Daria was waiting for Jane at the Pizza King. She looked up to see her friend arrive, flanked by two familiar faces. One was dressed in a white, lacy, long sleeved top and carpenter jeans. The other in a white t-shirt, black leather coat and skinny jeans.
"Hey Morgendorffer, Look who I found on the way here" Jane said
"Well, what brings you two back to this no-horse-town?"
"We heard the best Pizza Place in the entire mid-Atlantic was around here somewhere" Jen joked
"Any idea where we could find it" Joey said
"In all seriousness, its good to see you again" Daria said, and the four of them sat down at the booth Daria had been waiting at.
"Seriously though, what brings you two.." Jane began, stopped when she realised Mr O'Neil was standing over them.
"Oh, hi Daria, Jane. Who are your friends?" he asked
"This is Jen Lindley and Joey Potter from Capeside" Jane explained
"Is that in Delaware?"
"Sure, why not" Jen suggested, not wanted to get caught up in a geography lesson
"Anyway, I just wanted to say how impressed I was with your writing assignment Daria. You really made your characters come alive" The Capesiders seemed quite impressed by this.
Mr O'Neil was looking over his shoulders, nervously
"Have either of you seen Miss Barch?" he asked
"Not recently" Jane stated
"Well, alright then. I was never here. See you at school girls" and he ran off
"What was your story about?" Joey asked
"It was about a filmmaker who makes a story about his..." Daria began, but stopped when she realised Mr DeMartino was standing behind her.
"Hello Miss Morgendorffer, Miss Lane. Excellent work on your HISTORY paper, miss MORgenDORffer. It may have been unconVENtional, even controVERsial, but you argued your case so well, I gave you an A+" he said, emphasising the A+.
"History paper?" Joey asked
"The US Civil War, the largest and most successful slave rebellion in history" Daria said
"That's quite a bold claim" said Jane
"Well, I just started with John Brown and went from there" Daria stated
"Have you girls seen Miss Barch or Mr O'Neil?"
"Not this evening" Daria said, and with that, Mr DeMartino departed.
"Daria, are you a straight A student?" Joey asked, nosily
"Not exactly, but I am known for being a bookworm" Daria explained
"Daria's just being modest..." Jane began, when she realised Miss Barch was standing over them.
"Excellent work on your Science report on the differences between male and female puberty." she said
"Is there anything you're not an expert on?" Jen asked, jokingly
"Have you girls seen Mr O'Neil or Mr DeMartino lately?"
"Absolutely not" Jen said, before any of them had the chance to speak up
"Alright then, you girls have a good evening. And remember never trust a man" and she left
"Wow, colourful faculty at your school" Jen said
Daria was about to answer, when she saw two familiar figures approach.
"Oh hi, Mac and Jodie"
"Who are your friends?" Jodie asked
"Actually, I believe you've already met them. This is Joey and Jen from Capeside" Daria said, pointing to each girl, as she said their name.
"Well, its good to see you again. Are you guys coming to my fancy dress party? You can bring your friends."
"Is there a dress code?" Jen asked
"No effort no entry. As long as you at least try, you should be fine" Jodie stated
"Sounds like fun" Joey admitted, which was unusual for her.
"See you there then" Mac said, and the two then departed.
"I have an idea for a costume" Jane said "but you'll need to trust me" they all nodded
"Then follow me to the bathroom"
la-la-la-la-la
Jodie was dressed as Uhura from Star Trek, standing out the front greeting guests as they arrive. She saw the four of them and did a double take. It took her a few seconds to absorb what she was looking at.
"I'm so glad you guys came, and your costumes are, well, unique" Jodie said
"It was my idea" Jane explained
"And a great idea too" Jodie said, perhaps being diplomatic
"This feels, weird" Jen admitted "we should have done it the other way"
"No, you look great the way you are" Jodie insisted, and the four of them went inside, and then out the back, found a nice spot on the porch and stood there.
"Nice costumes" Mac said, sneakily. He was dressed as Worf, also from Star Trek.
"Thanks" Joey replied "It was her idea" and pointed to Jane
"Of course. Typical Jane Lane. You are an artist after all" Mac stated, and walked off
The three Jays, who were dressed as the Three Musketeers, then approached them.
"Hey Quinn's cousin or whatever. Have you seen Quinn?" Joey said, before he got a good look at them
The two that had their backs to the trio then turned around.
The trio appeared nauseous.
"What the hell?" one of them said
"What am I looking at" the second asked
"This is just weird" the third chimed in, and the three ran off looking scared.
La-la-la-la-la
A few moments later, they were approached by Quinn, who was dressed as a Southern Belle.
"Hey, have you seen Joey, Jamie or Jeffy?" and then she got a good look at the four of them.
"Well, I'm right here" Joey stated "But I don't know who Jamie or Jeffy are"
"Not you, I meant, wow. What are you guys doing? Do you have any idea how many fashion rules you're breaking right now?"
The fashion club, Sandy, Tiffany and Stacy, who were dressed as three of the five Spice Girls (Posh, Ginger and Baby, respectively) then approached the group.
"Hello Quinn and Quinn's cousin or whatever" Sandy began, but stopped short when she saw the four of them up close.
"Oh, my, gawd" Tiffany drawled
"What am I even looking at?" Stacey asked in a panicked tone.
Quinn, realising what was happening, ushered her fellow fashion club members away. As they left, Sandy muttered something like "has the whole world gone mad?" under her breath.
Then Kevin, with Britney beside him, tapped on Joey's shoulder. The two were dressed as soldiers, having gotten the idea from the military recruiters who visited the school that one time.
"Hey Daria, how's it..." and then Joey turned around
"What can I do for you, Kevin?" Joey asked, in her best Daria monotone
"Wait, what's going on here?" Britney demanded
"Isn't it obvious? Daria and I swapped bodies with these two poor hitchhikers" Jen said, impersonating Jane, as best she could
Daria and Jane voiced their objections, but in the voices of Joey and Jen.
"Wait, if you're really Daria and Jane, what's something only they would know?"
"Well, when Tommy Sherman died, you were really sad and asked me for advice" Joey said
"and one time, in fifth grade..." Jen finished the thought by whispering in Britney's ear.
"Eep" Britney exclaimed "But I never told anyone about that"
"And neither did she"
"Are you guys, I mean girls, going to switch back, after the party, I mean?" Kevin asked
"Maybe, or maybe we'll just stay like this forever" Joey suggested
la-la-la-la-la
After the party, the four of them returned to Casa de Lane, where they promptly changed out of each another's clothes, and into sleeping gowns Jane provided. Joey and Jen took showers one after another, while Daria and Jane raided the linen closet, and used its contents to set up a series of makeshift beds.
"So, what's new in Capeside?" Jane asked, once the four of them were together
"Nothing!" They both said together, instinctively
"Never-mind, your secrets aren't that interesting anyway" Daria said
"What's new in the land of the cynics?" Joey asked, jokingly
"Well, we're applying for college, or at least Daria is" Jane explained
"If you like, I can help you with that" Joey offered
"Sure, why not" Daria said
"And I dated a guy who turned out to be a total asshole. But Daria here saw through him right from the start" Joey and Jen were enthralled by this revelation.
"Or maybe I was the asshole, and just being jealous?" Daria offered
"Yeah, but you were vindicated in the end"
"But what if I wasn't. I wasn't with, well.." Daria trailed off
"Tom" Joey offered
There was silence for several seconds. Joey and Jane then came up with something to fill the silence
"I like your nail-polish, what colour is that?"
"I like your highlights, what number are they?"
"Why couldn't you be more of a wench?"
"I'm sorry, I'll try to be more wench-like in future"
"You're so disingenuous"
"I respect you"
"I respect you too" and they shook hands
"As entertaining as it was, I fail to see the point" Daria said
"I believe the point was, that a friendship between two women can overcome sharing a boyfriend, right?" Jane asked
"Basically" Joey said
"Yeah, but there's more going on than that now" Daria said
"What do you mean?" Jane asked
"Tom and I have been dating for a while now, and I'm thinking, sooner or later, we will want to take the next step, and..." Daria trailed off
Jane was confused
"You're talking about sex?" Jen realised
"Daria, whatever happens between you and Tom, it won't change how we feel about each other" said Jane
"But its not just about that, is it?" Jen realised "You're wondering if you're ready?"
"Well, don't let him pressure you, is all I have to say about it" Joey said
"And don't rush into it. When you're ready, you'll know" Jen added
"And on that note, I think its time for bed" Jane suggested
la-la-la-la-la
In the morning, Joey and Jen left. Daria pledged to keep Joey in the loop about her college applications. Jane made Joey promise to keep her apprised of any art projects she did. In exchange, Jane agreed to apply to art school. Jen thought to herself Daria knew more than she was letting on about hers and Joey's secrets, but said nothing. Daria declined to hug them goodbye, but Jane was not so stand offish. And then the two Capesiders drove off.
"Well, what was the point of that?" Jane asked
"I don't know about you, but I got a lot out of it" Daria replied
la-la-la-la-la
"Well, what was the point of that?" Jen asked
"I don't know about you, but I got a lot out of it" Joey replied
"I still think I should have dressed as Daria" Jen grumbled
"Are you going to complain about that the whole ride home?" Joey asked
"Nah, besides I'm sure I'll get another chance someday" Jen said, smiling