Chapter Four: Daria Digs
The tiny smile and wink which Mai gave Daria as they stepped on the court the next day did little to assuage her nerves. Daria was confused by her own reactions: before this session she had tolerated her way through gym, snarked her way through, daydreamed and been bored by it but never had really dreaded it.
"If this is what wanting to try feels like, I should give up now."
She felt better after she glanced at Mai who was warming up, stretching and coolly chatting with Tiffany Blume-Deckler.
"Tiff, c'mon over some time. Mom's part Vietnamese—I am too then, I guess—but you can speak more than her and she'd love to learn more. Mom and I make fucking great jiaozi and collard greens with ham shank." Daria heard Mai propose as Tiffany slowly nodded and agreed.
Then Ms. Morris blew her whistle and she felt something inspiring stirring her: peevishness and a desire to show her teacher a thing or two.
Daria was starting in the back row center as usual. Mai was in the front left of center per Nazi Morris's court position dictations, as Mai had put it.
The other team was serving first and the server barely looked at her; Daria knew where the ball was headed. Daria readied herself as the server raised her hand and prepared to toss the ball up. A wobbly serve seemed to drift deceptively slowly over the net when Mai suddenly jumped up and to her side. A quick tap-slap put the ball down convincingly onto the other side's court before anyone could react. Mai simply returned to her position.
Everyone goggled at Mai who rarely played that hard for a 'shitty gym' game. Daria's side served then. The ball went back and forth a few volleys without getting near Daria who had remembered to form her hands and arms into the platform.
Then the ball was definitely heading for her. Time slowed down. Daria held her breath. She shifted a bit to her left. The ball bounced off her platform. It bounced off an astounded Stacy Rowe and dropped onto their court.
"Aww, c'mon, ladies. Look alive! That was abso-fucking-lutely a good pass." Mai picked up the ball and scooted around Daria to give her a pat on the butt before she threw it to the other team. "Good, good, yeah, keep it up," She whispered.
The server readied herself. From Mai Daria knew her as a sophomore and a member of the j-v volleyball team. Mai had told her she was an up and coming player. The server must have figured Daria's performance as a fluke because she made no pretense of not looking directly at her.
The ball came at her. Daria passed it to a ready-this-time Stacy who dutifully set it for Tiffany. Tiffany did not exactly spike it but it cleanly got over the net where it landed between a couple opposing players.
Everyone on both sides except Daria and Mai looked around at each other. Things got serious then. Mai and the opposing j-v player pulled out their best moves. Daria's team wasn't much used to trying but they rallied. Gym games went to fifteen points and after the lead seesawing Daria's team won fifteen-thirteen.
"Tweet," sounded Ms. Morris's whistle.
"Whoo-hoo," sounded Mai. "Awesome." She dipped under the net and hugged the j-v player. The two tall girls held each other and exchanged friendly words from what Daria could see.
"Morgendorffer, where'd that effort come from? I never believed you had it in you," Morris said.
"Yeah, so encouraging," Daria thought as she panted a bit. She gave no response. "That's the way to inspire teamwork and leadership, clean living and good penmanship. At least no pipsqueak this time."
Morris did soften then. "Daria, good. Thanks, I actually enjoyed watching that."
"Uhm, Ms. Morris," Daria made a quick decision. "I have study hall next period. My dear sister Quinn and dear, dear friend Jane are playing badminton then. Would it be possible for you to give me a pass to watch them?"
Coach Morris smiled. "Why Daria, that's great that you want to support them. You can learn from your sister and develop her fine competitive spirit also. See me after you shower and dress."
If Daria expected some acknowledgment and praise from her winning teammates she was a bit disappointed. Everyone seemed surprised at their win and possibly unwilling to jinx future games by mentioning it. Everyone except Mai, of course.
"Fucking-a great game, everybody. You bums are comin' along. We'll pull out of the damn cellar yet."
Daria was happy that Mai did not single her out. Was her performance a fluke? She was unused was to putting forth the effort and getting the win. Future performances would be needed to evaluate if it were a trend. She knew that she had made a few flubs but also knew that she had mostly done what Mai had taught just the past day.
"Hey," Mai called over the rushing shower water. "I think we need a name for our team and I got a freaking great one: The Pipsqueaks."
Laughter and general agreement and not only from Daria's team. A girl said that name could never apply to Mai, the six footer. Mai caught Daria's eye as they were dressing and they exchanged tiny appreciative smiles.
DM DM DM DM DM
Daria considered using Morris's pass to skip out of school altogether after that competitive spirit crack from Morris but she found an inconspicuous seat in the bleachers as four of the best dressed badminton players in Lawndale High history took to the court. Jane and Quinn lit up the gym in their bright orange and red uniforms matched against the equally resplendent Tori and Sandi in aubergine and puce. Quinn and Jane were finally playing against Tori and Sandi, having missed the match the day before when Sandi had to take her cat for an emergency visit to the vet.
Daria tried to follow the warm up. The shuttlecock came off the rackets so quickly that she almost could not follow it. Her head jerked in an attempt to track the little white missile but then her eyes jerked ahead of it and she lost the shuttlecock as it slowed
down so drastically that it seemed to hang in the air. Then another quick blast
as the opposite player sent it back. While on the same side as Sandi, Jane practiced hitting to Quinn, while Quinn and Tori on the opposite side rallied the shuttlecocks back at their teammies.
When the game started, Daria had to admit she found badminton mesmerizing and Quinn surprisingly good. Quinn mostly hung back on the serves but she and Jane were all over their courtside making sudden bursts of speed and then stopping short, sometimes making underhand swipes to lift the shuttlecock over the net but, Daria judged, mostly trying to smash the shuttlecock down to an unlikely spot like a volleyball spike, as if Daria had practiced spikes and was tall enough to do that.
Just as surprising was that Sandi and Tori were quite their equals. But the biggest surprise was that Sandi was playing hard and not being a prima donna and overly bossing Tori around.
Daria prepared to leave when the score got to twenty-one to twenty in the Morgendorffer-Lane favor but the girls prepared for another serve. A few tense seconds later Quinn kicked up her heels and yelled, "Battledore!" as the shuttlecock came down between and a little behind Tori and Sandi. Only then did Sandi appear to scowl but she said nothing as the teams shook hands. Jane let herself be hugged by Quinn and that was enough to drive Daria from the gym.
"But Sandi," Daria heard Quinn say in the hall near her locker a bit later. "I know it's hard to play when you need to look out both for yourself AND Tori. You do a great job supporting her and covering your side. If you were matched with me or Jane you would so totally win without getting a sweat."
"I'm glad at least someone understands my toil and heavy burden, Kah-Winn…"
DM DM DM DM DM
Daria stretched supine on Jane's bed as Jane swiped at her canvas.
"I'm telling you, Jane, it was almost enough to make me want to march up and give her a big hug and kiss while proclaiming, 'Oh, hi SIS. Congrats on your win, my dear, dear SISTER Quinn.' Quinn basically let Sandi blame—no, she encouraged it—Tori for their loss. But even I can tell all of you are very good. I don't understand how you can figure out where that wobbly little thing is going to be."
"It comes from the coffee I drink and force into Quinn before matches. Daria, Quinn and Tori are playing Sandi like a shuttlecock—that's a state secret, of course. Quinn wants to win fair and square; she actually wants Sandi and Tori at their best, and then beat the snot out of them. Tori wants to win too and she knows that Sandi would give up if she didn't have a whipping-boy, er, girl to blame when something went wrong and then Sandi gets all the glory for a win. So she and Quinn got together and figured out lines to feed Sandi. Old Janey goes along with it but she doesn't want any real part in it."
"How very passive-aggressive for all concerned competitors." Daria rolled onto her tummy on Jane's bed. "Hey, can we open a window? The paint fumes are starting to make me see two heads on you."
"Ha, you only now see our true forms before we take over your puny world, Earthling. But yeah, let's have this place air out and get some pizza. You can tell me all about carrying your team single-handedly to volleyball glory. Well, with a little help from Mai, I am sure."
"I can hear the anchovies calling, ugh, must be all the volleyball talking."