Quinn's Code - Blue Screen of Sherman - Part 4

 

Blue Screen of Sherman Part 4

Saturday, February 17, 2006

It was breakfast at the Morgendorffers. “So I called up Cindy, Kristen, Jenna and Andrea, and the Anime and Programming Clubs are going to take up collections to get safe new goal posts. Like, to honor the dead guy's memory.”

 

“Quinn, what a wonderful impulse. To make something positive come out of this devastating event.”

 

“It was Andrea's idea. She's good at this tragic stuff.”

 

'Good, maybe I'll redirect Jane onto her,' Daria thought. “Have to say, Quinn, it was one of the safe new goal posts that fell on him.”

 

“I know that, but it's the thought that counts,” Quinn responded. Having finished her breakfast, she got up and left.

 

“And how do you feel, Daria?” Helen asked.

 

Daria scowled. “I feel great. How else could I feel? I'm the miserable misanthrope chick! I'm going to Jane's.

 

 

At the Lane's, Trent answered to Daria's knock. “Hey, Daria. Janie went running.”

 

“Oh. Well, I'll see her another time,” Daria said as she turned to leave.

 

“Scary about Tommy Sherman.”

Daria turned back. “Yeah. You knew him, right?”

 

“We had a couple classes together. I mean, we didn't see him much. You know, he didn't show up too often.”

 

“Not like you, huh?”

 

Trent laughed and coughed “I guess I might have missed a few classes, now that you mention it. Weird thing. Freak accident.”

 

“Would you say it really makes you think?”

 

“No,” Trent said.

 

“Thank you for that.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“See ya,” Daria turned to leave.

 

“Hey, Daria?”

 

“Yeah.” She turned back.

 

“You know, it was a while ago that Janie went running. Maybe she came back and I didn't hear her or something. Anyway, why don't you check her room. She might be there.”

 

“I'll yell up the stairs.” Daria entered the house and went to the foot of the stairs.

 

“No, umm, sometimes she's got some music on and she can't hear really well. Why don't you just head on up?”

 

Daria frowned slightly. 'Something's up!' she thought.

 

 

Daria knocked on Jane's bedroom door. She could see Jane listening to music and sketching.

 

“Yo! Come on in! Oh. Hi.”

 

“Are you avoiding me?”

 

“Um... not anymore?”

 

“What's going on?”

 

“Nothing. I just haven't felt like talking to anybody.”

 

“I'm not anybody, and I'd like to talk to someone,” Daria said.

 

“But you've been talking to everyone,” Jane countered.

 

“No, everyone's been talking to me. There's a difference.”

 

“Well, what do you want to talk about, anyway? You don't care about what happened.”

 

“How can you say that?”

 

“You've been treating it like, 'Oh well, another stupid day.' The guy died.”

 

“I know he died! I'm sorry he died! But I'm not going to pretend that he was some great person when he wasn't. People aren't upset because Tommy Sherman died, they're upset because they're going to die,” Daria explained.

 

“That's understandable.”

 

“Okay, but you know what I've been hearing? 'You know how I feel, Daria. You're gloomy. I knew I can talk to you, Daria. You're always miserable.' Tragedy hits the school and everyone thinks of me. A popular guy died, and now I'm popular because I'm the miserable misanthrope chick. But I'm not miserable. I'm just not like them.”

 

“It really makes you think.”

 

“Not funny! Thanks a lot!” She turned to leave.

 

“- No! That's why they want to talk to you. When they say, 'You're always unhappy, Daria,' what they mean is, 'You think Daria. I can tell because you don't smile. Now this guy died and it makes me think and that hurts my little head and makes me stop smiling. So, tell me how you cope with thinking all the time, Daria, until I can get back to my normal vegetable state.'”

 

“Okay. So why have you been avoiding me?”

 

“Because I've been trying not to think. About the way we were making jokes about him dying and then, boom, it happened.”

 

“We didn't have anything to do with the guy dying. It was a freak accident.”

 

“Yeah, well, I don't like it when I say people should die and then they do. I don't want that kind of responsibility. At least not until I've got a job in middle management.”

 

Daria paused before saying. “You didn't make him die.”

 

“You're not the miserable misanthrope chick.”

 

“All right, then.”

 

“All right, then.”

 

There was another pause. “He shouldn't have died,” Daria said.

 

“No.”

 

“But he wasn't a nice guy.”

Jane frowned. “No,” she said.

 

“Did Trent know you were up here?”

 

“Told him to tell anyone who dropped by that I was out running. What a surprise... he forgot.”

 

“No, he didn't.”

 

Jane chuckled. “Cool.”