Quinn's Code - The Esteemsters Code - Part 5

Jennifer entered the classroom where the Esteem-a-Teen class was held and sat at her usual (by now) place next to Jane Lane. Soon afterwards two new students entered. The first was a shaggy haired boy. He sat to the left of 'The Head' (She wasn't sure of his real name. It was one of those names that wasn't easy to remember. Everyone called him 'The Head' for the MTV character emblazoned on the shirts that he wore to school). The second was Daria. She smirked, remembering the history class she'd told Quinn about.

'There has to be a story about why she is here,' she thought. Everyone had a story.

Mr O'Neill began taking attendance, starting with her.

“Jennifer Burns?” he asked.

“I'm here,” she said. She wondered why he had started taking attendance. 'No one has truanted the first session before, as far as I know,' she thought.

“Jane Lane?”

“Yo!”

“Daria Morgendorffer?”

“Here.”

“Esteem... a teen. They don't really rhyme, do they? The sounds don't quite mesh. And that, in fact, is often the case when it comes to a teen and esteem. The two just don't seem to go together. But we are here to begin realizing your actuality... “ Mr O'Neill began.

However, Daria interrupted. “Excuse me. I have a question.”

'This is new. Good on you, Daria,' Jennifer thought.

“Sorry, question and answer time is later.”

“I want to know what 'realizing your actuality' means,” Daria said.

'You and I, both,” Jennifer thought, with an inward laugh.

“It means... look, just let me get through this part, okay? Then there'll be a video!”

“He doesn't know what it means. He's got the speech memorized. Just enjoy the nice man's soothing voice,” Jane said, to Daria.

'Someone had to answer her, I guess,' Jennifer thought. She knew that Jane didn't have any friends in the school.

“How am I supposed to follow him if I don't know what he's talking about?” Daria asked Jane.

“I can fill you in later. I've taken this course six times,” Jane said.

“Ok,” Daria said.

Jennifer then listened as Mr O'Neill droned on.

Mack's Valiant once again pulled up in front of Andrea's house and Quinn got out.

“Thank's, Mack,” she said. Once the car had driven away, she turned to face the house. “It looks just as creepy as yesterday!” she said. She then went through the front gate and went to ring the doorbell. 'I hope she isn't watching another movie like yesterday,' she thought.

“Why did you agree to take Quinn to Andrea's, Mack?” Jodie asked as Mack turned a corner from Andrea's street into the direction of the Landon's house.

“I'm doing a favor for her. She seems nice,” Mack said. Jodie looked at him.

“Don't worry. You're the girl for me,” Mack said. 'You have nothing to worry about, you're the girl of my dreams,' he thought.

“Good,” Jodie said, smiling.

Andrea came to the door and let Quinn in.

“You brought your laptop with you, good. We'll do the test up in my room,” Andrea said.

“I take it everywhere,” Quinn said as Andrea closed the door behind her.

“Ok,” Andrea said.

Andrea's room looked the same as the day before. Quinn placed her laptop on Andrea's work bench and started it.

“Multi-boot, cool,” Andrea said.

“Yeah, 2 Linux distributions and 2 versions of Windows,” Quinn said, selecting the Windows 98 Second Edition option.

“Here is your objective,” Andrea said, handing Quinn a sheet with instructions.

Quinn read it over. After she was sure she understood it she put it down next to the laptop and opened the BASIC IDE.

“Cool,” she said.

Jennifer walked out of the Self-Esteem Class. 'That was a waste of time as usual,' she thought. She stood to the side of the door.

Daria and Jane exited the classroom ahead of 'The Head' and the shaggy haired boy.

“Jane, Daria,” Jennifer called as they walked by her.

“Did you hear something?” Daria asked Jane.

“Here,” Jennifer said, waving slightly.

“What do you want?” Daria asked.

“I was wondering if you'd like a lift home or something,” Jennifer said, softly. 'Unlikely but other unlikely things have happened this week. Like a popular geek.'

“Did that sound like what I thought it sounded like?” Jane asked.

“Yes,” Jennifer said. Unlike what most people at the school thought she did have a few friends, but they weren't particularly close friends. 'This is an opportunity. Quinn seems nice, and Jane is misunderstood by everyone,' she thought. She didn't know what to think of Daria though. She was an enigma.

“We could get home sooner,” Jane said, to Daria.

“Ok,” Daria said.

“Where are we going?” Jennifer asked as she drove her blue VW Beetle out of the Lawndale High parking lot.

“111 Howard Drive,” Jane said.

“And you, Daria?” Jennifer asked.

“I'll visit Jane,” Daria said in a monotone.

“Thanks, Amiga,” Jane said.

“And in the class after the role-playing the boys and girls are separated and a female teacher talks to us about body image,” Jennifer said.

“What do they talk to the boys about?” Daria asked, although she knew what they would most likely talk about.

Jane looked at Daria in the seat next to her. “A classroom full of guys and a male teacher?” she asked rhetorically.

Jennifer pulled the car up. “Nocturnal emissions,” all three said (although Daria and Jane's exclamations drowned out Jennifer's). Jennifer then drove off again.

“I don't get it. You both have got the entire course memorised. How come you can't pass the test to get out?” Daria asked.

“I could pass the test, but I like having low self-esteem. It makes me feel special,” Jane said.

“Me too, but I thought that I wouldn't give Ms. Li the satisfaction,” Jennifer said, as she turned into Howard Drive.

The Beetle pulled into the driveway of a cream coloured old house with an ill-maintained yard that had an interesting looking ornament in it. Daria could see that the mailbox had Jane's last name on it and that the house was near the end of the street. Jennifer pulled up behind an old blue Plymouth Satellite.

My brother's home,” Jane said, as she got out.

“Brother?” Daria asked.

“His name is Trent. You should meet him,” Jane said, smirking.

“Looks like she's going to try to set you up with him,” Jennifer said.

“I hope not,” Daria said, as she clambered out.

“He's asleep,” Jane said as she came down the stairs.

“Asleep?” Daria and Jennifer asked in disbelief.

“He sleeps an average of 15 hours a day. You have to know him for it to make sense,” Jane said. Her eyes widened.

“What's wrong?” Daria asked.

“The Bank!” Jane said with foreboding

Jennifer and Daria looked outside. Two tall, well built, men had pulled up near the letter box and were walking up the path.

“They're foreclosing?” Daria asked.

“Not if I can help it!” Jane said.

Jennifer slammed the door and locked it.

That's not going to hold for long. Try to hold them off, whilst I try to find a checkbook and forge my Mom's signature,” Jane said.

Jennifer leaned against the door. “Your Mom's not here?” she asked.

“She's in Kenya, or is it Uganda? One of those East African nations anyway. She is studying native pottery,” Jane said.

“What about your father?” Daria asked.

“He's taking photos in Namibia or Angola, or was it Botswana or even South Africa? Somewhere there,” Jane said, as she dashed off.

The suits knocked on the door.

“This is not good!” Jennifer said, not so relaxed as usual.

“I hope the other doors are locked,” Daria said.

Jane locked the door from the garage into the kitchen and then ran and locked the back door. She shook her head. She knew that the other members of Trent's band, Mystik Spiral, had forgotten to lock the doors after their practice that morning.

The door was moving back and forth. “They're trying to break the lock!” Jennifer said.

“We're going to need a chair,” Daria said.

“You can get it. I think I'm stronger,” Jennifer said.

“You may be right,” Daria said, she then went towards the kitchen.

Jane was rummaging in the her parent's bedroom for a checkbook. So far she had emptied all the drawers onto the bed. 'One has to be here! I don't think they would put it up in the attic.

Daria returned with a chair and placed it under the knob.

“Good, they're getting restless,” Jennifer said.

They both could hear rather descriptive expletives being yelled.

Jane finally found the checkbook at the back of the top shelf at the back of the walk in closet.

“I don't know why they left it up there,” she said as she forged her mother's signature on one of the checks. She then went to see how Daria and Jennifer's efforts were holding up.

The door was bulging when Jane jogged up to it. The handle was cracking as the goons tried to push the door despite the chair and the efforts of Daria and Jennifer.

“I've 3 signed checks, but how are we going to give it to them without them giving the foreclosure order?” Jane asked.

“Go out a window?” Daria pondered.

“Good idea,” Jane said. She opened the window to the right of the door...

Ten minutes later the three new friends were relaxing in the kitchen. “It's lucky that you did offer to take us home, Jennifer. I would have had a very nasty surprise when I got home,” Jane said.

“You're welcome,” Jennifer said.

“Was an interesting experience, to be sure,” Daria said.

“Daria, would you like to come with me to pick up your sister from Andrea's? I don't want to go to her house alone,” Jennifer said.

“You think that Andrea's house is creepy too?” Daria asked.

“It is very creepy,” Jennifer said.

“Bad enough that Quinn thinks its creepy, but you too?” Daria asked for clarification.

“Amiga, you haven't been there. It has a creepiness that one cannot describe!” Jane said, shivering.

Daria turned to Jennifer. “I'll come with, but why are you picking up Quinn?” she asked.

“I would like to get to know her better,” Jennifer said.

“I guess so,” Daria said.

Jane waved as the blue Beetle drove off. 'Who knew that Jennifer was actually interesting once you got to know her,' she thought. She turned to go back inside and saw Trent coming down the stairs.

“Hey, Janie. How was school?” he asked.

“I met a new friend, Daria. She's just arrived in Lawndale. You'd like her. I also made friends with someone else whom I'd hadn't considered before, Jennifer. I think she has been to some of your gigs,” Jane said.

“Cool,” Trent said.

“Quite an interesting situation back there, don't you think, Daria?” Jennifer asked. 'She may seem antisocial, but she's actually shy,' she thought.

“It's an inspiration for my writing,” Daria said.

That piqued Jennifer's interest. “You write stories?”

“Amongst other hobbies, yes,” Daria said.

“Cool,” Jennifer said.