Quinn's Code - Geekery at the Mega-Mall - Part 1

Quinn's Code (A Daria AU)

Installment 4: Geekery at the Mega-Mall

Monday, October 25, 2005

“A hundred miles? To go to a mall? Dammit, there's a mall five minutes away!” Jake Morgendorffer ranted.

“Sit down, dear. We're not going,” his wife, Helen, said, reassuringly.

“Oh, oh!”

“It's not a mall, it's a super mall! The Mall of the Millennium. Everything under one roof. I could spend days there...” their younger teen daughter, Quinn said.

“If you play that John Lennon song backwards, it says, 'Imagine all the people, browsing in a mall.' Isn't that weird?” Quinn's older sister, Daria snarked.

“It's too far away, Quinn, and you've done enough shopping for this quarter,” Helen said. 'All computers all the time. It's all I can do to tear her away from them!' she thought.

“Mo-om! As a member of the Computer and Programming Clubs, I have to keep on top of the current trends in computer equipment. Some of that equipment is not available in Lawndale!”

“Computer and Programming Clubs? Did you know that she was in those clubs, Helen?” Jake asked.

“Yes, Jake.”

“The Computer and Programming Clubs? I thought she was in the Anime Club.”

“She is in that club too, Dad!” Daria said, not looking up from her plate of lasagne. 'She is definitely overachieving.’

“Say, what do you think of this PDA?” Jake said, as he took his PDA out of his pocket.

Quinn looked at it. “It's quite obsolete, Daddy. You may as well have a Newton,” she said with a slight nervous laugh. “Now, if you drive me to the Mall of the Millennium...”

“No! We're not going to a mall outside the county,” Helen said.

“How will I hold my head up in the Computer and Programming Clubs?” Quinn whined.

“A traction pulley?” Daria snarked.

Quinn turned to her sister. “Just because you're not interested in what's new and up-to-date!”

“Oh, I'm interested. But why go a mere 100 miles away? I bet they have some fascinating malls in Japan for your tech-head and otaku needs!” Daria said.

“Daria,” Helen said, trying to defuse the situation.

“I wouldn't go that far,” Quinn said.

 “Japan? To go to a mall? Dammit!”

“Sit down, dear. It was a joke,” Helen said.

“Oh!” Jake said.

Quinn ran out of the kitchen.

Quinn entered her room and slammed the door. “Damn it!”

She opened her cellphone and called her friend Kristen Bell. She also noticed that Cindy Robinson-Brolsma was online in the Instant Messenger Screen on her main PC.

She changed her online status from Busy to Annoyed.

“Hi, Quinn, what's up?” Kristen asked.

Cindyquill: Hi, what are you annoyed about?

“I can't go to the Mall of the Millennium!”

Geek_princess91: My parents won’t let me go to the Mall of the Millennium!

Cindyquill: Oh?

Geek_princess91: I want to get some equipment and software from the Cuter Computer store there. It's the closest store to Lawndale.

“Why would you want to go there? It's quite large. Very easy to get lost.”

Cindyquill: There are also Cuter Computer's in Pittsburgh and Richmond.

“I guess so,” Quinn said, thinking. She didn't want to go into Pennsylvania or Virginia though. “I want to buy some stuff from a store there, that isn't available here.” 'And the rest of the chain is much further away!' she thought.

Geek_princess91: I'm not sure.

Cindyquill: If you can't go, you can't go.

Geek_princess91: I would still like to go.

“That would be either an Anime DVD or computer equipment, right?”

Quinn began typing ‘Computer equipme’. She stopped. ‘Oops!’

“Computer equipment. If it were a DVD I would get it from Amazon.”

Cindyquill: Too bad Cuter Computer doesn't have an online store.

“That is a good idea; I have been doing that with books for a while now. Too bad you can't get the equipment you want that way.”

Geek_princess91: I have heard that they are going to set one up next year, but it wouldn't be quick enough.

Cindyquill: Impatient?

“Yeah.”

Geek_princess91: Yeah, I like to keep up to date, to keep up with the latest equipment as it becomes available, you know.

Cindyquill: I know

“So there is a store in the Mall of the Millennium that sells equipment that's not generally available?”

“Yeah.”

Geek_princess91: I guess I may have to wait, but I don't have to like it!

“What is this store called?”

“Cuter Computer.”

Cindyquill: True

“And there aren't any closer?”

“No, Cindy said that the next closest are in Richmond and Pittsburgh,” Quinn said with a slight giggle.

Geek_princess91: I would still like to go.

Cindyquill: I am sure you might find a way, just not too soon.

Geek_princess91: Certainly.

Tuesday, October 26, 2005

“In economics, we call this flow. We have a scenario of supply and demand, where a new demand is created by a previous supply. Does everyone follow?” Lawndale High School Economics teacher Diane Bennett said as she tried to teach her sophomore class.

She paused to wait for responses.

“Can anyone give me a concrete representation of this abstract theory?”

There was a long pause. “Daria?” she finally asked.

“If we're talking concrete, I'd have to go with that repository of human greed and debasement: the mall,” she said.

Mrs. Bennett had an idea “Very good, Daria. The mall is a beautiful illustration of these economic principles. In fact, it would make for an excellent field trip.”

“All right! Field trip!” Kevin Thompson said. “Where are we going, man?” he asked Daria.

“The field.”

“Cool!”

“We'll visit the Mall of the Millennium. It's the perfect emblem of a modern day economic structure.”

“Um, I think that's a really bad idea,” Daria said.

“Don't be silly, Daria. It's your idea and it's perfect,” Mrs. Bennett said.

'Her sarcasm is too much for all of the teachers at this school,' Jennifer Burns thought.

“I second Daria. The mall is a dangerous influence on today's teens and the fluorescent lights give you seizures,” Jane Lane said.

Jennifer smiled at Jane's sarcasm.

“We'll take a vote. All in favor of a class trip to the mall this Friday instead of our usual surprise quiz?”

Most of the class raised their hands.

“All opposed?”

Daria, Jane and Jennifer raised their hands.

“This is great! Kevin and I love going to the mall during school,” Brittany said.

Mrs. Bennett frowned.

“I mean, between classes. I mean... what do I mean, babe?” Brittany said, trying to clarify.

“I'm sorry, Mrs. Bennett. I can't go to the mall. I have a skin condition,” Daria said, trying to get out of the field trip.

“What are you talking about, Daria?” Mrs. Bennett asked.

“If I'm in an enclosed space for too long, I get hives,” Daria said.

“But you're in an enclosed space now,” Mrs. Bennett said, seeing Daria's excuse for what it was.

“Yes... and I'm really itchy.”

“These hives get bad, Mrs. Bennett. I've seen them, they get really red!” Jane said.

Jennifer nodded as support for Jane's assertion.

Daria glared at her friends.

“Just trying to help,” Jane said.

Daria grumbled.

At lunch the Fashion Club sat at one of the 'popular' tables.

“I have an idea, let's ditch school on Friday and go shopping, like, at that Mall of the Millennium,” Club President Sandi Griffin said.

“Is that such a good idea, Sandi?” Stacy Rowe asked.

Sandi glared at her.

“Eep!”

“She does have a point, Sandi. There is a quiz in Home Economics on Friday,” Vice President Tori Jericho said.

“Precisely, like, this early in the year we can afford to miss it!” Sandi said.

“I agree with Sand-di,” Tiffany Blum-Deckler said.

Sandi smiled at Tiffany.

“I guess one quiz won't matter. An opportunity like this won't come up every month,” Tori said.

Stacy mumbled.

“What did you say, Stacy?” Sandi asked.

“I will go to the Mall of the Millennium with you!” Stacy said.

“Excellent,” Sandi said.