A Slip
(S03E10)
"You know, Morgendorffer, you seem to have changed your attitude lately," said Jane over an afterschool pizza. "How you blew off that man who took your Latin proverb for a satanic spell the other day – feisty! If I were Upchuck, I'd already be drooling."
"You caught me," Daria said expressionlessly. "I'm not really me. My real name is Bond. James Bond. And now I'll have to kill you." After a pause, she added, "'Cause I'm evil James Bond. Or something like that."
"In that case you're bound to spill out all your evil plans to me before you actually kill me, or rather before my oh-so-handsome partner comes to the rescue. Really, what is it with you?"
"Well," Daria said musingly, "I think it's the influence of that bailout trip."
"The free and powerful air of the Lone Star State?"
"More like the experience of overcoming my so-called-by-my-stupid-sister timidness, caused by the need to correct my stupid sister's mistake. It must have brought up some part of my personality that I've never suspected to exist. To be honest, I'm not sure if I like that part."
"Enjoyed riding over that cowboy's trunk, did ya?"
"And seeing Quinn scared of me."
"Ah, it was a real success. The look on her face!"
"And I didn't as much as glance at the speedometer. You know, since that day, I've had a weird dream several times. I'm on an empty highway, and I drive and drive and go ever faster, and at some moment something rips–and I wake up."
"That's interesting," said Jane, her chin on her crossed fingers. "I hope you don't try it in real life. I prefer you unripped, excuse me my expression."
"I'm not going to. But I'd like to go a little farther than last time. After all, I didn't even get to see much of Fremont."
"Nah, you didn't miss anything. It looks like a large testing ground for the broken windows theory. No, a small testing ground. A small place, really."
"Well, that explains why I couldn't find it in the book," Daria said almost under her breath.
"The book?"
"The United States' Major Cities and Towns, in our school library. Claims to list all places with population over a thousand. There are several Fremonts in it, one in California of course, then in Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, and few other states, but none in Texas."
"It's also possible that the compilers just drove past without noticing it. Well, mistuh Bond, what do we do now?" asked Jane, slurping the last of her Coke.
"I think I'll go home. I've spotted a movie in the TV listing, something about Truman. And I totally lack inspiration for our essay on the onset of the Cold War."
"But it shouldn't– I mean, do you really need movies to write essays? What's with being a text person?"
"I don't know. Maybe it's the same dark part of me. Shall we go?"
"Just a moment. I need to make a phone call. Almost forgot."
"The matter settled?" asked Daria.
"Yeah, pretty much," Jane said thoughtfully. "It's safe now."
"What's safe?"
"I mean, safe for me to go visit my suppliers. I checked on them, they didn't forget to order the paints I need. By the way, SolidColor is a really good brand, and not expensive at all."