Jane stood back from her latest work, tapping her finger against her cheek, trying to figure out why she wasn't satisfied.
Her brother poked his head in her door "Hey Janey, Daria's on the phone," he said in his usual raspy voice.
"Hmm?" Jane shook herself from her analysis. "Oh, thanks Trent. I'll pick it up in here."
"Cool," Trent said and left back towards his room.
Jane walked over to her phone and picked it up. "To what do I owe the honor of a call from the recipient of the prestigious Dian Fossey Award?"
Daria's annoyed voice came over the line, "Ugh, Jane, when are you going to drop that?"
"When it stops annoying you so much. So, what do you need?" Before Daria could reply, a light snore interrupted the conversation. "Hang on, Daria." Jane covered the phone with her hand and yelled "Trent! Hang up the phone!" When there was no response, Jane returned to Daria, "Hold on a second while I hang up Trent's phone."
"Mnh," Daria assented, sounding distracted.
As she headed down the hall to her brother's room, Jane decided that Daria was definitely worried about something more significant than their next bad movie night. She walked in Trent's open door and saw him sprawled across his bed, with his duck phone lying off the hook next to him. She sighed and shook her head as she walked over to the bed. Once there she yelled, "Trent!" again and gave him a shove.
He blearily opened his eyes. "What's up?"
"Trent, I know it's hard, but could you please stay awake long enough to hang up the phone after you tell me someone's on the line?" Jane asked sarcastically, arms crossed as she looked down at him.
"Sorry, long practice," he mumbled half-asleep. After groping around a bit, he managed to find the phone and hang it up. He then fell promptly back to sleep.
"Probably almost a whole hour," Jane said to herself. She shook her head again and chuckled as she headed back to her room. She picked up the receiver again and said, "Sorry about that. Trent's narcolepsy is acting up again."
"Are you implying it ever stopped?" Daria asked.
"Well, he picked up the phone, didn't he?"
"Yeah, and it only took about a dozen rings. What were you doing?"
Jane scratched the back of her head in embarrassment, and replied, "Absorbed in my art. Something's just not right about what I've been doing lately. But enough about me, why'd you call?"
Daria sighed, "Know any good locksmiths?"
"Why, planning on locking Quinn in her tower?" Jane quipped.
"I think I need a deadbolt for my door."
"Didn't it used to have one?" Jane asked lying down on her bed.
"I was hoping to have it installed on the inside."
"I can see where that might be more desirable. So what's brought on this sudden need to physically secure your isolation? You always seemed content to scare your family off with your pleasant demeanor in the past."
"They seem to be developing an immunity. My mother is trying to bribe me into getting a job and—"
Jane cut her off before she could continue "Wait, bribe you to get a job? I thought you told your parents you were taking the summer off?"
"I did," Daria said, frustrated, "Apparently my mother thinks it's a good idea for me to stay active and is trying the carrot, since I broke the stick."
"So what did she offer you?" Jane asked, curious and a bit jealous.
"She said she'd match whatever I made over the summer."
Jane whistled, "That's not a bad deal. Getting paid to get paid sounds pretty nice. I know I could use the cash. Heck, I've been thinking of going back to Gary's gallery to earn some extra money for school. My parents will cover tuition and a dorm, but I'm planning on actually enjoying college—" she paused "—and I'll be dragging you with me."
"You're going to have to work on your upper body strength," Daria shot back, then continued, "Why does everyone have to be so damn industrious? I just want to lay around all summer for once."
"Sorry to disappoint, but money makes the world go round." Jane chuckled. "Look, Max's cousin just opened a used book store and coffee shop on Dega Street a few months ago, I'm sure she's looking for summer help. I'll get you an interview, it's a practically sure thing."
"Come on Jane, can you imagine me as a waitress?"
Jane's frustration with her friend's laziness and lack of ability to realize her good fortune started to affect her tone. "Daria, it's a coffee shop and book store, they want sarcastic misanthropes." She caught herself and calmed down a bit. "Look, I'm just trying to help out. Think about it okay? I'm headed into town on Wednesday to buy art supplies, you can come with me and we'll stop by the place."
Daria gave a resigned sigh, "I'll think about it."
"So, what's really bothering you?" Jane asked, carefully.
There was a slight pause, then Daria asked, "What do you mean?"
Jane pushed a bit more, "Daria, I know you well enough to tell when you're brooding over something. Plus, you said your family was building an immunity to your scathing wit, not just your mother, and you were going to say something else before I cut you off and we talked about the work stuff."
"You're far too attentive, Lane."
"Comes with being an artist. Now spill." Jane ordered.
Daria sighed, then explained, "Fine, Quinn came up to my room before my mom. She was on some weird kick about growing up and wanting to be real sisters, not just call each other and fight every two months like my mom and her sisters. The weird thing is I can't figure out her angle. She seemed almost… sincere." Daria waited for a while, but Jane was thinking. "Jane?"
"Sorry, that was a bit more than I was expecting," Jane said, her tone slightly melancholy. After another pause she continued, "Have you considered the possibility that she was being serious? Listen Daria, I have a lot of siblings. Three that I see once every few years and can't stand when I do, and one that I'm dreading leaving here next winter. I'd give a lot to have the kind of relationship I have with Trent with just one of my other siblings. If there's a chance your little sister is reaching out to you, you owe it to both of you to at least give it a shot."
"Some friend you are, refusing to help me stubbornly avoid responsibility," Daria responded sarcastically.
Jane, having said her piece, let the mood lighten. "Sorry kid, Judge Jane calls 'em like she sees 'em."
Jane could hear Daria's smirk over the phone as she replied, "Alright Your Honor, I'll give it some thought. Later."
"Later."
"I still can't believe I let you talk me into this," Daria griped she drove her car towards Dega Street.
Jane grinned widely. "Come on Daria, think about how great barista/salesclerk will look on your resume five years from now." Daria would have glared at Jane if she hadn't been driving. After a moment the taller girl continued, "Alright, then think about the new laptop you'll be able to buy with double whatever they'll pay you."
Daria gave a noncommittal grunt and asked, "What's this place's name again, and who are we meeting?"
"It's called Coffee Stain. We're meeting Cassie Tyler, she's Max's cousin." Jane explained.
Daria pulled onto Dega Street and started looking for parking. "She's not a 'criminalé', is she?"
Jan chuckled, "Nah, she's cool. I've met her at some Spiral gigs, actually I'm surprised you were never introduced."
Daria found a spot on the curb where she wouldn't have to parallel park. "I've worked very hard on my ability to avoid meeting new people," Daria explained as she parked the car and got out.
"I guess I should be glad I was able to slip past. Come on, it's this way," Jane said and headed down the street. After passing a few shops, she stopped in front of a door and pointed to the burnt orange logo. 'Coffee Stain' was written in large text on the window, 'used books, new coffee' was in smaller print below. Above the words was a hard backed book half submerged in a cup of coffee at a 45° angle with steam coming off. It was very stylized, but immediately recognizable.
Daria raised an eyebrow, "Your handiwork?"
"Call it an experiment in marketing iconography," she waited a beat, "or a paycheck. Either way." She pushed the door open. "Let's go."
Daria was hit with the pleasant aroma of old books and fresh coffee, just as advertised. She looked around as she entered the shop. In front of her there were rows of bookshelves about as tall as she was, divided into the usual sections, barring a few exceptions along the left wall. The first oddity she noticed was that science fiction and fantasy had been separated into two sections instead of being lumped together. There was also a dedicated section for tabletop games and another for graphic novels. Cassie was a geek. To the left there was a small café with a counter and a few couches and armchairs. In the far left corner between the books and the café there was a sealed off room Daria assumed was storage, until she noticed a sign reading 'Game Room' on the door. Definitely a geek.
"Daria, snap out of it. Come over here," Jane called from the café.
Beside her stood a woman in her mid to late twenties, probably an inch or two taller than Jane. She had short wavy blonde hair and green eyes. Both her ears had black studs in them and there was a small silver ring in her right nostril. Her uniform consisted of a fitted black t-shirt tucked into a nice pair of blue jeans and an apron the same burnt orange as the logo. The woman turned to Daria and said "No, it's cool. Look around for a bit first."
Daria hesitated for a moment, caught off guard by how casual the woman, who she assumed to be Cassie, was. She shrugged and decided to have a quick look at the selection. She looked over the history and philosophy sections. Mostly World War II and Plato, but there were a couple of more obscure books mixed in. She then headed to the left wall with the sci-fi and fantasy sections. The selection was surprising, especially for a used book store. The masters were all there, a lot of cyberpunk too, along with quite a lot of authors Daria had either never heard of or never seen physical copies of. Fantasy was less her thing, but it looked well stocked. Satisfied with her browsing, Daria headed over to the café.
As she got close, the woman addressed her, speaking in an excited tone "So, Jane tells me you're quite the bibliophile. What do you think of my shop? Be honest." She leaned forward eagerly.
Daria spoke without hesitation. "Well, you're clearly marketing to the geek crowd." The woman nodded. "The general selection is about normal for a used book store, but the science fiction and fantasy sections are impressive." The woman smiled. "I'm not sure how you got all those books though, because I'm pretty sure Lawndale doesn't get that much traffic for that sort of thing."
"You might be surprised," the woman said with a smirk and a more businesslike demeanor, "but I do some online trading in 'geeky' books, and a lot of the selection comes from that. I'm Cassie by the way, though I'm sure you guessed that by now." She stuck out her hand.
Daria hesitated and then shook the older woman's hand; her limp grip seemed even more so next to Cassie's firm one. "Daria Morgendorffer," she half mumbled, uncomfortable with the contact.
"It's cool Daria, I don't judge people on their handshakes," Cassie offered in a kind professional manner, smiling. "Jane's assured me you know how to deal with the unwashed masses and that's what matters." Her smile turned to a smirk. "Frankly, some harshness is appreciated in the position I'm looking to fill. You would be surprised how many of my customers are freaked out by a cheery barista." She stopped talking for a moment, then looked as if she remembered something and perked up, excited again, "But I'm getting ahead of myself, let's talk about books a bit more. You lingered on the sci-fi section. Who's your favorite of the Big Three?"
Between Cassie's alternating upbeat and serious demeanors and her jumping from topic to topic Daria was getting a bit off balance. She tried to relax herself, then answered, "Heinlein. Asimov and Clarke are great, but Heinlein's politics and philosophy are intriguing."
Cassie tapped her chin, serious again, looking at Daria appraisingly, "Hmm… Yeah." She seemed to come to some decision. She then shook her head, and dove back into the discussion like she hadn't said anything, energetic as ever, "But his politics and philosophy change from book to book! Besides, you must find some of them offensive."
Daria felt herself being drawn in, she hadn't had a chance to talk to someone about this sort of thing in real life before and Cassie's energy was contagious. "That's the point. It's interesting to watch the change, and even if some are outdated or offensive, others are well argued and still relevant. So, who's your favorite?"
Cassie lit up "Oh, I like Clarke. Childhood's End was—"
Jane cleared her throat and the other two jumped and looked at her like she had appeared out of thin air. She chuckled and asked "Cassie, does Daria have the Job?"
Cassie looked confused for a moment, pulled out of her conversation mid thought. She regained her more serious manner, turned to Daria, and asked, "Do you want it? It would be Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, eight to four."
Daria blushed a bit over Jane seeing her act like that. She thought for a moment about the job. The place was certainly interesting, and she was unlikely to find anywhere better on short notice. "Yeah, I think I can do that."
Jane got up from the arm chair she'd been sitting in. "Well, I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about, work and otherwise," Jane smirked and Daria's blush deepened, "so I'll leave you to it and go check out some art supplies. Later." She waved as she walked to the exit.
"Later," echoed Cassie.
"Bye," Daria called as Jane walked out the door. Once Jane was out the door, Daria turned back to Cassie and picked their conversation up where they'd left off, "Clarke was great, but he was always a little existential for me."
Cassie shifted from serious back to energetic, "See, that's why I like Clarke. So how about Asimov?"
Jane walked down Dega Street, quite pleased with herself. She had managed to get Daria a job she wouldn't hate, and at a cool place where she could get a discount on coffee to boot. Seeing Daria and Cassie geeking out over books like that had been a pretty amusing bonus too, but there was only so much of that a person could take. When she was a few storefronts down from the art supply store, she heard someone call out her name, breaking her from her reverie.
"Jane! This is perfect!" came the voice of Lawndale High's art teacher from down the street.
Jane stopped and turned around to look at her former teacher, who was hurrying down the street toward her. She looked tired, with bags under her eyes and her red hair more frayed than usual. "Hey, what's up Ms. Defoe?" Jane asked casually.
"Jane, I'm so glad I ran into you," the older woman said breathlessly once she caught up. After a moment she recovered and continued, "First, please call me Claire. You're not my student anymore, you're a fellow artist whose work I respect. That said, I have something I'd like to ask you."
Jane stiffened a bit, worried where this might lead. "What is it?" she asked, her voice apprehensive.
"Well, there's a summer theatre program being run at the school, and I'm supposed to be in charge of the sets, props, costumes, and things like that," Ms. Defoe started.
"I'm sorry Ms. Defoe, but I promised myself I wouldn't return to Lawndale High without a conquering horde to raze it. Besides, I don't have the time for another project right now. I'm too busy trying to find a way to earn some spending money for when I head up to Boston for college next spring," Jane explained.
"Jane, you're misunderstanding, and please call me Claire. I don't want you to help, I want you to take over for me. My mother is extremely ill and I have to fly out of state to take care of her. I need someone talented who I can trust, and who I know has the creative vision to produce an interesting visual design for the play." She looked at Jane expectantly, and added, "As my replacement, you would of course be paid."
"Paid you say?" Jane raised her eyebrow. "Well, Claire, I have been feeling like I needed to try something new with my art. Let's talk showbiz."
::
Jane returned to Coffee Stain, figuring that ironing things out with Defoe had probably passed enough time for Daria to get everything worked out. Cassie was behind the counter talking to one of her employees and Daria was in an armchair reading. Jane walked up to her friend and cleared her throat.
Daria jumped a barely perceptible amount and closed her book. "They ran out of art supplies?" she asked, eyeing Jane's empty hands.
"Something else came up, I'll tell you on the way home," Jane explained, "Ready to go?"
Daria gave her a questioning look, but didn't press any further. "Yeah, just a sec. Gotta check in with the boss man." She stood up and grabbed a bag of books sitting next to the chair, then walked over to the counter, Jane in tow.
"You guys headed out?" Cassie asked as they reached the counter.
"Yeah, I'll be here at eight on Friday," Daria replied.
"Just remember to buy some decent jeans and a nice black shirt for the uniform, your boots should be fine if you can pull the jeans over them," Cassie reminded.
"Alright, bye," Daria said.
"Thanks for everything," Jane added, "It was good seeing you again, Cassie."
"Thank you. I think Daria is going to be perfect, you really helped me out."
Jane smirked and leaned in, asking, "Enough for a free cup of coffee?"
Cassie chuckled, "Nice try, I know better than to feed a hungry Lane. Your brother hung around my parent's house for weeks once after my mom gave him a muffin."
Jane shrugged. "Worth a shot. Later, Cassie."
"Bye, Jane."
Just before Daria and Jane reached the door, Cassie called after them in a more excited tone, "Daria, make sure you let me know how you like the books. It's a great series."
As the girls climbed into Daria's Civic, Jane smirked. She pointed to the bag Daria threw in the backseat and asked, "You plan on spending all your paychecks before you leave the door?"
"Actually, she comped these. Called it a signing bonus." Daria started the car. "I think she just wants someone to talk about them with."
"And she wouldn't even give me a cup of coffee."
Daria pulled out onto the street and left Dega Street, driving a bit before asking, "So what happened when you went to get art supplies?"
Jane looked at the clock, saw that it was one thirty-five, and realized she hadn't eaten anything since some toast that morning. "Tell you what, I'll tell you over pizza, my treat."
::
Daria and Jane slid into their usual booth with their pizza and sodas. Daria took a drink of her soda then addressed her friend, "Alright, spill. What were you up to while I was talking to Cassie?"
Jane held up a hand for Daria to wait as she finished off her first slice of pizza. "Man I was hungry. Okay, I was on my way to the art store after I left you and your new boss to geek out," Daria glared at her and Jane fully ignored it, "when I ran into Ms. Defoe. She's running the backstage part of a theatre camp at the school and—"
"Tell me you didn't get suckered into helping."
"Not exactly." Daria rolled her eyes. Jane ignored her again and continued, "She has to leave town and was looking for someone to replace her. I'm going to get paid to put together a huge art project and order around high schoolers." She took a drink of her soda, then added, "A big piece like this is just what I've been looking for to get me out of my slump."
"Are you sure this is a good idea? There's more to setting up a play than the making the set," Daria offered skeptically.
"I know what I'm doing, Daria. There's a teacher directing and someone else is in charge of the technical stuff. I'm just designing the set, props, and costumes." Jane was getting defensive, and a little frustrated with Daria's attitude.
"I didn't know you knew how to sew," Daria challenged, "Plus, aren't they expecting you to actually teach the students?"
"Since when do you care about what other people expect?" Jane asked, her temper rising.
"I don't, but you should think more before taking on a job like this." Daria snapped back. They were both quiet for a while, then Daria said in her usual monotone "Well, at the very least it's better than going back to Gary's Gallery. Who knows what new delusions you might come up with this time?"
"Yeah, I might even start to think you could actually be supportive," Jane muttered bitterly.
Daria got defensive again, "What's your problem Jane?"
"I guess I just figured that my best friend would show a little support for my new job after I got her one." Jane said, her voice rising.
"Let's just eat our pizza, okay?" Daria said brusquely.
"Fine," Jane agreed, angrily grabbing another slice. After they had aggressively worked through most of the pie, Jane had cooled down. She was about to try to pick the conversation back up when Daria beat her to it.
"So," Daria hesitated a moment, "what play are they doing at this camp?"
"A Midsummer Night's Dream."
"Hmm… You could definitely do something interesting with that," Daria commented, obviously making an effort to act supportive. She then seemed to realize something and asked, "Jane, since when does Lawndale have a theatre program?"
"I wondered about that too. Ms. Defoe said that Ms. Li got some kind of fine arts grant and hired a Theatre teacher."
"At least it's not Mr. O'Neill." Daria shivered.
"Actually, it is," Jane said, holding in a smirk.
"First Quinn gives up dating and now you're willingly working with Mr. O'Neill?" Daria put a hand to her head. "Either the world's gone mad or I have," Daria sighed.
Jane let her smirk break through and continued, "It's just not our Mr. O'Neill. It's his cousin."
"You mean there's more of them? I always figured that he sprang fully grown from a rack of self-help books. The existence of more O'Neill's only supports my madness theory."
Jane shook her head in amusement. "Actually, Ms. Defoe says he's pretty nice. Laid back and actually knows what he's doing."
"A competent member of the Lawndale High faculty? That settles it, I've gone mad."
"Well can you give me a ride home before they re-pad the rest of your room? I've got to start planning, this thing starts next week," Jane asked as she got out of the booth.
"Alright, but don't blame me if I have a psychotic break and drive us off a cliff," answered Daria, getting up as well.
"Come on Daria, you know you need a convertible pull that off right."
::
As she looked out the window at the passing houses Jane remembered something. "What happened with your sister?"
"Hmm?" Daria intoned, eyes on the road.
"You said she made a big speech about being sisters. I told you to do something about it. Remember?"
"I'd rather not." Daria muttered. Jane waited as Daria drove in silence for a while. Just as she was about to say something, her friend sighed and continued, "We're watching a movie Friday night."
"What movie?" Jane asked as nonchalantly as she could, trying not to spook Daria.
Daria sighed as she pulled up to Jane's house, "I don't know. She said she has something she says is perfect for us starting to get to know each other and wouldn't take no for an answer. At least she's paying for pizza."
"Getting treated to pizza twice in one week, you're a popular girl Ms. Morgendorffer." Jane teased, getting out of the car.
"This had better be worth it Jane," Daria said in a thoughtful voice, staring out the windshield into the night.
Jane gave a soft smile. "Trust me Daria. If it works out, it will be." She closed her door and started walking towards her house.
Daria got out of her car, exhausted and smelling strongly of coffee. As she opened the front door she heard her father call out from the kitchen "Hey Quinn, your sister's not home yet."
"I'm not home? Damn, I was hoping this leap would be my last." Daria shook her head, wondering if working for a huge geek was affecting her thought process.
Jake came in from the kitchen. "Oh, hey kiddo! Sorry, I thought you were your sister."
"Yes, I gathered. Now if you'll excuse me I need to—"
Jake sniffed at the air and looked around, "What smells like coffee?"
Daria sighed, "Well, I just got back from my new job, at a coffee shop. So it's either that, or you started to make coffee and got distracted. You'd better go check the kitchen, just in case. Remember what happened last time?"
Jake cringed. "Right," he said, turning around and heading quickly back to the kitchen.
Having dealt with her father, Daria headed up to her room to change into some more comfortable clothes. She threw on one of her oversized sleep shirts and some shorts and went back downstairs. When she got there, Quinn was in the living room, putting a DVD in the player. Two pizzas, a 20oz soda, a bottled water, and a DVD case sat on the coffee table. Daria sat down on the couch and picked up the empty case, it read '10 Things I hate About You'." It looked like just about every other formulaic teenage comedy released in the last decade. Daria sighed and opened up the pizza box in front of her, reminding herself, again, to give bonding with Quinn a fair chance. As Quinn sat down on the couch next to her, their father came out of the kitchen, headed for the front door.
"Alright girls, I'll see you later. I'm going out drinking with Anthony, so I'll see you later," he said at the door.
Daria thought for a second. "Wait, you mean Mr. DeMartino?"
"Yeah. We've been drinking buddies for a couple of years now, but I wasn't supposed to talk about it while you were still in school," Jake explained, and added in a stage whisper, "Conflict of interest."
Quinn spoke up "Umm, Dad? I'm still in school."
Jakes face went ashen "Um... Did I say drinking with Anthony? What I meant was—"
"It's okay daddy we won't say anything." Quinn said sweetly and shot Daria a conspiritory smile.
Daria was a little surprised, but picked up on Quinn's cue and cut in, "I don't know Quinn, I'm sure someone would pay quite a bit for that information."
Jake looked worried and a little confused. Quinn pushed, "You're right Daria, but if someone else were to give us that money now we would have no reason to get it from anyone else."
Jake's face lit up with understanding and he walked over to his daughters. "Hey girls, how about I pay for that pizza," he offered, pulling out two twenties.
Daria looked at the money and said, "I don't know Dad, we might go out for ice cream later, right Quinn?"
"Right," her sister played along, "and it's so expensive these days."
Jake grunted and added two more twenties. "Is this enough?"
Daria looked at Quinn, then back at Jake and nodded. Taking two of the twenties she said, "That should be fine."
Quinn took her share and added "Thanks Daddy, have fun."
Jake relaxed and, with another, "Bye girls," headed out the door.
Daria folded up the money and stuck it in the pocket of her shorts. She then turned to her younger sister. "Impressive, Quinn, well played."
"I've been doing this just as long as you have, Daria," Quinn said with a smirk that quickly softened to a genuine smile, "It's fun to work together though." She grabbed the universal remote and started setting up the movie.
Daria looked down at the case again. "Are you sure this is a good idea? It doesn't exactly seem like something we'll find a lot of common ground in."
Quinn stopped at the DVD menu and turned to face Daria. "Trust me, it's relevant. Besides, if nothing else we'll have something to talk about afterward that's not too serious, if we need it."
Daria was surprised at the amount of thought Quinn seemed to have put into this. She grabbed a slice of her meat lover's pizza, sat back, and said "Alright, let's get this over with."
::
The movie was about halfway through. They were in the middle of the requisite drunken party scene when Hellen got home. Quinn paused the movie and said, "Hi Mom."
"Hello, girls. Are you watching a movie, together?" the girls' mother asked, surprised.
Daria looked over the back of the couch at her mother. "No, we were just sitting here sleeping. The flashing lights induce such lovely nightmares."
Hellen rolled her eyes. "I'll just go grab something from the kitchen and head upstairs so I don't interrupt you," she said, ignoring her eldest daughter. As Quinn pointed the remote at the DVD player, Hellen popped back into the room and asked, "Sorry, do you girls know where your father is?"
"He went out a while ago," Quinn answered.
Hellen grumbled, "Probably out—," then caught herself. She plastered on a smile and told Quinn, "Thanks honey," before going back into the kitchen.
"No problem," Quinn replied and pressed play, the teenagers on the screen resuming their drunken revelry.
::
The credits started playing and Quinn muted the TV. "So," she hesitated, then continued "what did you think?"
"Well, I liked it more than the original,'" Daria admitted.
"Huh?" Quinn looked at Daria, puzzled.
"It's based on one of Shakespeare's plays, The Taming of the Shrew," Daria explained. "Although I wouldn't recommend it, like I said this was better."
"So you didn't like it," Quinn said. She sounded a bit disappointed, but not surprised.
Daria sighed and tried to be civil. "I don't exactly watch much of this kind of market researched teenage… comedy. Pretty much all I've seen is what I've had to walk past when you and the fashion club were watching one down here. That said, this is probably better than those. It managed to take a play about breaking a woman's spirit and make it into something approximating a feminist message. Plus, it had a few decent songs."
Quinn smiled softly. "Thanks Daria. You see why I picked it though, right?"
"The parallel. The outcast older sister, the popular younger one. Though I don't think I've ever physically assaulted anyone to get them to leave me alone."
"I can think of a few times…" Quinn trailed off.
"Anyone outside my immediate family," Daria qualified.
"Anyway," Quinn started, "I think we can—"
Daria held up a hand and cut her off, "Hold on a minute, Quinn. I need to make something clear before we go any further," her voice was serious, "I am not going to change who I am. I won't become a happy, active sister over the course of a montage." She paused and looked at her sister. Quinn's face looked a little guilty, but even more frustrated. Her fists were balled up in her lap. Daria figured that Quinn must be angry about her refusal to change. It was probably a lost cause, but she decided to finish her thought anyway, "I'm open to trying to getting to know you, but that won't work if you're trying to change me. Do you understand?"
"Of course I understand, Daria," Quinn pleaded, the frustration in her voice overshadowed by pain, "I don't want to change who you are. I don't know who you are! That's what this is about." She threw up her arms. "I just want to get to know you and be friends. Why do you always think the worst of me?"
Daria felt a wave of guilt crash over her. Her thoughts assaulted her. Quinn was really being earnest. She had been on Saturday too, but Daria had forgotten that over the course of the week, or rather written it off as impossible. This wasn't their dynamic. One of them would want something and try to convince or blackmail the other. That was how it worked. How was she supposed to know how to deal with this? Daria suddenly realized they had been sitting in silence for several minutes. She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and offered, "I'm sorry, Quinn."
Quinn seemed to snap out of her own thoughts upon hearing Daria, "Huh?"
"I said I'm sorry, Quinn. This is new. We're not nice to each other. It's hard not to think you're just trying to trick me into a makeover."
"I'm not," the younger girl interjected quickly.
"I think I'm starting to get that." They sat in silence for a while again, until Daria finally asked "So what now?"
"Well," Quinn started, tapping her chin, "how about we just talk? Like, how's your new job?"
Daria still felt a bit awkward, but went ahead, "Um… Good. I guess?"
Quinn sighed, then asked patiently, "Come on, Daria. Tell me about it. How's your boss? What's the store like? Were there any cute customers? Stuff like that."
"Well, my boss's name is Cassie, it's a bookstore with a coffee shop, and do you really think I'd notice that?" Daria listed off.
Quinn let out an exasperated sigh. "Daria, I'm not asking for a report. Just—" Quinn stopped to think for a moment "—think of me as Jane. I know you two can talk about stuff, you talk for hours sometimes. Talk to me like that. Tell me about what happened. Describe it." Before Daria could start Quinn added, "And I know you notice boys. It may not be conventional, but you have good taste."
Daria ignored that last bit and tried again, "Alright, my boss is Cassie Tyler." Quinn gestured for Daria to keep going. "She's the cousin of Mystik Spiral's drummer, Max. Despite that she's actually pretty cool." Daria hesitated and looked at Quinn who was listening intently. She tried to swallow her anxiety and misgivings and dove back in, "She's a huge geek. Role-playing games, science fiction and fantasy books, comics; all that stuff. There's a big wall of just that in the store, and she loves talking about it. It's actually kind of nice to have someone to talk about books with." Daria grabbed her half-empty soda and took a long pull. She didn't usually talk this much and this was making her throat sore.
"See, that was great Daria, and I'm so happy you found a good job. My job at the restaurant was okay, but it sounds like you actually like this place." Daria raised an eyebrow. "Y'know, for you. Anyway, now it's your turn. You ask me something."
Daria thought for a moment, then asked "So, Mom and Jane talked me into getting a job, what'd you get stuck doing this summer?"
"Actually, mine is my friend's fault too. Stacy talked me into this theatre thing at the school." Daria choked on her soda. Quinn sat up straight and put her hand on Daria's shoulder. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Daria rasped, recovering and pushing Quinn's hand away. "I was just surprised. Jane's doing that this summer too."
Quinn leaned back into the couch. "Oh. Wait, isn't Jane too old for a school program?"
"She's teaching. Taking over for Ms. Defoe."
"Weird. Maybe Stacy will end up working with her." Quinn giggled. "Wouldn't that be funny? Our two best friends working together?"
"Why would Stacy be helping with the sets? Aren't you four all about getting attention?" Daria asked, a little of her usual judgment towards the former fashion club creeping into her tone. Quinn's face fell. Daria reprimanded herself and quickly said "Sorry, I didn't mean—"
"No, it's not that. We probably have that coming," Quinn said with a bitter laugh than surprised Daria. "It's just, we're not a we anymore." Daria was puzzled, and Quinn clarified, "Stacy and I aren't friends with Sandi anymore, and I have no idea what's up with Tiffany. We had a huge fight last week."
Daria hesitated, then said carefully "This isn't exactly the first time this has happened, Quinn. You usually get back together in a week or two."
Quinn leaned forward, resting her arms on her knees. Her gaze was fixed forward, but she didn't seem to be looking at anything in the room. "I'm pretty sure we're really done this time, Daria," she started, her voice lacking its usual perkiness. "Sandi's losing it not being in charge of everyone. I mean really losing it. Like that lady who lived in your room before we moved in, losing it." She took a drink from her water. "We had a big fight, about you actually, and I left. Then Stacy decided to leave with me." Quinn showed a small smile and her voice gained a note of pride, "You should have seen her Daria. I know you think she's some pathetic nervous wreck, but she's not. She told Sandi off and Sandi couldn't even say anything back. There's no going back after that."
Daria was again stunned by her younger sister. She managed to mutter, "Um… So…" She looked at Quinn hunched over next to her and asked, "Are you okay?"
Quinn turned and gave a tired smile. "I'll be okay. I should have gotten away from her earlier, really." She chuckled. "It wasn't exactly a healthy relationship."
Daria decided not to comment on that and instead asked, "What did you mean when you said you were fighting about me?"
Quinn's muscles tensed and her voice became agitated, "She kept calling you my cousin. Which she knows I hate, but she kept doing just to tick me off." She stopped, and made a visible effort to relax. "It wasn't all about you, of course. She thinks everyone is out to get her. Like, literally." Quinn sighed, looked at her sister, and asked, "I don't really want to go into the details right now, okay?"
Daria nodded. "Sure. Let's just go to bed."
Quinn yawned and turned off the TV. "Alright."
Daria started up the stairs and stopped halfway up. She turned down to Quinn and said, "This was… nice, Quinn. I learned a lot about you."
Quinn looked up from retrieving the DVD. "I had fun too, Daria," she replied, her voice still somewhat drained. "Do you think we can we do it again sometime?" she asked hopefully.
"Yeah, but no more teen movies or I'm out."
Quinn pretended to pout, then smiled. "Fair enough. Goodnight, Daria."
"Goodnight, Quinn."
Hey,
Not much to say this time. Thanks for the kind words in the comments. It's very much appreciated. Hope this lives up to chapter 1 (for those who liked it that is).
Edit: 8/10/15 Removed an unnecessary reference, cleaned up grammar, so on.