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fardell24Daria: Return of the Runaway
Esteem of the Middle Child
Lawndale, MD, September 16, 1996
A blue Lexus approached the High School which took its name from the 'burb (or town, depending on whom was asked).
“Girls, , I just want you to know your mother and I realize it's not easy moving to a whole new town -- especially for you, Quinn, right?” Jake asked.
“Did we move?” his 14 ½ year old daughter, Quinn, asked, sarcastically, from the back seat.
Jake laughed. “I'm just saying you don't make friends as easily as... uh, some people.”
His other daughter, 8 year old Veronica, turned up the radio.
“Veronica, for instance?”
“That's not what I meant... necessarily,” Jake said as he turned the radio off. “The point is, the first day at a new school is bound to be difficult...”
Quinn leaned forwards and turned up the radio. “Speak up, Daddy! Can't hear you!”
“Uh, where was I?” He turned off the radio. “Oh, yeah.”
The Lexus arrived at the school.
“Don't get upset if it takes the other kids a little while to warm up to you,” Jake said as Quinn got out of the car. After Quinn got out, he left, going towards Lawndale Elementary School.
Stacy Rowe noticed the redhead getting out of the Lexus. “She's so cute,” she said.
“Stacy, should I draw your attention to the fact that she's wearing all black?” Sandi Griffin pointed out.
“Oh yeah,” Stacy said.
“She may end up hanging out with that Kristen, or something,” Sandi said.
Jake arrived at Lawndale Elementary School and walked Veronica to the office. “See you this afternoon, Ronni,” he said as he left.
“Bye, Daddy,” 'Ronni' said. After a few minutes an older student came along to help her to her class.
“Hi, I'm Chris. I'm here to show you to your class,” the boy murmured.
“You don't sound too happy about it,” Ronni said.
“Punishment!” Chris said as he led Ronni out of the office.
“What did you do?” Ronni asked. 'He seems nice,' she thought.
“Fighting! But he totally asked for it!”
There was an uncomfortable pause. “Um, okay... You fight a lot?”
“Mostly with my older brother. He sucks!”
“At least you have a brother to fight, I guess. My sister wants nothing to do with me.”
“I have a sister, older than my brother. She sucks too! She's always talking about fashion this, make-up that!”
“At least she didn't run away,” Ronni murmured.
“What?” Chris asked.
“My other sister ran away before I was born.”
“Oh!” Chris said, finally silenced. They came to Ronni's classroom. “Here it is, Class 3R.”
“Thanks! I'll see you around, I guess,” Ronni said.
“No doubt, bye.”
Ronni entered the classroom.
Quinn entered the school psychologist's office. “Will this take long?” she asked in a monotone.
“Not long,” Mrs. Margaret Manson said. She held up a picture. “What do you see here.”
“A herd of ponies running free across the plains.”
“Uh, there aren't any ponies. It's two people.”
“Last time I took one of these tests, they told me they were clouds. They said they could be whatever I wanted!”
“That's a different test, dear. In this test, they're people, and you tell me what they're discussing.”
“Fine! I'll tell you what they're discussing!” Quinn said, her voice rising with tightly contained anger. “They are a married couple, and they're discussing how their past failures have caused one of their daughters to run away many years ago. They are also discussing the fact that they can barely spend two or three days without rehashing that discussion, not realising that their other daughters can't live up to the way that the runaway was before she got it into her head to run away!”
“Oh!” Mrs. Manson said.
“Can I go to class now?”
“Sure.”
Quinn then dashed out of the room.
Kristen Leung and Cindy Brolsma walked home from school.
“What do you think of the new girl?” Cindy asked.
“Which new girl?” Kristen asked.
“Quinn Morgendorffer.”
“The one in all black with flame red hair?”
Cindy nodded.
“Well, I tried to approach her between Maths and Language Arts, but she told me to 'get lost,'” Kristen said.
“She did?”
“Yeah, Maybe Andrea would have a better chance,” Kristen said.
“Maybe she was nervous about being at a new school,” Cindy said.
“Possibly...” Kristen said. They then talked about their plans for the evening.
“...Then they asked me to join the track team. But I said "Look, I'm new here. Give me a chance to get used to things." So, for now, I'm vice-president of chess club and that's it,” Ronni said.
“Sounds like a well-thought out decision, honey,” Jake said.
“So long as you can join the track team later – if you want. We never how much we can handle till we try, though,” Helen, Jake's wife, said.
“What about you, Quinn? How was your first day?” Jake asked.
“Let's see, the Language Arts teacher is a wimp, the Science teacher is a misandrist, the Maths teacher can barely hold the attention of the class, the Economics teacher draws incomprehensible diagrams...” Quinn began.
“I see. Did you make any new friends?” Helen asked.
“No, there was this goth chick, but I wasn't interested!”
“That's great!” Jake said.
“Jake!”
“I mean...”
“Quinn, your father's trying to tell you not to judge people until you know them. You're in a brand-new school in a brand-new town. You don't want it to be Highland all over again.”
“Not much chance of that, that duo isn't here, are they!”
“I'm talking about you making a friend or two. Don't be so critical. Give people the benefit of the doubt,” Helen said.
“So, it boils down to trust?” Quinn asked.
“Exactly, show a little trust.”
Then the phone rang.
“I hope it's not the chequers club again!” Ronni said.
Helen answered the phone. “Hello?” a pause “Yes.” Another pause. “Uh, yes, she's my daughter.” Yet another pause.”I see. Listen, will this require any parent-teacher conferences or anything, and if so, is this the sort of thing my assistant can handle?” Another pause. “Okay, great. Bye!” She hung up and turned to Quinn. “Quinn, you took a psychological test today?”
“So?”
“Quinn, they want you to take a special class for a few weeks, then they'll test you again,” Helen said.
“You flunked the test?” Ronni asked.
“She didn't flunk anything. It seems she has low self-esteem,” Helen said.
“What! That really stinks, Quinn!” Jake said.
“Easy, Jake, Focus.” Helen turned back to Quinn. “We tell you over and over again that you're wonderful and you just... don't... get it!” She slammed her fists on the table. “What's wrong with you?!”
“Nothing!”
Helen sighed. “If only Daria were here.”
“That's all I hear. Daria, Daria, DARIA!” Quinn exclaimed. She left her lasagne half eaten and dashed out of the kitchen.
“If only we didn't fight about her. We wouldn't have lost our little girl!” Jake said.
“Da-ad!” Ronni said. She, too dashed out of the kitchen as her parents started into their blame game about Daria's running away...
Esteem of the Middle Child
Lawndale, MD, September 16, 1996
A blue Lexus approached the High School which took its name from the 'burb (or town, depending on whom was asked).
“Girls, , I just want you to know your mother and I realize it's not easy moving to a whole new town -- especially for you, Quinn, right?” Jake asked.
“Did we move?” his 14 ½ year old daughter, Quinn, asked, sarcastically, from the back seat.
Jake laughed. “I'm just saying you don't make friends as easily as... uh, some people.”
His other daughter, 8 year old Veronica, turned up the radio.
“Veronica, for instance?”
“That's not what I meant... necessarily,” Jake said as he turned the radio off. “The point is, the first day at a new school is bound to be difficult...”
Quinn leaned forwards and turned up the radio. “Speak up, Daddy! Can't hear you!”
“Uh, where was I?” He turned off the radio. “Oh, yeah.”
The Lexus arrived at the school.
“Don't get upset if it takes the other kids a little while to warm up to you,” Jake said as Quinn got out of the car. After Quinn got out, he left, going towards Lawndale Elementary School.
Stacy Rowe noticed the redhead getting out of the Lexus. “She's so cute,” she said.
“Stacy, should I draw your attention to the fact that she's wearing all black?” Sandi Griffin pointed out.
“Oh yeah,” Stacy said.
“She may end up hanging out with that Kristen, or something,” Sandi said.
Jake arrived at Lawndale Elementary School and walked Veronica to the office. “See you this afternoon, Ronni,” he said as he left.
“Bye, Daddy,” 'Ronni' said. After a few minutes an older student came along to help her to her class.
“Hi, I'm Chris. I'm here to show you to your class,” the boy murmured.
“You don't sound too happy about it,” Ronni said.
“Punishment!” Chris said as he led Ronni out of the office.
“What did you do?” Ronni asked. 'He seems nice,' she thought.
“Fighting! But he totally asked for it!”
There was an uncomfortable pause. “Um, okay... You fight a lot?”
“Mostly with my older brother. He sucks!”
“At least you have a brother to fight, I guess. My sister wants nothing to do with me.”
“I have a sister, older than my brother. She sucks too! She's always talking about fashion this, make-up that!”
“At least she didn't run away,” Ronni murmured.
“What?” Chris asked.
“My other sister ran away before I was born.”
“Oh!” Chris said, finally silenced. They came to Ronni's classroom. “Here it is, Class 3R.”
“Thanks! I'll see you around, I guess,” Ronni said.
“No doubt, bye.”
Ronni entered the classroom.
Quinn entered the school psychologist's office. “Will this take long?” she asked in a monotone.
“Not long,” Mrs. Margaret Manson said. She held up a picture. “What do you see here.”
“A herd of ponies running free across the plains.”
“Uh, there aren't any ponies. It's two people.”
“Last time I took one of these tests, they told me they were clouds. They said they could be whatever I wanted!”
“That's a different test, dear. In this test, they're people, and you tell me what they're discussing.”
“Fine! I'll tell you what they're discussing!” Quinn said, her voice rising with tightly contained anger. “They are a married couple, and they're discussing how their past failures have caused one of their daughters to run away many years ago. They are also discussing the fact that they can barely spend two or three days without rehashing that discussion, not realising that their other daughters can't live up to the way that the runaway was before she got it into her head to run away!”
“Oh!” Mrs. Manson said.
“Can I go to class now?”
“Sure.”
Quinn then dashed out of the room.
Kristen Leung and Cindy Brolsma walked home from school.
“What do you think of the new girl?” Cindy asked.
“Which new girl?” Kristen asked.
“Quinn Morgendorffer.”
“The one in all black with flame red hair?”
Cindy nodded.
“Well, I tried to approach her between Maths and Language Arts, but she told me to 'get lost,'” Kristen said.
“She did?”
“Yeah, Maybe Andrea would have a better chance,” Kristen said.
“Maybe she was nervous about being at a new school,” Cindy said.
“Possibly...” Kristen said. They then talked about their plans for the evening.
“...Then they asked me to join the track team. But I said "Look, I'm new here. Give me a chance to get used to things." So, for now, I'm vice-president of chess club and that's it,” Ronni said.
“Sounds like a well-thought out decision, honey,” Jake said.
“So long as you can join the track team later – if you want. We never how much we can handle till we try, though,” Helen, Jake's wife, said.
“What about you, Quinn? How was your first day?” Jake asked.
“Let's see, the Language Arts teacher is a wimp, the Science teacher is a misandrist, the Maths teacher can barely hold the attention of the class, the Economics teacher draws incomprehensible diagrams...” Quinn began.
“I see. Did you make any new friends?” Helen asked.
“No, there was this goth chick, but I wasn't interested!”
“That's great!” Jake said.
“Jake!”
“I mean...”
“Quinn, your father's trying to tell you not to judge people until you know them. You're in a brand-new school in a brand-new town. You don't want it to be Highland all over again.”
“Not much chance of that, that duo isn't here, are they!”
“I'm talking about you making a friend or two. Don't be so critical. Give people the benefit of the doubt,” Helen said.
“So, it boils down to trust?” Quinn asked.
“Exactly, show a little trust.”
Then the phone rang.
“I hope it's not the chequers club again!” Ronni said.
Helen answered the phone. “Hello?” a pause “Yes.” Another pause. “Uh, yes, she's my daughter.” Yet another pause.”I see. Listen, will this require any parent-teacher conferences or anything, and if so, is this the sort of thing my assistant can handle?” Another pause. “Okay, great. Bye!” She hung up and turned to Quinn. “Quinn, you took a psychological test today?”
“So?”
“Quinn, they want you to take a special class for a few weeks, then they'll test you again,” Helen said.
“You flunked the test?” Ronni asked.
“She didn't flunk anything. It seems she has low self-esteem,” Helen said.
“What! That really stinks, Quinn!” Jake said.
“Easy, Jake, Focus.” Helen turned back to Quinn. “We tell you over and over again that you're wonderful and you just... don't... get it!” She slammed her fists on the table. “What's wrong with you?!”
“Nothing!”
Helen sighed. “If only Daria were here.”
“That's all I hear. Daria, Daria, DARIA!” Quinn exclaimed. She left her lasagne half eaten and dashed out of the kitchen.
“If only we didn't fight about her. We wouldn't have lost our little girl!” Jake said.
“Da-ad!” Ronni said. She, too dashed out of the kitchen as her parents started into their blame game about Daria's running away...
