Categories > Cartoons > Daria > Silent Cynic
Paintball and Giving Thanks
0 reviewsMore school activities, Daria furthers here relationship with Troy; Helen is surprised
0Unrated
The Silent Cynic
By Dr. T
Chapter 14—Paintball and Giving Thanks
Helen Morgendorffer looked at her daughters suspiciously – both of their body languages were off. She set the bowl of salad down while her husband managed to do the same with the pan of lasagna without spilling any or burning his hands – this time.
“Alright you two, what’s going on.” Seeing the girls’ expressions as they looked at her, she responded with, “No; those pseudo-innocent looks haven’t worked on me for several years.” She crossed her arms and stared the two down. As Helen expected, Quinn broke first. “We haven’t done anything wrong.”
‘In fact, neither of us, nor any of our friends to my knowledge or even suspicion, had anything to do with it.’
“Well, that’s good anyway. So, what has you two all a-twitter?”
Daria, her eyes opened wide in pseudo-surprise, pointed at herself.
“Yes, you as well. You’re not nervous or excited, but something happened. What?”
“Mister DeMartino was arrested,” Quinn said. “During school, right before the activity period. That was…unexpected all around.”
“Arrested? He’s rather highly-strung, but what would he be arrested for?”
The girls both shrugged. ‘It was after a very strange assembly this morning. Two people in plain clothes saying something about looking out for ‘those types of people’ and alerting ‘the proper authorities.’
“I didn’t think it made a lot of sense,” Quinn told her mother. She turned to Daria. “Did it to you?”
‘No,’ Daria admitted. ‘If this were the ‘fifties, I would have thought they were after Reds. From the way they talked around everything, they could have been talking about terrorists, illegal aliens, real aliens, spies….’
“Have you been writing those spy spoofs again?” Helen demanded.
‘I never stopped, but really, I don’t think anyone had much of an idea of what was going on.’ Daria frowned. ‘I really think Ms Li is getting more paranoid every week.’
“Really,” Quinn agreed. “Do you know she just got two more dogs? Instead of sniffing out drugs like the rest of the pack, these two are supposed to be sniffing out explosives.”
That got Jake’s attention. “Explosives? Where?”
Helen patted his arm and glared at her younger daughter. “Now Quinn, I’m sure that’s just a rumor.”
Daria waved to get Quinn’s attention. ‘Did you bring the handout? I forgot to bring mine home.’
“Oh! I’ll be right back!” Quinn got up and returned a few minutes later, handing her mother half a sheet of photocopy, which had the announcement of the new dogs.
“No wonder she wants to raise school taxes,” Helen grumbled.
This caught Jake’s attention again. “They’re going to try and raise taxes on the ballot again?” he demanded.
“They are, and Ms Li’s questionable expenditures are no doubt at least part of the cause.” She sighed. “I wish we had time to go to the meetings.”
Quinn and Daria’s eyes met across the table, and in unison they rolled their eyes.
Helen saw it, but decided it was best to ignore the gestures.
To the surprise (or perhaps disappointment) of more than a few students and Ms Barch, Mr. DeMartino was back in school the next morning. Granted, he was seething over having been arrested as an illegal alien, something he had easily been able to disprove, but it still had him outraged. To round off the day, Jane and Daria were called to Li’s office during the activity period. At first they were concerned, but when the pair saw that a somewhat unhappy Mr. O’Neill was also present, they suspected they knew why they had been summoned. They were concerned when they saw DeMartino come into the main office behind them, but they were sent in to see Ms Li while DeMartino waited.
“Ah, welcome,” Li told the two students as well as O’Neill. All knew that tone of voice. “Well done bringing credit to Laaaawndale High.” Jane and Daria merely looked at her. “Oh, yes, your poster submission won the regional contest for the junior class. The top poster for each grade, as well as up to twelve additional posters, will be chosen to illustrate the state’s Department of Education website or perhaps a publication. Kudos.” She had either forgotten or chosen to ignore her original opinion of their entry.
Daria elbowed the surprised Jane and then signed at her. “Oh,” Jane said, finally reacting. “Thanks for letting us know.”
“You’re very welcome. Mister O’Neill, please stay. Ladies, please ask Mister DeMartino to come in.”
As DeMartino shut the principal’s door behind him, the girls heard Li say, “An interesting proposal….”
*
‘What are you two smiling about?’ Daria demanded that Friday as the quartet left school. She turned to Troy. ‘You look almost as happy.’
“I’m glad football season is over,” Troy replied. The game missed because of the hurricane had not been rescheduled, so Lawndale ended with a 6-3 record. “After the after-Thanksgiving parade, no more marching band.” There was a short parade to open the shopping season in the late morning of ‘Black Friday’ from the old downtown business district to ‘Cranberry Commons,’ the oldest and still the second largest shopping center around town, and that would end his marching days. He much preferred concert band. “I don’t know why these two are happy. Is it this stupid idea for paintball?”
“It gets us out of class,” Paul pointed out.
“Always a good thing,” Jane agreed.
‘For most of those students who will be going, I suppose so. Those of us who do not go get to stay in the nice, warm school instead of traipsing about the chilly and possibly damp countryside,’ Daria pointed out.
“No cafeteria food,” Jane argued.
“No, they’ll probably feed us MRE’s,” Troy pointed out.
Paul looked puzzled. “What?”
“MRE-Meals Ready to Eat—military field rations.”
“Probably still better than what we get Fridays in the cafeteria,” Jane argued. She looked at Troy. “I know Paul just wants to shoot stuff at our fellow students, but even if you two don’t, and I find that hard to believe, just imagine the fun patterns we can make with the paintballs, especially if we all work together and are from different colored teams.”
Daria made a face as she saw Troy weaken. She might have been able to resist either Jane or Troy (well, maybe), but certainly not both. It looked like she was going to go paintballing.
The following Friday saw just over half of the sophomore, junior, and senior classes as well as three faculty and Ms Li, heading to ‘The Paintball Jungle.’ Despite some futile attempts by Daria to interest the other three in the signs promising a roadside attraction of a great white shark, she realized she was stuck. Her mood was not improved when she saw her parents were among the group of volunteer chaperones, and it was made worse as she saw storm clouds gathering in the distance, knowing they would likely move in their direction.
The group was quickly split into red, yellow, blue, and orange teams. The cheerleaders had demanded that they and the football players be put on blue or yellow – the school colors. As agreed, Daria, Jane, Paul, and Troy managed to split up, and planned on meeting in about twenty-five minutes from whatever the start time was, near the entrance/equipment building – the only building with actual restrooms (they wanted to avoid the outhouses scattered throughout the area). The group was given their equipment and a ten-minute lecture on the rules, etc. Then they were each given an MRE, two bottles of water, and reminded they would meet back in four hours. Each team was then led to different starting points, and the game started.
The four met up as planned. Both Troy and Paul had been hit numerous times. Jane, and surprising Daria, had not. ‘Who wants to shoot me?’ Daria signed. Seeing their reactions, she teasingly restated, ‘Which one of you wants to shoot me most? We have to show that we were shot, and I can’t shoot myself safely.’
Paul quickly stepped back with a smirk, letting Troy and Jane vie for the ‘honors.’ “Shoot her in the back of the helmet,” Troy told Jane after a moment. “Those paintballs can hurt, and remember, after you shoot her, she gets to shoot you.”
Jane’s eyes went wide for a second in realization. Now it was Daria who smirked as she signed, ‘Well, since you are going to commit a war crime, you may as well do it right.’ She turned her back and knelt on the ground. She seemed to slump into a posture of resignation.
“What the hell?” Jane muttered, getting flashbacks to photos and even film clips she had seen of Nazis and Japanese executing people during World War II. Jane slowly raised her paintball gun and pointed it at the back of Daria’s helmet as she stepped forward. She started shaking, and after a few moments said “I…I can’t do it.” She looked over at Paul and Troy. It was clear Troy was having similar flashbacks to Jane’s.
Paul did not really remember the few such photos he had seen. Therefore, looking at the other two and the waiting, oddly passively resigned Daria, he simply walked over and gave Daria the head shot. She slumped over as if dead very realistically. A few moments later, a smirking Daria rolled up into a sitting position and was surprised to see a quietly crying Jane being held by Paul. She looked at Troy, who looked almost as shaken as Jane.
“I think her artistic imagination kicked in, and it suddenly became too real.” He held out his hand and pulled Daria up into a hug. “The way you knelt…it made it fairly real to me, too,” he said softly. “I kept seeing photos and clips of the Nazi Ensatzgruppen shooting….” He tightened the hug. “And the Japanese in Shanghai….I…I imagined you….”
Daria returned the hug briefly, then disengaged, kissing his cheek. She looked at the other pair, took careful aim, and shot Jane in the back of her helmet, eliciting a scream of surprise from Jane and cursing from Paul, who was splattered a bit in the face. Fortunately, his eyes had been closed as he had removed his safety goggles.
Daria smirk widened into an actual, if brief, grin.
*
The following Monday, after the students had returned to their seats following the Pledge of Allegiance, Ms. Li came on for the morning announcements. “Good morning, Laaaawndale High students! First, kudos to the Yellow team, led by Brittany Taylor, which won last Friday’s paintball competition. As I am sure all of you are aware, the holiday season will soon be upon us. Tickets for the county-wide Snow Ball will be available here in the main office the Monday after Thanksgiving. Girls who wish to be nominated for Snow Queen must have pre-purchased their ticket and submit a five-by-seven photo in formal wear by the end of classes the following Friday. Finally, to get us all in the holiday theme of giving, there will be a three-week community service project in December. There are sign-up sheets outside of the office, those who have not signed up by the end of classes Wednesday will be given their assignments Thursday morning. That is all!”
Daria turned to Jane. ‘As soon as the bell rings, run as fast as you can and get us signed up for the least horrible thing available that you know we can both handle.’
Jane smiled. Their homeroom was one of the closest to the main office, she could afford to be late to the short first period auxiliary class (she actually just went to the art area to work independently), and she was fast. Except for the four student ‘volunteers’ who worked in the school office before school, Jane was the first one there. ‘Let’s see,’ Jane thought, ‘what to be stuck with? Daria can’t read aloud, and I wouldn’t want to. I should sign Upchuck and Kevin to road cleanup, but Chucky at least would change it. Still….’ Jane printed Kevin into road cleanup. As she thought might happen, when Kevin wandered by to sign up, he was puzzled about why he had signed up for that and didn’t remember doing it, but he went along with it anyway.
Those that followed Kevin on that false trail to be with the popular quarterback did not think much of ‘his’ choice.
*
Daria’s birthday was again on a weekday this year, but this time her little party was held after school. It was a much smaller gathering than the year before – Troy, Jane, Paul, Jodie, and Mack got together at the Pizza Prince and bought her pizza. She had a cake with her family (and Jane) at dinner the night before, as they could all gather then.
To Daria’s surprise, her parents told her that they would take her shopping for a good used car over Christmas.
*
“Daria!” Quinn was trying to be both appealing to her sister and scolding at the same time later that month. Therefore, she was really not pulling off either tone. Daria was seated on the sofa, her arms folded in protest and a scowl on her face. Helen and Quinn were standing over her, while Jake, wisely, stayed in the kitchen, pretending to keep an eye on Thanksgiving dinner. Granted, that meant timing the microwaving all the store-bought food in the correct order, but he was determined to get it right and to stay out of the living area. Jane was setting the table in the dining room, while keeping an ear open to the on-going debate.
“Sweetie, wouldn’t you like a new gown?” Helen asked.
Daria merely glared at the two standing above her and then shook her head.
“But why not?” Helen demanded.
“Don’t you want to look nice?” Quinn demanded in turn. This earned her a glare not only from her sister but her mother. In the dining room, Jane shook her head at the faux pas.
‘One, I will look pretty much the same no matter what gown I wear, provided it fits,’ Daria responded. ‘Yes, I have slightly outgrown what I wore last year.’ Daria had only grown about a quarter inch taller – meaning Quinn had finally matched her older sister’s height – but Daria’s bust had gone from a large A-cup to a very round and full B-cup. This also matched Quinn’s latest measurements and made Troy much happier than it did Daria. ‘So, I have to admit I cannot wear that one. I have donated it. I can still easily fit into the bridesmaid dress, and unless I gain twenty pounds or more or grow an inch which is even less likely, I can wear it again for the Prom.’ Daria got a sly look on her face. ‘Unless of course you want to wear the bridesmaid dress to the Snow Ball, in which case, unless you want us to match, I would wear something else.’
Quinn had started to make inarticulate noises as soon as Daria had mentioned the idea, so Daria turned to her mother. ‘Those gowns individually cost as much as both of our Snow Ball outfits cost last year combined. One of us should get some extra use out of at least one of them.’ She turned back to Quinn. ‘It is not a seasonal gown. It will look nice, so drop it.’
Quinn huffed and turned to her mother. “She’s right,” she told Quinn.
‘Maybe you can wear yours to the Hop,’ Daria teased.
“And have people think I wear your hand-me-downs!” Quinn shouted. “Ahrgh!” She turned and stomped over to and then up the stairs.
Having kept an ear out for at least the tone of the ‘discussion,’ Jake deemed it safe and poked his head into the living area. “Dinner should be ready in twenty minutes!”
“I’d better double check,” Helen muttered, and headed towards the kitchen.
Daria hugged herself slightly, smiling even more slightly in satisfaction.
*
The next day, ‘Black Friday,’ Helen and Quinn were out of the house shortly after 7:00 am. There was no telling exactly when they might return, but Daria was willing to bet that it wouldn’t be until well into the afternoon. Her father had left to put in a morning’s work, but he would be returning after noon to pick Daria up for lunch, then he and Daria would be off to play a round of golf at the country club where the law firm’s partners were all members – Helen’s family had been accepted just the month before. Jake wanted to play the course before it switched to winter rules.
Daria had therefore arranged for Troy to come over that morning. He arrived a little before 9:30. He was a bit surprised to see that Daria was only wearing her Lawndale gym outfit – well, just the t-shirt and shorts at any event. He had rarely been around Daria when she didn’t have her boots on, and this was the first time he had seen her barefoot. He was also surprised by the long hug and kiss he received as soon as the front door shut.
She took Troy’s coat and pointed at his shoes. He kicked them off, and was very pleased to follow her up the stairs, as (very unusually) she was exaggerating her hip movement just a bit. In addition, it had been very clear from the hug that she was only wearing the t-shirt and shorts.
Daria took his hand once they reached the second floor and led him to her room. This was really the first time he had been alone with Daria in her room, not that he had been allowed there very often.
‘Quinn and I had to promise my mother that we would never be in our bedrooms with a boy with the door shut, so the door stays open,’ she signed, still closing the door about two-thirds of the way.
Daria looked at Troy nervously. ‘I don’t know when I might be willing to….’
‘Have sex?’ Troy signed back.
‘Well, yes…not…actual intercourse.’ She shyly looked Troy in the eye. ‘But I would like to try something.’
‘Try anything you want,’ Troy answered. He stepped a bit closer and his hands went to her shoulders. “If either of us feel uncomfortable, we will stop.”
Daria nodded, and to his shock she unbuttoned and then unzipped his jeans. “Don’t think about it, it will just be more comfortable for you in your shirt and underwear,” came her very slight, hoarse whisper.
Nodding in returned, Troy slipped off his jeans, standing in his red polo shirt, briefs, and socks.
Daria’s eyes went to floor, and Troy could see her steel herself. Then she quickly dropped her shorts and then pulled off her t-shirt. She flushed very red, and refused to look up. It was clear she was having a difficult time not covering herself with her hands and she was nearly hyperventilating from nerves.
“Wow,” Troy whispered. Carefully, again just touching her shoulders, he added softly, “You’re even more beautiful than I ever thought you would be.”
Daria looked up, looking a bit puzzled, and her breaths evened out somewhat. “Hey, I’ve never seen a nude woman live before, but I’ve seen plenty of paintings and sculptures.” ‘Not to mention what I’ve seen on the internet,’ he mentally added. ‘I have a very good idea of form. I know you’re not very comfortable in your body, but as wonderful and bright as you are as a person, you are also very beautiful.” Daria grabbed him in a grateful hug, which Troy returned, careful not to let his hands go to anyplace intimate. He did enjoy the soft bare skin of her back, however.
The pair kissed gently, then Daria backed away. She slowly sat and then laid on her bed, bit her lip, and then signed, ‘If you want, could you…would you…please me?’
“As you wish,” Troy replied with a smile.
Indeed, Troy spent the next twenty-five minutes exploring Daria’s nude body, making sure he pleased and stimulated her, orally and manually; stroking, licking, nibbling, suckling, and manipulating. In fact, despite his inexperience and her nerves, Daria climaxed three times, although it took over fifteen minutes to coax the first one out of her.
Following her third climax, Daria stopped Troy and pulled him into a full body hug and a deep kiss. After a few minutes, Daria gave Troy’s shoulder a slight push. Taking the hint, he rolled onto his back. Signaling him to remain where he was, Daria got up and put on panties, her gym shorts, and socks. ‘We should not be interrupted for more than an hour,’ Daria told him, glancing at her clock. ‘Still, if we are, grab your jeans and run to the bathroom. I will pull on a bra and top and we will do our best to bluff things out.’
“Okay?” Troy responded, a bit puzzled, but hopeful.
Daria smirked and bent over the bed. She reached down, and her fingers went under the waistband of his Fruit-of-the-Looms. It took a slight tug, but Troy lifted his hips, and allowed himself to be exposed to a girl for the first time.
Both teens blushed as she did this.
Daria laid the underwear on top of Troy’s jeans. She grabbed her box of tissues from the nightstand in case of any accidents, and set it on the side of the bed.
Daria gently took Troy’s member, which had been alternating from between mostly to fully engorged for over the previous forty minutes, in her right hand. As she pumped him gently and lightly, eliciting a low moan, Daria leaned over and kissed him on the mouth lightly. Then, pumping lower down with just two fingers and her thumb, Daria moved closer and slowly engulfed her target while kneeling on the bed.
“You seem to be in a good mood, Kiddo,” Jake said as Daria slid into his Lexus just after noon, not quite half an hour after Troy had left. Daria merely nodded, a slight smile on her lips.
*
Late that Saturday afternoon, Helen was surprised to get a phone call from Jim Vitale, asking her to come into the office that Sunday “whenever you’re free.” She made the appointment for 12:30, and despite assurances that it was not bad news, Helen was on edge for the next twenty-three hours.
Helen let herself into the deserted building and into the equally deserted wing the law firm occupied. The only car in the parking lot had been Vitale’s Cadillac. The door to his outer office was open, and Helen came in and simply went and knocked on his open door. Vitale looked up, his face giving nothing away, and he simply said, “Come in and take a seat.”
Helen sat and looked at the boss with a little apprehension.
Vitale sighed, and said, “I have some information to share. There was a big family dinner Thursday at Joe’s place.” This was the senior Schrector, the father of both Eric and his slightly younger brother Matt. “Everyone was waiting for Eric to show up – he had said he was going to play a round of golf that morning, but instead he went to the club’s bar as soon as it opened. When he left to go to the dinner, he was in no condition to drive but he dodged the people at the Club who wanted to call a ride for him. He crashed, and was killed.”
Helen’s eyes went wide at the news.
“When he heard the news, Joe had another heart attack. He’ll be mostly fine with some rest, but at seventy-five he’s decided it was time to retire. We worked all that out yesterday morning. In the afternoon, we decided not to go outside for new blood right away. Would you be willing to consider coming on as a full partner?”
Helen managed to clear her head, and of course accepted.
“Here is the partnership agreement. Look it over, and let me know tomorrow if the terms are acceptable. With those two…gone, we have four senior admins available. If you want to keep Marianne as your admin assistant, you can choose any one of the other four as your senior admin. We’ll start looking for another partner, one specializing in personal injury cases, in the New Year, and will carry two of the admins for that work, while the fourth, or Marianne, will work with the associates.”
“I’ll keep Marianne, and I’ll talk with the other four after I look this over,” Helen responded.
“Assuming it’s fine, just give that to Julie after you sign,” Vitale told her. “If there’s anything you need to talk to me about, be here at eight-thirty.”
“Of course.”
Vitale grimaced. “Sorry to be abrupt, but I need to look over all the cases and clients to see where to reassign things. Assuming you sign, there’ll be a partners’ meeting at eleven to see if the reassignments work for everyone.” He almost smiled. “No matter what I come up with, I’m sure there’ll be some horse trading, so be prepared.”
“Of course,” Helen said again. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Tomorrow,” Vitale assured her. “I’ve had you keep an eye on Eric’s cases since he got back from rehab in August, so your input will be welcome when we decide things. You’ll likely get most of his cases, so if you have time today you might want to look over the files you have on them so you can update everyone tomorrow morning.”
“I will,” Helen reassured him. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Vitale managed a smile. “Until then.”
After looking over the partnership terms with even more than her usual diligence (she had learned over the previous year exactly how sneaky the partners could be, and how excellent Vitale and Horowitz’s legal language could be). To her surprise, there were no surprises in the document. She was a bit surprised at some of the appendices, which showed exactly how profitable the firm was. Her base pay would likely triple – the senior Schrector, an estate attorney, had many very wealthy clients, but had not added a new one in ten years on his own, and the firm would almost certainly retain most if not all of them. She was equally certain she could handle all of Eric’s current cases.
She therefore handed in the agreement the next morning at 8:30 with a smile.
By Dr. T
Chapter 14—Paintball and Giving Thanks
Helen Morgendorffer looked at her daughters suspiciously – both of their body languages were off. She set the bowl of salad down while her husband managed to do the same with the pan of lasagna without spilling any or burning his hands – this time.
“Alright you two, what’s going on.” Seeing the girls’ expressions as they looked at her, she responded with, “No; those pseudo-innocent looks haven’t worked on me for several years.” She crossed her arms and stared the two down. As Helen expected, Quinn broke first. “We haven’t done anything wrong.”
‘In fact, neither of us, nor any of our friends to my knowledge or even suspicion, had anything to do with it.’
“Well, that’s good anyway. So, what has you two all a-twitter?”
Daria, her eyes opened wide in pseudo-surprise, pointed at herself.
“Yes, you as well. You’re not nervous or excited, but something happened. What?”
“Mister DeMartino was arrested,” Quinn said. “During school, right before the activity period. That was…unexpected all around.”
“Arrested? He’s rather highly-strung, but what would he be arrested for?”
The girls both shrugged. ‘It was after a very strange assembly this morning. Two people in plain clothes saying something about looking out for ‘those types of people’ and alerting ‘the proper authorities.’
“I didn’t think it made a lot of sense,” Quinn told her mother. She turned to Daria. “Did it to you?”
‘No,’ Daria admitted. ‘If this were the ‘fifties, I would have thought they were after Reds. From the way they talked around everything, they could have been talking about terrorists, illegal aliens, real aliens, spies….’
“Have you been writing those spy spoofs again?” Helen demanded.
‘I never stopped, but really, I don’t think anyone had much of an idea of what was going on.’ Daria frowned. ‘I really think Ms Li is getting more paranoid every week.’
“Really,” Quinn agreed. “Do you know she just got two more dogs? Instead of sniffing out drugs like the rest of the pack, these two are supposed to be sniffing out explosives.”
That got Jake’s attention. “Explosives? Where?”
Helen patted his arm and glared at her younger daughter. “Now Quinn, I’m sure that’s just a rumor.”
Daria waved to get Quinn’s attention. ‘Did you bring the handout? I forgot to bring mine home.’
“Oh! I’ll be right back!” Quinn got up and returned a few minutes later, handing her mother half a sheet of photocopy, which had the announcement of the new dogs.
“No wonder she wants to raise school taxes,” Helen grumbled.
This caught Jake’s attention again. “They’re going to try and raise taxes on the ballot again?” he demanded.
“They are, and Ms Li’s questionable expenditures are no doubt at least part of the cause.” She sighed. “I wish we had time to go to the meetings.”
Quinn and Daria’s eyes met across the table, and in unison they rolled their eyes.
Helen saw it, but decided it was best to ignore the gestures.
To the surprise (or perhaps disappointment) of more than a few students and Ms Barch, Mr. DeMartino was back in school the next morning. Granted, he was seething over having been arrested as an illegal alien, something he had easily been able to disprove, but it still had him outraged. To round off the day, Jane and Daria were called to Li’s office during the activity period. At first they were concerned, but when the pair saw that a somewhat unhappy Mr. O’Neill was also present, they suspected they knew why they had been summoned. They were concerned when they saw DeMartino come into the main office behind them, but they were sent in to see Ms Li while DeMartino waited.
“Ah, welcome,” Li told the two students as well as O’Neill. All knew that tone of voice. “Well done bringing credit to Laaaawndale High.” Jane and Daria merely looked at her. “Oh, yes, your poster submission won the regional contest for the junior class. The top poster for each grade, as well as up to twelve additional posters, will be chosen to illustrate the state’s Department of Education website or perhaps a publication. Kudos.” She had either forgotten or chosen to ignore her original opinion of their entry.
Daria elbowed the surprised Jane and then signed at her. “Oh,” Jane said, finally reacting. “Thanks for letting us know.”
“You’re very welcome. Mister O’Neill, please stay. Ladies, please ask Mister DeMartino to come in.”
As DeMartino shut the principal’s door behind him, the girls heard Li say, “An interesting proposal….”
*
‘What are you two smiling about?’ Daria demanded that Friday as the quartet left school. She turned to Troy. ‘You look almost as happy.’
“I’m glad football season is over,” Troy replied. The game missed because of the hurricane had not been rescheduled, so Lawndale ended with a 6-3 record. “After the after-Thanksgiving parade, no more marching band.” There was a short parade to open the shopping season in the late morning of ‘Black Friday’ from the old downtown business district to ‘Cranberry Commons,’ the oldest and still the second largest shopping center around town, and that would end his marching days. He much preferred concert band. “I don’t know why these two are happy. Is it this stupid idea for paintball?”
“It gets us out of class,” Paul pointed out.
“Always a good thing,” Jane agreed.
‘For most of those students who will be going, I suppose so. Those of us who do not go get to stay in the nice, warm school instead of traipsing about the chilly and possibly damp countryside,’ Daria pointed out.
“No cafeteria food,” Jane argued.
“No, they’ll probably feed us MRE’s,” Troy pointed out.
Paul looked puzzled. “What?”
“MRE-Meals Ready to Eat—military field rations.”
“Probably still better than what we get Fridays in the cafeteria,” Jane argued. She looked at Troy. “I know Paul just wants to shoot stuff at our fellow students, but even if you two don’t, and I find that hard to believe, just imagine the fun patterns we can make with the paintballs, especially if we all work together and are from different colored teams.”
Daria made a face as she saw Troy weaken. She might have been able to resist either Jane or Troy (well, maybe), but certainly not both. It looked like she was going to go paintballing.
The following Friday saw just over half of the sophomore, junior, and senior classes as well as three faculty and Ms Li, heading to ‘The Paintball Jungle.’ Despite some futile attempts by Daria to interest the other three in the signs promising a roadside attraction of a great white shark, she realized she was stuck. Her mood was not improved when she saw her parents were among the group of volunteer chaperones, and it was made worse as she saw storm clouds gathering in the distance, knowing they would likely move in their direction.
The group was quickly split into red, yellow, blue, and orange teams. The cheerleaders had demanded that they and the football players be put on blue or yellow – the school colors. As agreed, Daria, Jane, Paul, and Troy managed to split up, and planned on meeting in about twenty-five minutes from whatever the start time was, near the entrance/equipment building – the only building with actual restrooms (they wanted to avoid the outhouses scattered throughout the area). The group was given their equipment and a ten-minute lecture on the rules, etc. Then they were each given an MRE, two bottles of water, and reminded they would meet back in four hours. Each team was then led to different starting points, and the game started.
The four met up as planned. Both Troy and Paul had been hit numerous times. Jane, and surprising Daria, had not. ‘Who wants to shoot me?’ Daria signed. Seeing their reactions, she teasingly restated, ‘Which one of you wants to shoot me most? We have to show that we were shot, and I can’t shoot myself safely.’
Paul quickly stepped back with a smirk, letting Troy and Jane vie for the ‘honors.’ “Shoot her in the back of the helmet,” Troy told Jane after a moment. “Those paintballs can hurt, and remember, after you shoot her, she gets to shoot you.”
Jane’s eyes went wide for a second in realization. Now it was Daria who smirked as she signed, ‘Well, since you are going to commit a war crime, you may as well do it right.’ She turned her back and knelt on the ground. She seemed to slump into a posture of resignation.
“What the hell?” Jane muttered, getting flashbacks to photos and even film clips she had seen of Nazis and Japanese executing people during World War II. Jane slowly raised her paintball gun and pointed it at the back of Daria’s helmet as she stepped forward. She started shaking, and after a few moments said “I…I can’t do it.” She looked over at Paul and Troy. It was clear Troy was having similar flashbacks to Jane’s.
Paul did not really remember the few such photos he had seen. Therefore, looking at the other two and the waiting, oddly passively resigned Daria, he simply walked over and gave Daria the head shot. She slumped over as if dead very realistically. A few moments later, a smirking Daria rolled up into a sitting position and was surprised to see a quietly crying Jane being held by Paul. She looked at Troy, who looked almost as shaken as Jane.
“I think her artistic imagination kicked in, and it suddenly became too real.” He held out his hand and pulled Daria up into a hug. “The way you knelt…it made it fairly real to me, too,” he said softly. “I kept seeing photos and clips of the Nazi Ensatzgruppen shooting….” He tightened the hug. “And the Japanese in Shanghai….I…I imagined you….”
Daria returned the hug briefly, then disengaged, kissing his cheek. She looked at the other pair, took careful aim, and shot Jane in the back of her helmet, eliciting a scream of surprise from Jane and cursing from Paul, who was splattered a bit in the face. Fortunately, his eyes had been closed as he had removed his safety goggles.
Daria smirk widened into an actual, if brief, grin.
*
The following Monday, after the students had returned to their seats following the Pledge of Allegiance, Ms. Li came on for the morning announcements. “Good morning, Laaaawndale High students! First, kudos to the Yellow team, led by Brittany Taylor, which won last Friday’s paintball competition. As I am sure all of you are aware, the holiday season will soon be upon us. Tickets for the county-wide Snow Ball will be available here in the main office the Monday after Thanksgiving. Girls who wish to be nominated for Snow Queen must have pre-purchased their ticket and submit a five-by-seven photo in formal wear by the end of classes the following Friday. Finally, to get us all in the holiday theme of giving, there will be a three-week community service project in December. There are sign-up sheets outside of the office, those who have not signed up by the end of classes Wednesday will be given their assignments Thursday morning. That is all!”
Daria turned to Jane. ‘As soon as the bell rings, run as fast as you can and get us signed up for the least horrible thing available that you know we can both handle.’
Jane smiled. Their homeroom was one of the closest to the main office, she could afford to be late to the short first period auxiliary class (she actually just went to the art area to work independently), and she was fast. Except for the four student ‘volunteers’ who worked in the school office before school, Jane was the first one there. ‘Let’s see,’ Jane thought, ‘what to be stuck with? Daria can’t read aloud, and I wouldn’t want to. I should sign Upchuck and Kevin to road cleanup, but Chucky at least would change it. Still….’ Jane printed Kevin into road cleanup. As she thought might happen, when Kevin wandered by to sign up, he was puzzled about why he had signed up for that and didn’t remember doing it, but he went along with it anyway.
Those that followed Kevin on that false trail to be with the popular quarterback did not think much of ‘his’ choice.
*
Daria’s birthday was again on a weekday this year, but this time her little party was held after school. It was a much smaller gathering than the year before – Troy, Jane, Paul, Jodie, and Mack got together at the Pizza Prince and bought her pizza. She had a cake with her family (and Jane) at dinner the night before, as they could all gather then.
To Daria’s surprise, her parents told her that they would take her shopping for a good used car over Christmas.
*
“Daria!” Quinn was trying to be both appealing to her sister and scolding at the same time later that month. Therefore, she was really not pulling off either tone. Daria was seated on the sofa, her arms folded in protest and a scowl on her face. Helen and Quinn were standing over her, while Jake, wisely, stayed in the kitchen, pretending to keep an eye on Thanksgiving dinner. Granted, that meant timing the microwaving all the store-bought food in the correct order, but he was determined to get it right and to stay out of the living area. Jane was setting the table in the dining room, while keeping an ear open to the on-going debate.
“Sweetie, wouldn’t you like a new gown?” Helen asked.
Daria merely glared at the two standing above her and then shook her head.
“But why not?” Helen demanded.
“Don’t you want to look nice?” Quinn demanded in turn. This earned her a glare not only from her sister but her mother. In the dining room, Jane shook her head at the faux pas.
‘One, I will look pretty much the same no matter what gown I wear, provided it fits,’ Daria responded. ‘Yes, I have slightly outgrown what I wore last year.’ Daria had only grown about a quarter inch taller – meaning Quinn had finally matched her older sister’s height – but Daria’s bust had gone from a large A-cup to a very round and full B-cup. This also matched Quinn’s latest measurements and made Troy much happier than it did Daria. ‘So, I have to admit I cannot wear that one. I have donated it. I can still easily fit into the bridesmaid dress, and unless I gain twenty pounds or more or grow an inch which is even less likely, I can wear it again for the Prom.’ Daria got a sly look on her face. ‘Unless of course you want to wear the bridesmaid dress to the Snow Ball, in which case, unless you want us to match, I would wear something else.’
Quinn had started to make inarticulate noises as soon as Daria had mentioned the idea, so Daria turned to her mother. ‘Those gowns individually cost as much as both of our Snow Ball outfits cost last year combined. One of us should get some extra use out of at least one of them.’ She turned back to Quinn. ‘It is not a seasonal gown. It will look nice, so drop it.’
Quinn huffed and turned to her mother. “She’s right,” she told Quinn.
‘Maybe you can wear yours to the Hop,’ Daria teased.
“And have people think I wear your hand-me-downs!” Quinn shouted. “Ahrgh!” She turned and stomped over to and then up the stairs.
Having kept an ear out for at least the tone of the ‘discussion,’ Jake deemed it safe and poked his head into the living area. “Dinner should be ready in twenty minutes!”
“I’d better double check,” Helen muttered, and headed towards the kitchen.
Daria hugged herself slightly, smiling even more slightly in satisfaction.
*
The next day, ‘Black Friday,’ Helen and Quinn were out of the house shortly after 7:00 am. There was no telling exactly when they might return, but Daria was willing to bet that it wouldn’t be until well into the afternoon. Her father had left to put in a morning’s work, but he would be returning after noon to pick Daria up for lunch, then he and Daria would be off to play a round of golf at the country club where the law firm’s partners were all members – Helen’s family had been accepted just the month before. Jake wanted to play the course before it switched to winter rules.
Daria had therefore arranged for Troy to come over that morning. He arrived a little before 9:30. He was a bit surprised to see that Daria was only wearing her Lawndale gym outfit – well, just the t-shirt and shorts at any event. He had rarely been around Daria when she didn’t have her boots on, and this was the first time he had seen her barefoot. He was also surprised by the long hug and kiss he received as soon as the front door shut.
She took Troy’s coat and pointed at his shoes. He kicked them off, and was very pleased to follow her up the stairs, as (very unusually) she was exaggerating her hip movement just a bit. In addition, it had been very clear from the hug that she was only wearing the t-shirt and shorts.
Daria took his hand once they reached the second floor and led him to her room. This was really the first time he had been alone with Daria in her room, not that he had been allowed there very often.
‘Quinn and I had to promise my mother that we would never be in our bedrooms with a boy with the door shut, so the door stays open,’ she signed, still closing the door about two-thirds of the way.
Daria looked at Troy nervously. ‘I don’t know when I might be willing to….’
‘Have sex?’ Troy signed back.
‘Well, yes…not…actual intercourse.’ She shyly looked Troy in the eye. ‘But I would like to try something.’
‘Try anything you want,’ Troy answered. He stepped a bit closer and his hands went to her shoulders. “If either of us feel uncomfortable, we will stop.”
Daria nodded, and to his shock she unbuttoned and then unzipped his jeans. “Don’t think about it, it will just be more comfortable for you in your shirt and underwear,” came her very slight, hoarse whisper.
Nodding in returned, Troy slipped off his jeans, standing in his red polo shirt, briefs, and socks.
Daria’s eyes went to floor, and Troy could see her steel herself. Then she quickly dropped her shorts and then pulled off her t-shirt. She flushed very red, and refused to look up. It was clear she was having a difficult time not covering herself with her hands and she was nearly hyperventilating from nerves.
“Wow,” Troy whispered. Carefully, again just touching her shoulders, he added softly, “You’re even more beautiful than I ever thought you would be.”
Daria looked up, looking a bit puzzled, and her breaths evened out somewhat. “Hey, I’ve never seen a nude woman live before, but I’ve seen plenty of paintings and sculptures.” ‘Not to mention what I’ve seen on the internet,’ he mentally added. ‘I have a very good idea of form. I know you’re not very comfortable in your body, but as wonderful and bright as you are as a person, you are also very beautiful.” Daria grabbed him in a grateful hug, which Troy returned, careful not to let his hands go to anyplace intimate. He did enjoy the soft bare skin of her back, however.
The pair kissed gently, then Daria backed away. She slowly sat and then laid on her bed, bit her lip, and then signed, ‘If you want, could you…would you…please me?’
“As you wish,” Troy replied with a smile.
Indeed, Troy spent the next twenty-five minutes exploring Daria’s nude body, making sure he pleased and stimulated her, orally and manually; stroking, licking, nibbling, suckling, and manipulating. In fact, despite his inexperience and her nerves, Daria climaxed three times, although it took over fifteen minutes to coax the first one out of her.
Following her third climax, Daria stopped Troy and pulled him into a full body hug and a deep kiss. After a few minutes, Daria gave Troy’s shoulder a slight push. Taking the hint, he rolled onto his back. Signaling him to remain where he was, Daria got up and put on panties, her gym shorts, and socks. ‘We should not be interrupted for more than an hour,’ Daria told him, glancing at her clock. ‘Still, if we are, grab your jeans and run to the bathroom. I will pull on a bra and top and we will do our best to bluff things out.’
“Okay?” Troy responded, a bit puzzled, but hopeful.
Daria smirked and bent over the bed. She reached down, and her fingers went under the waistband of his Fruit-of-the-Looms. It took a slight tug, but Troy lifted his hips, and allowed himself to be exposed to a girl for the first time.
Both teens blushed as she did this.
Daria laid the underwear on top of Troy’s jeans. She grabbed her box of tissues from the nightstand in case of any accidents, and set it on the side of the bed.
Daria gently took Troy’s member, which had been alternating from between mostly to fully engorged for over the previous forty minutes, in her right hand. As she pumped him gently and lightly, eliciting a low moan, Daria leaned over and kissed him on the mouth lightly. Then, pumping lower down with just two fingers and her thumb, Daria moved closer and slowly engulfed her target while kneeling on the bed.
“You seem to be in a good mood, Kiddo,” Jake said as Daria slid into his Lexus just after noon, not quite half an hour after Troy had left. Daria merely nodded, a slight smile on her lips.
*
Late that Saturday afternoon, Helen was surprised to get a phone call from Jim Vitale, asking her to come into the office that Sunday “whenever you’re free.” She made the appointment for 12:30, and despite assurances that it was not bad news, Helen was on edge for the next twenty-three hours.
Helen let herself into the deserted building and into the equally deserted wing the law firm occupied. The only car in the parking lot had been Vitale’s Cadillac. The door to his outer office was open, and Helen came in and simply went and knocked on his open door. Vitale looked up, his face giving nothing away, and he simply said, “Come in and take a seat.”
Helen sat and looked at the boss with a little apprehension.
Vitale sighed, and said, “I have some information to share. There was a big family dinner Thursday at Joe’s place.” This was the senior Schrector, the father of both Eric and his slightly younger brother Matt. “Everyone was waiting for Eric to show up – he had said he was going to play a round of golf that morning, but instead he went to the club’s bar as soon as it opened. When he left to go to the dinner, he was in no condition to drive but he dodged the people at the Club who wanted to call a ride for him. He crashed, and was killed.”
Helen’s eyes went wide at the news.
“When he heard the news, Joe had another heart attack. He’ll be mostly fine with some rest, but at seventy-five he’s decided it was time to retire. We worked all that out yesterday morning. In the afternoon, we decided not to go outside for new blood right away. Would you be willing to consider coming on as a full partner?”
Helen managed to clear her head, and of course accepted.
“Here is the partnership agreement. Look it over, and let me know tomorrow if the terms are acceptable. With those two…gone, we have four senior admins available. If you want to keep Marianne as your admin assistant, you can choose any one of the other four as your senior admin. We’ll start looking for another partner, one specializing in personal injury cases, in the New Year, and will carry two of the admins for that work, while the fourth, or Marianne, will work with the associates.”
“I’ll keep Marianne, and I’ll talk with the other four after I look this over,” Helen responded.
“Assuming it’s fine, just give that to Julie after you sign,” Vitale told her. “If there’s anything you need to talk to me about, be here at eight-thirty.”
“Of course.”
Vitale grimaced. “Sorry to be abrupt, but I need to look over all the cases and clients to see where to reassign things. Assuming you sign, there’ll be a partners’ meeting at eleven to see if the reassignments work for everyone.” He almost smiled. “No matter what I come up with, I’m sure there’ll be some horse trading, so be prepared.”
“Of course,” Helen said again. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Tomorrow,” Vitale assured her. “I’ve had you keep an eye on Eric’s cases since he got back from rehab in August, so your input will be welcome when we decide things. You’ll likely get most of his cases, so if you have time today you might want to look over the files you have on them so you can update everyone tomorrow morning.”
“I will,” Helen reassured him. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Vitale managed a smile. “Until then.”
After looking over the partnership terms with even more than her usual diligence (she had learned over the previous year exactly how sneaky the partners could be, and how excellent Vitale and Horowitz’s legal language could be). To her surprise, there were no surprises in the document. She was a bit surprised at some of the appendices, which showed exactly how profitable the firm was. Her base pay would likely triple – the senior Schrector, an estate attorney, had many very wealthy clients, but had not added a new one in ten years on his own, and the firm would almost certainly retain most if not all of them. She was equally certain she could handle all of Eric’s current cases.
She therefore handed in the agreement the next morning at 8:30 with a smile.
Sign up to rate and review this story