A Disclaimer: These characters are the property of MTV, and the intellectual property of the creators of Daria. I appreciate their indulgence in letting me build a world around them. I am doing this for love, not money, so please do not get your panties in a twist about it. Thanks.

Trent is rather enigmatic about his girlfriends. We've only seen Monique, but what about all the other women in Trent's life?

Name: Lisa R.

When: First Grade

Description: Under the monkey bars, right before school, on a dare.

Comments: "Tastes like peanut butter, so it's good."

Girl: Jennifer Bartolamucci

When: 7^th grade, mandatory school dance

Description: Jesse pointed her out, and said that her friend Jessica passed him a note during Social Studies, that Jennifer thought Trent was cute. They both went over and Jesse asked her if she would dance with Trent. She was shy, but agreed. The song was Eternal Flame, by The Bangles. After the song was over, the DJ, Coach Strom, put on Funky Cold Medina, effectively clearing the dance floor. It was only after he played Walk the Dinosaur, that he was able to get the kids dancing again.

Comments: "Oh God, I hope she doesn't know what that is."

Name: Nicole Hudson

How they met: She sat in front of him in English class.

Description: First attracted to her Love's Baby Soft cologne, noticed that she had really big, blond hair. Although she had an annoying fixation with The New Kids on the Block, she was really nice and let him copy off of her paper during tests. Wrote his first poem, Blue Sweater for her. It was a haiku.

Blue sweater fuzz balls.

Dropping on my desk like snow

Here, do you want these?

He worshipped her from afar, but then her friend Carla asked him to ask Jesse if he liked her. At first it sucked, but then it was okay, because Jesse never followed up.

Comments: "Carla is kind of cute, and she gets HBO at her house. "

Name: Rebecca Jacobs

How they met: At Steven Rabinowitcz's Bar Mitzvah.

Description: Rebecca hung out with Steven's sister Sarah, they know each other from Hebrew School. Rebecca was not shy about letting Trent know that she liked him. She sat next to him during the whole party and talked to him. She told him about her little brother, that she was really good at English, that she played goalie for her soccer team, the color scheme of her bedroom, the names of all of her stuffed animals, her favorite movie (Ghost) her favorite song (Tell it to my heart, Taylor Dayne.) At the end of the evening she kissed him goodbye. As an afterthought she asked Trent to join her, and a small group of her friends, for a movie and pizza the following week. Trent said okay. The next week, Rebecca's dad picked him up in the Caravan, along with assorted other kids. They all went to see Dick Tracy and then to the Pizza King for a snack afterwards. She was pretty quiet during the movie, and held his hand, which was awkward, because he couldn't reach the popcorn that she was holding. At the end of the evening, as they were waiting for their ride, Rebecca started talking again. Trent kissed her, mostly to see if she would shut up. She asked him if he wanted to be her boyfriend. He didn't say anything, because he had gotten out of the habit. There was a frosty silence on the way back to his house, and he never heard from her again.

Comments: "Hmmm, I wonder what would happen if I answered her?"

Name: Susan Kelly

How they met: Her older brother was Trent's guitar teacher.

Description: Susan was very dramatic. She had long, brown curly hair, that she would flip at Trent whenever she wanted to emphasize a point. They would talk while Trent waited for Jim to finish up with whatever he was doing before Trent's lesson. (Bong hits, as it turns out.) They started going out. They would usually go to parties, or out with her friends. After a while, it was just assumed that they were going steady. Trent didn't really understand the concept, because he only ever dated one girl at a time anyway, but he went along with it because it made her happy. Trent liked Susan because she didn't expect him to call her on the phone. Trent has never really been a phone kind of guy. They were together for almost a year, but broke up right before the holidays. This was not intentional. Trent always felt strange going to her house for lessons afterwards, and was relieved when Jim graduated and went to college.

Why they broke up: Something about her birthday.

Comments: "Steady girlfriends do more stuff than regular girlfriends."

Name: Debbie Seymour

How they met: At McGrundy's Pub on grunge night.

Description: Debbie was a cheerleader with a dark side. Spirit bunny by day, thrash rocker by night, Debbie liked to walk on the wild side. Trent was sitting in with the band that night, and he thought he recognized her from school. He liked that she appreciated the music (Nirvana and Pearl Jam covers mostly, with a bit of Doors.) They talked at the end of the night, and he gave her a ride home. They went out off and on, but she mostly dated guys on the team. When her prom date, Lawndale High's star pitcher, bailed on her at the last minute, due to a torn rotator cuff, she asked Trent to take her. Trent asked his folks to help out with an infusion of cash. Trent and Jane went to a few thrift stores and got a tuxedo, of sorts, together. Debbie and her friends had already arranged for a limo and reservations at Chez Pierre. All Trent had to do was show up, dance a bit and pay for dinner. They skipped the obligatory sex at the end of the evening, because it was never that kind of relationship.

Comments: "She's nice and all, and she's got great taste in music, but she's got a lot of balls in the air."

Name: Never did find out.

How they met: Last call, after a night of really heavy drinking.

Description: Trent and Jesse had gone to a new club, The Zon (the name is kind of pretentious.) They were thinking about starting their own band, and went to see what other bands were doing. The band sucked, but they ended up getting the drummer, Max, for Mystik Spiral, a few months later. There were a few pitchers of beer, and the next thing Trent knew, it was time to go home. He knew that he should sober up a bit, but Jesse had a curfew, and was making a lot of noise about getting home. Trent decided to hang out in the parking lot, and walk home after his mind cleared. There was a girl there, and she looked pretty broken up about something. He asked her if she was okay, and it turned out that she was upset because she found her boyfriend out with another girl. Trent felt bad for her, and they ended up talking for a couple of hours. She had shared such intimate details about her life that Trent felt awkward about asking her for her name. As it turned out she had a car, and offered to drive Trent home. They took a detour up to a secluded area, where kids go to park in Lawndale. One thing lead to another. They slept in the car and at sun up, she dropped him off in front of his house. He waved goodbye to her, pretty sure that if she lived in Lawndale, that he would run into her again, but he never did.

Comments: "Aw, come on, some stuff is personal."

Name: Karen Washington

How they met: Axl's piercing parlor. Trent was getting his ears pierced. Karen was getting a tongue stud.

Description: Karen worked as a clerk in one of the clothing shops on Dega Street. She lived in a flat with two other girls. Trent had never seen anyone get their tongue pierced and asked if he could watch. She said sure, but he had to buy her coffee afterwards. Karen was fun and interesting, and since she was black, she provided a different cultural perspective than the girls he usually dated. Trent had just recently graduated from Lawndale High, and he was trying to get Mystik Spiral off the ground. Karen was really supportive, she would hand out flyers for their gigs. She also got her girlfriends to turn up at their shows, which helped them get a reputation for attracting cute chicks. They parted amicably, and Karen occasionally calls Trent to see how he's doing.

Why they broke up: Karen left to go to college in the fall.

Comments: "Really a great person. Hope only good things happen for her."

***

Name: Carolyn Lewis

How they met: At the Thoughtful Bean, a now defunct coffee bar.

Description: At first Carolyn seemed really nice. She showed up at all of Trent's gigs, but she would make it clear that they were together. Considering that a band trades on their sex appeal, this was bad for business. During breaks, Carolyn would bring him warm water and honey for his throat. She also packed picnics for the band. After the fourth time this happened, Trent asked her why she showed up all the time. "I don't come to your work to watch you." This did not go over well. Carolyn was really insecure, so she would call all the time, checking up on him, or else, just to talk. Her favorite thing to ask was "Do you miss me?" Although he had liked Carolyn well enough when they first started going out, Trent found that he did not miss her at all. Ever. He tried to break up with her, but she refused to believe that it was over. She drove by his house, called at all hours, sent him long letters that started off begging, went to threatening, then back to begging again. The guys started to refer to her as Trent's "psycho-friend." Trent was not so much concerned for himself, but she had started trying to get Jane to take up for her. Jane, although pretty self possessed for a kid, did not appreciate being dragged into the middle of the situation. Trent was forced to take drastic action.

Why they broke up: It's kind of obvious.

Comments: "Hey, I have a restraining order."

***

Name: Diana

How they met: At Nature's Emporium, a crystal shop.

Description: Diana provided magical oil blends for the shop. She was dropping off the latest shipment. Trent had gone in to buy a crystal to enhance his creativity. There was something about her that made her seem so friendly and open. He asked Diana for her help, she gave him some oil, and helped him pick out a golden topaz crystal with a good vibration. He invited her to a Spiral gig, as his date. Trent really fell for Diana hard. There was something about her aura, he was drawn to her. Diana was very active in the Wiccan community, and maintained a web page. In addition to her pagan work, Diana wrote short stories. Diana called Trent her muse, and he would spend hours sitting on a cedar chest in her room, watching her write. Diana was not a judgmental person, and Trent found her attitude refreshing. They would hang out, looking at stars. Diana was Trent's first true love. The only problem was that Trent had stopped writing the pain filled music that Mystik Spiral became known for. Trent had written a bunch of really intense love songs for Diana, but they weren't appropriate for the Spiral sound. Trent thought that he might leave Mystic Spiral, but Diana wouldn't let him. She suggested a separation, based upon Trent's need to get back with the band. During this time, Trent wrote dark, moody songs for the band. Diana later left Lawndale to attend graduate school. Trent still dreams about her to this day.

Why they broke up: Cosmically bad timing.

Comments: "I've got a cinder in my eye."

***

Name: Monique

How they met: At a gig, she was playing with her band, The Harpies.

Description: Monique sort of just happened. Trent was still nursing a broken heart from Diana, and his defenses were down. He and Monique had all kinds of stuff in common, and they would hang out for hours at a cheesy diner after gigs, talking about music, and songwriting and the ups and downs of life in a band. One day, Monique jumped on Trent, and he jumped back. Monique was a better friend than a lover, and Trent was always conflicted about that. In actuality, he preferred to keep everything as it was, but Monique wanted him to be her boyfriend. Trent couldn't come up with a reason not to, so he went along with it for a while, but then it would start to bother him. They would break up, and Trent would miss her observations. She was the only woman that truly understood his dreams and frustrations because she was going through the same thing. When they got back together, for Trent, it was for her friendship, for Monique it was for the relationship. Finally, Monique got tired of having her heart yanked around, and she realized that Trent was serious when he said that he wanted them to be friends, and nothing more. It's worked out pretty well so far. Except when Monique gets drunk, then she screams and yells at Trent about how he ruined her life. He usually bails well before she reaches that point.

Why they broke up: It just wasn't meant to be.

Comments: "Thank God we never went through with that matching tattoo thing."

***

Name: Ruth

How they met: At a gig.

Description: Ruth was a woman who had never gotten over being the keg queen at her college. She had been a confirmed party girl and although she had started to work in the straight world, she would go out at night and kick up her heels. Ruth had been at a Spiral gig, and had bought the band a few rounds on her American Express. They invited her to tag along with them to the diner. She had a wicked sense of humor and kept Trent cracked up, even as her jokes floated over the heads of the rest of the band. "I'm doing pretty well if the comprehension level is about 50%." Trent never did understand what it was that she did. Something with computers, or phones or both. What ever it was, she seemed to really like it. It was refreshing to be with a chick that wasn't bitching about her crap job somewhere. Trent never did give it much thought, until he got more involved. She had a nice car, her own house and really great audio equipment. He liked to stay over at her house because she didn't have roommates. She also had an enormous bathtub. But he started to notice little things. Like how she got up really early on weekdays, even if she had been out all night. Or how she used to work on her laptop in the evening, pulling her e-mail one last time before she went to bed. There was something about her that seemed familiar, especially when she would be giving him a massage and talking on her cell phone simultaneously. One day Trent looked around and realized that he was kept. Well, not exactly kept, but she didn't seem to need him for anything, he was her arm candy. It disturbed him. He wanted to be a partner, not a boy-toy. She was really nice, but they wanted different things from a relationship. He still sees her at gigs occasionally, dancing on the speakers. She still stands the band to drinks.

Why they broke up: All that work she did.

Comments: "Can't you just let voice mail get it? We're in the middle of something here."

***

Name: Daria Morgendorffer

How they met: Janey's best friend

Description: Daria just showed up one day. She and Jane had started to pack around together. It wasn't unusual for them to hang out at gigs, helping set up and what not. At first Trent didn't really seem to notice Daria, beyond her role as Jane's friend. But the girl was just funny. She would crack on the band, crack on the crowd, she'd even crack on him. Nothing was sacred, and he liked that. Periodically the guys will ask him if they have started to go out yet, and Trent just gets confused. Besides, she's got a boyfriend now, and what would she want with him, when she's got Tom? But the more he hangs with her, the more he appreciates her. Who knows, maybe in a couple of years….

Comments: "Good one Daria."