Categories > Cartoons > Daria > Daria's Party Addition
Daria’s Party Addition – 04 – Giving Thanks & an Accident
by Dr T
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Daria was surprised when Brittany took her aside after the students arrived back at school from the Mall trip. “Daria, are you and Jack a committed couple or something?”
The question surprised Daria. “Well, we are dating, but we having decided on anything like that. Why?”
“One of the other cheerleaders was wondering if you’d be showing up at Jerry’s some weekend. I…I don’t know if you know about those.” Brittany actually blushed slightly, to Daria’s surprise.
Daria nodded slightly. “Jack mentioned those as one of many possible weekend activities, but said they were, well, make-out parties, so I don’t think we’d be going to one, even if we were ‘going steady’ or something similar.” ‘Really make out? Maybe, but not with anyone else in the room!’ Daria admitted to herself.
“Okay!” Brittany said brightly. Then, she frowned. “Still, Daria, you should know that those are more than just make-out parties, just so you know.”
“What do you mean?”
Brittany came as close as she could, considering her perky ‘torpedoes’ and softly said, “Well, the dress code for girls at those…. Your top should button, unless you have a halter that unties easily, and that’s all you should wear up top…and while you would wear a skirt, there’s no reason to wear anything underneath, because you’d just be taking them off.” She didn’t want to mention that her cousin, who had dated Jack for most of the previous three years, had related her experiences at those parties.
Daria flushed at those ideas as she worked out the implications. “Ah….”
“Girls who go to those are either in a steady relationship, or don’t care if they get a reputation,” Brittany explained. “Kevvie keeps trying to get me to go, but…but not yet, anyways. Even if you and Jack get serious, he is two years older than you, so once he graduates, other boys might…get ideas about you next year.”
“Thank you, Brittany,” Daria said sincerely. She was surprised, and a bit pleased, that Brittany cared enough to tell her all this. “Err, Brittany…you know Jack pretty well.” Brittany nodded. “Is he the sort that would, well, kiss-and-tell, or even exaggerate what happens?” Daria knew that many guys acted in these ways. She didn’t think Jack would do either, but she wanted some assurances.
Brittany made a face at that. “I know some guys do those things,” she acknowledged. She pondered a bit, her finger again twirling her hair. Finally, she answered, “I know he would never make things up, and I really don’t think he’d say anything. In the over two and a half years he dated my cousin, I never heard a rumor that he might have started.” Brittany snorted, “Well, she told me a lot – and all of them good, although he was more serious about her than in the end than she was about him. So, from him? never heard of anything bad.”
“That’s good to know,” Daria acknowledged.
Brittany frowned. “I don’t think Fred would make anything up, either. I don’t know if he would completely keep his mouth shut.”
“Also good to know,” Daria agreed. “Thank you; I appreciate this.”
Brittany smiled. “No problem! I like that we’re friendly!” She wandered away towards Kevin, who was looking rather lost on his own.
“Dare I ask what that was about?” Jack asked as Daria walked up to him a bit hesitantly.
“Brittany was telling me, well, about the ‘dress code’ for those get-togethers at Jerry’s,” Daria responded drily, “or the lack thereof.”
“I see. I told you they were make-out parties,” Jack replied. “I would have explained in more detail if you had expressed any interest.”
“Fair enough,” Daria responded. “I guess we should make plans for the holiday?” School was only a half day on Wednesday because of the Thanksgiving holiday.
“I have two papers to finish, History and Language Arts, but I just have to finish typing the final drafts. I should be done Wednesday afternoon if we don’t go out until evening. Thursday, Mom remembers the domestic training her mother gave her and she cooks a feast for ten instead of just five.” He shook his head. “My sister will be home from college, and Mom wants to make sure she knows what she’s missing.”
He took Daria’s hand, causing her shyly look down at their joined hands with a tiny smile; she still was unused to the gesture, but was coming to like it. Meanwhile, Jack went on, “I’m free for anything Thursday night as well as Friday and Saturday. Sunday, I should finish polishing the last of my college applications so I can mail them Monday – the forms are all filled out, but I finished drafting the essays yesterday morning. I just want to wait a few days before I proof them.” He smirked. “Jerry is having get-togethers Friday and Saturday. While I am sure the night gatherings are out for us, the afternoon ones are far tamer – more greet-and-eat for couples, not anything more.”
Daria looked into his eyes. “Really?” she asked hopefully. She was surprising herself, she really wanted to spend as much time, close time, with Jack as possible.
Jack nodded. “Honest.” He gave her a half-smile. To Daria’s surprise, she realized that her heart was beating a bit faster and that she was returning the half smile. “Granted, at the night parties, everyone has a good idea what the other couples are doing, but it’s too dark to see anything beyond basic movements. There’s always some music, so you don’t hear much unless someone gets loud.” ‘Like Brittany and Kevin likely would,’ he added mentally. “At the afternoon get-togethers? Far too bright for any but the most shameless.” ‘Not even Brittany is like that…at least not yet, no matter how much Kevin tries.’
“Okay…I’ll see what I can do.” Daria realized that she really wanted to see if this could evolve into something serious, something real and possibly even long-term – the first time that thought had really occurred to her about anyone. “I’ll likely be staying over at Jane’s, but we wouldn’t be spending the whole time together going around – she’d go through paint withdrawal.”
The two gave the other a very light kiss, and a slightly confused, and slightly hopeful and wishful, Daria went to find Jane.
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Daria found Jane giving Fred a more-than-friendly farewell kiss. “So, I guess you two are getting along,” Daria teased drily.
“Yeah, nothing serious, but he is a good kisser.”
Daria nodded in acknowledgement. Considering that had been a kiss in crowded hallway, she figured Jane wasn’t concerned about anything getting around about their relationship so long as it was accurate. “So, what’s the word for the break?”
Jane sighed. “Trent has gigs at a place just outside of Baltimore. The band is supposed to stay with a cousin of Nick’s – at least I hope so, I’d hate to think of them overnighting in Max’s van!”
“And so?”
“I really wouldn’t mind just having a turkey tv dinner by myself, but yes, I’ll come over for dinner. I’ll stay Wednesday and Thursday night, and you can come over the rest of the weekend. Dad is in Cornwall for another week and Mom won’t be back from Louisiana until around then either.” Her eyes narrowed. “Fred said to talk to you about Friday and Saturday afternoons, and that maybe the four of us could also do something at night.”
Daria explained the ideas, and also the pitfalls if they stayed at Jerry’s too late. “We both wear jeans, non-opening tops, and our most obvious bras, just so no one gets the wrong ideas,” Jane nearly growled. She had no desire to become known as the second ‘Door Knob Lane’ – Summer’s nickname by her senior year of high school and second pregnancy from two different boys in a little less than three years. She was willing to explore a physical relationship with Fred, but she didn’t want to be thought of as easy. Jane smirked, and mostly to tease Daria, added, “We can change into something more provocative at my place if we bring them over after the meet-and-greet.”
To Jane’s shock, Daria merely agreed. Jane’s suggestion had given Daria some additional ideas that morphed into fantasies. These occupied her mind to the extent that she had little reaction to the news that a modeling agency would be conducting a model search after Thanksgiving.
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Helen had no problem with Daria’s basic plan, since she did not know any of the details and she was trying to finalize some last-minute surprise plans of her own. Jane and Daria stopped at Jane’s after school, in part to ensure Trent was getting ready to leave. (He was at least awake when they got to the Lane’s a little after 1:00, as it was a half-day at school.) Jane picked up changes of clothes, a sketchbook, and, reluctantly, brought along her math and history books so she and Daria could do their homework that evening, getting it out of the way for the entire vacation.
Jane rather enjoyed Thanksgiving with the Morgendorffers, even if she had to wake up at 7:30. The ham, scrambled eggs, and hashbrown breakfast was better (and larger) than any she had had in many months. She enjoyed Daria’s comments on the Macy’s parade and even some of Quinn’s compliments and complaints about the costumes and performances of the ‘featured’ artists. All of Jane’s turkey dinners for over the past two years had been the occasional ones served in the Lawndale High or Middle School cafeterias – hardly inspiring. Helen may not have done anything but order this meal and heat the appropriate portions up in various ways, but it was all from a first-class deli.
Yes, the Morgendorffers were often pretty far from being a stereotypical upper middle class American family; in some ways they were even rather dysfunctional. Compared to what the Lane household had been since her three eldest siblings had left and her mother started her frequent travels – all between three and five years before, while her father’s trips had started even earlier – this Thanksgiving was a snug family holiday at the Morgendorffers. Daria and Quinn, while far from ‘playing nicely,’ made certain to keep the peace at least until after the early afternoon dinner was finished and cleaned up and their mother sprang some surprises, when they went their separate ways.
Helen had actually managed to get the next day off, and was leaving her new cell phone and pager at home – she and Jake were off that evening for a relaxing vacation. Obviously they were not going to trust the girls home alone. Daria was therefore going to Jane’s (Helen still didn’t understand that Amanda was away as often as she was at home) while Quinn would be staying with Stacy – Quinn was happy to go along, but was surprised Helen had contacted the Rowes without her knowing about it. (Both Jane and Daria had gotten permission to stay over at the others’ house on non-school nights the last time Amanda had been in town.) Both Quinn and Daria had to surrender their housekeys in insure there was no sneaking back – although Daria had made duplicates for the house way back before the move.
After Daria helped Jane store most of the leftovers from dinner in the Lane fridge after having some turkey sandwiches as a light supper – it had been a long time since that fridge had been this full of actual food – she turned to Jane and demanded, “Alright, I know you have something up your sleeve. It popped into your head right as Mom was outlining the changes to all our schedules. What is it?”
Jane smirked. “Let’s get changed for the night, and then I’ll show you.”
“It’s barely past Six-thirty!”
“I know – it’ll be a special bad movie night. Since we’re the only ones here, we can watch on the big tv down here.”
Suspicious, Daria nonetheless complied, and well before 7:00 she had showered and was sitting on the living room sofa in a t-shirt, sweatpants, and socks, with a similarly attired Jane. “So, what are these bad movies?”
“Well,” Jane teased, “I imagine they’re bad; I know they’re certainly naughty.”
“Jane,” Daria demanded, wanting a direct answer.
“We got three movies the band was watching; I think these are actually Max’s….”
Daria had a strong suspicion. “Are these…well…?”
“Adult, x-rated, porn? Yep!”
Daria was too busy being startled, and blushing, to say anything.
“So, we have ‘Gloria’s Erotic Weekend,’ “Groupies’ Delight,’ and ‘The Twins and the Fraternity.’ Which do we start with?” Jane was enjoying Daria’s reactions.
Seeing Daria was still a bit speechless, Jane teased her some more, “Since you aren’t crushing on Trent as much since you met Jack, I guess we can skip the groupie movie for now….”
“Bite me, Lane!”
“I don’t know if any of these are that kinky.”
“Shut up and put on the smut, if we’re going through with this.” Daria was not about to admit that she was intensely curious (as well as embarrassed).
“Oh, we are.” Jane put on the ‘Gloria’ movie.
It turned out that Gloria certainly had a busy weekend. Even before her workweek had ended, she had fellated her middle-aged boss. Friday night, she and two friends went to a bar and picked up a man each before they separated to have three separate sex scenes. Saturday morning, Gloria and one of her girlfriends from the night before got together to do yoga, which quickly developed into a lesbian scene. At a bar Saturday night, she and the girlfriend picked up new men, roommates, who took the girls back to their place where they had partner-swapping sex together. The next morning, Gloria’s friend left the apartment, and Gloria had sex with both the roommates.
All-in-all, a busy weekend.
Jane had been sneaking looks at Trent and his friends’ porn for several years. She enjoyed it, and felt that even though she had done very little, she would know what to do when called upon. She correctly guessed that this was Daria’s first exposure to hard-core. Jane was therefore almost as interested in Daria’s reactions as she was in the action in the video. “So, I can see you’re turned on,” Jane teased as the video ended. Daria’s nipples were even more erect than Jane’s own hard nibs, and there was a scent in the air that wasn’t mostly from Jane, and Daria was certainly fidgeting and was flushed. “Which scene turned you on the most?”
“No comment.”
“I liked them all, too,” Jane stated. “Not ready to swap partners with you, though.” Noticing Daria was still squirming a bit – that had started partway through the first scene – Jane suggested, “Shall we go upstairs? You can spend a little time in Penny’s room – I don’t think either of us is ready to perform in front of the other, or with each other for that matter.”
“Okay….” Daria managed to squeak, the fantasies from earlier that week now taking less abstract form…and desires. Now that she had seen what was physically possible (as opposed to theoretical), she had no trouble putting herself in Gloria’s place and Jack in her male partners’ as she fantasized multiple times – the first times that had ever happened for her.
Neither spoke further that evening about the movie or about what each had done afterwards. Nor did Daria mention the dream/fantasies she had about Jack that night.
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The two couples went to the Friday meet-greet-eat party at Jerry’s. Each couple was to bring something, the basic criteria being ‘anything but turkey-related.’ Jerry and Mary promised paper plates, napkins, plasticware, and sodas. Fred therefore brought a pound of sliced cheeses and a box of bacon-flavored crackers, Jack a large platter of cold meats and assorted cheeses and two boxes of Triscuits.
There were a dozen couples present, including not only Brittany and Kevin, but Jodie and Mack – while her parents usually kept her very busy, Jodie’s mother enjoyed the competitive shopping of Black Friday and so had spared her any activities for that day – she would have to attend a business dinner with her parents the next evening. All the remaining couples save one had at least one senior, and that couple were a Junior and a Freshman. The party started at 2:00 and lasted until 5:00. Mary and Jerry, and the couples who would be partying harder that evening, stayed to clean up and then went out for dinner before returning to make-out after 7:00.
Daria, Jack, Jane, and Fred went to Cluster Burger for dinner and then to Jane’s. Jane took Fred down to the basement while Daria and Jack stayed in the living room. The couples spent over two hours making out on sofas. First, however, Jane and Daria had gone upstairs to change from their non-suggestive outfits into more comfortable clothes. Both seniors were surprised (and pleased) when the Sophomores had come down the stairs in similar outfits: sweatpants, socks, and thin t-shirts with no bras. It was also clear from their t-shirts that both were either chilly or excited, and both soon showed it was excitement.
Both girls’ thoughts were filled with ideas and images from the porn video they had watched. Jane felt ready to experiment. Daria simply yearned for physical affection with the young man she was almost ready to admit she had fallen for.
Within half an hour, first Jane and then Daria were both topless for the first time. It had taken some outside-the-shirt stimulation before Daria allowed Jack to explore under her t-shirt, but she was quickly edging towards a mild orgasm, and came as soon as Jack started suckling softly on one puffy nipple while caressing the other.
Fred would also take off his shirt, but other than some groping, neither he nor Jane went below the waist, of the other or of themselves. Jack’s shirt was unbuttoned soon after Daria’s came off. Once she had orgasmed, Daria became a bit more carried away. While her sweats remained on, Jack was allowed to reach down them and was able to bring Daria to climax twice more.
After Daria recovered from the afterglow of her second orgasm, she kissed Jack deeply, her mind raging as her favorite images of the porn movie echoed through her imagination. Finally unable to stop herself – actually more unwilling to listen to any suggestion of caution after a moment’s hesitation – Daria started unbuttoning and then unzipping Jack’s jeans. Her small, soft hand started to return the favor Jack had provided her. Soon, Jack broke their near constant kiss and whispered, “You’d better stop; we don’t want a mess.”
“Don’t worry,” Daria murmured, still remembering her favorite scenes from the previous evening’s film. She then bent down and ensured that there would be no mess as she soon gave Jack the first ‘happy ending’ of their relationship, to his surprise.
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The pair soon fully redressed, and proceeded to cuddle with little kisses exchanged, waiting for Jane and Fred to join them. Finally, Jack said, “I was going to ask you something. I hope you won’t misunderstand….”
A bit worried, Daria asked, “Misunderstand what?”
“I meant to ask before we got really involved tonight, so I don’t want you to think what we did makes me ask. I know it might sound old-fashioned, but would you be my steady girlfriend?”
“I think it’s a bit more current to ask if we can be a couple, but either way, yes.” The pair went back to more serious kissing.
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“Damn, Daria!” Jane exclaimed shortly after the boys had left. “I never thought you’d do that!”
“You didn’t? Neither did I! but it just seemed…right.” She started blushing. “Jack had helped me to three climaxes before that, after all.”
“I’m impressed.”
“I was shocked – that I let him try and that it worked out so well,” Daria admitted. “Never mind that I, well….”
“Returned the favor?” Daria nodded. “And you were inspired by last night’s movie,” Jane teased.
“Yes,” Daria admitted, now in a whisper and very flushed from embarrassment…and the memories.
“So, how was it?” Jane asked in a teasing tone.
Not about to admit to having orgasmed a final time when Jack ejaculated and she swallowed, Daria merely smirked despite somehow blushing even more and stated, “Delicious.”
“I say it again, I’m surprised at you,” Jane commented.
“You’re surprised?” Daria nearly exclaimed. “I’m totally shocked! If anyone had told me before we moved here that before the end of the year I’d not only be a relationship – both a romantic and physical one – I wouldn’t have believed her.” She shook her head. “I never imagined there would be a sexual aspect either.” She shuddered in remembered pleasures – given and received.
Jane decided she needed to take a long, hot shower, so that she could relieve the excitement that had built up during her own make-out session, which now intensified as images of Daria doing things that they had seen the porn actresses do the previous night flitted through her imagination.
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The next day was similar to the previous one. Daria spent the morning reading while Jane painted – both decided without saying anything not to bring up the idea of watching another adult video. The two couples spent the afternoon at Jerry’s. The couples went to a diner for dinner, but returned to the Lanes’. Neither Jane nor Daria wanted the extra temptation which would have come from making out in bedrooms, so they again spent time on the same sofas as the evening before.
For Daria, the evening was different because Jack eased her sweatpants and then panties off soon after they were alone. Daria had not resisted the idea – she was shy but with the lights off, she let Jack take the lead. Proving she could trust him not to go too far, he stimulated her to two orgasms, using his tongue this time as well as his fingers. Daria was eager to return the favor, this time using more mouth and tongue than fingers, which Jack enjoyed even more.
Jane on the other hand experienced something closer to what Daria had the evening before, although Fred only managed to get Jane off once instead of twice. Jane did however still go down on her date to finish their evening.
After the boys left, Jane contemplated her slightly-smiling friend. The best word to describe Daria at that moment, Jane decided, would need to have aspects of both a physical contentment and sexual satisfaction. Daria had obviously very much enjoyed herself.
Jane had as well, but she decided she did not like performing fellatio nearly as much as Daria, and wondered if she was ready to go further. Daria, on the other hand, was quite happy with how things went and was in no hurry to press further.
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The first day back from break, Ms Li again announced that a modelling agency would be coming to Lawndale High soon. On top of that, Ms Barch decided to assign a major project, and worse, assigned partners, with Daria being stuck with Kevin. All-in-all, a bad start for the run-up towards the end of the year holidays, as far as Daria (and more than a few others) thought.
Daria handled Kevin by having him watch sports channels, especially one that showed all old football games. Kevin was happy with that arrangement, even more so when Quinn appeared to cater to all his snacking needs.
Brittany totally trusted Daria, but did not trust Kevin, or Quinn for that matter. Upchuck was keeping her running errands, as she was stuck as his partner, so she could not keep an eye on the situation. After much attempt at thought, in the end Brittany just asked Daria for help.
Daria dealt with Upchuck simply by reminding him that it was almost certain that Brittany would have to explain their version of the assignment to Ms Barch and so his science grade – always under threat in Barch’s classes – would depend both on Brittany’s understanding the project and her willingness to participate. The Kevin/Quinn situation Daria dealt with by explaining to Quinn that Kevin would only notice her if she was topless and giving him a blowjob – and even then, her actions might just be a pleasant background feeling if there was a really good game on. Quinn had been ignored enough by this point that she accepted that – and since she wouldn’t do either, especially the second, Brittany could relax on that score.
In the end, Daria scored an A on the project, phrasing the report so that it showed that Kevin had contributed essentially nothing to it. Since Daria had Kevin sign off on the report, and he had only postured during her presentation, he earned a D+. (Barch knew Ms Li would allow nothing lower for Kevin than a D if he at least basically showed up.) Brittany had asked Daria to go over the report Upchuck was submitting in their name. She had (a little reluctantly, but she thought she might owe Brittany some consideration), and rewrote a few paragraphs and explained it to Brittany carefully. Charles had decided to go along, and he and Brittany both managed a C+ – a high grade for him from Barch (other than on multiple choice exams) and a step higher than usual for Brittany.
Besides all that, Brittany, Quinn, and a number of the other girls were getting excited by the approaching day the Amazon Modeling Agency would be coming to Lawndale High.
When that day arrived, while Brittany was the most over-prepared student – her evening gown was not only over-the-top, it emphasized the wrong physical attributes for this modeling agency – but she was far from the only one. A number of girls hurt their (mostly slim) chances by wearing too much makeup (often poorly applied for the quantities used) or wrong clothing (or both). While Romonica was on the lookout for the most obvious candidates, Cloud was looking for some ‘diamonds in the rough.’ He tried recruiting both Daria and Jane, but took their refusal with some good humor.
It took Quinn some fast talking, and then some quick backing down when she went overboard with the competitive aspects of both modeling and dating, but in the end she persuaded Helen (Jake stayed strictly out of the discussion as much as possible) to allow her to participate when she received an invitation.
Daria was far from happy with her sister’s attitude, and disliked it when their mother talked her into going to observe the class to make certain Quinn wasn’t mistreated by the modeling reps. Still, Daria had given in – hoping a bit that Quinn would be shown up by some of the other girls. Jane had not been enthused to tag along, but as she often ate two or three dinners a week at the Morgendorffers, and Daria often sprang for pizza or a burger-and-fries for dinner or weekend lunch once or twice a week, she went along. Jack was not really interested either – he didn’t think it would be interesting to see the wannabes strut in school clothes. Still, he was willing to be a dutiful boyfriend. Fred was more willing to go along.
The first two-thirds of the ‘class’ were about as boring as Jack had anticipated – fifteen minutes of basics followed by a short break, then fifteen more minutes of runway strutting. The eight girls – Quinn, Tiffany, Sandi, and four other too-thin, AA-to-A cup long legged for their height Freshmen and one plus-sized Sophomore – had been played off against each other from the start, especially by Romonica. Of the eight, Sandi took the most advantage of this, thinking that it was seemingly winning her points. (It wasn’t; the reps wanted some competitive egos, but not prima donnas.)
During the second break, Sandi gave Quinn one too many needling insults, and Quinn finally snapped back one in return that insulted Sandi’s figure, intelligence and (lack of a) sense of style. Sandi was never able to take insults, and was shocked that someone had snapped back at her – her ‘mean girl’ persona usually prevented direct retaliation. She instantly lost her temper and pushed Quinn, not realizing that Quinn was close to the edge of the stage.
Quinn screamed as she fell into the shallow orchestra pit – it was still over seven feet to the bottom from the stage. Sandi’s eyes went wide as she realized what she had done – she couldn’t care less that Quinn was likely injured, but with eight witnesses on stage – two of them adults – and close to thirty witnesses in the audience, even someone as shallow and egotistical as Sandi realized there was no way she was getting totally out of this mess.
Meanwhile, Daria had quickly sent Jane for the nurse and Jodie for Ms Li – Jodie was one of the few students Li would likely take seriously. Daria herself hurried down the aisle, followed by Jack. “Stay away,” Cloud warned her. He had jumped down into the pit and was examining Quinn. “I have some training. She’s going to need an ambulance.”
Daria let loose a sound no one in Lawndale had certainly ever heard from her – a genuine growl of anger. Jack quickly grabbed her shoulders, turned her around, and hugged her tight. “I know you want to hurt Sandi, but if you do, you’ll only distract Ms Li from punishing her.” Daria fought the envelopment for a moment, but as Jack continued to verbally reassure her and hug her, Daria first relaxed, and then hugged him back tightly.
Sandi was still standing there, shocked, with Romonica keeping an eye on her.
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In the end, Sandi was suspended until after New Year’s and banned from the Snow Ball (even though she had not yet scored a date). She would be on a type of probation until the end of her Sophomore year – meaning she could have no addition serious infractions without risking expulsion. She would actually transfer to a private school the next academic year.
Quinn had several hairline fractures in her forearms, a mild concussion, and a dislocated left shoulder. While not needing casts, she would have to wear braces for several weeks, which rather ruined her photos of the Snow Ball, but at least gave her good excuses not to dance much. Quinn had also heard the exchange between Daria and Jack, although it had not really registered at the time. When she did recall it, it made her think about her relationship with her sister in a possibly positive light for the first time in a long time.
Also on the positive side, Helen’s having to leave work to deal with this and then the aftermath brought her to the attention of the senior partner. Jim Vitale did not like the lawyer the Griffins had brought in to try and get Sandi at least somewhat off the hook (and themselves off the hook for paying for the medical costs for Quinn not covered by Helen’s insurance). He had been impressed by Helen when she was first hired, and liked what he saw now. He therefore removed her from Eric Schrecter’s team and placed her on his. Her pay only went up 1%, but her weekly average hours went down from over 60 just over 50 (although her direct billable hours remained about the same), and she enjoyed the work much more.
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Is Daria going too far, too fast with Jack? Yes; her previously-sheltered emotional life has left her caution easily overwhelmed. How far might her emotions take her? In this story, surprisingly far….
by Dr T
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Daria was surprised when Brittany took her aside after the students arrived back at school from the Mall trip. “Daria, are you and Jack a committed couple or something?”
The question surprised Daria. “Well, we are dating, but we having decided on anything like that. Why?”
“One of the other cheerleaders was wondering if you’d be showing up at Jerry’s some weekend. I…I don’t know if you know about those.” Brittany actually blushed slightly, to Daria’s surprise.
Daria nodded slightly. “Jack mentioned those as one of many possible weekend activities, but said they were, well, make-out parties, so I don’t think we’d be going to one, even if we were ‘going steady’ or something similar.” ‘Really make out? Maybe, but not with anyone else in the room!’ Daria admitted to herself.
“Okay!” Brittany said brightly. Then, she frowned. “Still, Daria, you should know that those are more than just make-out parties, just so you know.”
“What do you mean?”
Brittany came as close as she could, considering her perky ‘torpedoes’ and softly said, “Well, the dress code for girls at those…. Your top should button, unless you have a halter that unties easily, and that’s all you should wear up top…and while you would wear a skirt, there’s no reason to wear anything underneath, because you’d just be taking them off.” She didn’t want to mention that her cousin, who had dated Jack for most of the previous three years, had related her experiences at those parties.
Daria flushed at those ideas as she worked out the implications. “Ah….”
“Girls who go to those are either in a steady relationship, or don’t care if they get a reputation,” Brittany explained. “Kevvie keeps trying to get me to go, but…but not yet, anyways. Even if you and Jack get serious, he is two years older than you, so once he graduates, other boys might…get ideas about you next year.”
“Thank you, Brittany,” Daria said sincerely. She was surprised, and a bit pleased, that Brittany cared enough to tell her all this. “Err, Brittany…you know Jack pretty well.” Brittany nodded. “Is he the sort that would, well, kiss-and-tell, or even exaggerate what happens?” Daria knew that many guys acted in these ways. She didn’t think Jack would do either, but she wanted some assurances.
Brittany made a face at that. “I know some guys do those things,” she acknowledged. She pondered a bit, her finger again twirling her hair. Finally, she answered, “I know he would never make things up, and I really don’t think he’d say anything. In the over two and a half years he dated my cousin, I never heard a rumor that he might have started.” Brittany snorted, “Well, she told me a lot – and all of them good, although he was more serious about her than in the end than she was about him. So, from him? never heard of anything bad.”
“That’s good to know,” Daria acknowledged.
Brittany frowned. “I don’t think Fred would make anything up, either. I don’t know if he would completely keep his mouth shut.”
“Also good to know,” Daria agreed. “Thank you; I appreciate this.”
Brittany smiled. “No problem! I like that we’re friendly!” She wandered away towards Kevin, who was looking rather lost on his own.
“Dare I ask what that was about?” Jack asked as Daria walked up to him a bit hesitantly.
“Brittany was telling me, well, about the ‘dress code’ for those get-togethers at Jerry’s,” Daria responded drily, “or the lack thereof.”
“I see. I told you they were make-out parties,” Jack replied. “I would have explained in more detail if you had expressed any interest.”
“Fair enough,” Daria responded. “I guess we should make plans for the holiday?” School was only a half day on Wednesday because of the Thanksgiving holiday.
“I have two papers to finish, History and Language Arts, but I just have to finish typing the final drafts. I should be done Wednesday afternoon if we don’t go out until evening. Thursday, Mom remembers the domestic training her mother gave her and she cooks a feast for ten instead of just five.” He shook his head. “My sister will be home from college, and Mom wants to make sure she knows what she’s missing.”
He took Daria’s hand, causing her shyly look down at their joined hands with a tiny smile; she still was unused to the gesture, but was coming to like it. Meanwhile, Jack went on, “I’m free for anything Thursday night as well as Friday and Saturday. Sunday, I should finish polishing the last of my college applications so I can mail them Monday – the forms are all filled out, but I finished drafting the essays yesterday morning. I just want to wait a few days before I proof them.” He smirked. “Jerry is having get-togethers Friday and Saturday. While I am sure the night gatherings are out for us, the afternoon ones are far tamer – more greet-and-eat for couples, not anything more.”
Daria looked into his eyes. “Really?” she asked hopefully. She was surprising herself, she really wanted to spend as much time, close time, with Jack as possible.
Jack nodded. “Honest.” He gave her a half-smile. To Daria’s surprise, she realized that her heart was beating a bit faster and that she was returning the half smile. “Granted, at the night parties, everyone has a good idea what the other couples are doing, but it’s too dark to see anything beyond basic movements. There’s always some music, so you don’t hear much unless someone gets loud.” ‘Like Brittany and Kevin likely would,’ he added mentally. “At the afternoon get-togethers? Far too bright for any but the most shameless.” ‘Not even Brittany is like that…at least not yet, no matter how much Kevin tries.’
“Okay…I’ll see what I can do.” Daria realized that she really wanted to see if this could evolve into something serious, something real and possibly even long-term – the first time that thought had really occurred to her about anyone. “I’ll likely be staying over at Jane’s, but we wouldn’t be spending the whole time together going around – she’d go through paint withdrawal.”
The two gave the other a very light kiss, and a slightly confused, and slightly hopeful and wishful, Daria went to find Jane.
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Daria found Jane giving Fred a more-than-friendly farewell kiss. “So, I guess you two are getting along,” Daria teased drily.
“Yeah, nothing serious, but he is a good kisser.”
Daria nodded in acknowledgement. Considering that had been a kiss in crowded hallway, she figured Jane wasn’t concerned about anything getting around about their relationship so long as it was accurate. “So, what’s the word for the break?”
Jane sighed. “Trent has gigs at a place just outside of Baltimore. The band is supposed to stay with a cousin of Nick’s – at least I hope so, I’d hate to think of them overnighting in Max’s van!”
“And so?”
“I really wouldn’t mind just having a turkey tv dinner by myself, but yes, I’ll come over for dinner. I’ll stay Wednesday and Thursday night, and you can come over the rest of the weekend. Dad is in Cornwall for another week and Mom won’t be back from Louisiana until around then either.” Her eyes narrowed. “Fred said to talk to you about Friday and Saturday afternoons, and that maybe the four of us could also do something at night.”
Daria explained the ideas, and also the pitfalls if they stayed at Jerry’s too late. “We both wear jeans, non-opening tops, and our most obvious bras, just so no one gets the wrong ideas,” Jane nearly growled. She had no desire to become known as the second ‘Door Knob Lane’ – Summer’s nickname by her senior year of high school and second pregnancy from two different boys in a little less than three years. She was willing to explore a physical relationship with Fred, but she didn’t want to be thought of as easy. Jane smirked, and mostly to tease Daria, added, “We can change into something more provocative at my place if we bring them over after the meet-and-greet.”
To Jane’s shock, Daria merely agreed. Jane’s suggestion had given Daria some additional ideas that morphed into fantasies. These occupied her mind to the extent that she had little reaction to the news that a modeling agency would be conducting a model search after Thanksgiving.
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Helen had no problem with Daria’s basic plan, since she did not know any of the details and she was trying to finalize some last-minute surprise plans of her own. Jane and Daria stopped at Jane’s after school, in part to ensure Trent was getting ready to leave. (He was at least awake when they got to the Lane’s a little after 1:00, as it was a half-day at school.) Jane picked up changes of clothes, a sketchbook, and, reluctantly, brought along her math and history books so she and Daria could do their homework that evening, getting it out of the way for the entire vacation.
Jane rather enjoyed Thanksgiving with the Morgendorffers, even if she had to wake up at 7:30. The ham, scrambled eggs, and hashbrown breakfast was better (and larger) than any she had had in many months. She enjoyed Daria’s comments on the Macy’s parade and even some of Quinn’s compliments and complaints about the costumes and performances of the ‘featured’ artists. All of Jane’s turkey dinners for over the past two years had been the occasional ones served in the Lawndale High or Middle School cafeterias – hardly inspiring. Helen may not have done anything but order this meal and heat the appropriate portions up in various ways, but it was all from a first-class deli.
Yes, the Morgendorffers were often pretty far from being a stereotypical upper middle class American family; in some ways they were even rather dysfunctional. Compared to what the Lane household had been since her three eldest siblings had left and her mother started her frequent travels – all between three and five years before, while her father’s trips had started even earlier – this Thanksgiving was a snug family holiday at the Morgendorffers. Daria and Quinn, while far from ‘playing nicely,’ made certain to keep the peace at least until after the early afternoon dinner was finished and cleaned up and their mother sprang some surprises, when they went their separate ways.
Helen had actually managed to get the next day off, and was leaving her new cell phone and pager at home – she and Jake were off that evening for a relaxing vacation. Obviously they were not going to trust the girls home alone. Daria was therefore going to Jane’s (Helen still didn’t understand that Amanda was away as often as she was at home) while Quinn would be staying with Stacy – Quinn was happy to go along, but was surprised Helen had contacted the Rowes without her knowing about it. (Both Jane and Daria had gotten permission to stay over at the others’ house on non-school nights the last time Amanda had been in town.) Both Quinn and Daria had to surrender their housekeys in insure there was no sneaking back – although Daria had made duplicates for the house way back before the move.
After Daria helped Jane store most of the leftovers from dinner in the Lane fridge after having some turkey sandwiches as a light supper – it had been a long time since that fridge had been this full of actual food – she turned to Jane and demanded, “Alright, I know you have something up your sleeve. It popped into your head right as Mom was outlining the changes to all our schedules. What is it?”
Jane smirked. “Let’s get changed for the night, and then I’ll show you.”
“It’s barely past Six-thirty!”
“I know – it’ll be a special bad movie night. Since we’re the only ones here, we can watch on the big tv down here.”
Suspicious, Daria nonetheless complied, and well before 7:00 she had showered and was sitting on the living room sofa in a t-shirt, sweatpants, and socks, with a similarly attired Jane. “So, what are these bad movies?”
“Well,” Jane teased, “I imagine they’re bad; I know they’re certainly naughty.”
“Jane,” Daria demanded, wanting a direct answer.
“We got three movies the band was watching; I think these are actually Max’s….”
Daria had a strong suspicion. “Are these…well…?”
“Adult, x-rated, porn? Yep!”
Daria was too busy being startled, and blushing, to say anything.
“So, we have ‘Gloria’s Erotic Weekend,’ “Groupies’ Delight,’ and ‘The Twins and the Fraternity.’ Which do we start with?” Jane was enjoying Daria’s reactions.
Seeing Daria was still a bit speechless, Jane teased her some more, “Since you aren’t crushing on Trent as much since you met Jack, I guess we can skip the groupie movie for now….”
“Bite me, Lane!”
“I don’t know if any of these are that kinky.”
“Shut up and put on the smut, if we’re going through with this.” Daria was not about to admit that she was intensely curious (as well as embarrassed).
“Oh, we are.” Jane put on the ‘Gloria’ movie.
It turned out that Gloria certainly had a busy weekend. Even before her workweek had ended, she had fellated her middle-aged boss. Friday night, she and two friends went to a bar and picked up a man each before they separated to have three separate sex scenes. Saturday morning, Gloria and one of her girlfriends from the night before got together to do yoga, which quickly developed into a lesbian scene. At a bar Saturday night, she and the girlfriend picked up new men, roommates, who took the girls back to their place where they had partner-swapping sex together. The next morning, Gloria’s friend left the apartment, and Gloria had sex with both the roommates.
All-in-all, a busy weekend.
Jane had been sneaking looks at Trent and his friends’ porn for several years. She enjoyed it, and felt that even though she had done very little, she would know what to do when called upon. She correctly guessed that this was Daria’s first exposure to hard-core. Jane was therefore almost as interested in Daria’s reactions as she was in the action in the video. “So, I can see you’re turned on,” Jane teased as the video ended. Daria’s nipples were even more erect than Jane’s own hard nibs, and there was a scent in the air that wasn’t mostly from Jane, and Daria was certainly fidgeting and was flushed. “Which scene turned you on the most?”
“No comment.”
“I liked them all, too,” Jane stated. “Not ready to swap partners with you, though.” Noticing Daria was still squirming a bit – that had started partway through the first scene – Jane suggested, “Shall we go upstairs? You can spend a little time in Penny’s room – I don’t think either of us is ready to perform in front of the other, or with each other for that matter.”
“Okay….” Daria managed to squeak, the fantasies from earlier that week now taking less abstract form…and desires. Now that she had seen what was physically possible (as opposed to theoretical), she had no trouble putting herself in Gloria’s place and Jack in her male partners’ as she fantasized multiple times – the first times that had ever happened for her.
Neither spoke further that evening about the movie or about what each had done afterwards. Nor did Daria mention the dream/fantasies she had about Jack that night.
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The two couples went to the Friday meet-greet-eat party at Jerry’s. Each couple was to bring something, the basic criteria being ‘anything but turkey-related.’ Jerry and Mary promised paper plates, napkins, plasticware, and sodas. Fred therefore brought a pound of sliced cheeses and a box of bacon-flavored crackers, Jack a large platter of cold meats and assorted cheeses and two boxes of Triscuits.
There were a dozen couples present, including not only Brittany and Kevin, but Jodie and Mack – while her parents usually kept her very busy, Jodie’s mother enjoyed the competitive shopping of Black Friday and so had spared her any activities for that day – she would have to attend a business dinner with her parents the next evening. All the remaining couples save one had at least one senior, and that couple were a Junior and a Freshman. The party started at 2:00 and lasted until 5:00. Mary and Jerry, and the couples who would be partying harder that evening, stayed to clean up and then went out for dinner before returning to make-out after 7:00.
Daria, Jack, Jane, and Fred went to Cluster Burger for dinner and then to Jane’s. Jane took Fred down to the basement while Daria and Jack stayed in the living room. The couples spent over two hours making out on sofas. First, however, Jane and Daria had gone upstairs to change from their non-suggestive outfits into more comfortable clothes. Both seniors were surprised (and pleased) when the Sophomores had come down the stairs in similar outfits: sweatpants, socks, and thin t-shirts with no bras. It was also clear from their t-shirts that both were either chilly or excited, and both soon showed it was excitement.
Both girls’ thoughts were filled with ideas and images from the porn video they had watched. Jane felt ready to experiment. Daria simply yearned for physical affection with the young man she was almost ready to admit she had fallen for.
Within half an hour, first Jane and then Daria were both topless for the first time. It had taken some outside-the-shirt stimulation before Daria allowed Jack to explore under her t-shirt, but she was quickly edging towards a mild orgasm, and came as soon as Jack started suckling softly on one puffy nipple while caressing the other.
Fred would also take off his shirt, but other than some groping, neither he nor Jane went below the waist, of the other or of themselves. Jack’s shirt was unbuttoned soon after Daria’s came off. Once she had orgasmed, Daria became a bit more carried away. While her sweats remained on, Jack was allowed to reach down them and was able to bring Daria to climax twice more.
After Daria recovered from the afterglow of her second orgasm, she kissed Jack deeply, her mind raging as her favorite images of the porn movie echoed through her imagination. Finally unable to stop herself – actually more unwilling to listen to any suggestion of caution after a moment’s hesitation – Daria started unbuttoning and then unzipping Jack’s jeans. Her small, soft hand started to return the favor Jack had provided her. Soon, Jack broke their near constant kiss and whispered, “You’d better stop; we don’t want a mess.”
“Don’t worry,” Daria murmured, still remembering her favorite scenes from the previous evening’s film. She then bent down and ensured that there would be no mess as she soon gave Jack the first ‘happy ending’ of their relationship, to his surprise.
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The pair soon fully redressed, and proceeded to cuddle with little kisses exchanged, waiting for Jane and Fred to join them. Finally, Jack said, “I was going to ask you something. I hope you won’t misunderstand….”
A bit worried, Daria asked, “Misunderstand what?”
“I meant to ask before we got really involved tonight, so I don’t want you to think what we did makes me ask. I know it might sound old-fashioned, but would you be my steady girlfriend?”
“I think it’s a bit more current to ask if we can be a couple, but either way, yes.” The pair went back to more serious kissing.
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“Damn, Daria!” Jane exclaimed shortly after the boys had left. “I never thought you’d do that!”
“You didn’t? Neither did I! but it just seemed…right.” She started blushing. “Jack had helped me to three climaxes before that, after all.”
“I’m impressed.”
“I was shocked – that I let him try and that it worked out so well,” Daria admitted. “Never mind that I, well….”
“Returned the favor?” Daria nodded. “And you were inspired by last night’s movie,” Jane teased.
“Yes,” Daria admitted, now in a whisper and very flushed from embarrassment…and the memories.
“So, how was it?” Jane asked in a teasing tone.
Not about to admit to having orgasmed a final time when Jack ejaculated and she swallowed, Daria merely smirked despite somehow blushing even more and stated, “Delicious.”
“I say it again, I’m surprised at you,” Jane commented.
“You’re surprised?” Daria nearly exclaimed. “I’m totally shocked! If anyone had told me before we moved here that before the end of the year I’d not only be a relationship – both a romantic and physical one – I wouldn’t have believed her.” She shook her head. “I never imagined there would be a sexual aspect either.” She shuddered in remembered pleasures – given and received.
Jane decided she needed to take a long, hot shower, so that she could relieve the excitement that had built up during her own make-out session, which now intensified as images of Daria doing things that they had seen the porn actresses do the previous night flitted through her imagination.
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The next day was similar to the previous one. Daria spent the morning reading while Jane painted – both decided without saying anything not to bring up the idea of watching another adult video. The two couples spent the afternoon at Jerry’s. The couples went to a diner for dinner, but returned to the Lanes’. Neither Jane nor Daria wanted the extra temptation which would have come from making out in bedrooms, so they again spent time on the same sofas as the evening before.
For Daria, the evening was different because Jack eased her sweatpants and then panties off soon after they were alone. Daria had not resisted the idea – she was shy but with the lights off, she let Jack take the lead. Proving she could trust him not to go too far, he stimulated her to two orgasms, using his tongue this time as well as his fingers. Daria was eager to return the favor, this time using more mouth and tongue than fingers, which Jack enjoyed even more.
Jane on the other hand experienced something closer to what Daria had the evening before, although Fred only managed to get Jane off once instead of twice. Jane did however still go down on her date to finish their evening.
After the boys left, Jane contemplated her slightly-smiling friend. The best word to describe Daria at that moment, Jane decided, would need to have aspects of both a physical contentment and sexual satisfaction. Daria had obviously very much enjoyed herself.
Jane had as well, but she decided she did not like performing fellatio nearly as much as Daria, and wondered if she was ready to go further. Daria, on the other hand, was quite happy with how things went and was in no hurry to press further.
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The first day back from break, Ms Li again announced that a modelling agency would be coming to Lawndale High soon. On top of that, Ms Barch decided to assign a major project, and worse, assigned partners, with Daria being stuck with Kevin. All-in-all, a bad start for the run-up towards the end of the year holidays, as far as Daria (and more than a few others) thought.
Daria handled Kevin by having him watch sports channels, especially one that showed all old football games. Kevin was happy with that arrangement, even more so when Quinn appeared to cater to all his snacking needs.
Brittany totally trusted Daria, but did not trust Kevin, or Quinn for that matter. Upchuck was keeping her running errands, as she was stuck as his partner, so she could not keep an eye on the situation. After much attempt at thought, in the end Brittany just asked Daria for help.
Daria dealt with Upchuck simply by reminding him that it was almost certain that Brittany would have to explain their version of the assignment to Ms Barch and so his science grade – always under threat in Barch’s classes – would depend both on Brittany’s understanding the project and her willingness to participate. The Kevin/Quinn situation Daria dealt with by explaining to Quinn that Kevin would only notice her if she was topless and giving him a blowjob – and even then, her actions might just be a pleasant background feeling if there was a really good game on. Quinn had been ignored enough by this point that she accepted that – and since she wouldn’t do either, especially the second, Brittany could relax on that score.
In the end, Daria scored an A on the project, phrasing the report so that it showed that Kevin had contributed essentially nothing to it. Since Daria had Kevin sign off on the report, and he had only postured during her presentation, he earned a D+. (Barch knew Ms Li would allow nothing lower for Kevin than a D if he at least basically showed up.) Brittany had asked Daria to go over the report Upchuck was submitting in their name. She had (a little reluctantly, but she thought she might owe Brittany some consideration), and rewrote a few paragraphs and explained it to Brittany carefully. Charles had decided to go along, and he and Brittany both managed a C+ – a high grade for him from Barch (other than on multiple choice exams) and a step higher than usual for Brittany.
Besides all that, Brittany, Quinn, and a number of the other girls were getting excited by the approaching day the Amazon Modeling Agency would be coming to Lawndale High.
When that day arrived, while Brittany was the most over-prepared student – her evening gown was not only over-the-top, it emphasized the wrong physical attributes for this modeling agency – but she was far from the only one. A number of girls hurt their (mostly slim) chances by wearing too much makeup (often poorly applied for the quantities used) or wrong clothing (or both). While Romonica was on the lookout for the most obvious candidates, Cloud was looking for some ‘diamonds in the rough.’ He tried recruiting both Daria and Jane, but took their refusal with some good humor.
It took Quinn some fast talking, and then some quick backing down when she went overboard with the competitive aspects of both modeling and dating, but in the end she persuaded Helen (Jake stayed strictly out of the discussion as much as possible) to allow her to participate when she received an invitation.
Daria was far from happy with her sister’s attitude, and disliked it when their mother talked her into going to observe the class to make certain Quinn wasn’t mistreated by the modeling reps. Still, Daria had given in – hoping a bit that Quinn would be shown up by some of the other girls. Jane had not been enthused to tag along, but as she often ate two or three dinners a week at the Morgendorffers, and Daria often sprang for pizza or a burger-and-fries for dinner or weekend lunch once or twice a week, she went along. Jack was not really interested either – he didn’t think it would be interesting to see the wannabes strut in school clothes. Still, he was willing to be a dutiful boyfriend. Fred was more willing to go along.
The first two-thirds of the ‘class’ were about as boring as Jack had anticipated – fifteen minutes of basics followed by a short break, then fifteen more minutes of runway strutting. The eight girls – Quinn, Tiffany, Sandi, and four other too-thin, AA-to-A cup long legged for their height Freshmen and one plus-sized Sophomore – had been played off against each other from the start, especially by Romonica. Of the eight, Sandi took the most advantage of this, thinking that it was seemingly winning her points. (It wasn’t; the reps wanted some competitive egos, but not prima donnas.)
During the second break, Sandi gave Quinn one too many needling insults, and Quinn finally snapped back one in return that insulted Sandi’s figure, intelligence and (lack of a) sense of style. Sandi was never able to take insults, and was shocked that someone had snapped back at her – her ‘mean girl’ persona usually prevented direct retaliation. She instantly lost her temper and pushed Quinn, not realizing that Quinn was close to the edge of the stage.
Quinn screamed as she fell into the shallow orchestra pit – it was still over seven feet to the bottom from the stage. Sandi’s eyes went wide as she realized what she had done – she couldn’t care less that Quinn was likely injured, but with eight witnesses on stage – two of them adults – and close to thirty witnesses in the audience, even someone as shallow and egotistical as Sandi realized there was no way she was getting totally out of this mess.
Meanwhile, Daria had quickly sent Jane for the nurse and Jodie for Ms Li – Jodie was one of the few students Li would likely take seriously. Daria herself hurried down the aisle, followed by Jack. “Stay away,” Cloud warned her. He had jumped down into the pit and was examining Quinn. “I have some training. She’s going to need an ambulance.”
Daria let loose a sound no one in Lawndale had certainly ever heard from her – a genuine growl of anger. Jack quickly grabbed her shoulders, turned her around, and hugged her tight. “I know you want to hurt Sandi, but if you do, you’ll only distract Ms Li from punishing her.” Daria fought the envelopment for a moment, but as Jack continued to verbally reassure her and hug her, Daria first relaxed, and then hugged him back tightly.
Sandi was still standing there, shocked, with Romonica keeping an eye on her.
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In the end, Sandi was suspended until after New Year’s and banned from the Snow Ball (even though she had not yet scored a date). She would be on a type of probation until the end of her Sophomore year – meaning she could have no addition serious infractions without risking expulsion. She would actually transfer to a private school the next academic year.
Quinn had several hairline fractures in her forearms, a mild concussion, and a dislocated left shoulder. While not needing casts, she would have to wear braces for several weeks, which rather ruined her photos of the Snow Ball, but at least gave her good excuses not to dance much. Quinn had also heard the exchange between Daria and Jack, although it had not really registered at the time. When she did recall it, it made her think about her relationship with her sister in a possibly positive light for the first time in a long time.
Also on the positive side, Helen’s having to leave work to deal with this and then the aftermath brought her to the attention of the senior partner. Jim Vitale did not like the lawyer the Griffins had brought in to try and get Sandi at least somewhat off the hook (and themselves off the hook for paying for the medical costs for Quinn not covered by Helen’s insurance). He had been impressed by Helen when she was first hired, and liked what he saw now. He therefore removed her from Eric Schrecter’s team and placed her on his. Her pay only went up 1%, but her weekly average hours went down from over 60 just over 50 (although her direct billable hours remained about the same), and she enjoyed the work much more.
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Is Daria going too far, too fast with Jack? Yes; her previously-sheltered emotional life has left her caution easily overwhelmed. How far might her emotions take her? In this story, surprisingly far….
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