The Youngest Barksdale - Part 7

 

It didn’t take long for Daria to find out what happened. As she and Scarlett left school that afternoon, they found Andrea waiting for them in the parking lot. “How did it go?” Scarlett asked.

 

“Rather poorly,” Andrea answered before explaining everything that she had witnessed.

 

 

Daria took in what Andrea had said. It wasn’t surprising. “I suppose she’ll be writing a piece to disparage you.”

 

“Of course, but I don’t care!” Andrea said.

 

“That’s good, but how did Ms. Li react?”

 

“She was slowly losing her cool,” Andrea answered.

 

“That’s not surprising,” Scarlett commented.

 

“I’ll ask my sister about the Modelling thing,” Daria decided. “She’ll be more forthcoming than Quinn.

 

“Are you sure?” Scarlett asked..

 

“Yes.”

 

 

Helen arrived home around the usual time and found Daria reading in the lounge room. “Daria?” she asked.

 

“Hi, Helen,” Daria said as she put the book aside.

 

“You want something, don’t you?” Helen asked, remembering similar behaviour from her sister in the past.

 

“Yes. I heard that there were modelling agents at school last year.”

 

She sat next to her sister. “Oh that! Quinn was very annoying about it, but nothing came of it.”

 

“Oh? I also heard that she was involved.”

 

“What are you getting at, Daria?”

 

Daria sighed. “The editor of Val magazine was there today…”

 

“Quinn told me yesterday. Another student won a contest.”

 

“And the Principal bent over backwards to accommodate her.”

 

“That’s not surprising. There’s a lot that’s happened in the past year. But the accusations have come off Angela Li like water off a duck’s back.”

 

“I see,” Daria said neutrally, although Helen could tell that she was annoyed.

 

She had heard what Daria had done at her past schools. ‘Could she do the same at Lawndale?’ she wondered, not for the first time. “But maybe you could find something that would stick before you graduate.”

 

“I intend to. If there is something, I will find it.”

 

“But first, what happened with Val?”

 

 

Daria told Helen what she had heard from Andrea.

 

“I see,” Helen said. “That’s not much evidence against the Principal though.”

 

“It certainly isn’t,” Daria admitted, “although it is against Val’s character.”

 

“She’s certainly vain and narcissistic,” Helen said. “Tell you what I can tell you what I know about the Modelling incident as we prepare dinner.”

 

“Deal!”

 

 

Ten Months Earlier

“Mom! Dad! Guess what? I've been accepted into a really exclusive modelling class!” Quinn announced.

 

Helen looked at her daughter. “What do you mean?”

 

“A Modelling agency is holding classes at school!”

 

“Quinn, how often have I told you that appearance doesn’t matter.”

 

“Like, a lot!”

 

“But…”

 

“And?”

 

“I’m saying that something is happening at school,” Helen said.

 

“You told me about the principal before.”

 

“I will allow you to go to the classes on one condition.”

 

“Find out what Ms. Li is up to. That’s all?”

 

“And dirt on that Monica.”

 

“Sure,” Quinn said.

 

“Wait,” Jake said. “You’re allowing her?”

 

“Jake! You know something is up with Ms. Li.”

 

“Just rumors, damn it!”

 

“But there must be something behind them,” Helen said.

 

“So, you want Quinn to find out?”

 

“Yes.”

“Right,” Jake said.

 

 

Present

“That’s all I heard about it until I learned the next day that Monica had booked Kevin Thompson as a model,” Helen said. “That didn’t last long, apparently.”

 

“I guess I’ll have to ask Quinn after-all,” Daria responded.

 

“She may tell you,” Helen said.

 

 

After dinner, Quinn was surprised when she heard Daria knocked at her door. “What do you want? You’re not annoyed about me trying to talk to Val, are you? Let it go!” She said as she put her Gameboy aside.

 

“That’s not it,” Daria responded. “Although Val has something to do with it.”

 

“What do you mean?” Quinn asked.

 

“Your Mom and I talked about the modelling incident last year.”

 

“Oh that!” Quinn said with a shudder. “I suppose I could tell you about it. I don’t think you could prove that Ms. Li did anything wrong.”

 

Daria looked to be in thought. “And other things happened to?”

 

“Plenty, but I’ll just talk about the Modelling incident tonight. I have stuff to do,” she said with a glance at her Gameboy and another at her notepad.