Daria writes a story that she plans to submit to publication, but is reluctant to let anyone read it. She gives it to Jane and Tom to read--Jane thinks it needs a little work, but Tom likes it and encourages her to submit it. She submits it to a magazine, but it gets rejected. This discourages her, but she decides to give it another go after learning Jake went through a similar situation with a song he wrote when he was her age. The Fashion Club seeks to win a humanitarian award by donating a mirror for the school bathroom, but they first have to get the money to buy the mirror. They decide to start a newsletter and sell it, but get discouraged when all of the fashion predictions they publish turn out wrong. Meanwhile, after learning of the reasons behind her niece Erin's failed marriage, Helen starts to keep a close eye on Daria, making sure she isn't rushing into sex with Tom.