The Youngest Barksdale - Part 2
Feb. 22nd, 2022 08:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fardell24Daria arrived at Lawndale High twenty minutes before homeroom. It was larger than her old school, but then that was a rather small (and exclusive) school. Helen didn’t want her to waste (as she put it) Mother’s money sending her to Feilding, so she was going to the school Quinn was already going to. Many other students were milling around the campus as they arrived. Daria sighed. She wasn’t good in crowds. ‘Best to get it over with.’ She would have liked to check out the library, but she had to check in with the Principal.
Angela Li, Principal of Lawndale High, heard the knock at her office door. “Enter!” she said.
“Daria Barksdale here.”
“Welcome! Come in!”
Once Daria was seated, Ms. Li got down to business. “Your records have arrived from your old school, Ms. Barksdale. Quite impressive academically speaking.”
“I did do some extracurriculars,” Daria said picking up on the principal’s meaning.
“But not very many.”
“Just those I was interested in.”
“I see,” the Principal said.
“And when it comes to this school, the same logic will apply.”
“I think you will find a wide variety of extracurriculars here, Ms. Barksdale. There are over fifty clubs, and sports of all descriptions.”
“I will let the office know later this week. I would like to settle in first,” Daria said.
“Certainly, Ms. Barksdale. I look forward to finding out before next week. But there are other notations on your record.”
Daria knew to what she referred. “And you will note that was because of specific problems at each school.”
“Certainly,” Li said in an authorative tone. “But you did cause additional problems.”
“I saw something wrong, I tried to deal with it.”
“There is nothing wrong here, Ms. Barksdale.”
“I would hope that is the truth, Ms. Li,” Daria said.
“I will be keeping an eye on you. That is what I was saying!” the principal said.
“Understood.”
“You are free to go to class now. Here’s your hall pass.”
Daria recognised a dismissal when she saw one. “Later, Ms. Li.”
“Additional note to self,” Ms. Li said into a tape recorder after Daria had left, “keep additional eyes on Daria Barksdale!”
When she had left the office, Daria took out her timetable. “Let’s see…” She quickly found the class scheduled for that period. “Language Arts? How pretentious.”
She soon came to the class.
“New Student?” the teacher asked. He looked at his paper work. “Oh yes! Class, this is Daria Barksdale! She’s starting today. Isn’t that wonderful?”
His overenthusiasm rubbed her the wrong way. ‘What is he on?’ she wondered. “Hi,” she said aloud.
The class just looked at her briefly before turning back to the books in front of them.
“Take a seat,” the teacher said.
Daria looked for a seat, but first found the teacher’s name on the board. Mr. O’Neill. She then found her seat, between a blonde cheerleader and a girl with short dark hair.
As the class let out, the cheerleader introduced herself. “Brittany!” she said with a hand extended.
“Hi, Brittany,” Daria said. She shook her hand.
“Welcome to Lawndale!”
“Um thanks, Brittany. I just got in yesterday.”
“Ooh!”
“But we need to get to our next class.”
“Of course,” Brittany said.
Daria looked at the timetable again. “History.”
“I have that too.” Brittany said. “DeMartino is tough.”
“I like that.”
“Sometimes too tough,” Brittany complained as she led the way to the history classroom.
“What do you mean?”
“He keeps trying to get dumb football players to answer the questions, when he knows they can’t answer them.”
Daria wasn’t sure what to make of that. “I guess he tries to reach everyone,” she said after some thought.
“I think so, but he focuses on them.”
The history class was what she had expected, although she suspected that DeMartino had issues of a different kind. ‘What sort of school is this? A paranoid principal, the English teacher, now DeMartino?’ she wondered. She also saw that Brittany was right. A football player named Kevin was his focus. ‘Seems to be a hyperfocus,’ she wrote in a separate notebook. She then tried to focus on the lesson.
After the third time DeMartino tried to get an answer out of Kevin, Daria raised her hand.
“Yes, Daria?” DeMartino asked. “Can you give the answer?”
“The USS Maine was sunk in Havana Harbour due to a mysterious explosion, but Uncle Sam had supported the cause of Cuban and Filipino separatism from Spain for quite a while before that.”
“Very good, Daria.”
“And so, the definition of Manifest Destiny was expanded.”
“That was a great answer.”
Daria turned and saw the African American girl come up to her. “Being aware of all of American History is important, especially the more distasteful aspects.”
“I definitely agree,” the other girl said. “Jodie,” she said holding out her hand.
“Daria.”
“You’re new to Lawndale?”
Daria nodded.
“What do you think of it so far?”
“I only arrived yesterday.”
“I see,” Jodie said with disappointment.
“But I did see it from the air.”
“That would have been cool.”
“It did look like a sprawling blight on the landscape,” Daria mused, “but it did look interesting, particularly in the center.”
“Yes, that is where all the action is, other than the two Malls.”
“Two?”
“Yes, there are two,” Jodie said.
“And I suppose my niece is familiar with both of them.”
“Niece?”
“She’s a freshman. Quinn Morgendorffer.”
Jodie thought as if she was in thought. “I haven’t talked to her much,” she admitted.
Daria took out her timetable. “Science is next. I don’t suppose the teacher is normal?”
“I’m afraid not,” Jodie admitted.
“What’s the science teacher’s issue?”
“She’s an embittered divorcee who takes out her frustrations on her male students.”
Daria sighed.
Having endured Ms. Barch’s misandry Daria went to lunch. She entered the cafeteria and saw the cliques various people were in. ‘Where to sit?’ she wondered. She looked around. She saw Brittany sitting with other cheerleaders and Jodie sitting with an African American guy. ‘Looks like they’re a couple,’ she thought. She decided to sit by herself.
Angela Li, Principal of Lawndale High, heard the knock at her office door. “Enter!” she said.
“Daria Barksdale here.”
“Welcome! Come in!”
Once Daria was seated, Ms. Li got down to business. “Your records have arrived from your old school, Ms. Barksdale. Quite impressive academically speaking.”
“I did do some extracurriculars,” Daria said picking up on the principal’s meaning.
“But not very many.”
“Just those I was interested in.”
“I see,” the Principal said.
“And when it comes to this school, the same logic will apply.”
“I think you will find a wide variety of extracurriculars here, Ms. Barksdale. There are over fifty clubs, and sports of all descriptions.”
“I will let the office know later this week. I would like to settle in first,” Daria said.
“Certainly, Ms. Barksdale. I look forward to finding out before next week. But there are other notations on your record.”
Daria knew to what she referred. “And you will note that was because of specific problems at each school.”
“Certainly,” Li said in an authorative tone. “But you did cause additional problems.”
“I saw something wrong, I tried to deal with it.”
“There is nothing wrong here, Ms. Barksdale.”
“I would hope that is the truth, Ms. Li,” Daria said.
“I will be keeping an eye on you. That is what I was saying!” the principal said.
“Understood.”
“You are free to go to class now. Here’s your hall pass.”
Daria recognised a dismissal when she saw one. “Later, Ms. Li.”
“Additional note to self,” Ms. Li said into a tape recorder after Daria had left, “keep additional eyes on Daria Barksdale!”
When she had left the office, Daria took out her timetable. “Let’s see…” She quickly found the class scheduled for that period. “Language Arts? How pretentious.”
She soon came to the class.
“New Student?” the teacher asked. He looked at his paper work. “Oh yes! Class, this is Daria Barksdale! She’s starting today. Isn’t that wonderful?”
His overenthusiasm rubbed her the wrong way. ‘What is he on?’ she wondered. “Hi,” she said aloud.
The class just looked at her briefly before turning back to the books in front of them.
“Take a seat,” the teacher said.
Daria looked for a seat, but first found the teacher’s name on the board. Mr. O’Neill. She then found her seat, between a blonde cheerleader and a girl with short dark hair.
As the class let out, the cheerleader introduced herself. “Brittany!” she said with a hand extended.
“Hi, Brittany,” Daria said. She shook her hand.
“Welcome to Lawndale!”
“Um thanks, Brittany. I just got in yesterday.”
“Ooh!”
“But we need to get to our next class.”
“Of course,” Brittany said.
Daria looked at the timetable again. “History.”
“I have that too.” Brittany said. “DeMartino is tough.”
“I like that.”
“Sometimes too tough,” Brittany complained as she led the way to the history classroom.
“What do you mean?”
“He keeps trying to get dumb football players to answer the questions, when he knows they can’t answer them.”
Daria wasn’t sure what to make of that. “I guess he tries to reach everyone,” she said after some thought.
“I think so, but he focuses on them.”
The history class was what she had expected, although she suspected that DeMartino had issues of a different kind. ‘What sort of school is this? A paranoid principal, the English teacher, now DeMartino?’ she wondered. She also saw that Brittany was right. A football player named Kevin was his focus. ‘Seems to be a hyperfocus,’ she wrote in a separate notebook. She then tried to focus on the lesson.
After the third time DeMartino tried to get an answer out of Kevin, Daria raised her hand.
“Yes, Daria?” DeMartino asked. “Can you give the answer?”
“The USS Maine was sunk in Havana Harbour due to a mysterious explosion, but Uncle Sam had supported the cause of Cuban and Filipino separatism from Spain for quite a while before that.”
“Very good, Daria.”
“And so, the definition of Manifest Destiny was expanded.”
“That was a great answer.”
Daria turned and saw the African American girl come up to her. “Being aware of all of American History is important, especially the more distasteful aspects.”
“I definitely agree,” the other girl said. “Jodie,” she said holding out her hand.
“Daria.”
“You’re new to Lawndale?”
Daria nodded.
“What do you think of it so far?”
“I only arrived yesterday.”
“I see,” Jodie said with disappointment.
“But I did see it from the air.”
“That would have been cool.”
“It did look like a sprawling blight on the landscape,” Daria mused, “but it did look interesting, particularly in the center.”
“Yes, that is where all the action is, other than the two Malls.”
“Two?”
“Yes, there are two,” Jodie said.
“And I suppose my niece is familiar with both of them.”
“Niece?”
“She’s a freshman. Quinn Morgendorffer.”
Jodie thought as if she was in thought. “I haven’t talked to her much,” she admitted.
Daria took out her timetable. “Science is next. I don’t suppose the teacher is normal?”
“I’m afraid not,” Jodie admitted.
“What’s the science teacher’s issue?”
“She’s an embittered divorcee who takes out her frustrations on her male students.”
Daria sighed.
Having endured Ms. Barch’s misandry Daria went to lunch. She entered the cafeteria and saw the cliques various people were in. ‘Where to sit?’ she wondered. She looked around. She saw Brittany sitting with other cheerleaders and Jodie sitting with an African American guy. ‘Looks like they’re a couple,’ she thought. She decided to sit by herself.
