Dancing in the Streets (Part II)

Raft University and other places
May 2014

"So, do you know if any of the old gang is going to be there?"

"What 'old gang'?" Daria asked.  She was in the apartment she shared with Jane, closing her suitcase, preparing to pack for her first trip back home.

"You know, the usual gang of idiots." Jane paused. "Lawndale."

"Ah.  Well, no.  Why would any of them come back?  We didn't come back."

"True," Jane said.  "But for all of those friends that Quinn made over the years that were one grade ahead of her, you think they'd be glad to see her off."

"Those guys have traded up," Quinn said.

"You've talked to Quinn?"

"Yeah.  It's been a real pain in the ass for her," Daria said.  "My parents have smothered her with 'love' and 'affection' and a lot of words which might have similar meanings in your world to the ways that we use them in my house."

"Got it," Jane said. "They're up in her panties 24-7."

"I think they're trying to get right with Quinn what they didn't get right with me, and they found out that it was a lot of heavy lifting," Daria said.  "Well, done."

"I wish you weren't going," Jane said. "I'll miss you."

"You'll miss not having me around to bum money off of."

"That too," Jane said.

"Are you sure you'll not come back to watch Quinn graduate?"

"No way," Jane said. "Don't want to see it.  That place gives me the creeps. I want to be as far away from it as possible."

"In that case," Daria said, "let's go get something to eat."

"Ball and Chain!" Jane cried. "Ball and Chain!"

Daria turned up her nose.  "Come on, I don't want to eat at a dive bar."

"No, you want to eat at Fuddpuckers or wherever that is."

Daria worked on hiding her sigh.  Going to Ball and Chain would mean enduring a couple of guys trying to chat up Jane.  It was the place that guys from Bromwell and Holy Father went to practice their moves.  Jane liked it because it was "fun" and reminded her of The Zon - which is one of the things that she didn't like about it.

But going to some standard food-and-git place meant that she'd have to hear Jane complain about it for ten minutes.  She figured she could put up with it, for the sake of friendship.  Daria figured it was karmic payback.

(* * *)

Since neither Daria nor Jane had cars, the best way to get to Ball and Chain was to just cut right through the Raft campus on foot.  Daria's classes had ended early, but there was still one more day of testing before the campus emptied for summer break. 

"What did you think you're going to get this year?" Jane said.

"All A's.  College isn't that much harder than high school, except you actually have homework that means something and that you're expected to know some shit.  You?"

"B's," Jane said. "How the hell do I get to an Art School and not make A's?  But there are some guys in class that are pretty cool, even though they're making B's and C's, too."

"Three more years and you could be the next Daniel Dotson," Daria said.

"Shut up," Jane said, still smarting.

As they bounded down the hill that would normally lead up from the sidewalk and to the student center, they found their way blocked by some kind of poorly attended booth.  Daria recognized the guys as the members of the American People's party, still dressed in green and white but now looking much more comfortable now that the weather matched their clothing.

"I hope this isn't their final exam in political science," Daria said, "'cause they're going to flunk.  I've played this game.  Walk on by."

As Daria and Jane prepared to hold their heads up high and walk by, Jane said, "Look at the ass on that one!"

Daria squinted.  "Boy or girl?"

"I'm heteroflexible," Jane said.

Jane practically danced her way up to the booth.  "Hey there!" she said to the guy she had been looking at.

"Hello," he said.  "Would you like some literature?"

"I would like for you to fill me up," Jane said, "with your knowledge."

Blushing, the guy handed her a pamphlet.  "Is there a way I can put you on our e-mailing list?"

"That depends," Jane said.  "Do you text?  Hey I just met you...and this is crazy....!"

" - stop it, now, girl," Daria said.  She took the pamphlet out of her hands.  "The same 25 points as before.  You're going to ride that lead balloon out into the sunset."

"This is Daria," Jane said.  "She's not as politically conscious as I am.  As a matter of fact, we talked to one of your friends over at BFAC.  He was...uh...his name was...Daria, don't leave me hanging."

"Robert," Daria said, annoyed.

"Yeah, Robert," Jane said.  "How's old Bob doing?"

"Bob dropped out about a month ago," Daria said.

"Damn, I meant to get back to him!" Jane said.

"So," Daria said, "you're now the National Progressive American People's Party?"

"We wanted to emphasize that we were progressive," Jane's prospective boyfriend said.

"And national," Daria said.  "So what are you, the NPAPPers?"

"We just call ourselves NAPP," the guy said.

"Robert's out huh?" Daria said.  "Nice guy, though.  Sorry to lower your numbers to five."

"Oh, there are more of us than just us."

"Really?" Daria said.  "Do tell.  What's the current membership of the National Progressive American People's Party?"

"Twelve members."

"Whoa," Daria said. "You doubled your membership in two months.  But you still haven't found a graphic designer."

"Yeah.  We - !"

"So," Jane said, "you were looking for a graphic designer, n'est-ce-pas?"

"Hey, do you know something about it?"

"That's an interesting story," Daria started, before Jane stared daggers at her. "Why, Jane knows all about the workings of political organizations, coming up with interesting graphic designs, making a political pamphlet all sparkly.  She talks about it all the time."

"My name's David," the man said. "David Bechtel."

"I hope you pass the test," Daria said.

David laughed, getting the joke.  Then he soured. "So...together you're...?"

"Together," Daria growled.  "We are going to Fuddruckers."

"This is news to me," Jane said.

"Let me tell you some more about Jane's strengths - !"

" - Fuddruckers it is!" Jane said.  She plucked the political pamphlet out of Daria's hands, wrote her number, and gave it back to David.  "Text, call.  Whatever.  I'm easy."

Daria cleared her throat.  "I hope I'm not interrupting something," David said.

"Nah.  Daria's going to be out of town for a little while."  The way Jane said it, you would have had to be living on the moon not to see her intended meaning.