Chapter 14: Daria Digs
"Is it too late to join the badminton team? Maybe I could just be their ball, er, shuttlecock, er, birdie girl?"
Daria positioned her arms and pom-pom holding hands in an 'L' slowly following the paradigm example which Ms. Morris had positioned in front of the other girls in gym, Brittany Taylor.
Daria looked again to her left and wished Jane were there to share the misery and snark accordingly. She did admire the girl next to her for being even more out of synch than she was.
"Maybe I should congratulate her? Nah, she looks lost in a tropical beach daydream. I'd never forgive myself for interrupting someone's escape fantasy. Even sweating through badminton practice with Jane and Quinn has to be better than this. Flexibility training my nearsighted eyes!"
"This is fucking pointless, utterly damn boring and a totally malarky waste of time."
Mai's quietly voiced complaint directly behind her followed by snickers from some of the girls brought a smile to Daria and a full body shiver.
"But the view can't be beat. Fuck it, I'm getting us out of here."
Daria heard soft swooshes as Mai dropped her pom-poms and jogged over to Ms. Morris who was engaged in some arcanity on her clipboard.
Daria strained her ears and picked up snatches of conversation: "...chemistry test...big game tomorrow...rest my sore legs."
'Morgendorffer." Coach Morris approached. "Fall out of line. Ling tells me she needs your help studying chemistry and her legs need a rest before tomorrow's first round of playoffs. You two go to my office and discuss reactions or isotopes or polymers or whatever for the rest of class."
Mai managed not to grin, Daria noted, as they ignored a few groans and protests from their classmates. Mai first led her to the locker room for their books then to Morris's tucked-away office. Click, snap, lock. Daria turned to see Mai smirking at her.
"See, Morgendorffer? Some advantages to dating a jock."
Before she could propose breaking out their books, Mai stalked her; picked her up easily and plopped her butt down on Morris's desk. She melted in Mai's arms as feeble protests died on her lips. A long moment later they broke their kiss. Mai gave her a worthy tiny smile of satisfaction before she unlocked the door.
"A little flushed from cheerleading, I mean, flexibility training, Daria?"
"Yeah, that's it exactly, evil Chinese coach Ling."
"Let's study chemistry…for now." Mai said coyly and for the next fifteen minutes they did hit the books only talking to help the other get some point clarified.
Daria put down her pencil and sighed. As she glanced up, Mai greeted that sigh with an arched eyebrow gesture she had learned from Daria.
"Here we are in the office when we should be out sweating and learning flexibility from Brittany." Daria began. She bit her lip. "Not that I'm complaining too much."
Mai pursed her lips and interlaced her fingers with Daria's.
"You're about the most honest person I know." She smirked. "Except that thing you told me about writing people's college essays for dough."
Daria shifted uncomfortably. "Well, that's keeping everyone you and I both like in pizza toppings and dough and you and me in archery equipment."
Mai smirked conspiratorially. "And it is appreciated. Those wooden arrows you had made for me work great."
"Look, Daria." She got serious. "What they tell me at church and I certainly see around Lawndale is we're living in an imperfect world. I don't want to make it worse but I gotta work with what I got."
"Would you believe I don't think sports should be a part of high school?" Mai went on. "Or not the big fat fucking hairy deal most people make it. I love me my volleyball but anything in school should be academic, music and art only, I guess. But we're teenagers, Daria. Nobody in authority gives a rat's patootie about our opinions. I'm very good at volleyball, I know it. I gotta play that game to help get me out of here."
"Rat's patootie?" Daria said incredulously. "Where's the potty-mouth I know and, uh, like?"
"I'm trying hard to cut back on the swearing, really. I'm not taking that bye." Mai took her hand away from Daria's and looked down at the table. "I ran the numbers. If I study extra hard I can make it up on the next tests and Barch'll give me some make-up crap to do. She knows I try hard and that I usually know my stuff. And I got two X-chromosomes, of course."
"Why do I feel there's another boot about to drop-kick me?" Daria asked.
"We gotta cut back on time together." Mai looked up at her as her eyes started to glisten. "Just for a few weeks, Daria. I told you all the shit I got going on."
Mai's eyes gained a hopeful, somewhat cunning light. "Besides in a few weeks you'll be sixteen, uh, street legal."
"Street legal?" Daria shifted uneasily as she realized the implications.
"Intimacy issues on high-alert. Danger at sweet sixteen."
"Does that mean you can drive me around town without fear of…god, Mai, I don't know. This is new to us both and you're far better than me at making things up as you go. Hrm, did you tell your brother about me? Us?"
Mai put her hand on the back of her head and rubbed her hair.
"Yeah, Daria. Sorry, I should have asked you but Tom's like…he's always understood me better than me even. And I trust him more than myself too. I had to tell him I was gay, when I first heard what the word meant."
She fished a black brick-sized object from her backpack. "He gave me this hand-me-down cell phone when he upgraded. Ma and Ba almost went ballistic but he convinced them it was for safety when I drove to away games with a crew of other girls. And he pays for the service. I got it about when I, uh, got you. The first call I made to him I went behind the barn and told him about you."
"Well, I'm glad you weren't just behind the barn to smoke corn silk."
Daria looked down, steeled herself and took Mai's hand. "Quinn knows about us too. She guessed and I didn't really deny it. She says half the school knows or guesses, I guess. And Jane too, of course."
Mai nodded. "Yeah, that's what Vonny and Pris told me. They were the only other people I told about me, us. They're such good friends. I know Jane would never hurt you either. I was afraid we'd get all kinds of shit at school but I guess we're protected by the great jock umbrella."
"And you could beat the snot out of anyone in school practically."
Mai grinned. "Yeah, that helps."
They both hustled to pack their books as they heard a shrill gym period-ending whistle from the gym.
"Mai, um, yeah, school comes first. Oh, god, don't you ever repeat that especially not to Jane."
Mai hugged her and gave her a bittersweet smile as they headed to the showers.