Disclaimer: Daria and associated characters are owned by MTV. This is fan fiction written for entertainment only. No money or other negotiable currency or goods have been exchanged. This was written in response to the Retrofic Iron Chef challenge on PPMB.
Daria Morgendorffer sat in the auditorium of Lawndale High School and pondered what seemed like the unreality of the prior six months. The attack on Pearl Harbor had come as a shock to all. The wave upon wave of crushing defeats in the following months as the Japanese military advanced across the Pacific Ocean and parts of Asia were almost numbing.
Southern California was considered to be on the edge of the war zone. The entire western coast underwent nightly blackouts in the hopes of preventing attacks from the Japanese Navy, always feared to be just over the horizon. Overcoming his bad experiences in military school, Daria's father had joined the local Civilian Defense and stood regular vigils, looking for the enemy.
Looking around, she saw mostly girls among the senior class. The majority of the boys had enlisted, or been drafted, in the months after the war began. Even her best friend Jane's brother Trent had tried to enlist before being declared 4F for his persistent narcolepsy.
Daria then thought of her boyfriend, Tom Sloane. Following family tradition, he had enlisted in the navy. With his academic background and family connections, he went straight from basic training to Officer Candidate School. From there, he was assigned to the aircraft carrier, USS Lexington, now somewhere in the Pacific. Daria had to admit that even with all of her doubts about their relationship; she was sincerely worried about him.
The room hushed as the school board superintendent, Mr. Cartwright, crossed the stage and stood before the podium. He cleared his throat and said, "Under Civilian Exclusion Order 34, issued by Gen. John DeWitt, commander of Military Area 1, your principal, Angela Li, has been relieved of her duties and sent to a War Relocation Camp. Mrs. Bennett will be acting principal until a permanent replacement can be named. Thank you and you may return to your regularly scheduled classes."
Daria watched the man exit with a growing sense of unease. The silence of the room gave way to excited chatter among the students as they assimilated what to most of them was good news.
Jane nudged her and said, "Are you okay?"
Daria said, "I think we just witnessed a moment of history we're going to regret."