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Choice of the Cheerleader
01 – Illness of the Cynic Chick
It may be said that a massive change of events may start by something which would otherwise be insignificant. For instance; Brittany Taylor, upon being invited to the Zon, Zone or Zen Nightclub by a boy named Terry, or Jerry, deciding to ask her stepmother for help dying her hair instead of doing it herself.
“So, why do you want to do this, honey?” Ashley-Amber Taylor asked her stepdaughter slightly confused.
“It would be something different,” Brittany answered. “I would do it myself, but I thought you would do it better.”
“Just because it’s something different?” Ashley-Amber asked quizzically. She knew Brittany was hiding something.
“Yes!” Brittany said.
“Ok, we will run out and get the dye.”
“Sure!”
Half an hour later, they were ready with the dye Ashley-Amber had helped Brittany choose. A dye that was an appropriately dark colour, and which wouldn’t leak out all over the place.
< - >
However, seeing the state of the nightclub and Terry or Jerry having abandoned her after one dance, Brittany was miffed. The music was totally assaulting her ears and Andrea was also there (of course she was) giving her a raised eyebrow. She retreated into a restroom. “I can’t stand this! What was I thinking?”
“Brittany?” came a voice to her left.
Was that Daria? “All right, so Kevin is a stupid, selfish, conceited jerk. He's still better than Terry or Jerry or whatever his name is and this stupid club.” She had had enough.
“Who's Terry or Jerry?” Daria Morgendorffer asked.
‘Oops!’ She didn’t want anyone to know. “Oh, no! I've said too much!” She saw that something was up with Daria. “Eww. What happened to your neck?”
It was kinda, red. “Huh?”
“Your neck. It's all, like, blotchy.”
Daria looked closely at her reflection. “Ugh. I don't know.”
That was something else wrong. “I'm not surprised you could catch something in a horrible place like this.”
“Uh, Brittany, could you do me a favor?”
She wasn’t sure. “Um... yes?”
“Find Jane and tell her I had to leave?”
She could do that, but… “Sure, but... will you promise not to tell Kevin about Terry or Jerry or whoever?”
“In the unlikely event that, through some bizarre set of circumstances, I actually end up conversing with Kevin, I won't tell him about Terry or Jerry,” Daria responded.
“Thanks.”
“Daria? You’re in there?” an older guy asked at the door.
“Don’t worry.” Brittany went to the door and found that it was one of the singers of that terrible band that had been playing. “Have some consideration for female modesty, please!”
“Oh, sure, sorry,” the guy said.
She went back to where Daria had entered a stall as four others exited another one. “I’ll tell Jane.”
“I won’t tell Kevin.”
< - >
“Brittany?” Jane Lane asked when another girl came up to her and Trent. She wasn’t sure why the usually blonde cheerleader had dyed her hair a dark color, but it looked good on her. The loose waves also looked better than the pigtails. ‘Why am I appraising her hair?’ She supposed it would make for a good portrait.
“Daria asked me to tell you that she had to leave.”
“Really?”
“Yes!” Brittany said.
“But why would she tell you instead of coming to me.”
“She had her reasons.” Brittany turned her head to the side with her arms crossed.
“Right…”
After Jane and her brother (as she had realised) had left looking for Daria, Brittany also left. It had been an exhausting night, but when she looked in her bedroom mirror before changing, she found that she quite liked what she saw there. She wasn’t sure what to make of that.
< - >
The next morning Daria told Jane what happened as they walked to school. “Look, I’m sorry about last night,” she said after concluding.
“Aw, forget it. It was a rare opportunity, getting to hang out with Brittany in a grunge club. Although her hair did look good.”
“Really?” Daria asked.
“I thought it would make for a great portrait,” Jane said with a shrug. “Any idea what caused this so-called rash?”
“I wish I knew.”
“Anyway, the important thing is that instead of going to your friends for help, you ran screaming into the night.”
“Basically,” Daria said.
“Perfectly logical response.”
“I thought so.”
For Brittany, not much happened. Other students did give her strange looks as they noticed that her hair was a different color, but that was to be expected. However, she also noticed that Daria wasn’t in class in the later periods after she had run out in Language Arts. Was it that blotchiness she saw in the club, causing her to want to go home?
< - >
The next day, she caught up with Jane between classes. “Jane?”
“Brittany? I see your hair is still dark.”
“Never mind that now! Have you seen…” she paused and dropped her voice to a whisper, “Daria?”
“Why would you want… Daria?”
Brittany almost jumped backwards. “What makes you think I want her? I don't want her.”
“You asked me if I’d seen her.”
“She hasn't told you anything... interesting about me, has she?”
“No one's ever told me anything… interesting about you,” Jane answered.
‘Really?’ Brittany asked herself. “That's a relief.”
“Anyway, she'll be back in a day or two. She's in the hospital while they check out that ra... rare condition.”
Brittany knew Jane was going to say ‘rash’. “Condition?”
“Yeah, she's come down with a slight case of, um, brain fever,” Jane answered. “It’s a thing that brains get.”
‘Really?’ Brittany thought. “Wow, that sounds serious!” she said.
“No, no, usually if you just read a best-seller it'll go away. So, um, no need to mention it to anyone. I'll tell her you asked about her.”
“Just ask her if she remembers our deal.”
“What deal?” Jane asked.
“What deal?”
“The deal you just mentioned.”
It was a bad idea, Brittany decided. “I didn't say anything about a deal. Forget I said anything about a deal.”
“Forget I said anything about a hospital.”
“OK.”
“Hey! Now we have a deal.”
“What deal?” Brittany asked, confused.
“Later,” Jane said before leaving.
“Brain fever,” Brittany considered as she twirled her hair. She knew what to tell Kevin at least.
< - >
She met with Kevin, Mack and Jodie at the Pizza place after school. “Babe, why is your hair still dark?” Kevin asked with his usual confusion.
That wasn’t what she wanted to talk about! “Never mind that now. Did you know that Daria has brain fever?” Given that she had made a deal with Jane she didn’t want to say anything about a rash. But she was still concerned for Daria!
“Brain fever?” Jodie asked incredulously.
“Yeah. Doesn't that sound serious?” Brittany answered.
“You get the scalpel. We can use my dad's barn as an operating room,” Mack joked.
“We could use your basement,” Kevin said. Brittany wasn’t sure he got the joke.
“Brittany, I’m sure if it was serious, Daria would be in the hospital,” Jodie said.
Oops! “Um…” She didn’t want to break her deal with Jane!
“What?” Jodie asked. “She is in the hospital?”
“Eep!” Brittany let out.
“She’s not in the hospital?” Jodie asked again.
Brittany squealed with frustration. “I promised I wouldn't say anything about the hospital because I made a deal with Daria and she kept her part and I kept my part but then I made another deal with Jane and I didn't even know I was making it and now I didn't keep my part because I told about the hospital so now Jane's going to tell about the deal and I didn't mean anything by it I just wanted to see what other kids do at night who don't do sports and he didn't mean anything to me, Kevvy, I swear it!”
Kevin made some connections. “So… she is in the hospital!”
Brittany nodded.
Jodie and Mack exchanged a look.
Kevin arrived at Mack’s house and rang the doorbell. His sister came to the door. “Robbie? Is Mack Daddy home?”
“You know he hates that, right?” Robbie asked. “I haven’t seen him.”
“Oh! Can I check?”
“Sure,” Robbie said.
< - >
The basement was empty. Mack wasn’t there. Nor was Daria. ‘Of course. She’s still in the hospital.’
“He wasn’t here?” Robbie asked.
“No,” Kevin said. “See you later.”
As he drove away, his concern for Daria grew, although he was also wondering why Brittany had dyed her hair. Again.
Brittany approached Daria’s hospital room. (She wasn’t sure what to make of the orderly’s references to ‘Mrs. Sullivan’.) She heard Jane speaking. “…They probably haven't even noticed you’re gone.”
She entered the room. “Daria?”
Daria was surprised. “Brittany? What are you doing here?”
She twirled a few strands of her loose hair. “Um, I just wanted to thank you for not going back on our deal, and I thought I might find Jane here and tell her I did kind of go back on our deal, but I also kind of went back on your part of our deal so there's no use in you doing that.”
“We had a deal?” Jane asked.
“And to see how you were,” Brittany added, ignoring Jane’s question. “Um, you're kind of red.” The lighting in the night club was a lot dimmer than in that hospital room.
“Yes, but I’m probably okay,” Daria said.
“Great!” Brittany said.
“What was our deal?” Jane asked.
Brittany was about to answer when Mack and Jodie entered. They must have arrived at the hospital straight after her.
“Daria?” Jodie asked.
“What are you doing here?” Daria asked as Jodie and Mack went over to her.
“Well, Brittany said you had some brain fever or something, but you weren't in the hospital. So, I kept asking Jane, who finally admitted you had a rash and you were in the hospital.”
‘Oops!’ Brittany thought.
“So, we just figured we'd come down here and see for ourselves how you were,” Mack added.
“I’m probably OK,” Daria admitted.
“So, that’s cool,” Mack said.
“For a human lobster,” Daria added.
“Oh, so you're a little red. It could happen to anybody,” Jodie said.
Mack gave her a look, looking at her and himself.
‘Of course, it wouldn’t be as obvious on them,’ Brittany thought.
“Well, it could happen to lots of people,” Jodie added.
< - >
Quinn entered Daria’s hospital room. She hoped to see Doctor Phillips. She saw that Jane, Jodie Mack and Brittany were already there. ‘A bit busy,’ she thought. She wasn’t sure why Brittany was changing her look. But this wasn’t the time to ask her why. “Daria?” she asked.
“Quinn?” Daria asked.
“How are you?” Quinn asked.
“Oh, I’m…” Daria began.
But Quinn interrupted. “Is that Dr. Phillips coming by today? I've got, um, a twinge.”
Kevin then entered the room. “Daria?” he asked.
‘Is everyone coming here?’ Quinn wondered.
“Kevin?” Daria asked.
“What are you doing here?” Brittany asked.
Kevin gave her a strange look before saying. “I went over to Mack's house and, like, the basement was empty. Daria, am I glad to see you!”
‘What’s he talking about?’ Quinn thought.
“Um, thanks Kevin.”
“I was afraid they’d start the operation without me,” Kevin added.
Daria gave Mack and Jodie a look.
“It’s a long story,” Mack explained.
“Maybe later, when you have your strength back,” Jodie added.
Then another, older person entered. “Daria?” she asked uncertainly.
“Who are you?” Daria asked.
“I’m Mrs. Sullivan. Did I leave an enema bag here?”
‘Ew!’ Quinn thought.
< - >
“I don’t think so,” Daria responded to Mrs. Sullivan. She could see Quinn and Brittany both looking uncomfortable as a result of her question.
“Sorry, I just wanted to check,” Mrs. Sullivan said.
“That’s OK,” Daria said.
< - >
No one else arrived after Mrs. Sullivan left. They chatted for a while before leaving. Jane watched Quinn go last. “Did she really come here because of Dr. Phillips?” she asked. “And what’s up with Brittany and her hair?”
“Somewhere deep down, Quinn does care. But I’m sure she won’t admit it,” Daria said. “As far as Brittany goes. I’m not sure.”
< - >
The next Monday, Brittany thought things over as she got ready for school. It turned out that Daria’s rash was caused by anxiety. She wasn’t sure what Daria had to be anxious about. She supposed that it was something she wouldn’t know about.
She twirled a strand of hair as she thought about this. She had already decided to keep her hair dark, still liking the difference. She tied it into her customary pigtails, ready for the new school day.
But she didn’t know that difficult times were ahead.