Short summary:
This is a continuation of my previous fic, 揊amilies?
In it, we see the effects of that fic on the next day in Lawndale. Also, Amy Barksdale
comes to Lawndale to visit 揾er favourite niece?and Daria抯 family.
Daria (and
associated characters and locations) is copyright ?1997-2000 MTV Networks.
This story is copyright ?2002 by Bacner (olgak531@rogers.com) and has been written for personal enjoyment. No infringement of the above rights is intended.
Daria Morgendorffer woke-up. It was nine AM. After a brief debate on whether of staying more in bed or getting an early breakfast, she decided to do the latter. After all, the rest of her family by now probably either left already or not woken-up. That meant that she could be practically alone in the house, if she kept quiet. That decided it. Daria dressed-up and went downstairs.
Downstairs, Daria saw a discerning sight: her father, sitting at a breakfast table, reading a newspaper. 揇ad? You're still home??Daria said, surprised.
揥hy shouldn抰 I be, kiddo??Jake looked-up from the newspaper.
揢m卼oday is a workday? Mom has left hours already, I believe.?/p>
揑'm self-employed, kiddo, remember? What I say at Morgendorffer Consulting, goes without arguing!?/p>
揇ad, you are Morgendorffer Consulting. Without you pushing things along, nothing goes along there.?/p>
揈xactly! And so, today, I decided to have a family bonding day with my girls instead!?/p>
揥here抯 mom??Daria asked.
揥hy do you ask it??/p>
搾Cause for a family bonding you need a full family, dad. Now Quinn抯 not awake yet, and I抦 pretty sure that mom抯 at work.?/p>
揝he is, kiddo. Yesterday was her day to bond with you two; today is mine.?/p>
揙h! I get it!?realization hit home. 揧ou heard what happened yesterday with the Lanes, hah??/p>
揧es, kiddo. And I want you to know卼hat I抦 happy that you decided to stay with us.?/p>
揝peaking of us, I have two, no three points.?/p>
揙h? What are they, kiddo??/p>
揊irstly, where抮e Penny and Jane??/p>
揙h, they went home to check on Trent ?to see if the house wasn抰 repossessed or something. I told them that we抣l be leaving later in the morning, so no problems there.?/p>
揟hat brings on my second question: where are we going??/p>
揧ou and Quinn and I are going to Boston!?/p>
揃oston? Groovy,?Daria deadpanned. 揂nd this, dad, brings me to my last point: you got to awaken Quinn now, and get her involved in this idea of yours quickly, before she produces any counter-arguments why she shouldn抰 go.?/p>
Jake nodded. 揟hanks, Daria! Eh, while I go and wake-up Quinn, can you make us some breakfast??/p>
揇idn't you already eat??Daria said, but Jake didn't hear her ?he already left.
揟errific,?Daria muttered and pulled-out the toaster.
Some time later, Daria, Jake and Quinn were riding in Jake抯 Lexus. 揝o why mom isn't with us??Quinn asked, still not-quite-awakened.
揌elen had already spent time with you,?Jake chuckled. 揑t抯 my turn today.?/p>
揑 see,?Quinn said. 揑t抯 because Daria almost left with Penny yesterday??/p>
揈h厃eah,?Jake uncomfortably said. 揌elen did point-out that our family isn't the most functional one厰
揧ou didn't see some of other families here,?Quinn rose to defend the family honour. 揟he Taylors, for one example.?/p>
揥hom??/p>
揝teve Taylor and his family,?Daria explained.
揙h them. Well, you know, their family is somewhat?mended-over.?/p>
揇ad,?Daria said softly, 揝teve Taylor married a woman who抯 young enough to be his oldest daughter. What kind of a role model is that? You're much better.?/p>
揟hanks, kiddo!?Jake cheered-up. 揥ell, off we go to see the wonderful city of Boston!?/p>
揥ill we be home for dinner??Quinn asked.
揥e shall see厰
Penny and Jane looked around the Lane residence. 揂ll抯 in place, and we抳e seem to have gained three guys on top of this,?Penny said. 揥here did they come from??/p>
揙h, that抯 Nick, Max and Jesse,?Jane replied. 揟hey抮e Trent抯 group, Mystik Spiral.?/p>
揂nd they抮e sleeping here because-??/p>
揟hey were probably practicing and fell asleep.?/p>
揂h! Just like the old times,?Penny nodded. 揑s their music still the same??/p>
揑t抯 louder.?/p>
揥ell, that takes care of burglar-alarms, I guess. Don't the neighbours complain, though??/p>
揟hey do still, from time to time. Then we have to barricade our doors to escape the police.?/p>
Penny shook her head. 揥onderful. I suppose they bring girls here too??/p>
揧eah, they do,?Jane said. 揓ust not very often.?/p>
揌mm. Didn't Trent go steady with some girl named Dominique or something??/p>
揑t's Monique,?Jane replied, 揳nd yeah, they still are steady ?like waves upon a shore. Off and on again. So anyways. Where are you planning to stay??/p>
揌ere, I suppose.?/p>
揧our old room, I meant??/p>
揚(yáng)lease. Summer抯 room is never to my liking.?/p>
揂nd another thing ?this isn't going to swamp-out into another family gathering, is it??/p>
揕et抯 see. Summer is still chasing after her kids in Canada, Wind is in either here in California or in Andros, Bahamas, Trent抯 accounted for, and Mom and Dad were in Spain, the last time I heard from them.?/p>
揂nd where did you return from? Brazil? Paraguay??/p>
揘ope. Madagascar.?/p>
揗adagascar?! That抯 in Africa!?/p>
揧eah? So??/p>
揇id you see the monkeys there??/p>
揗ore than enough. If you look around, you抎 sure to see some monkey ?they抮e called lemurs there.?/p>
揝o anyway. What do you want to do today??/p>
揝it on a couch and watch TV. I didn't do either of them in a long while.?/p>
揝ounds fair. But I must warn you ?Trent.?/p>
揟rent will be sleeping for ages, Jane, I'll wager.?/p>
揧ou抣l have to be more specific than that.?/p>
Penny chucked a pillow at Jane in reply. Jane answered similarly; soon the two sisters were involved in a big pillow fight.
揙h dear. We抳e phoned Quinn several times by now, but nobody抯 answering,?Stacy Rowe nervously turned to her fellow Fashion Clubber, Tiffany Blum-Deckler.
揟hat抯 bad??Tiffany asked, not getting it.
揟iffany, think. Yesterday, Sandi said something that made Quinn upset.?/p>
揂bout her sister??/p>
揧es, you do remember!?Stacy said. 揝andi made Quinn upset; Quinn probably told her parents, and now both they and Sandi抯 parents are upset.?/p>
揝o where does this leave us??/p>
Stacy nodded.
揝o what should we do??
揑 don't know. Let抯 go and see what抯 at Cashman抯.?/p>
Tiffany nodded. At this point of time it was too hard to see where all of this will end-up in, and who抣l win ?Sandi or Quinn.
Sandi Griffin was quite angry with her mother, who was angry with her. 揑 was just only trying to be helpful,?Sandi muttered for a countless time, 揵ut does anybody care about this? No!?
Sandi walked another circle, and turned even more thoughtful. 揑 have had enough from mom. She constantly runs my life. I've got to do something that抣l keep her out of my hair ?at least for a while. But what??Realizing that she could think of nothing at the moment in here,?Sandi went outside, trying to find an idea.
Helen抯 business phone rang. 揥ho is it??she spoke into the receiver.
揌elen? It抯 me, Amy.?/p>
揌ello Amy, why are you calling me??/p>
揌elen, Rita wants to crash at my place for a while; some sort of a problem with Paul, I think. I told her that my place is fumigated; can I spent some time in Lawndale away from her??/p>
揧es Amy, you can. Normally you couldn抰, but this is Rita we抮e talking about. Any news about Erin or Brian??/p>
揘ope.?/p>
揙h well. Have fun in Lawndale!?Helen hanged-up.?/p>
For a change, Sandi Griffin was unwilling to meet any of her Fashion Club members; they never did do anything more serious than shop. And for once in her life time, Sandi Griffin was unwilling to shop. 揟his bites, this really bites,?she muttered. 揑 swear, whenever I confront those two, I end-up for punished for something that they didn抰 do.?/p>
揂re you talking about your two brothers??another voice spoke behind her. Sandi turned around. 揗ichael Jordan Mackenzie. What are you doing here at the mall??/p>
揝hopping for Jodie抯 birthday,?Mack replied plainly. 揧ou??/p>
揜eminiscing. I made a mistake, apparently, but I don抰 know what kind of! I was only trying to help.?/p>
揂n ancient wise man once said: Remember, there are only two faces of evil: either an enemy cleverly made trouble, or a foolish friend decided to give a helping hand?/p>
揌ey! I抦 not stupid!?Sandi protested. Then she remembered something and sighed: 揙r maybe I am. This is the second time, after all.?/p>
揥hen was the first??/p>
揑 really cannot tell you,?Sandi shook her head.
揅ome on,?Mack said kindly. 揑 won抰 gossip.?/p>
揙kay,?Sandi nodded. 揟he first time was when I was four, and me and my parents were visiting my aunt Vicki in厰
揈l Paso is bo-ring!?four-year-old Sandi Griffin loudly complained, looking at the streets, lit-up by a morning sun. 揟here抯 nothing here but some dumb zoo, and a state park, where is nothing but ugly rocks!?/p>
Her parents, Tom and Linda, looked at each other with equal distaste. 揜emind me, dear, why did we decide to visit your sister??
Linda bristled. 揕ook, Tom. This is important. I need to visit my sister厰
搮In order to get some cash loaned to you, is that it? Is it true, dear, that your sister organizes smuggling operations into Mexico??/p>
Linda bristled. El Paso was located right next to the Mexican border and a Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, as well as on the shores of Rio Grande. Basically, for Tom and Linda Griffin, both of whom have lived in the New England town of Lawndale, all of this seemed more than a little bit criminally shady. And the weather ?right now it was at least 10 degrees higher in El Paso than back home. And since the weather was high, the Griffins?tempers were high-strung as well.
匧inda exhaled. 揕ook, Tom. We need the cash. I may be ousted from my place as a TV anchor, for crying outloud!?/p>
揝o what抯 so bad??/p>
揥hat抯 so bad, what抯 so bad?! I worked hard for this for the last four years, and now I may lose it. Why, you may ask, why厰
搾Cause your coworkers call you Gorgon, that抯 why,?Tom snapped. 揑 heard enough about you and that Barksdale woman, you know??/p>
揌er name is Amy,?Linda snorted. 揝ounds like a name for a pet rat.?/p>
揂nd with that attitude you're wondering why you may lose your job??Tom sneered.
揝hut-up!?/p>
While her parents continued to argue, Sandi wandered-off. She was bored; she didn't care about her parents?arguments; she wanted souvenirs!
揚(yáng)sst!?/p>
揌ah??Sandi turned around. A girl of the same age as her ?was looking/squinting at her in a conspiring manner.
揧o, you! You want souvenirs??/p>
揂ha,?nodded Sandi. 揥here can I find them??/p>
揊ollow me!?
And Sandi followed the strange girl, wondering into what was she getting into? The girl抯 clothes were so strange, so卌heap and unfashionable, that Sandi couldn't help but mistrust her ?a little bit.
揥e're here!?the other girl called-out. 揚(yáng)enelope??/p>
揧eah??another girl, this one about twice as old as Sandi, appeared on the scene.
揧ou got a customer!?
揝hould I show her what we have??/p>
揌ey!?Sandi spoke loudly. 揌ow do I know that you have what I want??/p>
揥ell, what do you want??/p>
揂 souvenir.?/p>
揅ool! Then how about this statuette of the Great Buffalo of the Plains, who, when he is angry, causes earthquakes, but when he is pleased, brings abundant herds to us??/p>
揟o you??/p>
揟o People of the Plains,?the younger girl explained. 揇o you want it or not??/p>
揑 don抰 know; all I have is ten dollars,?Sandi said.
揋reat! Such a statuette costs exactly ten dollars!?the girl emphatically said. 揕et抯 trade!?/p>
The girl抯 face shone with such honesty, that Sandi gave-in. She handed the girl ten dollars, took the statuette of the holy buffalo and left.
揝andi!?Linda spoke sharply, when she and Tom caught the sight of their first-born again. 揥here were you??/p>
揟rading!?Sandi said proudly. 揝ee? I traded my ten dollars for this statuette of the holy buffalo!?/p>
The mouths of both older Griffins opened wide, but before either of them could speak, Vicki Vanelk, sister of Linda, finally made her presence known. 揥ell, what do I see? My niece proving that she is the daughter of my sister? How ironic.?/p>
Linda whirled around, her face scarlet. 揥hat are you talking about??/p>
揑sn't it obvious? Your daughter has been swindled out of ten dollars. That is one of the stones from Tanks State Historical Park, its?shape hand-altered just a little bit. Hmm. Looks like an elk, if you ask me.?Vicki shook her head. 搾Course, your daughter, Linda, was unlucky too. Usually people are swindled for four-five dollars this way, nothing more. Guess some street vendors got lucky with a kid.?/p>
Sandi抯 face burned, and she almost didn't hear Tom Griffin抯 angry harangue at her about the value of spending the right amount. 揘evermore,?Sandi whispered under her nose, 搉evermore will I trust people in ugly, unfashionable clothing.?/p>
揝o that抯 what happened,?Sandi finished her tale. 揗y aunt did loan some cash to my mom, but it didn抰 help anyways, mom did lose that TV-anchor job and got demoted to weather channel news; there was some sort of trouble with it in fact, of which I know nothing about; and aunt Vicki lives in North Dakota, somewhere between Minot and Lake Sakakawea, as far as I know.?/p>
揝o what does that event fourteen years ago got to do with yesterday抯 punishment of yours??Mack asked.
揝ee, the first girl ?the one my age ?is Daria Morgendorffer. The Daria Morgendorffer, if you please. And the second girl, I understood, was a Lane ?Penny Lane, I think her name is. And you know how Quinn claims that Daria isn't her real sister.?/p>
揧ou know she抯 lying.?/p>
揥ell, yeah. But with a sister like that, who wouldn't? Anyways, Daria does spend a lot of time with Jane Lane, and only then she is acting remotely human-like. Ditto goes for Jane too, if you ask me.?/p>
揋et to the point, please.?/p>
揂lright, Mack. See, when I saw Daria yesterday with Lanes, she was acting normal ?like you or me, not as a Misery Chick. And then that suppressed memory of fourteen years ago popped-up, and I recognized the other Lane as that other street-vendor girl. Naturally, since they were together fourteen years ago, I thought that Daria was also a Lane, not a Morgendorffer, and told Quinn that much. Quinn freaked-out, contacted her mom, and her mom contacted me and my mom, and here I am, in this mess.?/p>
揚(yáng)oor you,?Mack sighed. 揟his time, you really didn't do anything wrong. My condolences. Although ?if you mom still had a job on TV, why is she the president of Lawndale抯 Businesswomen Association??/p>
揙h, mom left shortly after she got re-positioned. Her ego,?Sandi drawled-out vehemently. 揗y mom got a really big one. I really hate her for that.?/p>
揇on't say that!?Mack argued. 揧our parents are your parents. You抳e got to love them no matter what!?/p>
Sandi pierced Mack with a glance. 揇id you ever hear your girlfriend Jodie on that subject? I know I did.?/p>
Mack sighed. He may be the captain of the football team, and certainly not Kevin, but he would probably never understand girls. Oh well, why bother?
Helen抯 phone rang.
揧es, who is it??/p>
揗om, it抯 me. Daria.?/p>
揙h hi, honey, where did you dad take you and Quinn??/p>
揅urrently, we抮e in Boston, near Quincy Bay. See, we were going to go and watch a movie, but Quinn wanted to see 慉merican Pie 2? while I wanted to see 慗urassic Park III? so dad took us fishing instead. 慍ourse, he also had fishing equipment in the back of the car, so I wonder if we were set-up.?/p>
揇id he now??/p>
揧es, mom. Currently, he is fishing in the Atlantic, yelling as if he caught Godzilla himself on his lure. Whoa! Mom, I'll have to call you later. I think dad did catch Godzilla Jr. Bye.?/p>
Daria hanged-up.
揇aria!?Jake yelled again. 換uinn! Stop talking on the phones and help me! Yikes! Help!?/p>
Jake was indeed in trouble. A huge codfish got caught on his fishing line and now was fighting Jake for what it was worth. Other fishermen were looking curiously at Jake, but weren抰 hurrying to aide him, since it was too early to tell whether he needed help or not.
Daria reached Jake first and grabbed him by the belt. 揥hoa there, dad. Steady does it!?
Jake grunted and jerked the lure. The fish jerked back, making Jake lose his balance. He fell, pulling Daria and Quinn after him.
Suddenly, his falling stopped. Daria had him with the waist; Quinn had Daria by the collar of Daria抯 jacket, and lots of other people had the three Morgendorffers by various parts of their clothing.
揇rop the rod, dad!?Quinn yelled from ahead.
揘ever!?Jake grunted. 揕ittle Jakey抯 not a quitter, dad!?He jerked his fishing rod and line once again. The fish leapt, and the balance in the 慼uman vine?shifted abruptly, causing a lot of people to wall into Quincy Bay. But spontaneously with that the balance in the fishing line changed too, and Jake抯 next jerk got the cod right into his arms. 揂h-ha!?he triumphantly yelled, thumping the cod抯 head on the nearest harbour rock.
Only, it wasn't a rock but a napping harbour seal, who lashed-out with his teeth to counter the supposed assault. Jake jerked back, barrelled into other people, started a sort of in-water domino effect?/p>
In short, it was one of the more humiliating moments in Daria抯 life.
Amy Barksdale passionlessly looked at the closed and empty residence of the Morgendorffers. 揥onderful. Jake gets a clue and whisks my nieces away ?right on the same day I decide to visit them. Bugger. What else can go wrong??/p>
揈xcuse me. Are the Morgendorffers home??/p>
Amy slowly turned around. 揕inda Griffin. Now my day is set. How抯 life in the business world??/p>
Linda paled. 揥hy are you here, Amy??/p>
揤isiting my family, of course. Not all of us are embarrassed of our sisters, you know??(Especially if there抯 more than one to choose, she silently added.)
Linda seethed. In the end, her sisterly relationship with Vicki did more harm to her than good, and Amy still got the job that Linda once held ?of a news?anchor. 揕ook, Amy. I抦 not off to search for Vicki in North Dakota, just because you came here. And besides厰
揗assachusetts is smaller than North Dakota? Is that it??Amy asked. 揕ook, Linda. Try not to be so paranoid. Try to act friendly, at least. After all, it抣l cost you nothing!?/p>
揝hut-up!?Linda snarled. 揧ou bloody Barksdale sisters! Always reaching for the sky above. Your sister is a bloody lawyer, you yourself are living my career! The one I should have had, but you stole it from me!!?/p>
揕ook at it this way,?Amy suggested. 揑'm still single. You got a husband and three kids.?/p>
揂nother thing to be grateful about, my kids!?Linda snapped. 揙riginally, me and Tom thought that Sandi will be enough. But you and your sister, you unbalanced us so much, that Sam was conceived.?/p>
揧our oldest son??/p>
揧es. He is thirteen.?/p>
揂nd Sandi抯 eighteen now, while your youngest son is eight. Have you decided to have children in five-year intervals??/p>
揝hut-up!?Linda snarled, 搒hut-up! What do you know about children? ?Nothing! You're an aunt, but never will be a mother!?/p>
揙h, I don抰 know about that,?Amy shrugged. 揑抦 not over my forties mark, unlike some.?/p>
Linda didn抰 scream. If she did, she抎 probably do it in ultra-sound. 揥hat is your secret??she finally asked, forcing herself to sound normal. 揧ou have no personal skills, you look like a rat, your attitude is anything but bearable! If you didn't have your lawyer-sister on your side, I would have beaten you!?/p>
揢nlikely,?Amy shook her head. 揂fter all, you weren抰 called the Gorgon for nothing. That may be a good thing, but too much pudding spoils the dog, you know!?/p>
Linda paled, but for two red spots on her cheeks. Whirling around, she stalked-off.
Amy sighed. 揑'm too damn nice, Daria would say in such a situation. Hey Linda, wait up! I抦 sorry!?/p>
Amy went-off after Linda.
揝o what are you going to do now??Mack asked Sandi.
揌mm? Oh, I don't know. Get even with my mom somehow, I think,?Sandi scratched her head. 揥hy抯 the sudden interest in my actions, Mack? We were never friends, and me and Jodie aren抰 particularly friendly, either.?/p>
揑 wondered about that. Why? Isn't Jodie cool enough for that??/p>
Sandi sighed. 揗ack, do you consider me racist??/p>
揢m, no.?/p>
揇o you think that Lawndale is a racist town??/p>
揘ot really.?/p>
揟ry to tell that to Michelle Landon and see how far you抣l get with this statement. Michelle Landon is, frankly, frightening. Most kids try to avoid the Landons as whole, and probably most adults too.?/p>
揋ood point,?Mack conceded. 揂nd speaking of Jodie, can I ask your advice??/p>
揑s there a gift involved??/p>
揚(yáng)ossibly, yeah. So can I ask your advice??/p>
揥hy not? It抯 not like I have anything to do otherwise.?/p>
揧ou know,?Stacy turned to her friend Tiffany. 揝hopping isn抰 as fun without Sandi or Quinn.?/p>
揂ha,?Tiffany nodded. Stacy抯 chattering was starting to get even on her nerves.
揥hoa, Tiffany, look!?
Tiffany looked, and saw Sandi, parading before Michael Mackenzie, in some rather revealing clothing.
揙h my god! It抯 Sandi! And Mack! They抮e an item!?Stacy began to squeal. Tiffany acted quickly, leaving nothing to chance. She dragged Stacy off to the women抯 washroom, where Stacy could hyperventilate as much as she wanted. Tiffany herself needed to think too. Whom should she tell about this? Jodie? Quinn? Anyone else? Yes, this definitely needed some thought.
揝o what do you think? Do you think that Jodie will appreciate it? Or rather, will you appreciate Jodie in this??Sandi asked Mack, as she showed-off the latest achievements in lingerie manufacturing.
揑 think I抦 going to buy it, and leave at that,?Mack said. 揑t came to my attention that with your help I can make this store were lucky, and leave the store very poor.?Mack paused. 揧ou know something, Sandi? You may not be exactly pretty, but you抮e very elegant. Whatever you wear ?it always looks good.?/p>
揂hem,?the cashier spoke. 揧oung man, are you going to buy this stuff, or continue to appraise your girlfriend??/p>
揥e're not a couple!?Mack and Sandi spoke at the same time.
The cashier just smirked.
揙h my god! Sandi and Mack are a couple! Oh my god! What are we to do??Stacy wailed.
Tiffany frowned slightly. There were times when it was good to be friends with Stacy, but right now Stacy抯 wails were only interrupting her thinking processes and brought attention. And so, when Stacy paused for breath, Tiffany jammed a large portion of low-fat fries into Stacy抯 mouth, causing her to fall silent.
Then Tiffany started to think for real.
匲nlike the popular belief that Tiffany was stupid, Tiffany knew that that wasn't the case. She always completed her assignments on time and always passed. And just because she wasn抰 as active as Jodie Landon, didn抰 mean that she was dumb. Or slow. In fact, if Stacy抯 line of thought was fast, then Tiffany was going to go with slow for a long time.
Tiffany frowned. So Sandi and Mack were a couple? Hmm. 揝tacy. Are Jodie and Mack a couple??/p>
Stacy shook her head. Then nodded. 揑 don't know. They抮e always together and all, but they抮e not like Kevin and Brittany.?/p>
Tiffany nodded. That was the crux of the whole matter: were Mack and Jodie a couple or not? Or were they just hanging around each other because they were they were practically the only Afro-American students in Lawndale High? Tiffany wondered if she would stop hanging around the Fashion Club if another Asian-American student would appear in Lawndale High. Course, that student would have to be unrelated to Ms. Li.
Tiffany shook her head. Originally she hanged-around with the Fashion Club because Stacy and Sandi always had the best gossip in Lawndale High if not the whole Lawndale, and recently, with Quinn Morgendorffer arriving on the scene, the Fashion Club itself started to become interesting from Tiffany抯 point of view. Before Quinn, Sandi would always tell Stacy and Tiffany what to wear or what was fashionable, and the other two would comply. Now with Quinn Morgendorffer actually asking Sandi 揥hy should we do that??or 揥hy shouldn抰 we do this??Sandi actually had to think of sentences starting with 揵ecause? They were called explanations.
Tiffany shook her head. 揝o are Mack and Jodie a couple or not??/p>
揑 don抰 know,?Stacy admitted. 揗ack and Jodie are always seen together, and Jodie is the vice-president of the school council, while Sandi is just the president of the Fashion Club厰 Stacy has forgotten than she and Tiffany were the Fashion Club.
揂nd Mack抯 the captain of the football team,?Tiffany nodded. 揌mm.?She thought some more. 揟oo much of a good thing, maybe? Mack and Jodie were often arguing about the lack of private time for the two of them. On one thing, this as well as what Stacy and Tiffany saw earlier today, indicated that Mack and Jodie were reaching a supposed climax of a relationship ?the home run, to use the baseball language. On the other hand, today抯 earlier events meant Mack and Jodie may be breaking-up ?maybe just unconsciously, but still. 揑 think, Stacy,?Tiffany finally said, 搘e should keep quiet about this. After all ?Sandi is our friend, fellow Fashion Clubber and our superiour. We owe it to her to keep quiet about this.?(And get out of any mess on her own, she silently added.)
揧ou think? But isn抰 it just wrong? I mean, Mack and Jodie fit-in so well!?/p>
揝tacy. People aren't like socks and scrunchies ?they may go together even if they don抰 match.?/p>
揘ot matching socks and scrunchies ?yikes!?Stacy gulped. She began to blab about the horrors of that, quite forgetting about Mack, Jodie and Sandi.
Tiffany sighed. Fast thinking ?forget it. She抎 go-on on her own pace.
揥ell, this settles it,?Penny turned to Jane. 揘othing has been missing since last night. Let抯 go.?/p>
揋o where??Jane asked. 揑t抯 summer-time. Many of shops are closed; and besides I don抰 do shopping, unless it抯 for art supplies. And then, of course, it抯 Dega street.?/p>
揓ane, anything on Dega street that抯 cheap is worthless,?Penny said. 揂nything that抯 worthwhile is there is never cheap.?/p>
揑 think that things have quieted-down somewhat there since you were my age,?Jane said. 揃esides, we do have different attitudes, you know??/p>
揓ane. People on Dega street do what I do: sell stuff that would be cheap if it was authentic, but since it is not, it is over-priced.?/p>
揚(yáng)enny, it抯 hard to fake art supplies. They may be old, but they are still art supplies. At least here.?/p>
揂nd what do you consider as art supplies? Paints and brushes??/p>
揂lso pencils, pastels, even pens, chalks, paper, canvas ?lots of stuff. And I don抰 just paint; I sculpt, too.?/p>
揧ou sculpt? Can I see one of your sculptures, then??/p>
揙kay. Here抯 one.?And Jane proudly presented one of her sculptures to Penny.?/p>
揌mm,?Penny said thoughtful, 揷an you give a clue on what theme it was made-off??/p>
揑t抯 mythology,?Jane said.
Penny looked at her.
Jane blushed. 揥hat? I like reading myths.?/p>
揗mm. I guess that this is a basilisk. No, wait, Echidna the Snakewoman and the mother of all monsters, right??/p>
揂ctually, it was supposed to be a phoenix,?Jane glared. 揝ee? The wings, the tail, the head??/p>
揑 thought that a phoenix was kind-of eagle-ish,?Penny replied. 揟his looks like a cross between a bird of paradise and one of those herons that dad photographed in Egypt. You sure it was supposed to be a phoenix??/p>
Jane glared. Penny stared back. Jane sighed. 揂ll right, all right, this was supposed to be a pheasant. You know what I抦 talking about??/p>
揗mm. Guess you got creative??/p>
揧eah. But a cockatrice? A Snakewoman? What brought that on??/p>
揙ne of Summer抯 boyfriends was an artist. He drew that kind of things. One of his paintings was Echidna the Snakewoman.?/p>
揙h? How did it look??/p>
揌e drew a weeping woman whose face was covered by her hands, and who was a snake from waist-down. It wasn抰 a real painting; just a black-and-white sketch. The background was just a rock. You draw better.?/p>
揘ah, there抯 a difference between painting, drawing, and sketching, though you probably don't know. Still, even you must know the difference between sketching and sculpting.?/p>
揙h, but Jane, see? The tail, the torso, the forelimbs, the head. No offence, but those wings don't look much like wings, and I can't see the bird抯 legs, either.?/p>
揟he legs are there ?the tail just covers them,?Jane replied. 揂nd the wings ?so I did get a little bit showy. They still don't look like arms or forelimbs.?/p>
揟hat抯 why I thought if this was a cockatrice first,?Penny replied. 揟here is just enough bird in this whole sculpture.?/p>
揌mmpf!?Jane snorted. 揅oincidentally, what did become of the sketching Summer抯 boyfriend??/p>
揇on't know,?Penny shrugged, 揼ot to ask Summer the next time she appears.?She looked around. 揝o how抯 Trent doing??/p>
揘ot bad, so-so,?Jane replied, kind-of eager for the change of subject. 揝till writes songs ?here抯 one.
A lover, slippery as soap,
Crawled through my intestines into my heart.
A lover, slippery as soap,
Simply ripped my chest apart.?o:p>
揧up, that抯 Trent, all right,?Penny replied.
Jane snorted. 揘o, that抯 probably Max. Or Nick. It certainly can抰 be Jesse because he never writes. He barely talks, even.?/p>
揝o why it can抰 be Trent??/p>
?i>A lover, slippery as soap? Alliterations were never Trent抯 things.?/p>
揥hat about this one?
Night, like an apple-tree, into my window knocks,
And way outside a night-bird cries.
I know, I know, I know one only thing:
What in day-time flourishes, in night-time dies.
Who wrote this one??/p>
揘ow that抯 Trent,?Jane replied. 揟he paper抯 kind of yellowish, I think??/p>
揧eah.?/p>
揥ell, I thought so. I think he tried to impress Monique with this one some time ago. The words sounded familiar-y.?/p>
揇o you like her??/p>
揈r, why do you ask??/p>
搾Cause you still live with Trent, and whenever he brings somebody over here, you have either a front-row seat in an audience, or a sleepover somewhere.?/p>
揚(yáng)enny, Trent isn't Wind!?
揋od, I hope not. One spouse-seeking boy sibling is enough.?/p>
Jane snorted. 揥ill Wind never find love??/p>
揑 don抰 know. You tell me. I told you he was either in Bahamas or in California.?/p>
揂nd Summer is in Canada??/p>
揟he last time we contacted, she was in Brandon, Manitoba.?/p>
揂nd our folks in Spain??/p>
揑n Badajoz, planning to sail on Guadina upstream away from Portuguese border. Some trouble in Beja, involving leather, I was told.?/p>
揗mm. Lucky us. So Penny, since you know so much about sculpting, why won抰 we have a bit of a sisterly bonding thing and make one of our own sculptures.?/p>
揥hat if one of the guys wakes-up??/p>
揟hey抮e used to it, as long as I don抰 paint their hair.?/p>
揥hat hair??Penny asked, looking at Nick.
揘evermind. Let抯 get started, shall we??/p>
揝o guys, what do you want to see next??Jake Morgendorffer asked his girls, Daria and Quinn.
揟he zoo, daddy??Quinn asked politely. 揗aybe they抣l have seals there and feed them fishies!?/p>
揢m, Quinn honey, daddy had all the fishy excitement he could get,?Jake uneasily chuckled.
揧eah, and a fishy almost fed on him,?Daria added wryly. 揥hat are you going to do with this monster, dad??
揟ake it home and cook us some cod-fish chowder ?mm-mm, yummy!?Jake chuckled, back in a good mood. 揑shmael himself would probably deign to eat it.?/p>
揑shmael??/p>
揟he story-teller in Moby Dick,?Daria explained.
揈ew! You read Moby Dick??Quinn explained. 揟his guy is weird! First he tries to sound like some plain whaler, but then he starts talking like a brain! That story is broken into pieces!?/p>
揧ou read Moby Dick??Daria incredibly asked.
揑-I looked over it,?Quinn quickly said. 揑t抯 dull and dumb. Only a brain like you would enjoy reading it.?/p>
揌ey, I know!?Jake spoke emphatically. 揕et抯 go to the harbour and see the seals and the dolphins play!?/p>
揇ad, didn't we just come from the harbour??Daria asked, pointedly looking at the fish slung in a backpack over Jake抯 shoulder, while Quinn just stared.
揥ell yeah, but that was Quincy Bay; I'm talking about Boston Harbour!?/p>
揥e抣l go, dad,?but no fishing there!?Quinn said firmly.
揧ou might catch a porpoise there, and that抯 illegal,?Daria added.
揜oger!?Jake nodded.
Linda sat in a diner in Lawndale Mall, feeling her anger slowly abating.
Okay, the things were bad. Due to Sandi抯 bloody interfering with the Morgendorffer affairs, Helen Morgendorffer was angry. And Linda Griffin remembered her first seeing of the older sister of Amy Barksdale ?a female lawyer with fiery eyes and temper; when Helen Morgendorffer had come to aide her sister Amy, Linda Griffin was scared.
But she recovered. After all, the Morgendorffers did go back to Texas while the Griffins stayed here, in Lawndale. But now the Morgendorffers have returned. And what was especially aggravating to Linda, it was the fact that Helen Morgendorffer had forgotten all about their first meeting! That, to put it frankly, stank.
揥ell, what do you expect??Amy Barksdale re-appeared, seemingly out of thin air. 揗y sister is a very busy woman; she considers it lucky to eke some time for her family ?namely us.?/p>
揥ho are 憉s??Linda grunted.
揗e, our mother Evelyn, and our sister Rita and her daughter, Erin.?/p>
揑 see. A big blooming family, aren't you all??Linda grunted. 揗y only family is currently consisting of a sister who is in North Dakota!?/p>
揧owza!?Amy nodded. 揟hat stinks. Still, do you think that she may be avoiding you??/p>
揙f course! In case you haven抰 forgotten, my fall didn't happen without her help.?/p>
揙h, get over it, already! You're a president of a business association; surely you make enough money for now-?/p>
揟his isn't about money, Amy, this is about fame. I could抳e been known ?at least for a while. I would抳e been on TV!?/p>
揕inda, you know that those famous people never have any family lives厰
揝o spoke a single woman. I already told you about my birth-family; a sister who is most dishonest and despises me and my family. As for my immediate family, they involve my husband Tom Griffin, with whom I get-on like a house on fire; my daughter Sandi, who may look like me, but acts like Tom; and my sons Sam and Chris, both of whom are delinquents ?nothing else.?/p>
揋ee, I wonder why did this happen? Not with such a loving mother-and-wife figure at helm!?/p>
揟here you go again!! Being sarcastic!! I hate you, Amy Barksdale!?/p>
揌ate is such an ugly thing, Linda. Have you ever seen this 慩ena?episode-?/p>
Linda groaned. 揓ust leave me alone. You came here to see your family ?fine. If they were my family I would want to visit them too. But me ?leave me alone! I have no truck with any of your family!!?/p>
揊ine,?Amy got-up. 揇o as you will. I just wanted to apologize and to offer my condolences-?/p>
揑 don't need nothing from you!?Linda hissed. 揋o away.?/p>
揊ine.?Amy Barksdale left, leaving Linda staring mutely at a table.
揇o you want anything??a waiter came up to her.
Linda pierced the waiter with a stare. 揂 cup of black coffee and a small bottle of rum.?/p>
揥e-e d-don't s-serve alcoholic beverages here, ma抋m,?the waiter quailed under Linda抯 death-stare.
揑 see. Then just a really big cup of black coffee. Can you serve that??/p>
揧es ma抋m. Will you be staying or going??/p>
揋oing.?/p>
Sandi and Mack walked through the mall. 揝o explain something to me,?Mack turned to Sandi. 揥hy are you scared of your mother? You are eighteen, you know.?/p>
揑t抯 not so easy,?Sandi shook her head. 揥hy my mother gets angry ?she shouts. Loudly, but it can be braved. The scary thing is what抯 on the other side, when she stops raging and turns calm. Then when things turn scary. She just looks at you in that odd way, and you become willing to do anything just to get her back to normal. The only one who抯 not affected by that is my cousin Marcello.?/p>
揥ho抯 that??/p>
揝on of my paternal uncle and aunt. He抯 kind of like Quinn抯 sister, Daria. Really heavy with sarcasm. And since he抯 built like a weight-lifter, this does make him unusual.?/p>
揗mm. I see. So you抮e not going to stand-up to your mom??/p>
Sandi looked thoughtful. 揑 don't think I'm going to exactly stand-up to her. But she and I are going to have a conversation ?later today. That抯 for sure.?She paused. 揘ow back to you, Mack.?/p>
揟o me? What about me??/p>
揝o how are things with you and Jodie? Judging from your choice of gifts, you're going for the home run, aren抰 you??/p>
Mack blushed. 揘ot exactly; I抦 merely hinting at my willingness to do so, to Jodie.?/p>
揗ack! You probably don't know, but buying lingerie for any girl is a serious step; unless you抮e completely confident in your dealings with Jodie, you shouldn抰 give her that.?Sandi paused. 揓ust how are your dealings with Jodie??/p>
揌opefully, improved by this,?Mack admitted.
The two teens went-on, ignoring the commotion on their right.
Michelle Landon stared coldly after the mismatched pair. 揌ow dare that Griffin tramp steal my daughter抯 boyfriend!?she hissed.
揂re you talking about my Sandi??Linda抯 voice came from behind her.
Michelle turned around. There stood Linda Griffin, looking somehow disshevelled, but nonchalantly sipping some black coffee ?make that a lot of black coffee. 揧es,?Michelle bit-out the words. ?i>Your Sandi is stealing my daughter抯 boyfriend!?/p>
揈xcuse me,?Linda said levelly ?too levelly for anyone who knew Linda. 揝ince when is Michael Jordan Mackenzie is your daughter抯 boyfriend??/p>
Michelle looked at Linda as if she was retarded. 揟hey spend most of their time in school together.?/p>
揌elen Morgendorffer抯 girl spends most of her time with Jane Lane,?Linda said levelly. 揂re you saying that those two girls are also a couple??/p>
揑 wouldn't be surprised if that was the case with you white folks,?Michelle sneered.
揈xcuse me,?Linda said, suddenly coming closer to Michelle. 揂re you anti-Democratic??/p>
揥hat do you mean??/p>
揑 mean, since when do democratic people sneer at others for their race, belief, or sexual preferences??/p>
揂-plenty!?Michelle snapped, the 憆ed-rag?word, 憆ace?blotting-out everything else in her ears. 揧ou white folks, you-?/p>
揂re you feeling deficient, lacking in something??Linda interrupted her.
揈xcuse me??Michelle blubbered. 揥hat are you talking about??/p>
Linda calmly put a hand on the other woman抯 shoulder ?a friendly gesture, nothing more. But Michelle shivered from sudden worry.
揥hy, Michelle, I'm pointing-out the fact that any conversation with you deteriorates into you blustering and raging about the white folks?superiority. Now is it just me, or are you jealous and are wistfully wishing for some of that superiority for yourself??/p>
Michelle抯 face was so hot, you could boil water on it. 揘onsense. Us black folks-?/p>
揟here you go again,?Linda said, almost jovially. 揇ividing the people into white and black. My-my-my, you really aren抰 democratic, are you? Maybe you even support Mandela??/p>
Michelle Landon tried to get her composure together. 揥hat are you getting at, Linda??she hissed.
揌mm? Me? Getting at? Ah, yes. You see, Michelle, in our wonderful?Linda抯 face turned sneering for a moment 搘orld, people are treated according to their social status, not their race or anything like that. If you抮e just a housewife, you抣l be treated just a housewife, no matter what special treatment you try to weasel-out of them by pretending to be racially-deficient or something.?Linda抯 mouth forded a definite smirk, and it was wicked. 揑'm willing to bet that when you were the VP of US Women company, you weren抰 so concerned about racial treatment, were you??/p>
揢m, well,?Michelle paused. Linda抯 words didn't just strike a nerve; they hammered all of them. 揥hat are you getting at, Linda??/p>
揗y company could use a good and experienced business manager,?Linda shrugged. 揟hat is all. Have a good day, Mrs. Landon.?/p>
Linda left. Michelle stared after her, thinking hard.
揝o what do you want to do now??Sandi asked Mack, quite unaware of the drama that has happened on the sidelines.
Mack shrugged his head. 揥ant to see a movie??he asked. 揑 heard that 慙ord of the Rings?was being played.?/p>
揑s it cool??/p>
揋ot lots of special effects, if that抯 what you mean??/p>
揗mm-m. I see. Does it have?content??/p>
揥ell, yeah. It is deep, if that抯 what you mean.?/p>
揂ll right, but you抣l have to explain the confusing parts.?/p>
揤ery well, so I shall.?/p>
揝o what should we do, what should we do??Stacy nervously chattered.
揝tacy, be quiet,?Tiffany droned-out. More than anything, Tiffany right now wanted to be alone, away from Stacy. But she also knew, that if she said that to Stacy directly, this would cause a chain reaction with too many unknown factors involved. Tiffany didn抰 like chain reactions leading into the unknown; she didn抰 like the unknown period.
But she was also tired of Stacy. After a brief thinking-over, she had a flash. 揝tace,?she told her companion, 搚ou have gotten tired, very tired.?/p>
揑 did??/p>
揂ha. You are so tired, that you want to go home, as I do.?/p>
揥e do??/p>
揂ha. Let us go to our separate homes.?/p>
Stacy nodded. Tiffany smirked on the inside. Hypnosis, her foot! When it came to direct stupidity, simple repetition of the facts often did the trick.
揟ell me again, what抯 this that we are supposed to be making??Penny asked Jane.
揥ell,?Jane defensively said, 搕his is supposed to be a pot, you know!?/p>
揟he only way an individual can take this as a?drinking vessel would be if he or she smoked pot or crack themselves,?Penny argued. 揑 know crappy work when I see one ?God knows how many I made and sold to various suckers that tour Third World countries.?/p>
揑 see,?Jane said sourly. 揝o why did you came back to Lawndale? Please don抰 give me anything about Daria ?you never knew she was here!?/p>
揥ell yeah,?Penny began but was interrupted by Trent抯 sleep singing:
揗y lover, slippery as soap,
Show me past and what yet will be厰
He turned onto his other side, then re-started: 揝ourceress, your kisses are like poisoned stingers!?and then he turned back to snoring.
揃y any chance, is he on something??Jane muttered.
揥ho did you say write 慡lippery Lover??Penny asked archly, re-indicating the piece she had found first.
揂w, come on, this doesn抰 mean nothing. Trent and the guys are desperate enough to try to use anything that seems to be working!?Jane argued. 揂lthough, if he抣l try to sing that 慛ight?song, I'll smother him with a pillow!?/p>
揌ow 慴out using your phoenix sculpture instead??/p>
揘ah, maybe you抣l sell it to some sucker instead,?Jane said with a hint of bitterness.
揘ah,?Penny aped her younger sister. 揂nyone can see that that is custom-made.?/p>
揑t抯 not custom-made! I made it for myself!?/p>
揢nfortunately, majority of people do not believe that you can make a mythical animal out of clay just because you feel like it,?Penny argued. 揅oincidentally, why won抰 we try and make some sort of animal from clay instead of this pot or jar or frying pan that we're at.?/p>
揜ight. So what do you want to do? A hydra??/p>
揘ah. Always get confused with the heads. How about a giant??/p>
揟oo easy.?/p>
揂 griffin??br> 擳hat抣l do. Bring forth more clay!?/p>
揌ello again, Helen.?/p>
揂my. What are you doing here? I thought you didn't like this place??/p>
揌elen, you forgot to mention that Jake has taken my nieces somewhere, which leaves me with a rather large amount of empty and boring time that I decided to partially fill by joining you for lunch. Is that a problem??/p>
Helen rolled her eyes. 揘ot, but Amy, I抦 the lawyer in this family; I抦 the one who is supposed to make long, confusing sentences around here full of bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo.?/p>
揌elen, I don't want to interrupt you, but some guy is heading over here to us.?/p>
Helen looked around. 揙w, hi Eric.?/p>
揌ello again, Helen. Who抯 your friend.?/p>
揂my, meet my immediate boss, Eric Schrecter. Eric, meet my sister, Amy Barksdale.?/p>
揌ey, I know you!?Eric suddenly said. 揧ou're the news anchor!?He paused. 揧ou're here not for business, are you??There was look in his eyes that was vaguely hopeful.
揘ah, just visiting my sister and her family,?Amy shook her head. 揝orry.?/p>
揟hat抯 okay,?Eric shook his head. 揃y any chance, are you related to Evelyn Barksdale, one of richest people in Nashua??/p>
揟hat抯 our mother,?Helen replied instead.
揥ow,?Eric shook his head. 揧ou know Helen, you really must tell me about your family life. Well, see you later.?He left.
揝hould Jake be worried??Amy asked Helen with a glint in her eye.
揘ah. After seeing how bothersome it is to have a divorce, I抦 not divorcing Jake with a very good reason. And his alimony payments would suck, too.?/p>
Amy shook her head. 揟here you go again, killing my sarcasm with your professionalism. I really ought to take Daria off your hands ?who knows into what she will grow-up.?/p>
Helen shook her head. 揘o way, Miss Self-Made Woman. You two are too similar; I hate to think how you will affect each other. 慍ause, you could always borrow Daria to do something to Rita, you know I wouldn抰 mind.?/p>
揧ou should talk about me being 憇elf-made??Amy shook her head. 揧ou didn't exactly act dependant to Jake either.?/p>
揥ell, that抯 not true. Jake is a good guy, can be a good father, and a wonderful ego booster. 慍ourse, he is also easily distracted, but who isn抰??/p>
揋ood point,?admitted Amy. 揧ou sis, I wonder about Rita.?/p>
揘o, I am not inviting her here.?/p>
揋od forbid I suggest that! I just wonder. Me ?news anchor. You ?a lawyer. Rita ?zilch. How come we have that 憇elf-making?gene and she doesn't??/p>
Helen shook her head. 揗aybe her blondishness makes that抯 impossible??/p>
揟hat抯 not a tangible answer.?/p>
揑f you抮e going to quote that anecdote about blondes and nuclear physics, forget it. But seriously. Did you forget, dear Amy, that Rita had been originally cousin Rita??/p>
揂h yes. Mom dearest adopted her, after Rita抯 parents perished in a car accident. Sad. Still, shouldn抰 there be any similarities??/p>
揘o offence, but when we were kids, few would be believe when they met us for the first while, that we three were related. We were different and we are still different.?Helen shook her head. 揧ou know, Amy, my lunch is almost finished. 慍ourse, you抮e always welcome to join me afterwards, but really,?/p>
揝ay no more,?Amy replied. 揧ou're not roping me into aiding you around the office for free. Or aiding your assistant for free, either. But how about I join you for dinner after work??/p>
揟his could work,?Helen nodded. 揑 end at six; see you at six-thirty at Morgendorffer residence??/p>
揑t抯 a deal.?/p>
As Helen went to the elevator, Eric Schrecter joined her. 揝o that was your sister??he asked Helen.
揧es. Hardly believable, isn't it??/p>
揟rue. You sure that she wasn抰 adopted??/p>
揘o, that would be my other sister, Rita.?/p>
揧ou have another sister? Who is she??/p>
揑 don't want to talk about it,?Helen shook her head. 揜ita抯 not really a sister of me and Amy; our folks adopted her when her died.?/p>
揂 total stranger??/p>
揘o, a cousin.?/p>
揧ou have one weird family, Helen.?/p>
揟rue, so why抯 the sudden interest??/p>
揥ell,?Eric looked slightly embarrassed, 揑 was wondering ?is your sister available? This one, not the other one.?/p>
揝he is single, if you mean it, and I think she likes being single.?/p>
揙h, I don't know. Many people are single till they meet a person who is exactly for them.?/p>
揈ric. You're fifty-two. My sister is thirty-six. It is unlikely that you two will click.?/p>
揂re you sure that she is that age.?/p>
揝he抯 four years younger than me.?/p>
揃ut you don't look forty.?/p>
揟hanks! I knew that could always pass for thirty-eight if I tried to look my best.?/p>
Eric wanted to say: 揟hat抯 not what I meant,?but he saw, that despite Helen抯 carefree tone, her eyes were watchful and rather angry, and decided not to say it.
It was better for his health anyways.
Tiffany and Stacy were walking towards the Food Court section of the mall. They were in mood for some cheeseless pizza. Suddenly Stacy stiffened. 揙h my god, Tiffany! There抯 Mrs. Landon.?/p>
揌i, Mrs. Landon!?Tiffany replied instantly.
Michelle looked at the two girls, her expression unreadable. 揥ho are you??/p>
揥e're Jodie抯 friends. From school,?Tiffany drawled-out. Then she noticed that Stacy was looking panicky and opening her mouth. Realizing the danger signs, Tiffany turned to her friend. 揝tacy, why won抰 you go and order our pizza??/p>
揜ight,?nodded Stacy, only too eager to leave the presence of Mrs. Landon. (On top of everything else, Stacy was a little bit cowardly.) She left.
揝o you are-??Michelle asked, not sure if she remembered the name.
揟iffany Blum-Deckler,?Tiffany replied.
揙h yes,?Michelle nodded. 揝illy me, forgetting your name.?She paused. 揝o tell me, Tiffany, is it lonely for you being the only Asian-American student in school??/p>
揘ot really. Stacy and Quinn and Sandi are good friends.?/p>
揃ut you don't feel like the odd person out because of your race.?/p>
揘o, and neither does Ms. Li.?/p>
揚(yáng)lease do not mention Ms. Li to me,?Michelle grimaced. 揟hat woman is nuts!?/p>
揝o do something about it.?/p>
Michelle shook her head. 揧ou do not displace a principal because of personal oddities. Anyhow, you know Jodie, you say??/p>
揧eah, I know her.?/p>
揝o what kind of person do you conceive her to be??/p>
Tiffany frowned. It was that kind of a discussion, it seemed. Somebody, apparently, gotten to Mrs. Landon and knocked her psychological foundation right from under her feet. 揓odie抯 fast. That抯 bad.?/p>
揥hy??/p>
揟he tortoise beat the hair.?/p>
揝o??/p>
揝tacy抯 also fast,?Tiffany added, jabbing her finger at Stacy, who was standing in line for pizza, looking nervous.
揓odie抯 not like her!?Michelle protested.
揘o, Jodie is smarter, braver. But she is also fast. Stacy is fast, and fast means hurrying, and hurrying, Stacy runs into a dead end, because she missed all the other options, hurrying forwards. That抯 sad. Jodie is smart, so it slows her down, but sooner or later she抣l also run into a dead-end and will have to back-out of it. Stacy has trouble backing-out from dead ends. I know.?/p>
揑 see. And your other friends, Sandi and Quinn??/p>
揟hey抮e normal.?
Michelle looked at Tiffany: was the girl taking her own? But Tiffany抯 face was staying passive, emotionless. Kind of like Helen Morgendorffer抯 eldest daughter抯 face. Daria Morgendorffer too was the queen of deadpan.
Daria Morgendorffer was also smarter than an average high schooler. Michelle decided to take a risk. 揟iffany,?she said. 揥hat do you think of me??/p>
揧ou're sad 慶ause you can抰 go to work like you used to,?Tiffany replied.
Michelle nodded. Now was the time to ask important questions. 揟iffany. Somebody asked me to work for them. I don抰 like that somebody, but I do want to work. What do you think I should do??/p>
揑 think you should work there, but try to establish clear rules around your relationship. Few work-place romances ended successfully.?/p>
Michelle snorted. 揟hanks, Tiffany. See ya.?/p>
She left.
揌ey, where did Mrs. Landon go??Stacy asked, arriving with the pizza a few moments later.
揥e talked. She left,?Tiffany said indifferently.
揙h. Right.?/p>
Helen抯 phone rang. 揥ho is it??she spoke into the phone. 揂my??/p>
揘o mom, it抯 me. Daria.?/p>
揙h hi, Daria. How are your father and Quinn??/p>
揟hey抮e amongst the living,?Daria replied dryly. 揥hy抎 you confuse me with aunt Amy? We don't sound so similarly, you know.?/p>
揙h honey, your aunt Amy is in town. She wanted to visit you, and you抮e away in Boston. She抯 joined me for a house dinner.?/p>
揙h really? Can we cut our trip short and join you girls??/p>
揙h honey, but what about your father??/p>
揑'll ask him,?Daria promised. She shouted off phone: 揇ad??/p>
揧es, Daria??/p>
揂unt Amy is coming for a home dinner. Can we go home to join her and mom??/p>
揋reat idea, kiddo! Why, I-?/p>
揟hanks, dad!?Daria quickly interrupted Jake and spoke back into the receiver. 揘o problem mom, we抣l meet you at dinner-time. Bye!?she hanged-up.
Helen was left shaking her head. What did Jake do to embarrass even Daria?
揙kay dad, you抮e off the hook,?Daria turned to her father.
Jake stood in a distance, dripping wet. 揟hanks, kiddo! I owe you one! But why did that blasted dolphin try to pull me into the ocean-?/p>
搾Cause you smell of fish, dad,?Quinn replied, staying away from him. 搾Course, now you smell of something else entirely. I really think that you should change your clothing once we return home.?/p>
揋ood idea, kiddo, and home we are going!?Jake replied.
The three Morgendorffers got into their car and rode away.
Michelle Landon searched for Linda Griffin. Eventually, she found her sitting on a bench near the fountain, still sipping her black coffee.
揕inda??Michelle asked.
揗m-hmm??/p>
揜emember, what you said about a business manager??/p>
揧es??/p>
揥ell, even if I wanted to get that job ?and I抦 not saying yes or no, mind you ?my husband would find several very good and logical reasons why I shouldn抰. What can you say to that, hah??/p>
揕uckily for you, an acquaintance of mine came to town for a family visit, who can beat logical single-handedly, if we ask her.?/p>
揂 female relative of yours??/p>
揘o, of Helen Morgendorffer. Want to go and ask her to help you with your husband.?/p>
Michelle nodded.
Amy抯 cell phone rang. 揥ho is it??she spoke.
揂my, it抯 me, Helen. Jake and the girls are coming to join us for dinner. This means that Jake will be cooking, so could you buy us some stomach pills and soda as well??/p>
揜oger,?nodded Amy, who knew by now how Morgendorffer family dynamics worked. 揝ee ya later.?/p>
揧es.?Amy hanged-up.
揂my!?Amy turned around. Linda Griffin was coming up to her, with some unfamiliar woman in tow.
揕inda,?Amy nodded. 揥ho抯 your friend??/p>
揟hat抯 Michelle Landon. She wants to work for me, but afraid that her husband will ensnare her in logic. Can you help us in dealing with that man??/p>
揥hy not??shrugged Amy. 揕ead-on!?/p>
The three women found Andrew Landon in a small breakfast caf? eating, surprisingly, eggs and ham. 揌ello dear,?Michelle spoke in carefully controlled voice.
Andrew looked-up and frowned. He knew his wife and very well and smelled trouble. 揌ello Michelle. What do you want??/p>
揗e and Linda Griffin here agreed that I go to work for her as a business manager.?/p>
揑mpossible. We cannot leave Evan and Rachel alone.?/p>
揓odie can take care of them.?/p>
揓odie got her extracurriculars.?/p>
揓odie can lose some extracurriculars.?/p>
揈xcuse me, Michelle. In today抯 society, if one wants to be successful in politics, one has to-?/p>
揈xcuse me,?Amy wedged-in. 揃ut what if Jodie doesn't want to go to politics? What if she wants to go to business, or something.?/p>
揃usiness! That抯 a good one!?Andrew laughed. 揑 won抰 allow it!?Too late he noticed his wife抯 face become several times darker.
揟hat does it, Andrew Landon!?Michelle snapped. 揑'm going to work, and if Jodie will want to dump all of her extracurriculars, she抣l find my support behind her full-time, no matter what she does. Let抯 go, Linda!?They left, with Amy looking at Andrew Landon one last time. 揧ou really should know your wife better,?she said, then left.
Penny and Jane were standing, looking at the Morgendorffer house, when Jake, Daria and Quinn arrived. Without a word, Jake marched inside, dripping wet and smelling to high heaven. Quinn and Daria followed, carrying a large package. 揅an we come in??Jane asked.
揧eah, sure,?Daria snorted.
A short time later she and Jane were sitting on a couch in Morgendorffers?living room. 揝o what happened to your dad??Jane asked. 揌e caught that giant cod but fell into the water with it,?Daria said. 揌e became saturated with fish smell, and so, a short time later, a hungry porpoise jumped out of the water and tried to eat him. Dad got so scared, that he wet his pants from the inside in a big way, before life guards didn't separate him from the porpoise.?/p>
揧eowch!?Jane shuddered.
揌e also used that cod to hit a seal on the head,?Daria replied. 揑 don抰 think either me or Quinn will want to go to Boston any time soon.?/p>
揝peaking of Quinn, she抯 been in kitchen for too long for her,?Jane said. 揥onder what抯 up??/p>
揥hy are you here??Penny asked Quinn, who just sat at the table, looking vague.
揋ot nothing to do, I guess,?Quinn shrugged. 揑抦 not sure if I can phone Sandi, I don抰 want to phone Stacy or Tiffany, and Daria and Jane are too busy talking to each other ?I don抰 want to wedge-in.?/p>
揝mart kid,?Penny snorted. 揘ow buzz off and bother your dad.?/p>
揘ah, he抯 asleep in the shower. Today抯 events were too much for him.?/p>
揙kay, buzz-off anyways.?/p>
揘ah, I want to see what will you be doing with the cod.?/p>
揑'll roast it with potatoes and onions,?Penny replied.
揧ou will? How??Quinn looked genuinely interested.
揕et抯 see. Do you have any: onion bulbs, potatoes, tomatoes, vinegar and cooking oil??/p>
揂ll present!?Quinn said proudly.
揋ood. Then watch and learn, or at least keep quiet.?/p>
揜oger.?/p>
When Jodie returned home, she saw her father, Andrew Landon, looking angrily through a phone book. 揇ad??she asked. 揥here抯 mom??/p>
揧our mother,?Andrew snapped, 揹ecided to return to work-force, and now I抦 stuck in finding a baby-sitter for Rachel and Evan.?/p>
揑 could do it,?Jodie said.
揧ou have extracurriculars.?/p>
揑 could dump some.?/p>
揑mpossible!?Andrew began, but there was a knock on the door. Jodie opened it. There stood Mack, looking worried.
Mack wasn't feeling very self-assured, to tell the truth. His movie-watching with Sandi Griffin ended-up with them grasping hands of each other, and that was disturbing and uncomfortable. After all, Jodie was the whole focus here, wasn't she?
揕ook, Jodie, I got you a gift,?Mack said.
Jodie look ?and her face fell. 揗ack, you gave me underwear??/p>
揧ou don't like it??/p>
揘o!?/p>
揃ut Sandi said it was stylish!?/p>
揥hat does Sandi has to do with this?!!?/p>
揢m厰
揝on, get lost,?Andrew appeared behind Jodie, 揳nd on another note, never admit to a girl that another girl helped you buy underwear for her.?/p>
Jodie抯 face turned purple. 揇ad! Go to Hell and take Mack with you!?/p>
揥hat抯 going-on??It was Michelle Landon; Mack thought it抎 be for the best if he faded into the background.
揇ad just gave Mack some advice ?that抯 all!!?/p>
揙h, Jodie, your father today is just a well-spring of advice, that he is,?Michelle said. 揥hat advice did he give Mack??/p>
揟he best way to buy me underwear for presents!?/p>
揂h yes, Michael Jordan Mackenzie, right. So Jodie, why did he buy you underwear? Are you two past being friends, already??/p>
揘o! I抦 just not interested in him!!?/p>
揙h, that抯 good. I saw him with Sandi Griffin today.?/p>
揑 know! She helped him buy it!!?/p>
揥ho cares! I may be gay anyway!?Jodie stomped upstairs. When she reached upstairs, there was a thud from below. 揓odie??Michelle抯 voice came from below.
揧eah?!?/p>
揅all an ambulance. Your father suffered from a mild heart attack and dropped on the floor.?/p>
When Helen and Amy came to the Morgendorffer house, inside a semi-idyll awaited them: Jane and Daria were chatting at a couch, Penny was setting the table, Quinn was talking to Sandi on the phone: 揝o Sandi, I抦 sorry I didn't call you earlier: we were in Boston. Yes, Boston. No, no souvenirs ?dad took us fishing. Okay, I'll ask Daria. I抦 sorry that you got grounded.?/p>
換uinn!?Helen called-out.
揝andi, got to go. Mom wants me for something.?Quinn put down the receiver and turned and faced her mother and her aunt. 揌i mom, hi aunt Amy!?/p>
揥hat did your father do today??Helen took the bull by the horns.
揢m,?Quinn said. Meanwhile, Jane turned-on the Morgendorffer family TV:
搮Aqua-man! Next on Sick, Sad, World!?the TV blared, as pictures of Jake hitting a seal on the head with a fish and then being pulled underwater by a porpoise, appeared.
Click! Jane quickly turned-off the TV, but insufficiently quickly, for Helen and Amy saw the whole gist. 揥here is Jake??Helen asked Daria.
揢pstairs,?Daria said weakly.
Helen marched upstairs.
When Helen returned, with pale and chastened Jake in tow, the table was all set. 揘ice recipe,?Amy turned to Penny. 揅ook much??/p>
揌ad to,?Penny shrugged. 揑 travelled the world, you know??/p>
揟hat she did,?said everyone else at the table minus Jake.
揝o what is this??Helen asked.
揟hat codfish that your husband took, roasted with potatoes and onions. I used the end part, because the front part was somewhat damaged.?/p>
Jake cringed as Helen glared at him.
揝o aunt Amy,?Daria turned to her aunt. 揥hy are you here? Not to have mom sue somebody for you.?/p>
揘ah, I've been given some vacation time, to use it or lose it,?Amy shrugged. 揑 decided to spend it with my family ?and not with your aunt Rita, who wanted to crash at my place, because of some house problems with hers.?/p>
揌ow is cousin Erin, by the way??Quinn asked. 揝till married to that Brian guy??/p>
揇on't know, Rita never said,?Amy shrugged. 揝o Jake, Helen, what brought that sudden trip to Boston on? Not fishing, I presume??/p>
揘ah, Daria just wanted to leave Lawndale instead of going to college, and mom had to bond with her in order from prevent this from happening,?Quinn explained.
Amy arched an eyebrow. 揟hat I got to know. What happened, in detail??/p>
She was told.
When the tale was finished, Amy抯 eyes grew round. 揋ood thing mother didn't know about this,?she told Helen. 揙therwise she抎 be upon you just like that!?/p>
揟ell me about it,?Helen agreed.
Quinn, meanwhile, turned to Daria. 揝o Daria, what did Sandi mean when she asked me to ask you about souvenirs??/p>
Daria looked confused. 揗aybe we sold her one when we were little, I don't know.?/p>
揕ots of customers, hah??Amy snorted.
揈nough,?Penny shrugged. 揟here抯 a sucker born every minute.?/p>
揂nd on that heartfelt advice we抣l finish this dinner,?Helen said.
It was also dinner-time in the Griffin household. 揝andi??Linda called-out to her daughter.
揧es, mom??/p>
揧ou're un-grounded. I'm overreacted yesterday, alright??/p>
揊ine,?nodded Sandi, deciding not to press for an apology.
揧ou seem to be in a good mood tonight, dear,?Tom Griffin pointed from his seat at the table.
揧es. I got myself a good business manager,?Linda replied curtly. There was the sound of a phone ringing. 揧es??Linda spoke into it. 揙h. So sorry. If you want to change your mind?no? All right, I'll see you tomorrow, then. Bye.?
She hanged-up.
Michelle Landon turned her cell-phone off. 揓odie,?she told her daughter, 揑抦 off to work tomorrow, and you抣l have to watch Rachel and Evan tomorrow.?/p>
揘o problem. I could do it for even more than one day,?Jodie replied.
揋ood. You heard Dr. Phillips ?your father will have to stay for at least two weeks in the hospital.?/p>
揜oger.?The car with the two Landon women drove-on.
Another phone rang in the Mackenzie residence. 揧es??spoke Mack.
揗ack, it抯 me. Sandi. So how did things with Jodie go??/p>
揃adly. She wasn抰 happy, and I think I chose a bad time to come to them, too.?/p>
揙h. Well, that抯 too bad. Another time, maybe??/p>
揧eah, maybe,?Mack agreed. 揝ay, Sandi ?if you ever want to go to the movies ?I'll be more than happy to escort you.?/p>
揑t抯 a deal.?/p>
Once again, night slowly fell onto the town of Lawndale. A new day was coming, and once again, it will be bringing new changes.