06 The Lawndale Files - Part 1
It was Assembly time at Lawndale High. Principal Angela
Li came to the podium. “Settle down, young people! Now, before the varsity
interpretive dance team begins its performance – ‘History, We Are You’ -- we
have a brief announcement from some special guests, agents...”
She was interrupted by the agents. “No names,” the male
agent said.
“No credentials,” the female agent added.
“Students, we'll be brief. We've received some disturbing
reports from this town, and we're asking for your cooperation.”
“Keep your eyes open. Watch for people who are different.
They know who they are.”
“And with your help, kids, so will we.”
Quinn Morgendorffer was concerned. ‘I guess I’ll have to
be more careful as SpiderGirl,’ she considered. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have been in
Freemont on the weekend.’ Things in Lawndale were getting worse. ‘Maybe?’
That afternoon Daria and Jane were thinking about the
Assembly as they watched television.
“From outer space to in your face! Aliens walk among
us! A Sick, Sad World exclusive.”
“Oh, look, they're going to explain the return of disco,”
Daria said.
“The aliens aren't coming. They're already here. They
could be your friends, your family. They act almost normal, but something's
off.”
“Yes, the TV!” Jane said, annoyed. “If there were any
aliens smart enough to come here, they wouldn't be stupid enough to come here.”
“There goes my trick ear again. What was that?”
“Let's say I'm an alien and you're you.”
“Part of this better be hypothetical,” Daria responded.
“Now, why would I, a being from the highly advanced
planet Zippotron, travel light-years just to take over your body and go to high
school?”
“Because Wednesday's Jell-O day?’
“Exactly. Wouldn't it make more sense to rig up some
remote system of control? Neck implants or something? Then they could make you
do stuff like go to the mall or think about hair without actually having to do
it themselves. Makes more sense than a full-scale infiltration,” Jane said.
“Oh, yes. Much, much more sense,” Daria said with her
usual sarcasm.
“All right, then.”
They could then hear some cheerful guitar strumming.
“What is that music?” Daria asked.
“I don't know. It's been going on for two days.”
“You don't know how much I want you to tell me that isn't
Trent playing.”
“You don't know how much I wish I could,” Jane lamented.
At the same time, Stacy was reading in her room, when she
heard a sound coming from outside. “What was that?” she asked herself as she
jumped.
A few moments later she heard the doorbell.
“Quinn?” Stacy asked.
“What’s wrong Stacy?” Quinn asked. Her friend looked a
little frightened.
“I just heard something,” Stacy explained.
“Oh, It’s probably something rubbing on the roof, like a
tree branch,” Quinn said. ‘Note to self; be careful when webswinging at Stacy’s
house.’
“Then it might be SpiderGirl going by, but I don’t know
why she would be in this neigborhood, as there isn’t any crime here that I have
heard of.”
“Maybe she is passing by on patrol,” Quinn said.
“Then there are those agents that were at school today.
What were those disturbing reports they received?”
“They could be anything.”
“That’s true,” Stacy said, looking about. “Come in.”
“Sure.”
Stacy saw that Quinn’s appetite was still the same as
before her father had passed. ‘The grief hasn’t affected it,’ she thought. For
she knew that Quinn was still grieving. She was quieter for one. She still had
chatterbox tendencies, but no longer spoke up against Sandi in the Fashion Club
and seemed to be listening more in class. She put out a large amount of various
vegetable based snacks.
“What do you think Sandi is doing?” Quinn asked, as she
ran a hand through one of her pigtails.
Stacy was still getting used to Quinn having changed her
hair. “No idea,” she answered. “I still think you’re not too similar to either
of us.”
“Like I’m still rather fashionable,” Quinn said.
Stacy nodded.
They then talked about other things as the close friends
they were.
Quinn waited until she was some distance from the Rowe’s
house before changing back to SpiderGirl and webswinging away.
Lawndale Sun Herald
Tuesday, December 1, 1999
More Reports of Strange Activity in Town
Quinn awoke early, as she usually did since becoming
SpiderGirl. However, she found something wrong. That having Spider powers
didn’t make her immune to chaffing and acne. “Great!” she said as sarcastically
as her sister. She had to hide it,
especially as it was on her neck. She rushed to her closet and soon found a all
black outfit. ‘It will have to do.’
She got dressed, grabbed her things, including a
SpiderGirl suit and left.
“Come on, Daria. Something interesting must have happened
yesterday,” Helen said.
“Nope,” Daria said.
“How about that friend of yours? What's new with her?”
“Not much.”
“What about the newspaper? Read anything interesting
lately?” Helen asked, knowing that Daria was at least reading about that
SpiderGirl.
“Hmm. I did see an article by an efficiency expert who
claims one really intense conversation with your child over breakfast is worth
a whole week of unfocused parenting. Did you catch that article?”
Helen knew what Daria was doing. “Well... how about TV?
Seen anything good recently?”
“Just the usual crazy guy claiming aliens are walking our
streets.”
“Well, of course they are. Many of them can't afford a
car. No shame in that.”
“Huh?” Daria asked.
The phone rang, allowing Daria to make herself scarce and
head to school.
“Oh, Hi Eric!”
Half an hour later, Daria and Jane arrived at the school.
“Look at that,” Jane said.
Daria looked and saw that her sister wasn’t wearing her
usual outfit. Rather it was all black and hid her neck. “I see it. She’s even
more different now.”
“As I was saying…”
“Not that again. I’m just saying that she’s even more
different due to grief.”
“The alien thing is more cool,” Jane said.
“I just think it's strange that she's suddenly covering
up her neck,” Daria rejoined as Kevin Thompson and Brittany Taylor walked by.
“When was the last time you saw Kevin without his neck
thing?” Jane asked.
“You’re talking implants?” Daria asked.
Brittany turned back. “I heard that, and it's not true!”
she said before turning around and stalking away.
“I guess she thought you meant her U.F.O.s,” Jane mused,
not realising that she was being overheard by Language Arts teacher Mr. Timothy
O’Neill.
“UFOs?” he asked with a shiver. “Have you been
watching The X-Files? I know I have.”
“And that’s Good,” Daria commented.
“But you know what's interesting?” O’Neill asked.
“Why do you encourage him?” Jane commented.
“All this creepy science fiction is just a throwback to
the old Cold War paranoia.”
“Aliens in the sky, communists under the bed,” Daria
commented.
“Exactly, Daria!” O’Neill said. ”And accusations flying,
all because of atomic jitters. You're a communist! You're an alien!” He added
as Joey and Jeffy walked past.
“Trade you Cuba for Jupiter,” Daria said to Jane.
“One stood for the other in those old movies.”
“Now, what do you think about SpiderGirl?” Daria asked.
“A disturbed individual taking out her frustrations on
those who have had to resort to crime to make ends meet,” O’Neill answered.
“Quinn!”
Quinn turned at the sound of Sandi’s voice.
“If you refuse to explain your strange outfit, I'm afraid
the Fashion Club will have to consider more sanctions,” Sandi asked.
“I wasn’t aware there were sanctions for my hair.
Besides, this is not an anti-fashion statement.”
“I forgot to tell you,” Sandi dissembled. She was about
to say more when Joey and Jeffy came along.
“Hey, Quinn, Mr. O'Neill says that girl from your house
is an atomic communist,” Joey said.
“Yeah, and her friend's an alien,” Jeffy added.
“Eew!” Stacy said.
“Gross,” Tiffany said.
Quinn quickly made herself scarce.
Kevin continued to think about what he had heard earlier
in the day. “I knew it! It's just like when they made us have pep rallies for
field hockey. We're being invaded by communists!” he said as he came to his
locker.
“Remember that game when you fell on your head?” Michael
‘Mack’ Mackenzie asked. “Remember how you thought Vince Lombardi was sending
you plays from hell?”
“Heaven, bro! Vince Lombardi did not go to hell.”
Stacy and Tiffany walked by.
“But... if Quinn's cousin is an atomic communist from
Mars, shouldn't she have a more interesting outfit?” Tiffany mused.
“Stop it, Tiffany! You’re scaring me!” Stacy said.
“Sorry,” Tiffany said, not entirely sincerely.
Mack was taken aback. “Yeah, yeah, I heard it, too.”
He, Kevin and Brittany then went to their next class.
However, they had been overheard by Charles Ruttheimer III. “Two of my favorite
luscious ladies out to enslave Earth males and end gym class?” he asked himself
before giving off a growl. “Someone's been reading my dreams.”
Daria and Jane knew it was an unusual day for Lawndale
High. “A lot of weirdness around here lately,” Jane commented as they left the
school building. She also saw SpiderGirl in the distance. ‘Huh?’
“Yeah. I won't be sorry to see this day end,” Daria
commented.
“You say that every day.”
“Oh yeah.”
“Although this one was especially
strange. But the worst is over,” Jane said.
However, the doors behind them flew open and they saw Mr.
DeMartino being lead away by the agents in cuffs.
“Remove these restraints! Governmental thugs! This
isn't Stalingrad!” he cried.
“You're damn right, pal. And it isn't going to be,” the
male agent said.
“You can't do this. I'm an educator!”
“Say it again! It only makes it easier,” the other agent
said.
“Um, the worst is over now?” Jane asked in slight hope.
“Don’t bet on it.”
The Fashion Club met in Quinn’s room after Dinner.
“Meeting starts: 6:53 PM,” Stacy said.
“Quinn will explain why she is wearing all black, again,”
Sandi said.
“After Sandi explains why she added sanctions about my
hair without telling me,” Quinn said.
“It was a slip of the tongue,” Sandi explained.
“Didn’t sound like it,” Quinn shot back.
“Fine,” Sandi said. “I wanted to add sanctions for
the hair, but I haven’t got around to it yet.”
“Right…” Quinn considered. She also considered just
quitting the Fashion Club and telling Sandi to leave. What Daria had said in
Freemont about them solving crime together flashed through her mind. ‘Not yet,
give her a chance.’ She breathed deeply, and pulled down the turtleneck,
showing her, along with Stacy and Tiffany, the zit.
“Oh, I see,” Sandi said.
“So, I had to hide it,” Quinn said.
“Of course,” Sandi said.
“Quinn, I'm so happy you're still one of us,”
Stacy said.
“Gosh, Stacy, what did you think?” Quinn asked.
“Really,” Tiffany added.
“Quinn's right, Stacy. Just because she was acting
completely weird and not confiding in her dearest, most loyal friends is no
reason to decide she'd finally given up her sad charade and revealed herself as
a two-faced, little…” Sandi trailed off as Quinn gave an intense glare.
‘How long?’ Quinn wondered, again.
“Meeting ended,” Sandi said.
“6:57. The shortest yet,” Stacy responded.
Unknown to Quinn and the others, Daria had overheard
Stacy saying ‘I'm so happy you're still one of us,’ as she had walked by.
Therefore she called Jane about her suspicion.
“Come on, not even aliens would give the planet to the
Fashion Club. You're getting paranoid,” Jane responded.
“I'm not talking about aliens. But there's something out
there. Something stupid.”
“You get rattled too easily,” Jane responded, then
changed her tone. “By the way, can you come over here right now? I'm really
scared.”
“I see. And to what do I owe this mood swing?” Daria
asked.
“It's Trent's song. You gotta listen and tell me if
it's getting more cheerful.”
“Now who's paranoid?”
“Come on, I'll order a pizza. And don’t tell your
mother where you’re going, I don’t want her getting all motherly.”
“Right away.”
After the meeting ended, Sandi made herself scarce.
Helen saw her going out. “You weren’t here long, Sandi,”
she said.
“Quinn doesn’t need me,” she said in a montone before
heading out the door.
“Sandi! Wait!” Helen said.
It was only a couple of minutes before Daria left on her
way to Jane’s.
“Where are you going?” Helen asked.
“Just a walk, and to think about things,” Daria said,
guardedly.
‘Of course,’ Helen thought. “But at night?”
“This area of Lawndale is still safe,” Daria said before
heading out the door.
‘Of course it is,’ Helen thought.
Quinn saw Daria leaving. ‘What is she up to. She has been
acting weirdly today.’ She looked to Stacy and Tiffany, who were still there.
‘They can stay here while I check,’ she thought.
“Quinn?” Stacy asked.
‘She could be one I could confide in, maybe,’ she
thought. “Um, I need to check on something on the street,” she dissembled.
“You’re following Daria?” Stacy asked.
“Um, yeah,” Quinn said. “Could you run interference with
Mom?”
“Sure, but how are you going to get out without her
knowing?”
“There is a way,” Quinn answered enigmatically. She then
went to the window at the end of the hall and opened it. She showed Stacy a
trellis which had ivy on it, which reached up to the window.
“You have been climbing down that?” Stacy asked.
“Yes,” Quinn answered as she started going through the
window.
“Right…” Stacy said.
Stacy watched Quinn climb down, then went back to Quinn’s
room.
“Where’s Quinn?” Tiffany asked.
“She’s doing something,” Stacy answered.
Quinn disappeared into the bushes on the right side of
the house and waited until Stacy had gone back to her room before going to the
shed, where she had stored one of the spare SpiderGirl costumes.
Soon, she was webslinging after Daria, in the direction
of Howard Drive.
As Daria approached Casa Lane, she heard a rustle in the
bushes at the end of the street. “Come on now. Aliens don't hide in the bushes.
It's probably just a stalker. Yes, a stalker out to plant a teen in a shallow
grave. Perfectly normal. I feel much better now.”
Brittany Taylor knew Daria was up to something, which was
why she was following her. She wasn’t sure why Kevin had to come along,
his amorous attentions wasn’t something she needed at just that moment. “But,
Kevvy.” He continued to be amorous “Kevvy!”
“Huh?” Kevin asked.
“Didn't you say we were going to follow her and save the
world and stuff?” she asked. She liked making him think some things were his
idea.
“Oh, yeah. But I don't think we have to save the world
right this second,’ he responded.
“Great!” she said. A few more moments of making out
wouldn’t go awry, she considered.
Suddenly there was a purr above them. ” Que
passionato!”
‘Oh great!’ Brittany thought. ‘Upchuck!’
“Hey! We're trying to save the world here!” Kevin said as
he shone his flashlight at Charles.
“And I'm trying to find the space maidens' ship so they
can take me back and make me their love slave,” Charles responded.
“Oh cool,” Kevin said.
Two more flashlights turned on. “Well, you were right.
Everyone has gone crazy,” Jodie Landon said.
“I knew you'd try something, Kevin. I figured I owed it
to the team to keep you from humiliating yourself,” Mack said.
Bushes rustled and Mr. O’Neill emerged.
“Mr. O'Neill? Don't tell me you're hunting communists,
too?” Mack asked incredulously.
O’Neill laughed nervously. “I wouldn't call it hunting. I
heard a rumor about secret police kidnapping educators and spiriting them off
to the gulag. But me? No. I frequently go for walks with a, um, flashlight in
case the streetlights go out.”
There was another rustle above and SpiderGirl emerged
upside down, lowering herself halfway down by a thread. “What’s going on here? Paranormal?”
“Not very,” Jodie said, looking around.
‘Probably meant paranoia,’ Brittany thought.
“These reds come red-hot from the red planet itself.
We're talking Mars,” Charles said.
“Really?” SpiderGirl asked, her voice showing
incredulity.
“Charles, I think you mean Marx,” O’Neill said as he
dropped his flashlight.
Jane answered the door. “You made it. Cool. I was
starting to... whoa!”
Daria also looked at the flashing lights in the nearby
woods.
O’Neill found his flashlight. “Found it.”
“But why are you all, like, sneaking around with
flashlights?” SpiderGirl asked.
“Good question,” Jodie said.
The others all switched off their flashlights.
“Did we just see a U.F.O.?” Jane asked.
“You're getting paranoid. It's probably just an informal
get-together of local stalkers. You know, hang out, swap stories, try out each
other's skeleton keys,” Daria responded.
“But only an idiot would go stalking with a flashlight,
especially with that SpiderGirl about.”
“Come on. This is Lawndale,” Daria said as she went
inside.
“Your’re right, SpiderGirl, we’ve all been acting very
foolish.”
“Hey, man, speak for yourself,” Kevin objected.
“Oh! Sorry, Kevin, “ O’Neill said. “But I wonder if maybe
a rally might be in order. You know, something before classes to promote
understanding, remove the fear, and increase the peace.”
“Are you sure?” SpiderGirl asked, before Kevin could get
a word in.
“Quite sure. It won’t get out of control,” O’Neill said.
“But, practice is before classes. He's trying to destroy
football. He's one of them!”
“No he isn’t,” SpiderGirl said, trying to keep calm.
“Who?” Brittany asked.
“I thought you knew.”
‘Time to go, Kevin,” Mack said.
“I’ll stay and talk to SpiderGirl for a bit,” Brittany
said.
“Sure,” Jodie said. She turned to Upchuck. “Come along,
Charles, we’ve had enough excitement for one night.”
“Yes, I better go too,” O’Neill said.
