Disclaimer: I do not own the show Daria or any of it's characters. They are the sole property of the copyright holders. I am not making any money from this story, and no infringement is intended.

*Author's Note*:

Rated M for language, alcohol consumption, references to drug use, and adult themes and situations. Tint of lemon (hey, I'd write more of it if I could but I'm better at 'doing' rather than 'writing' about it). I'd say this is probably a case of raging OOC to boot.

This is the sequel to my story called The Request". The events of this story take place in May, about 6 months after the epilogue of "The Request". Daria is just finishing her last month of her sophomore year at Raft. Anything written in italics is the unspoken thought of the character. I will toss in a chapter or two that is not from the main character's POV, but I'll designate when I switch.

Oh boy, you die-hard purists of cannon Daria are going to be pissed at me after this story, lol. Just understand that this is all make-believe people, and I wrote it off of a challenge that a friend of mine came up with in the real-world. The challenge was this: Take your favorite character from anything. Write a story about how they end up doing something that, if you were to stay absolutely true to that character, they would NEVER do. I'd tell you the other parts of the challenge, but it would give too much away and I'm a lady of mystery. Anyway I wrote this story first in my series, and it inspired me to write part Number 3 and then part Number 1. Going through and editing this one and the thrid story again, I might do a forth part that would be about a side story involving Jane. We'll see if the muse stays with me. Hope you enjoy!

The Pole

May 21st, 7:30 PM

"$950, $970, $1,020 … Trix, is this it?" I huffed after counting out the cash in the "Rent Only" jar.

"Yeah, sorry D but I had to make a school payment this month for next year," my sullen roommate stated. "Besides I paid more than my share last month, remember? You said you could make it up to me this month."

"Damnit, I did say that didn't I? Curse you and your ability to remember things I say when you are drunk."

This wasn't the first time that we had come up short in the rent department. Usually our landlord was nice and we could typically beg a few days grace on the huge rent we paid per month for this tiny two-bedroom apartment. It was expensive to live off-campus in Boston while we're both attending Raft, but there was no way either of us could bring ourselves to live in the hell-hole called the dorms ever again. Too bad that this time, we were already late and apparently about $300 dollars short.

"Well, you don't have anything stashed away, do you?"

"Nope, the Montana Cabin Fund dried up last year when my scholarships proved to only pay for my classes. Apparently things like food, rent, and textbooks are not crucial to the college experience."

"Montana what fund? Daria, what the hell is that?" the slight but intimidating woman asked. Tracy was the same age as me at 19, and amazingly even shorter than my 5'2" with a dyed red Mia Farrow cut. Despite being diminutive there was something very threatening about her presence; I had originally thought it was a front since this girl was always so placid towards me. Yet I learned quickly however that this girl could be down-right volatile towards people she didn't like, highlighted by the instances when people didn't get her name right. She preferred to be called Trix and woe onto those who didn't call her that. It was their lucky day if all she responded with was a punch to the nose. It was a good thing she decided to like me for not being intimidated by her, and we became friends during our freshman year. This year, we decided to become roommates and see how things went.

"Never mind, just an old joke. I think I know what I've got to go do to scrounge up the fast cash; I'm just completely tapped until payday and I'll need food and bus money too. I'll try borrowing from Jane first, but if that doesn't work I guess I better go call the club and see if they have any spots they need to fill tonight or tomorrow."

No one would ever guess after looking at me, I'm so plain I thought to myself as I looked down and laughed inwardly.

Sure I had changed my look slightly, but I think I still looked just like my old self. Big round glasses were still the norm but they had newer, thinner frames. If given the choice makeup was still out of the question. The only real changes had been my hair and clothes. The green military jacket, burnt orange T-shirt, and black pleated skirt still made their appearances; yet they had been joined by other pieces recently in styles and colors that still kept close to my darker tastes. You can't be too picky when your freezing your ass off in the snow and have to shop at thrift stores after all. Everything, well almost everything, I wore was still modest but now showed off my figure more. These days I kept my hair a little shorter, and I have it cut with a razor to give it a more ragged and wispy look but if you saw me from a distance you may not even notice that there was a change at all from my high school hair. I still had my go-to old combat boots, but I rotate them with a pair of green Chucks and another pair of dark red 16-hole boots (for special occasions).

"Hey, I found another fiver in my jacket pocket! We have enough Top Ramen to last us until payday, right?" Trix asked, bringing me out of my personal appearance evaluation.

"Nope, not unless you want to start hunting for rats outside to add to my dad's recipe for Kitchen Sink Stew to tide us over. I better go see Jane and see if she can help. If she can't, then I need to come home and wax fast so that I'm 'presentable'."