..," Sandi started again, this time holding her arm with the other. She searched Daria's eyes for any sign of willingness. Nothing. No she had to convince her. "Don't you care about Quinn?" Daria's eyes darkened. "Well then.."
Sandi motioned for Tiffany and Stacy to move away. Puzzled, they obeyed and walked to the far end of the lockers.
"What do you think she's telling her?", Tiffany whispered to Stacy even though they were at a safe distance for talking out loud without being heard.
"I don't know.. Maybe it's one of Sandi's master plans.. She's really good at these things, you know," Stacy replied in her unsure tone of voice.
"Oh.. Okay"
Meanwhile the Sandi began to try a new motive in convincing Daria to take the pictures. She only had 20 more minutes and they hadn't even started to get ready yet.
"If helping Quinn isn't something you'd like to do.. Why don't you think of this as a kind of.. revenge," Sandi told Daria softly and picked her words carefully. This was definitely not the time to sound like her usual self and she wasn't talking to just anyone. "It would be the perfect revenge, she'd never get over it once she finds out. So what do you say?"
Daria's eyes brightened with an evil gleam and she smirked.
After 5 more minutes, Stacy and Tiffany turned to see Sandi and Daria walking to them.
"Let's get ready," Sandi said and the two nodded.
Everything seemed to happen in such a blur. Someone rushing here just as someone else rushes there. Bottles, compacts, but what dreaded Daria most.... hairdye.
"You didn't say this was part of the deal," Daria hissed at Sandi.
"It was included in fixing you up, deary," Sandi said as she mixed the bottles together and Tiffany put on gloves.
Daria felt drowsy at the smell of hairdye and umcomfortable at it's strange tingling on her scalp. She was told to sit there while they got ready and to wash her hair when the small clock across from here made that "cute ding" sound. She heard showers turn on, they were in the girls' locker room and had all the space they could possibly need. She decided to take a short nap. "Ding!". Ahh.. Not enough time to rest. She got up and hurried to the showers.
Gladly they were finished and she could be by herself. She had never been nude infront of anyone else except when she was born. If she could have spoken she would have cursed the doctor to hell. Her eyes trailed on the hair dye swirling round and round til it was devoured by the sink holes. She couldn't determine what the color was, it was either clear or blended with the auburn color of the floor. Unfortunately there were no mirrors anywhere. Toweling herself, Stacy rushed to her and pulled her to a chair. Daria put all her effort into holding and securing her towel before sitting down. Sandi handed her a dress. Daria looked at each and every one of them and they got the hint and left.
It was a black and quite revealing. She put her towel aside and tried it on. Looking down at herself she couldn't see much except how short the skirt was. Tiffany walked in on her and set down a pair of seemingly 5-inch high heels.
"Whoa.. You look exactly...," her mouth was muffled by Sandi who had stepped in shortly after she had.
"She'll see for herself. Now dry her hair and put on her make-up. We only have 5 minutes more," Daria was seated once again and now frequently told to open and close her eyes and mouth and look here and there. She couldn't determine precisely how many brushes had touched her face as well as the ones on her hair. The heat of the blowdryer felt strange but in a way soothing. "All done. Here look at yourself."
Daria took the mirror and squinted. All she saw was a distorted blur.
"I can't see a thing. I need my glasses," she was given a pair of contacts instead. She frowned but put them in. Now taking a second glance in the mirror her mouth dropped and she nearly dropped it by her violent shaking.
She couldn't believe it. She looked exactly like Quinn. The hair, the face, she had yet to see how she looked in the dress but it was unbelievable. But it felt wrong, she looked like Quinn but she didn't act like her at all. Tiffany glanced at her watch and broke into a panic.
"It's time!!!!," she screamed. They grabbed onto Daria's wrist and off they went to the auditorium.
They got in line and began practicing their introduction lines. Lines? No one had told her about lines, she thought they'd only be taking a picture. Pose, flash and over. Sandi told Daria to introduce herself as Quinn Morgendorffer. But there was one, little problem. Daria hadn't the same exact tone and bounciness of voice. Nervously she deafly listened to Sandi and glanced around observing the people. Joey, Jeffy and Jeremy(?) were yelling encouragement from the seats. I'm sure they think Quinn's gotten over her skin condition, Daria thought as she continued to look around.
Every now and then she glanced at whoever was on the microphone. A familiar laughter rang throughout the auditorium. She knew that laughter. Then she was swept by a feeling of fear, would she be laughed at as well? She tried to console herself by saying there was no one here that she knew anyway. No one she could be embarrased to be a fool out of herself infront of. She glanced around once more and skimmed through the 7th row.
Her eyes stopped on Jane, who had a companion. Her eyes felt irritated and a thin film of tears blurred her vison. Who was that guy with her? Dark hair, tall and taut, dark colored shirt... Think Daria, think. Jane got up and looked around. She's looking for me, Daria thought, well she's been staringly at me unknowingly for all this time. Her companion got up as well and began to search the seats. As he neared the 2nd row his facial features were clearer and Daria could recognise him. Trent. Her heart stopped and she knew that by no means she'd go through with this. But the line shortened group by group and the fashion club was next.
Chapter 4 coming soon.
