Daria went home for Christmas and the New Year. Everything unfolded more or less as she expected. They exchanged gifts, Quinn was in the midst of applying for college, and Helen forced Daria to help her. They caught one another up on their respective lives, with Daria holding back a few key details of course. Daria neither liked nor disliked the experience. It just was one of those things she had to do. Nevertheless, part of her was looking forward to returning to college.
The first thing she did upon returning to Boston was to visit Jason in the Psych Ward.
"I'm here to visit a patient" Daria said
"Name?" The receptionist asked bluntly
"Mine or the patient's?" Daria replied in a similar tone
"Start with the patient's"
"Jason Erickson" she typed a few keys on the computer
"And you are?"
"Daria Morgendorffer"
"I'm sorry, you're not on the list."
Daria was both annoyed and disappointed. She sat down to collect her thoughts and come up with a plan of action. She eventually decided to call his brother, Joe. Unfortunately, when she reached into her pocket to grab her cell phone, it wasn't there.
"Can I use your phone?" Daria asked the receptionist
"There's a pay phone in the hall" The receptionist said
She found the pay phone with little trouble and dialled Joe's number.
"They're not letting me see him" Daria explained
"Let me talk to them" he said
"Er, I'm calling from a pay phone"
"In that case, I'll call them" and they both hung up
Several minutes later, the receptionist called her name, and she stood up.
"This way please, Miss"
la-la-la-la-la
Daria was lead to the visitor's room, where Jason was waiting. She was shocked to see that he looked quite dishevelled and pallid in his faded black sweatsuit, his black dye job was starting to grow out, revealing his hair's natural dark blonde colour, and he appeared to have not shaved in about a week. Daria also realised this was the first time she had seen him without make up. It occurred to her that she was seeing the real him in more ways than one.
"Daria, what a pleasant surprise. What brings you here?"
"One of the voices in my head recommended it. I think he's been here before"
"But how did you know…
Oh, my brother"
"Yeah, he explained what happened"
"What do you think of him?" he asked, trying to avoid the elephant in the room, if only for a little while
"Macho, smart, seems to care about you"
"Yeah, that's my brother for you. Always looking out for me" he said with a mixture of affection and bitterness
"So, how are they treating you?"
"Well, on the plus side, I'm eating regularly. But my hygiene and grooming is slipping. Can you believe they won't even let me have mascara or hair spray"
"The bastards!" Daria exclaimed, realising that she was using humour to avoid dealing with the situation.
"Go ahead, you can ask it" he offered
"Ask what?"
"The $64 million dollar question you're dying to ask"
"Why..." she began
"It wasn't you" he interrupted
"I get that, but why?" Daria asked, realising she didn't need anymore words than that.
He took a deep breath.
"Its complicated, but the short answer is, I had three term papers due, a job at the local library I hate, a brother breathing down my neck, and apart from you, no real friends to speak of"
Daria took particular note of his use of the word friends.
"In the bigger picture though, I've been dealing with these feelings since my mom died. Although my brother and dad tell me I was like this even before"
"Was this the first…?" Daria couldn't think of the right word
"Attempt? No. the first was when I was nine, just after my mom killed herself, then again at fourteen. So you see, in some sense, this was right on schedule" Daria was starting to understand his sense of humour and how it helped him.
"And I guess you don't have to worry about those term papers any more?"
"At least not until I get out, and I've been granted medical leave from my job"
"Very crafty. I approve" Daria joked
"So, how is Joe?"
"He seems to be holding it together pretty well, all things considered"
"He's always been the strong one" Jay said, showing a little vulnerability
"And since this whole thing is just a scam..." Daria tried to bring back some levity
"You want to know when I'm getting out of here? Well, its tough to say, but sometime in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully before classes go back. I'm hoping to make up all the papers I missed"
"I can help you with that" Daria offered
"Yes, I've heard you're quite the professional"
"I've heard that too"
"There's actually one more thing I wanted to ask you. About our..." he began
"Relationship?" Daria offered
"Actually, I was going to say date. Could we try again sometime, once I'm out of here?"
"Let me get back to you on that one" Daria said
la-la-la-la-la
"Well?" Jessica asked
"Well what?" Daria shot back
"Are you going to go on another date?"
"Its a big decision, it can't be rushed. Why am I even telling you all this?"
"Well, I did ask"
"In that case, I have a question for you. How do you date someone with a mental illness?"
"Funny you should ask. I have some experience in this area. In my case, it didn't work out. But perhaps you could learn from my mistakes"
And now it was Daria's turn to listen.