Chapter 13: Daria Digs
Daria stared at the paper which had fallen from Mai's backpack on their way to Mai's truck.
"Mai, a 'D'?" She asked hardly believing.
"Daria, Give me that." Mai's face was as bright as the big red letter on the chemistry test.
Mai stuffed it into her pack and securely zipped it shut. She double-timed her steps to her truck and Daria followed as quickly as her shorter legs could manage.
"Mai, I only got a ninety-three on the test but I know you're better in chemistry than me."
"Can you just let it fucking go? You don't have to know everything. This grade is a one-off. I can take care of it."
Daria bit her lip. She was a bit surprised with herself caring that much about Mai's grade.
"Take care of it? Sure, you can study extra hard for the next test. We can study together. Look, I know Quinn and Jane are smart but they're satisfied with getting less than they could. Mai, I know you're different. More like me-that's not an insult-you want and you can get straight 'A's."
Mai kept her eyes strictly on driving as she answered. "Yeah, that's okay. I can damn well take care of it on my own Thanks."
"Yeah, we can start by studying instead of going to the range. I'll treat you to buttered scones for tea on Dega Street. There's a great new coffee shop next to Axl's Piercing Parlor. Chemistry and watching weird people scratch their latest tattoos. Can't beat that."
Mai squinted and squirmed uneasily. "Daria, didn't you hear? I can mother-fucking take care of it."
Daria squinted back through her thick glasses. She was still getting used to Mai's mouth but she knew by now that Mai must be more than usually upset when the mother-lovin' curse was let fly.
"What's wrong with a little extra study?"
"Yep, Morgendorffer, just keep it up. You always knew when to quit."
"Look," Mai snapped. "I'll just get a damn bye, okay? I don't have time to study much right now. I've got volleyball sectionals coming up and farm work and my shitty Dollar-a-Bucket store job. Oh, and I somehow had the fucking great, dumb idea I could squeeze in a girlfriend. And your dad got Leo all excited; he's had me crunch the numbers on this half-assed drunk wino wine-making idea."
"Mai? What? Uh, what's a bye?" Daria did not know what to start with. "And, uh, if I'm too much of a distraction I can always go back to watching TV in the afternoons instead of throwing hay bales or snogging you. I'll miss the bales if nothing else."
Mai just shook her head.
"Something's drastic. Saying 'snogging' always made her laugh."
Mai drove on as both girls sat in silence. At last Mai pressed her lips together tightly.
"A bye, my dear non-jock, is when teachers give you a passing grade on something you sucked shit at. Then you can remain eligible to play your favorite sport and bring honor and glory to Lawndale High. You can ask Kevin for further amplification although I'd bet dollars to cow pies that he's so used to it by now he doesn't give much thought to it. Probably it's so fucking automatic in his case that he doesn't even need to ask."
"That's, that's…" Daria tried to process the idea. She knew Mai and her parents held themselves to standards as high as her own. Her parents expected Mai to bring home good grades and she had seen enough of them to know they valued honesty. Mai turned into the archery range parking lot, stopped and turned off the engine. Mai gripped the wheel tightly.
"Cheating." Mai said conclusively. "It's dirty, stinking, low-down cheating."
"Do your parents know?"
"No! And you're not going to tell them."
Daria instinctively pushed herself against the passenger door as she heard Mai's hard words. Mai's eyes got wide and glistened with tears.
"Oh, oh, no, no. Oh, Daria. I didn't mean that. No, no. You're the best thing that happened to me for, Lord God, since I realized I was like this; I was gay, since I first saw you, that first school day for you."
Daria took her hand. "Mai, you can't feel right taking this bye thing. How many times have you done this?"
"Daria, I'm not a damn dunce, you know. This would be my...my second. Look, as much as I love it, I'm not playing volleyball; I'm not playing get good grades...I'm playing get the fuck out of this dump and get into a good school on the few volleyball scholarships there are. Lincoln City University has the best agronomy program in the country, probably the world. That's Ba's school and that's what I want to study."
"Mai, I know you're good in chemistry. Hey, remember you told me that Kevin almost killed himself with ammonia and chlorine bleach? See, you knew that it was dangerous because you studied it."
"Not exactly," Mai corrected. "I knew it was dangerous first because Ba makes me read labels before he lets me use anything. It's because I learned how to clean things. Don't you read the labels of cleaning crap before you use it?"
Daria said nothing. Mai eyed her girlfriend narrowly. "I bet you never cleaned anything in your life."
Daria responded instinctively. "Not true. Just the other day I emptied my pencil sharpener."
She paused then mused. "I should have emptied it in Quinn's bed."
Mai's eyes hardened as she stared at Daria. Then she turned her head to look out the windshield at the parking lot.
Daria knew her snark was for once not appreciated. This was her default setting and Jane and Mai usually heard it and contributed and added on.
"Mai, I'm…I'm sorry. That was petty of me. You deserve a real answer. You've been to our place; it's not a complete pig sty. I don't work as hard as you do, of course, but I do have chores, you know. Even Her Grace Quinn has to take out the garbage sometime, wearing two layers of plastic gloves to carry the bag, of course."
The small smile that Mai gave caused Daria to propose, "I bet you could work out the chemical reactions behind that so Kevin could do attempt poisoning more efficiently next time and we could study for the next quiz."
Mai shook her head but began.
"Probably 2parts NaOCl + 2NH3," Mai started.
A few moments later the two girls were involved in working out the chemical reactions between ammonia solutions and chlorine bleach each filling in what the other lacked or had forgotten.
"Chlorine gas, I guess," Mai concluded. "WWI trench warfare. He's lucky he didn't suck a lung full of death."
She looked at Daria appraisingly then got out of her truck quickly.
"Mai?" Daria hopped out her side and rounded the front. Without a word Mai took out running up the path leading to the spot where they had their first kiss, Daria's first kiss.
Daria ran after her as fast as her heavy boots could tramp. Mai was serious this time, running fast and hard with as long a stride as a six footer could muster.
She found Mai sitting on the bench under the trees by the pond and sobbing quietly. As Daria sat down Mai half-turned to her. She was unused to comforting anyone but some instinctive human impulse which she decided not to throttle put an arm around the taller girl's shoulders. Mai leaned into her and her sobs subsided as they sat quietly.
After a few minutes Daria took out her harmonica and played softly a tune which had come to her after Mai had sung a favorite Chinese song several times. A slow haunting tune which belied the comical-sounding English translation which Mai rendered of the slow, mournful lyrics and tone of the Chinese original: "I'm a big, lonely wolf from the far, far north." After a few bars Mai sat up, joining in with her lovely voice. After they performed the song through Daria let the harmonica notes fade over the still pond.
"I'm so tired." Mai said at last. She slumped against Daria again. Daria was more comfortable holding her now and just let her talk.
"I want to be the perfect hard-working Chinese farm-girl for Ba and Ma but I'm so tired."
Mai fell asleep then with her head resting in Daria's lap. She stroked Mai's face and brushed hair out of her eyes. She didn't even look up or move as she heard a tuneless whistle signal the arrival of two boys with fishing poles.