Just A Thought

A Daria ficlet by Angelinhel.

Plot Summary
The opening begins with a disjointed thought sequence by an unknown character, quickly followed by a flashback sequence.

The Fashion Club is in Mr. O'Neill's English class, having just been given an assignment to write a descriptive essay. A minor tiff bewteen Quinn and Sandi leads Quinn to arrive home in an agitated state.

Quinn arranges for her sister, Daria to write the English essay for her before leaving for a Fashion Club meeting. The meeting goes as usual, with Quinn and Sandi vying for power while Tiffany and Stacy try to stay out of the way. When Quinn reveals an embarassing fashion error by Sandi, Sandi takes it out on Stacy, berating her for a poor shoe choice. Stacy uncharacteristically ignores the comment and merely continues to write in her notebook.

Another sequence of disjointed thoughts does not reveal who the identity of the character, but alludes to the idea that the flashback is connected to why he or she is frightened and confused.

The next flashback reveals that one student had handed in a disturbing essay for O'Neill's descriptive assignment, possibly dealing with shooting or otherwise harming other students in the class, specifically Sandi Griffin. In light of a recent school shooting at Oakwood High School, not far from Lawndale, Principal Li had recently instituted a zero-tolerance policy about written threats made towards Lawndale High and its students.

Brought before the principal, the school councillor Ms. Manson, and his or her parents, the student who wrote the essay tried to explain that he or she hadn't meant any of it and had planned to throw it away after he or she had written it, not accidentally hand it in. Panicking at the thought of being expelled, the student incites fear and overreaction by the school administrators and their parents, leading to his or her hospitalization in a mental institution, "for their own safety and the safety of others."

The last section reveals Stacy Rowe as the author of the essay. She welcomes the oblivion she is thrust into from the anti-depressants and sedatives regularly injected into her by the staff of the institution, fearing that if she were able to think for herself again, she would only end up in a worse situation.

Trivia

 * Written partially in response to the tragic Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings and the subsequent zero-tolerance policies many schools adapted thereafter. While the author admits graphic writings can be a sign of violence to come, their message in this story is that a zero-tolerance policy may do more harm than good in some cases.