“Thanks
for letting me know about Kevin,” Peterson said when SpiderGIrl was finished.
“You’re right to be concerned. Obsessions like that can lead to trouble.”
“But
what about the other issue?” SpiderGirl asked.
“We will
have to pursue our enquiries, but you know that Osborn will deny involvement,”
“Of
course,” SpiderGirl responded. “I’ll be on my way. Get some sleep before
school.”
Lawndale
Sun-Herald
Friday
16th March, 2001
Favorite
Animal Fad? Melinda Parris
Daria
picked up the paper from next to the mailbox. “Why is that the headline?” she
wondered. ‘Even Ted wouldn’t let any of the students write such a frivolous
headline.’ She was sure of that. She turned back to the house, where her mother
had already left for work. ‘I would have liked to have her advice.’
Quinn
was having breakfast when Daria entered the kitchen and placed the paper on the
table. She read the headline. “Uh, she’s probably going on about some
conspiracy theory.”
“Most
likely,” Daria commented. “But at least it’s not the failure assignment, or
some propaganda from Oscorp disguised as a press release.”
“Good
point. But there has to be other articles.”
“Of
course there are. Mostly about what the council is doing and reports of the
vigilantes intervening in crime.”
“How
much of the latter would there be?” Quinn asked.
“Not all
that much. Today, it’s the usual sightings of SpiderGirl around the Historia
and otherwise downtown. There are also a few about Dafoanairi, also on Main
Street.”
“It’s
like they want to be seen,” Quinn commented. She knew that she did as
SpiderGirl. ‘But why would Daria as Dafoanairi?’
“I think
so too. The others are more content to be in the background.”
At the
Osborn mansion, an Oscorp middle manager filled Norman in on what had happened
to his snow scheme.
“SpiderGirl
and Ninja Talon,” he repeated.
“You
want me to do something, sir?”
“No.
Operation Rooftop is still viable. The agents just need to adapt to how they
have adapted.”
“Aye,
sir,” the middle manger said.
As the
students arrived at Lawndale High for the day, there was no mention of the fad,
other than comments about the newspaper article.
Kevin
wasn’t one of those who were talking about the newspaper article. His mind was
still on SpiderGirl. He was daydreaming as he opened his locker.
“Kevin!”
Mack called. “Are you OK?”
“Huh?”
Kevin asked.
“I
called your name about five times.”
“Oh.”
“You’re
thinking about SpiderGirl again, aren’t you?” Mack asked with a resigned tone.
“Of
course, Mack Daddy.”
“Don’t
call me that!” Mack paused. “I know Brittany permanently dumped you…”
“It’s
not a rebound.”
“It
totally is. Give it time.”
“No,”
Kevin said as he took out what he wanted, and then slammed the locker closed.
“You
can’t expect her to reveal her secret identity to you.”
“Of
course not. Not straight away. But, when she’s ready.”
Mack
thought about it as Kevin walked away. ‘Why do I think that this is just the
start of the trouble?’ He knew that he would have to keep an eye on the
situation. He looked around at the other students. ‘I’m sure SpiderGirl knows
by now.’
The bell
then rang and he headed to class.
Brittany
and Andrea caught up in a girl’s bathroom between classes. “There is no one
else here,” Andrea said.
“What
about the vents?”
“I doubt
anyone would be up on the roof listening.”
“Daria
and Jane are sometimes up there,” Brittany responded as she twirled a pigtail.
“Between
classes?” Andrea asked.
“Probably
not,” Brittany conceded. “So, what did you find?”
“That
the Country Club didn’t authorize any snow making last night.”
“We were
right!”
“But I
couldn’t find any reference to it in the Oscorp databases I could access,”
Andrea added.
“So,
Osborn might have the information elsewhere.”
O’Neill
was still uncertain about the outcome of the failure assignment. Brittany’s
encouragement the previous day had helped but he was sure it was time to let it
go. “I realize that the assignment hasn’t been entirely positive,” he said.
“So, I am concluding it today, so we can focus on actual classwork.”
“Are you
sure?” Brittany asked.
“Of
course. You may have found it positive but I’m not sure of most of the
classes.”
“That’s
reasonable,” Daria commented.
“He’ll
come up with something else, I’m sure,” Jane responded.
“But
it’s had its impact,” Daria added.
“Not as
much as everything else.”
“Really?”
Jane
then shrugged. “I might have gone conventional at some point.”
“As
unlikely as that sounds.”
“Kevin,
is there something you want to say?” O’Neill asked before the quarterback could
leave the classroom.
“No,”
Kevin responded as he made himself scarce.
“Oh
dear!”
At
lunch, Quinn and Brittany met on the roof and the latter relayed what Andrea
had told her.
“So,
that just confirms our suspicions that Oscorp was up to something,” Quinn said
when Brittany had finished.
“It’s
like he might have been acting out at the Country Club for not letting him in,”
Brittany mused as she twirled a pigtail.
“Like a
massive tantrum,” Quinn commented.
“But it
could also be a distraction?”
“Undoubtedly.
But from what? Or maybe he wants us paranoid.”
Down in
the cafeteria, Daria was thinking about the events of the week. Kevin, the
passing fad and failure assignment and the fact that most of the students had
taken the events in stride.
“O’Neill
told us his decision,” Sandi said as she sat down.
“It
shouldn’t have happened in the first place,” Daria said.
“But I
have made my own,” Sandi said.
“An
extracurricular activity?” Daria asked.
“What
extracurricular activity?” Jane asked as she also sat down.
Sandi
didn’t get a chance to answer, as Tania then joined them. “A long week,” she said.
“Every
week’s been long,” Daria responded.
“But
multiple strange things at once?” Tania asked.
“I
suppose,” Sandi said.
“William
and then the Robodactyl,” Daria mused.
“Right,”
Sandi said.
“So, how
do we stay ahead of all this?” Jane asked.
“No
idea; not without knowing more,” Daria responded.
Tania
thought about that as the group became silent. She knew that Daria was going to
keep digging. She glanced at Sandi. After Sam had followed them to her house,
she thought that she was either the Enigma or Dafoanairi.
“Anyway,
it is good that Tempest was mostly uninterrupted after what happened
with Beck.’”
“There’s
still tonight or tomorrow night,” Daria responded. “But you’re right.”
“Tonight
will be interesting,” Tania said.
“It’s
just the penultimate performance,” Daria said.
“That
means it will feel different,” Tania argued.
“You may
be right,” Daria said.
As
school let out, Jane changed to the Shadow on the roof before looking out over
Lawndale. The town had weathered the storm of the week’s weirdness. ‘But where
did that favorite animals fad come from?’ She still wasn’t sure.
Sirens
sounded from the direction of Dega Street. “Time for vanishing,” she said as
she drew out one of her dry ice pellets.
At the
same time, Daria met Sandi in a corridor near both of their lockers. “Tania
interrupted us earlier.”
“I
decided to try the Literature Club. I ready use a lot of long words,” Sandi
said.
“But
didn’t you dramatically fail the Spelling Bee?”
“Ugh! I
did it for the wrong reason. I was trying to show up Qu-inn and
humiliated myself. I won’t be doing that again.”
“I
thought that was what happened,” Daria responded, but although she responded
sarcastically, there was warmth there that wouldn’t have been there if the two
hadn’t been spending so much time with each other.
That
evening, the Historia was packed as the cast prepared for the penultimate show
of Tempest.
“I’ll
say one thing,” Quinn said as she turned to Dani Moreno, who was sitting in the
tech booth. “Tempest has been very successful.”
“I
agree,” Dani said as she looked over the electronic cues out of habit.
“It has
been reassuring at this time of crisis,” Quinn said.
Dani
looked at Quinn. “I wouldn’t call it a crisis, although Groundhog Day certainly
was.”
“I
suppose I was being a little hyperbolic.”
Dani
thought about what Quinn had said. Reports of crime within Lawndale were still
increasing despite the efforts of the vigilantes. ‘I suppose she thinks that is
indeed a crisis,’ she thought as she remembered what she had heard about Quinn
and Daria’s father’s death.
Sandi
was ready for another search. But she paused. “What is Kevin up to?” she mused.
She grabbed the energy drink but paused. Searching for Kevin seemed frivolous.
All she would find would be where he was, and what he would be doing at that
moment. She shook her head. “No,” she said as she grabbed the yearbook.
‘Four
more until Quinn,’ Sandi thought. She looked at the girl after Rachel Lincoln.
“Findu mann sem heiter: Marilla Lingari!”
She
found Marilla at the Historia, getting ready to see Tempest. ‘Not
surprising,’ Sandi thought.
At the
Thompson’s, Kevin was in his room, going through his closet. He was considering
something reckless, in his quest to meet SpiderGirl.
He soon
found a cloak. “Perfect,” he said. “But I also need a mask…”
He had
figured that one way he could meet SpiderGirl and ask her out, was if he was
out being a hero too. He had justified it as being like Ratboy, and
Lawndale needing yet another hero, not realizing that he was entirely unsuited.
At the
Historia, the curtain went down. Daria breathed a sigh of relief. The
performance had gone off without a hitch. ‘One more performance, then Tempest
will take a break.’
Quinn
came out of the tech room and climbed down to backstage. “It was the best yet.”
“People
usually improve over time,” Daria responded. “But you’re right. It also helps
that the show was sold out.”
“I does,
doesn’t it? But wonder if the other plays will be as popular?”
“We’ll
just have to wait and see.”
