Cafe Disaffecto: Difference between revisions

A computer is stolen from "alt.lawndale.com", the student cybercafe in Lawndale. English teacher [[Timothy O'Neill]] mentions this in class for discussion, as a break from ''Romeo and Juliet''. [[Kevin Thompson|Kevin]] fails at expressing his feelings on the theft and vandalism, after first denying having anything to do with it. [[Jodie Landon|Jodie]] feels angry about the robbery, though she admits the cafe served a limited clientele. [[Daria Morgendorffer|Daria]] mocks the teacher's statement about being cut off from the "virtual community", stating sitting in a room staring at a computer screen and not talking to anybody for hours doesn't constitute a community. Misunderstanding Daria's comments, O'Neill decides to reopen the establishment as a more traditional coffeehouse.

Later that day, at [[Schloss Morgendorffer]], Daria, [[Helen Morgendorffer|Helen]] and [[Jake Morgendorffer|Jake]] talk about extracurricular activities. Helen insists that Daria do something besides school, so that she can include it in future college applications. She ends up convincing Daria to look for an activity by threatening to send her to Music Camp (an activity Daria detests). This despite both Daria's (and, proving no help to Helen, Jake's) opinion that colleges care more about affording tuition than extracurriculars. Daria ends up volunteering for the coffeehouse, choosing to raise funds instead of performing on stage. She convinces [[Jane Lane|Jane]] to join her by finding a reason she would accept (namely, the chance to see inside houses and make fun of people's tastes).

Other students are also involved in fundraising: Kevin and [[Brittany Taylor|Brittany]] try to sell wrapping paper, magazine subscriptions, CD's/cassettes, and flower seeds to [[Anthony DeMartino]], who refuses to buy anything on the general principal that he does not want to contribute to another place for students to sloth. Quinn uses her feminine wiles to convince/ manipulate a guy named [[Danny]] into buying long-distance phone cards.

Daria and Jane sell chocolate bars door-to-door. Their first client is [[Mrs. Johansen]], an obese woman who is short of breath and faints while talking to them. When Mrs. Johansen insinuates that she is forbidden to eat chocolate by her doctor, Daria refuses selling her any bars, despite the woman's pleas to buy their whole supply. Back at school, Mrs Li reprimands the two students for not having sold anything and having refused to sell to a willing client, despite Daria's explanation of her medical condition. Fortunately for them, the lack of money from the aborted chocolate sale is compensated by the huge success Quinn has in selling phone cards.

Daria, however, still has no credit for the coffee house opening, so she agrees to read at opening night. After considering and passing over several of her old stories, she decides to write a new one.

The opening night comes, and the coffee house (called Café Lawndale) has several performers: A male rock musician sings some lines before destroying his own guitar on stage; Brittany and Kevin attempt to do Romeo and Juliet's balcony scene; [[Andrea]] reads some lines of her poetry. Finally, Daria reads her new story, a spy thriller presenting the female secret agent [[Melody Powers]]. The originally disinterested audience slowly warms up to Daria's story and bursts in applause and cheers at its concluding.

The following day, at breakfast, Jake reads in the newspaper the side effect to the success of Daria's story: some [[Lawndale Lions]] had formed an anti-communist rally and had attempted to stone the Russian embassy (despite the lack of one in Lawndale), causing the closing of the Café Lawndale.