(19) The Crown of Friendship

"But who do you think will win the best Dawson imitation?" I ask Britney as we walk out of the cafeteria doors from lunch.

"Oh. . . well for that category Jeff will totally win, but for the other one, the best Dawson look-a-like, it will definitely be Cameron."

"Jeff is coming?" I am so shocked that I abruptly stop walking. Jeff has never really come to one of our parties. He eats lunch at our table, yes, but he doesn't hang out outside of school. He has different friends he parties with. Now I am more glad than ever that I have resolved the argument with my parents the night before.

"Well, yeah, he's in my bio class, and besides, Heather was the one who invited him."

"She was?" I start walking again.

"Yeah, oh look, let's vote for the homecoming court!" Britney grabs my hand and pulls me with her into the large mob of students that is forming. The hall is filled with loud murmurings of guys and girls trying to decide who to vote for.

"Hey, Daria!” One of my sister's best friends pokes her head above a mass of Freshmen that are crowding in front of the table where she is sitting.

"Hey Jenna."

"Here, just fill in the blanks." She hands me a blank piece of white paper that has several lines and then disappears again behind the group of girls.

I pull a pencil out of my jeans pocket and immediately chew on the eraser, lost in thought. Deciding on who to vote on for homecoming court is a big decision and I have no idea who to put down. I lose focus on the mass of students and think about how wonderful it would be to be paired up with Jeff on the homecoming court. A picture fills my mind where I am standing in a black Jeep Wrangler next to Jeff, laughing and talking to him in the homecoming parade. And then another one where he and I walk arm in arm across the football field during halftime and smile for a picture that will show up in the yearbook for the whole school to look at for their entire lives. It would be so wonderful if he and I got the most votes and got paired together! Maybe the awkwardness would leave our relationship if we were forced to start talking to each other again.

"Daria!” If you're not going to vote, don't block other people from getting a ballot!" I ‘m thrown out of my wonderful thoughts and am immediately back to where I am standing outside of the senior cafeteria door.

"Who did you vote for?” I sigh and pull down the sleeves of my yellow cable knit wool sweater.

"Oh, I don't know, Susan Drews, Jessica Bartell, Nancy Larsen, and I haven't come with the last girl." I couldn't believe it. Not one of the girls Britney has just named are people she even likes. I don't understand why she hasn't put down any of her actual friends.

"Why didn't you put down Charlotte, or Charissa, or even Patsy?" I ask.

"Oh my goodness, how could I do that, what if they actually won! Do you have any idea how awful it would be if one of them made it on the homecoming court and I didn't! Nancy Larsen I don't care about, but Charlotte? That would just kill me!" .

"Oh." I turn away from Britney so that she cannot see my own list. I stare at the names of all my closest friends and I am about to erase them all when a sudden realization hits me. Britney's perspective on who to vote for is all wrong! Her vision on
the.homecoming court is skewed. Instead of the voting being about the people who should be elected, it has turned into voting for who should not be elected. I am not going to let myself put down names of people that mean nothing to me just because I am too concerned that someone I am close to would make it and I would not. I have more self-confidence than that.

I start to think and reminisce about the past and my friends who were there for me. When I was ten and had strep throat and didn't come to school for two weeks, Britney was the one that risked catching the terrible sickness and came to my house everyday with the homework and a pint of ice cream.

When I sprained my ankle in soccer practice in fifth grade, Patsy was the one who carried my books when I had to go to the library or gym class. When my dog got hit by a car when I was twelve, it was Charissa's shoulder that I cried on.
Who have I had the most fun with? My friends. Who have I stayed up all night talking on he phone with? My friends. With the piece of paper hidden in the folds of my pants pocket, and a new goal of being more loyal to all of them in mind to achieve, I leave the murmurs of students still deciding on who not to vote for for homecoming court behind me.