Emo Chick vs. The Cheerleaders!!!!

I suppose this merits some explaining. I have these three students - call them K, B and J. They are wonderful kids - bright, hardworking. Two of them (K and B) are student council officers. About two months ago, our high school had its tryouts for the freshman cheerleading squad, and B and J are on it. K apparently never tried out - some of it might have to do with the fact her mom was a cheerleader at the very same high school back in the 80's. At any rate, K has begun to identify herself with the "emo" movement - the latest incarnation of what we used to call plain ol' alternative, but with a new, 21st century spin to it. Bands like Fallout Boy and Death Cab For Cutie are considered "emo," which basically means they're rock bands that feature vaguely nerdy-looking guys singing reasonably intelligent (or at least intelligent-sounding) songs, that are occasionally on the depressing side (think The Cure, and you're probably on the right track. If Monsieur Robert Smith and his crew were twenty years younger, they'd definitely be emo). At any rate, the girls have a fun little rivalry going on these days, pitting K's "emo" stylings vs. R's and J's peppy, preppy cheerleader bopsiness. Truth be told, little Miss K is quite the preppy dresser, though I'm sure she'll deny it. Put the three of them together and, if you don't know who is who, the average clued-out adult (probably anyone reading this page - I mean, come on, let's be real, shall we?) wouldn't be able to pull the "emo" one out to save their life.
So. On to the comic. In case anyone can't figure it out, it's a duel to the death between the emo chick and the two cheerleaders, pitting razor blades, eyeliner, and emo poetry vs. puppies, bunnies and pom-poms. By panel 4, the ferocity of each side's attack has caused the two sides to appear like their hated foe (best illustrated in panel 5, which is my favorite - the glaring, eyelinered eyes of the newly emo'ed cheerleaders is priceless). By panel 7, their appearances have reversed again (do try to keep up), and one of the two cheerleaders, B, has succumbed to the onslaught of eyeliner and bad poetry. K is in a wheelchair, laughing at J's weeping and wailing over her lost friend, when K suddenly pitches over in her wheelchair, which is apparently too much for the girl. Panel 9 shows the graves of all three, with appropriate icons on each: a skull and crossbones for the emo kid, and a school spirit-induced husky paw on the stone of one cheerleader, with what can only be described as a spray of flowers on the headstone of the other.

The whole thing vaguely reminds me of the "Teen Girl Squad" cartoons found over at Homestar Runner.

And to think... she did this all while I was lecturing about the impact of cotton production on life in the antebellum South...