Chapter 4

Yeah!!! The final chapter is up. Sorry for the long LONG break...I got restless, and I should be finishing up the fic pretty soon. Because this is still sort of a rough draft, i'd love to hear comments, corrections, critiques, fanart..any of that I would love! Email: Infestedmind09@aol.com

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( Shot of Tom's car cruising down a street. It's dusk, he's dressed in a formal suit w/ tie, and the radio is playing loud- )

Radio DJ: We here at WKIX want to say congratulations to the class of 2001.Here's one last shout out to high school angst with Alice Cooper's 1972 hit, "School's Out".
(Song Plays)

(Tom slows the car and pulls into Daria's driveway. He exits car, rings doorbell. He stands waiting, adjusting his suit and scratching the back of his neck. He waits. No one answers. He rings again, still no reply. He looks up at the house, all the lights are off)

(Shot of Tom getting back in car, and picking up cell phone.)

(Cut to Ext. LANE house. Enter Jane's bedroom.)

(Jane is rummaging through piles of clothes in a frenzy, cursing under her breath. The phone rings numerous times, then stops. )

Trent: (VO) Janey! Phone! ( Trent walks onscreen, standing in Jane's doorway.) It's Tom.

(Jane raises an eyebrow and grabs phone from Trent.)

Jane: Tom?

(Split screen- Jane and Tom)

Tom: Hi Jane. Um, is Daria over there?

Jane: No, I thought you two were frisking off to the dance together.

Tom: Well I was under that impression too, but Daria's not home, she's not with me and apparently not there...

Jane: Daria's missing??

Tom: It seems that way.

Jane: Uh-oh.

Tom: What's 'uh -oh'?

Jane: She's been sort of...strange lately. I can't help but think this may have something to do with that.

Tom: (eyes grow wide) Jane- I'll be over in five minutes.

Jane: Ok.


(Cut to Lane's Living Room. Tom is sitting on the couch, looking a little nervous, while Jane is standing next to the couch on the phone.)

Jane: Well, thanks anyway Mrs. Landon. Uh-huh. Bye. (She hangs up) (Sighs) Well, she isn't at Jodie's, she's not a the Pizza King, and there's no reply from her cell phone. I don't think there's any other place she could be if she's still sane.

Tom: But unfortunately we can't rule out the alternative just yet.

Jane: Well the only other place that would be somewhat plausible would be.... (she thinks)

(Jane and Tom look up at each other, thinking the same thing.


(Cut to Tom's car, riding down a dark highway - Jane riding shotgun. Jane is wearing a long, black, semi-casual coat, and dangling silver earrings from what can been seen by the shot)

Jane: .....and then she just seemed to stop really talking to me after that. I don't know why she's been such a bitch lately.

Tom: I had no idea all this was going on.

Jane: Well, where have _you_ been?

Tom: Hey, I've been a little busy with my own workload to be Super boyfriend. Just because I've been a little too swamped to see Daria in the past few days doesn't mean i'm not concerned.

Jane: Yeah, I'm not saying you're unconcerned, just inconsiderate.

Tom: (grips wheel, grimacing) Dammit, Jane. Can you just forgot whatever ex-boyfriend disillusions you have against me right now? Bickering isn't going to help us find Daria, alright?

Jane: Fine. (Heaves a sigh, and rests her elbow against the window sill and rests her chin on her hands)
(pause)

Jane: (quietly)........uptight little...

Tom: What was that?

Jane: Nothing.

(Cut to outside of car, slowing down)

Jane: (VO, from inside car) Turn here.

(The car turns into a large hotel, just off the highway. It's large, somewhat resembling a Hyatt. The sign out in front reads in large letters "_________ Hotel")

(They park in the middle of a large over crowded parking lot, exit car, and walk towards the entrance)

Jane: Alright, we split up, no socializing. Just ask if anyone has seen Daria, and if not, we turn and high-tail it outta there.

Tom: Sounds good to me....and if anyone asks why we came in together...?

Jane: Say you're your own evil twin.

(Cut to inside the _____ Hotel Ballroom. Irritating, pulsating club music echoes throughout, and the room is full of dressed up, dancing Lawndale Seniors. (_Ex_ Lawndale seniors at this point). Tom and Jane enter simultaneously through a pair of tall double-doors. They stop, and scan the crowd. )

Tom: Wow. It's like the class I never had and never wanted. I can see what Daria was complaining about for all this time.

Jane: Alright, I'll take the idiots dancing and you take the crowd by the punch bowl and the wallflowers.

Tom: (faux-disappointment) Hey, why do I get all the dorks? (Gives a weak smile)

Jane: Because they're harder to confuse. I'll meet you here in 10.

(They separate, and make their way through the crowds)

(Cut to Tom approaching the corner of the room near the food, and the DJing booth. He looks a little bewildered as he stares a the group, a large cluster of stereotypical wallflowers- Andrea, Dawn, the Burnout chick, and numerous unknown, plain kids looking either extremely bored or sad. He approaches the DJ- Upchuck.)

Tom: Um...

Upchuck: Please, Despite my overwhelming talent for musical selection, I refuse to take any tips tonight.

Tom: Actually, I was just wondering if you happened to know a girl named Daria.

Upchuck: Why, the lovely miss Morgendorffer!! Let's just say I happen to _know_ her quite well. ( growls)

Tom: What's _that_ supposed to mean?

Upchuck: Let's just say I've come very close, my good man. And what business do you have, with Miss Morgendorffer?

Tom: (glaring) I'm her boyfriend.

Upchuck: Oh. (Quietly) -eep-.

Tom: I was just wondering if you had seen her around here lately.

Upchuck: (chuckling nervously) Heh, well, no, can't say that I have.

Tom: (somewhat forcefully) Thanks... (looks at Upchuck suspiciously for a moment, and continues on.)

( Tom walks to the group of wallflowers, and a slow song starts playing. Tom walks up and stands in front of an unknown, heavyset girl, looking glum with her face buried in her hands.)

Tom: Excuse me, I -

Girl: (looks up at Tom excitedly) Yes! Yes I'd _love_ to dance with you!! (Stands, grabs him by the wrist and yanks him onto the dance floor)

(Shot of Tom looking surprised and uncomfortable as the girl pulls him in for a slow dance. She squeezes him and he gasps for air, too bewildered to speak)

(Cut to Jane, standing in the middle of the dancefloor, standing blank-faced with crossed arms, surrounding by slow dancing, gooey-eyed couples. She glances over to her right. Shot of Brittney and Kevin dancing uncomfortably close. Jane approaches)

(Brittany is wearing a yellow halter dress, her hair in an odd altiduinous style and kevin is wearing jeans and a tuxedo t-shirt, w/shoulder pads, of course.)

(Jane reaches over and taps Brittany on her shoulder)

Jane: Ahem.

(Brittany turns her head over her shoulder.)

Brittany: Jane! ( Brittany and Kevin separate and face Jane) I didn't think you would show up.

Jane: Maybe that explains why hell just froze over.

Kevin: Gee, Jane aren't you hot with that big heavy coat on? (Jane is still wearing her black long overcoat)

Jane: I think I'll survive.

Brittany: What's up, Jane?

Jane: Have you seen Daria around here?

Brittany: Daria? (thinks) I don't think so...

Kevin: Hey wait a minute! I think I just saw her come in with that brother of hers!

Jane: (raises an eyebrow) Tom?

Brittany: Kevin, that's her boyfriend, not her brother you dummy! (Pauses) Wait..._you_ came in with Tom!

Kevin: (assuredly) Babe, she's Jane, not Daria!

Brittany: Wait...you and Tom?

Jane: No, we are not together! Tom's _still_ dating Daria.

Kevin: So... Tom's _your_ brother?

Jane: (scowls) Never mind! I'll find Daria myself. (Exits)

(Brittany and Kevin look at each other)

Kevin: Man, don't they know that dating your brother is, like, infanticide??

Brittany: Oh Kevy! (They begin to slow dance again.)

(Cut to Jane, leaving the ballroom. She storms through the hallway outside, and walks past a glass wall leading to a courtyard outside. Jane starts checking her watch, and then glances outside. She stops dead in her tracks, staring at the window.)

Jane: (to herself) Daria?

(She walks towards the glass wall and comes to a glass French door.)

(Cut to outside in the courtyard. Jane steps outside and closes the door. Save for some old fashioned street lamps lighting a cobblestone path, it's pretty dark out. The courtyard is filled with shrubs, wildflowers and small trees, lining a grassy lawn. Jane makes her way down the path and sees a small grass hill near the end of the courtyard. A black figure sits on the hill, outlined by twilight in the horizon. Jane runs up the short hill.)

Jane: Daria!
(Jane runs up and stops. Daria is sitting cross-legged on the grass, staring at her boots. Besides her familiar combat boots, she looks quite different. - She's wearing a dark blue formal dress with spaghetti straps. Her hair is up in a loose French twist, no glasses and a tiny bit of makeup- mascara and lipstick.)

(Daria remains silent)

Jane: Wow, you look...

Daria: Like Quinn, I know. (Sighs)

Jane: Where the hell have you been? Tom called me a little while ago, worried sick.

(Daria looks at the ground, mumbles incoherently, and then becomes silent)
(Jane sits down on the ground close to her.)

Jane: Daria...What's wrong?? (She looks over at her friend concerned)

Daria: (sighs) I don't know exactly. It's, um, kinda embarrassing.

Jane: Please Daria. You're sitting in front of me dressed in formal. I can't think of anything much more embarrassing than that.

Daria: It doesn't seem like you missed out on that deal either.

Jane: (smirks) Au contre. (She opens up her dress coat to reveal that she's wearing a running outfit- a tank top and gym shorts. She takes off her high heels, chucks them to the side, a pulls a pair of flip-flops out of pocket on her coat and slips them on. )

Daria: What's with the Prefontaine getup? I thought you were excited to go glam.

Jane: I was... until rational judgment finally hit me. I decided, what's the point of conforming, blending in with all the other fake, painted classmates on a night I want to remember. I thought I'd go out with a bang- sort of an artistic expression challenging the standards of formality and purely ridiculous costume rituals.

Daria: You couldn't find a dress you liked.

Jane: Bingo.

(Daria looks down at herself and sighs. There's a tense moment of silence between the two. Jane glances over at her friend anxiously.)

Jane: Daria, why are you doing this?

Daria: I don't know what you mean.

Jane: (bitterly) Like hell you know what I mean! You've been avoiding everyone the past few weeks, well, noticeably more so than usual- especially me. You've been distant with Tom and every time I bring up graduation you get pissed. Then you run off missing for hours and don't even think twice about how this might upset Tom or me. What's going on?

(Silence)

Jane: Daria?

Daria: (quickly) Alright, so maybe this whole idea of running away from school and finally obtaining some sense of that freedom I've been craving for so long isn't all it's cracked up to be. So maybe I've been looking back at the way I've treated the situation and had some regrets. Maybe, despite how much I hate my old situation, have grown comfortable in it, and am afraid of entering a whole new environment that I might scorn even more. (Sighs, gets quieter) Maybe knowing that you're running off to California for four years means that I might never get to see you again.

Jane: California? Who said anything about California?

Daria:I saw the acceptance letter you got from Berkley. It was sitting open on your coffee table.

Jane: You saw the acceptance letter, Daria. I didn't say that I was nessecarily going there.

Daria: You mean...?

Jane: I'm not going to California? No...well, not right away anyway. I figured I could hang around Lawndale for a little while before I ship myself off to a large, strange college thousands of miles away. I managed to harness a pretty decent job at the modern art museum on Dega Street for the summer. I figure that if things go well during the summer, and I make enough to survive I can start next semester or take some classes at a local college and reapply next spring.

Daria: Hmm... (looks as if ready to say something, but bites her tongue.)

Jane: You know, you never told me where you're going to this fall.

Daria:(looks at the ground) Northwestern.

Jane: That's great!...(looks at Daria) Yet I'm not sensing the enthusiasm from you....

Daria: Mmm..

Jane: C'mon Daria, its a great school...

Daria: Dammit, it's not the school Jane, its... (hesitates) its the whole..

Jane: Uncertainty?

Daria: (looks up) How'd you know?

Jane: Oh please, like you thought you were the only one.

Daria: I mean, I uh, guess I'm just feeling sort of hypocrite now. I've been making fun of Lawndale high since I set foot inside it, completely resenting all the years I spent there, and now that its over it's like I might have accidentally missed something. (Deadpan) I see all those dancing goons in there and I'm wondering now whether or not I might have overlooked some aspect of high school, something that makes the cheerleaders extra extra bouncy or the football so damn exciting.

Jane: You mean besides the major pregame binges?

Daria: Maybe. And despite how much I may hate it here, I hate to admit it, but I finally feel like I've established my own dark little niche in the world. One where I'm the cynical bitch in the corner rolling my eyes at all the normal kids. When I go to college, I'm going to be thrown into a whole new situation where my kind will be a dime a dozen, and it'll be a totally new kind of hate that I'll have to deal with for at least another four years.

Jane: Daria, you'll never be a dime a dozen. I mean, you're...Daria Morgendorffer! No one can change that. Yeah, we can look back at high school now and say all the good times that we missed but its over and you know what? It really did suck. College can't be any worse. If 3 other lane kids and manage college I'm sure I can, and you can too Daria.

Daria: I guess you're right. (She looks at the ground again, and pauses). I probably sound like everything I've ever hated.

Jane: Pretty much, but your secrets safe with me.

Daria: (smirks) Thanks.

(They sit out looking at the night sky for a few minutes of silence. Bass can be heard faintly pumping from the dance.)

Jane: (looks up across at Daria) So...

Daria: (quickly, nearly interrupting, as if both had the same thought at the same time.) So now what?

Jane: (shrugs) I don't know Daria, I don't know. (Sighs)

(After a few silent moments, footsteps are heard running up from behind them.)

Tom: (VO) Daria!

Daria: Tom?

Tom: (out of breath) I've been looking all over for you, where the hell have you been?

Jane: I was about to ask you the same thing.

Tom: I was kidnapped by a group of wallflowers and they made me their human puppet. I was horrified but there was no escape.

Daria: Well thank god you finally did. (She stands, Jane follows)

Tom: (looks at Daria in formal with a bit of shock) Wow, Daria... You look breath taking! (He looks over at Jane) Jane, (hesitantly) you look, um..nice too.

Jane: Oh, flatterer.

Tom: (Extends hand to Daria) Care to join me for a pathetically sophomoric slow dance?

Daria: (blushes a little) Um, thanks but I think we were just leaving.

Tom: (frowns) You drag me all the way out here in a rented tux for nothing? C'mon Daria.. a final night of high school torture, for me?

Jane:(faux warning tone) I think he's serious Daria...don't leave young Thomas hanging!

Tom: Just one last dose of Lawndale High Cynicism, for old time's sake?

(Shot of Tom, w/ arm extended from Daria's POV. Cut back to normal, full shot.)

Daria: Oh what the hell. I think It might actually be good for me. (Takes Tom's hand)

(Cut to Inside ballroom. Third Eye Blind- "Semi- charmed life" is playing loudly, lots of bass. Zoom into Daria and Tom, semi-dancing slowly, observing the entire crowd.)

(Brittany dances excited past in her bright yellow dress and weird hair)

Daria: Was it just me, or did a voluptuous teletubby just pass by?

Tom: Teletubby? I could have sworn it was a Muppet gone horribly wrong.

(Kevin walks by, stumbling, in hot pursuit, grabbing at Brittany's ass)

Tom: Look, and I thought beaver hunting season was over!

Daria: (glares at Tom)

Tom: Sorry.

(A cheerleader dances nearby in a blindingly hot pink dress, Daria eyes her.)

Daria: Wow, I didn't know Pepto Bismal crossed over into designing

Tom: Speaking of stomach aches, I wonder how Jane's handling Captain Kirk over there.

Daria: I almost feel bad.... (she looks over her shoulder) nah, this is too good. (She smirks)

(Pan across crowd. Jane is slow dancing with Upchuck.)

Upchuck: (growls)

Jane: (rolls her eyes, glares) Doooon't even think about it.

(Cut to outside of Hotel, from perspective of where Jane and Daria had been sitting outside.)

Upchuck: (VO) Hehehe..

(a pause, and then a loud SLAP sound)
(Music: "I'm not listenin' when you say..." ( music fade out))

Upchuck: Owww!

(Music Swells "Goodbye...Goodbye.....Goodbyyeeee!")

(Fade to Black)


THE END??



How you like my fic, eh? I've been considering writing an epilogue or some sort of follow up, but unless I get feed back I think i'll leave it here. Please Review! And I promise if I do do an epilogue then I won't wait 3 months to update like I did last time. Sorry about that.. I DO have a life.
Thanks for all the great reviews I got! I'll be sending more stuff in soon.