Daria in: The Lawndale Reunion
By: Claudette Helstrom

Part Three: The Lost Girls

Summary: After arriving in Lawndale, Daria questions if she made the right choice, and Mercedes gets roped into something she'd much rather not do…

Highland, Texas
"Hurry up, Mercedes! We have to be at the airport in twenty minutes," Daria called up the stairs, thinking she should have backed out of this as soon as her punishment for Mercedes had backfired.

Mercedes bounced down the stairs with her suitcase. "Hey, Mom, can I bring my guitar?"

"I don't know if your grandparents would appreciate the noise."

"Mom! I have to practice! And anyway, I can find somewhere else to practice where they won't hear me. I'm awesome like that," Mercedes whined.

"But we'll only be gone for the weekend, Quinn," Daria replied.

"But a weekend's a lot! I mean, you're taking your laptop! Music's the same way! Mom! Come on, don't you believe in the Gypsy Vixens?"

"No," Daria answered. "But I guess you do, and that's kind of important, I suppose."

Mercedes waited a moment for Daria to continue, and when she didn't, Mercedes asked, "Mom? Yes or no?"

"Yes," Daria sighed. "But hurry up. We need to get out of here!"

"Thanks, Mom! I love you!" Mercedes squealed as she ran up to get her guitar.


Lawndale, Connecticut
"Jake, what are you doing just reading the newspaper? Daria and Mercedes will be here any moment!" Helen demanded.

"But Helen," Jake started, but Helen interrupted.

"Jake! We haven't seen them in years! We want to make a good impression so they'll come back. Especially Mercedes! She's already fifteen if you can believe it!"

"But Helen, I just saw Mercedes last year," Jake reminded. "The Gypsy Vixens are quite good."

Before Helen could say something, the doorbell rang. "Oh, that must be them!" Helen exclaimed, overly cheerful. She raced across the living room and opened the door, revealing Daria and Mercedes. "Oh, Daria, Mercedes, come in! We've been expecting you? How was your trip?"

Mercedes looked confused as she and her mother entered. "Mom, who is this woman?" she asked, deadpan.

"Like mother like daughter I see," Helen replied in her normal voice.

"Grandma!" Mercedes cried out, as if she just realized who she was talking to. "How are you? When will you ever retire?"

Helen playfully swatted the girl as she ran off to join Jake on the couch. "Hey, Mom. When will you ever retire?" Daria greeted.

"Not soon enough, I suppose," Helen admitted. "But it took me so long to make partner, I don't want to give that up!"

Daria and Helen joined Jake and Mercedes on the couch just in time to catch their conversation about music.

"Yeah, and Mom said I could go to the Mystik Spiral concert on Saturday while she's at her reunion!" Mercedes said.

"That's great, Kiddo! What about your band? Any big gigs?"

Mercedes rolled her eyes. "A gig's a gig, Grandpa. I brought my guitar. Maybe I could play you something later."

"Mercedes, are you sure…" Daria started, only to be met with a glare.

"Mom! I have to make my audience happy!" Mercedes cried as if her mother was crazy. "Oh, I want your room. Is the padding still on the walls?"

"No, honey, we took that down--" Helen started as her cell phone rang. "Hello? What is it Jamie?" Helen got up and left the room to finish her conversation.

"Mom, I'm going upstairs to get settled," Mercedes said. She gave Jake a hug as she left.

"Hey, Kiddo, how's that teaching thing going?" Jake asked.

"Boringly," Daria replied, wondering if "boringly" was even a word. "The kids are all brain dead…well, most of them are anyway. And the ones that aren't…are The Gypsy Vixens. And they'd much rather be anywhere else."

"But at least you don't have to do it. You have that writing thing. You know, your mom and I are proud of you, Daria!" Jake said.

"Yeah. But it's ironic. I wanted out of high school just to get back into high school. And now I'm a hypocrite. I complain everyday about how I would never go back to Lawndale High, and all it took was a fifteen year old to get me to come back."

Jake looked confused, but tried to think of something to say. Mercedes and Helen came back into the room just then.

"Hey, Mom, so what's a kid to do in Lawndale?" Mercedes asked.

Before Daria could answer, Helen broke in. "You know, Mercedes, you were saying earlier that a gig is a gig, so I was thinking and…"

"What did you do, Grandma?" Mercedes voice dripped with horror.

"Well, Jamie White, an attorney I work with, he's in charge of this little fundraiser for his son's school, and they promised live music. Only the band they had booked cancelled. And I told Jamie that even though it was short notice, you'd be glad to play…"

"It pays, right?"

"Of course it does!" Helen reassured her.

"Well, okay, I guess. When?"

"Tonight, at seven p.m."

"Well, I guess Mom could take me by Lawndale High later and she can reminisce--"

"Actually, Mercedes, Jamie White's son is only ten. You'll be playing at Lawndale Elementary," Helen corrected.

"Please say that they like good music," Mercedes begged.

"Of course they do!" Helen said. "Jamie was telling me that the kids are big fans of diva Britney Britney, and they just can't get enough of that Jiffy Springs."

"Aagh!" After a breath, Mercedes looked at Helen. "You are a bad manager. No more booking gigs, okay? If you were Mom, you'd owe me you know. But you're Grandma. One lucky Grandma."

Daria smiled as she thought about her daughter performing "Puppy Love" for a bunch of ten year olds. She would pay to see that…

"Is this an open fund raiser?" Daria asked.

Daria wished she could have had a camera to capture the look of fear that befell Mercedes face.