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fardell2405 The Trip to Freemont
Jane looked at the card Daria held out. “Wow. Licensed to drive. The grotesque picture makes it official.”
“Thanks,” Daria said.
“So now that you're in the government's master computer for the rest of your life, let's celebrate,” Jane said.
Inside, Jane took some cake out of the freezer. “Tada!”
“It looks kind of old,” Daria commented.
“Yeah, well, I baked it way back when you took the test the first time,” Jane explained.
“You baked this?”
“Baked, bought. Let's not ruin the moment with a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo.”
Then Mystik Spiral arrived.
“Cake,” Trent said.
“Cool,” Jesse said.
“It’s for Daria,” Jane explained.
“He can have some. I mean, they can have some,” Daria said.
“What’s up, Birthday?” Trent asked.
“She got her license,” Jane explained.
“Whoa! This thing is really hard and cold. You think it's frozen?”
“Could be, Nick, could be. It just might have to thaw out.”
“I’ll wait,” Jesse said.
“No, you won't. We can't hang around, man. We've got a world tour! World tour!” Max Tyler said.
“Then we'd better find a hammer. Come on, Nick,” Jesse said, before leaving.
“Let 'em go,” Daria said. “They'll give it a good home. What world tour?”
“We got a gig in Freemont, 100 miles away,” Trent answered.
“It’s a small world after all,” Daria commented
“If I could talk to the animals. Anyway, I told you about that, remember? I'm the road management coordinator?”
“You mean we're paying you 20 bucks to drive us.”
“Let's not cloud the horizon with a lot of semantic hair-splitting,”
“You ought to come along, Daria,” Trent said.
“Forget it! I tried. She's house-sitting,” Jane said.
“My mother is away for the weekend, I told her I’d keep Quinn from turning the place into a modelling agency.”
“Too bad. It’s gonna be cool,” Trent said.
“Yeah, I was there with my Dad… once…” Daria said, trailing off. His death was still rather fresh in her mind. “Anyway, isn’t it a lot duller than Lawndale?”
“Hey, not after the Spiral gets there! We're criminales! We live life on the edge! You go up against the Spiral, we're gonna take you down!” Max said.
“Even if it’s SpiderGirl?” Daria asked.
“I bet she’s a bored cheerleader with too much free time,” Trent said.
“That doesn’t explain what she’s been seen doing,” Daria said.
“Maybe.”
Elsewhere in Lawndale, SpiderGirl had captured a would-be thief.
“Like, who would try to rob a store in broad daylight?” she asked him.
“It’s early in the morning on an overcast day,” the thief responded.
“I guess so,” the young superheroine said as she looked down the alley the store opened onto. “Now, before I call the cops, I’d like to know if you’re working alone, or are following orders or whatever.”
“Why would you want to know that?”
“I’ll tell the cops, duh! Maybe you’ll get off lightly in court,” SpiderGirl said.
“Right. It was this person…” the thief started before shaking his head. “I don’t know their name. But I do know they’re operating out of Freemont!”
“Freemont? Isn’t that a dull town in the middle of nowhere?”
“He said it would lower suspicion.”
“I see,” SpiderGirl said. “Well, he’ll find that he isn’t beyond my reach.”
“Wait!”
“Yes?” SpiderGirl said as she wrote her note for the police.
“That’s all I know.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I don’t know what he would do when he finds out I told you,” the thief said,
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” SpiderGirl said. She then swung away.
Daria and Quinn got home at the same time and found that their mother was rushing about, getting ready to leave.
“Mom?” Quinn asked.
“Sorry, sometimes I leave these things to the last minute. Somehow without your father…”
Daria closed the door. “It’s OK, Mom, we miss him too.”
“Yes, anyway. I told you that he and I originally arranged this trip for a marriage seminar.”
“Yes,” Quinn said sadly.
“So, now it’s a widowhood seminar?”
“Dar-i-a!” Quinn said annoying.
“You’re right, too soon,” Daria said quietly.
Her mother put her hand on Daria’s shoulder. “I wish, Daria. But somehow, Eric convinced me to turn it into a work trip.”
“I see,” Quinn said.
“Anyway, I have about five minutes.”
Soon after Helen left, Quinn’s friends arrived. Daria noticed that Sandi arrived last. ‘There’s something there,’ she thought.
Things with the Fashion Club were tense. Quinn knew that things between her and Sandi weren’t resolved regarding her hair. ‘But it’s not just that, is it?’ she thought. They had always been rivals since she had arrived in Lawndale. ‘At least it’s the same with Stacy,’ she considered.
Then there was a phone call.
She picked it up. “Hello? Morgendorffers.”
“Jane here. I’d like to talk to Daria.”
“Sure.”
Daria waited before Quinn had left the room to talk to Jane. “You’re where?”
“Jail! You gotta come get us out.”
“What happened?”
“That's the good part. I got it on tape. When Mike Wallace gets through with these backwater cops, they're not gonna know what hit 'em.”
Daria listened as Jane explained what happened. “Wow, sounds really brutal. But why are you in jail if he just gave you a ticket?”
“We're from out of state, so we're supposed to pay the fine at the sheriff's office right away. It's a hundred bucks, and we don't have it.”
“I don’t either.”
“Obviously. Look, go over to my house. Use the door with the broken lock. There's some money in the living room table, in the drawer with the missing handle. Oh, and while you're there, Trent wants you to pick up his song notebook. It's under his bed in the burnt shoe box.”
“How am I supposed to get it to you?”
“You have a license, don't you? And listen, hurry up. I'm a survivor, but I'm not so sure about the other guys.”
It wasn’t far from the Morgendorffers to Casa Lane. Daria got the money and Trent’s notebook. She did take a peek from.
After Daria had left, Quinn called the exchange, and found that the call had come from Freemont. “Eureka!” she said when she had hung up.
“What have you found, Quinn?” Sandi asked.
“Something,” she said enigmatically.
“What?”
“You don’t need to know.”
Sandi turned away in a huff.
Sandi left quicky.
“What happened?” Stacy asked.
“I have no idea,” Quinn answered.
“Oh.”
“Don’t worry,” Quinn said.
“Of course, I’m going to worry!” Stacy said. “You know me.”
She did know Stacy. “I’ll figure it out.’
Stacy nodded.
“But I’m going to be doing something with Daria…”
“Really?” Stacy asked in surprise.
“Yes, Jane and her brother’s band are in Jail and Daria is taking the bail money there.”
“Oh, but you don’t have to go.”
“It’s a rare opportunity to annoy her on a road trip!”
“I see. I’ll get Tiffany and go then,” Stacy said.
“Cool, I’ll probably be back for Buffy.”
Stacy nodded. She liked Buffy too.
Jane looked at the card Daria held out. “Wow. Licensed to drive. The grotesque picture makes it official.”
“Thanks,” Daria said.
“So now that you're in the government's master computer for the rest of your life, let's celebrate,” Jane said.
Inside, Jane took some cake out of the freezer. “Tada!”
“It looks kind of old,” Daria commented.
“Yeah, well, I baked it way back when you took the test the first time,” Jane explained.
“You baked this?”
“Baked, bought. Let's not ruin the moment with a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo.”
Then Mystik Spiral arrived.
“Cake,” Trent said.
“Cool,” Jesse said.
“It’s for Daria,” Jane explained.
“He can have some. I mean, they can have some,” Daria said.
“What’s up, Birthday?” Trent asked.
“She got her license,” Jane explained.
“Whoa! This thing is really hard and cold. You think it's frozen?”
“Could be, Nick, could be. It just might have to thaw out.”
“I’ll wait,” Jesse said.
“No, you won't. We can't hang around, man. We've got a world tour! World tour!” Max Tyler said.
“Then we'd better find a hammer. Come on, Nick,” Jesse said, before leaving.
“Let 'em go,” Daria said. “They'll give it a good home. What world tour?”
“We got a gig in Freemont, 100 miles away,” Trent answered.
“It’s a small world after all,” Daria commented
“If I could talk to the animals. Anyway, I told you about that, remember? I'm the road management coordinator?”
“You mean we're paying you 20 bucks to drive us.”
“Let's not cloud the horizon with a lot of semantic hair-splitting,”
“You ought to come along, Daria,” Trent said.
“Forget it! I tried. She's house-sitting,” Jane said.
“My mother is away for the weekend, I told her I’d keep Quinn from turning the place into a modelling agency.”
“Too bad. It’s gonna be cool,” Trent said.
“Yeah, I was there with my Dad… once…” Daria said, trailing off. His death was still rather fresh in her mind. “Anyway, isn’t it a lot duller than Lawndale?”
“Hey, not after the Spiral gets there! We're criminales! We live life on the edge! You go up against the Spiral, we're gonna take you down!” Max said.
“Even if it’s SpiderGirl?” Daria asked.
“I bet she’s a bored cheerleader with too much free time,” Trent said.
“That doesn’t explain what she’s been seen doing,” Daria said.
“Maybe.”
Elsewhere in Lawndale, SpiderGirl had captured a would-be thief.
“Like, who would try to rob a store in broad daylight?” she asked him.
“It’s early in the morning on an overcast day,” the thief responded.
“I guess so,” the young superheroine said as she looked down the alley the store opened onto. “Now, before I call the cops, I’d like to know if you’re working alone, or are following orders or whatever.”
“Why would you want to know that?”
“I’ll tell the cops, duh! Maybe you’ll get off lightly in court,” SpiderGirl said.
“Right. It was this person…” the thief started before shaking his head. “I don’t know their name. But I do know they’re operating out of Freemont!”
“Freemont? Isn’t that a dull town in the middle of nowhere?”
“He said it would lower suspicion.”
“I see,” SpiderGirl said. “Well, he’ll find that he isn’t beyond my reach.”
“Wait!”
“Yes?” SpiderGirl said as she wrote her note for the police.
“That’s all I know.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I don’t know what he would do when he finds out I told you,” the thief said,
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” SpiderGirl said. She then swung away.
Daria and Quinn got home at the same time and found that their mother was rushing about, getting ready to leave.
“Mom?” Quinn asked.
“Sorry, sometimes I leave these things to the last minute. Somehow without your father…”
Daria closed the door. “It’s OK, Mom, we miss him too.”
“Yes, anyway. I told you that he and I originally arranged this trip for a marriage seminar.”
“Yes,” Quinn said sadly.
“So, now it’s a widowhood seminar?”
“Dar-i-a!” Quinn said annoying.
“You’re right, too soon,” Daria said quietly.
Her mother put her hand on Daria’s shoulder. “I wish, Daria. But somehow, Eric convinced me to turn it into a work trip.”
“I see,” Quinn said.
“Anyway, I have about five minutes.”
Soon after Helen left, Quinn’s friends arrived. Daria noticed that Sandi arrived last. ‘There’s something there,’ she thought.
Things with the Fashion Club were tense. Quinn knew that things between her and Sandi weren’t resolved regarding her hair. ‘But it’s not just that, is it?’ she thought. They had always been rivals since she had arrived in Lawndale. ‘At least it’s the same with Stacy,’ she considered.
Then there was a phone call.
She picked it up. “Hello? Morgendorffers.”
“Jane here. I’d like to talk to Daria.”
“Sure.”
Daria waited before Quinn had left the room to talk to Jane. “You’re where?”
“Jail! You gotta come get us out.”
“What happened?”
“That's the good part. I got it on tape. When Mike Wallace gets through with these backwater cops, they're not gonna know what hit 'em.”
Daria listened as Jane explained what happened. “Wow, sounds really brutal. But why are you in jail if he just gave you a ticket?”
“We're from out of state, so we're supposed to pay the fine at the sheriff's office right away. It's a hundred bucks, and we don't have it.”
“I don’t either.”
“Obviously. Look, go over to my house. Use the door with the broken lock. There's some money in the living room table, in the drawer with the missing handle. Oh, and while you're there, Trent wants you to pick up his song notebook. It's under his bed in the burnt shoe box.”
“How am I supposed to get it to you?”
“You have a license, don't you? And listen, hurry up. I'm a survivor, but I'm not so sure about the other guys.”
It wasn’t far from the Morgendorffers to Casa Lane. Daria got the money and Trent’s notebook. She did take a peek from.
After Daria had left, Quinn called the exchange, and found that the call had come from Freemont. “Eureka!” she said when she had hung up.
“What have you found, Quinn?” Sandi asked.
“Something,” she said enigmatically.
“What?”
“You don’t need to know.”
Sandi turned away in a huff.
Sandi left quicky.
“What happened?” Stacy asked.
“I have no idea,” Quinn answered.
“Oh.”
“Don’t worry,” Quinn said.
“Of course, I’m going to worry!” Stacy said. “You know me.”
She did know Stacy. “I’ll figure it out.’
Stacy nodded.
“But I’m going to be doing something with Daria…”
“Really?” Stacy asked in surprise.
“Yes, Jane and her brother’s band are in Jail and Daria is taking the bail money there.”
“Oh, but you don’t have to go.”
“It’s a rare opportunity to annoy her on a road trip!”
“I see. I’ll get Tiffany and go then,” Stacy said.
“Cool, I’ll probably be back for Buffy.”
Stacy nodded. She liked Buffy too.
