Our story begins with the arrival of one Veronica Lodge and her elite family that probably belonged to the top one percent. I won't pretend that Riverdale was always sunshine and rainbows, but this arrival marked a noteable change that would forever stain the history books. If someone were to read them and could go back, they would probably try to prevent this particular family from moving here and jumpstarting this series of events but it was the inevitable fate of Riverdale so it would have happened all the same.
When Hiram Lodge rolled into town, he brought with him a Mallmart. It was a superstore chain that started popping up all over the world, but for a small town like Riverdale it was a big deal.
The Coopers used to get their prescriptions at Mort's pharmacy. The Andrews used to buy their CDs at the music store. My dad used to get his shoes at the shoe warehouse. Now they all go to Mallmart, even for groceries. They had it all, even a dollar section to replace the local dollar store. This was the beginning of the end.
I said Riverdale wasn't always sunshine and rainbows, but there was a bit more to it than that. With a small population of about 10,000 in town, there wasn't a lot for the local kids to do. The school tried to encourage sports and other school spirit activities like the school paper, but it didn't prevent what was happening now.
I spit out my coffee. Jason Blossom found dead by Sweetwater River. Alleged Overdose, No Foul Play Suspected. It was front page news that I was reading on the online edition of The Register. I didn't have to keep reading to know where this was going. Pretty much all overdoses lately were from the same drug: fentanyl. What marked this as different and shocking was the fact that the victim was so high profile.
Veronica Lodge was rich, but Riverdale had it's own elite who had an empire large enough to rival the Hiram's. It was the Blossom's, who made their money in sticky maple syrup also known around here as sweet water.
On top of being rich, Jason was also the star arhlete as he was captain of both water polo and football teams. He was the kind of rich where they would fly out to New York at a moment's notice in a private helicopter for a slice of pizza. Why the hell was Jason doing drugs? It made me wonder, but it became very apparent once I looked around that I wasn't asking the same questions as everyone else. We had already lost so many souls this year, both teens and adults alike, that most of us were completely numb to it. They didn't question the circumstances or anything, they just gossiped because it was Jason and he was insanely popular.
His twin sister Cheryl sauntered over the room, shooting dirty looks at everyone. She was suspiciously close to her late brother, and was probably not coping with the loss very well.
I closed my laptop and cleaned up the mess. I was on the far side of our corner table, so I don't think anyone even noticed. Betty, Veronica, and Kevin were gossiping. Veronica being the Veronica from before. She joined our friend group because she thought Betty was nice and she had a thing for Archie I think. Speaking of Arch, he was fiddling with his old guitar. Like I said, nobody would even notice me, and nobody was too concerned about Jason.
I pulled out my phone and texted my penpal from one city over, Sabrina Spellman. She lived with her two aunts in Greendale. It was a town partnership to increase typing speed back in elementary and we just never quit talking. She was my outside perspective because her town was not ruined by rich people or drug problems, at least nowhere near the extent as here. Unofficial crime capital of the state, represent.
I sent her a link to the article and asked for her opinion. Unsurprisingly, she messaged me back right away. She took the bait.Why is a rich kid doing hard drugs.
All of a sudden the seat beside me was taken, and when I looked over I could see why. Since I last looked over, things had shifted and now Archie was singing a song to Veronica. Not just any song, a song he wrote for her. I squeezed Betty's hand in understanding. It sucked being the shoulder to cry on, mostly because it meant Betty was the one doing the crying. I don't know what it was but it always bothered me how ignorant Archie was to Betty's feelings. He most likely was too caught up in his atmosphere to even notice she had moved. After a moment, Betty composed herself. Of course she wasn't actually crying and I would bet a year's salary I was the only one who could even spot a Cooper breakdown since she tried so hard to mask it.
"What are you working on over here by yourself?" she asked, coming out of her own self wollowing and needing a distraction. Betty was as much a Nancy Drew as she was the epitome of girl next door, so I figured I would bring her in.
"I was just texting Sabrina about Jason." The look of sadness had returned but clearly the reasons were different. Betty got along pretty well with Jason since he was dating her older sister Polly. If this incident never happened, they very well could have ended up as family. The Coopers were very high school sweethearts, which annoyed me to no end because Betty tied herself down to a guy who would probably continue to ignore her until his late twenties when his homing instincts would finally kick in. She shouldn't have to wait around while he dates like there's no tomorrow. Archie is my childhood best friend but I grew up watching this happen. Betty was just the kind of girl you settle down with and that's not fun for a guy who wants to date around in high school.
Betty hasn't actually seen Jason recently, though, because her sister was in rehab for getting caught with marijuana at school. If you believe in gateway drugs, then Jason's death seems a bit less suspicious and more expected. Despite the huge price difference, somebody in this town was an asshole and had been lacing pot. That's how Darren died a month ago, but of course his parents tried to cover it up and say it was some sort of accident. Oh right, you just "accidentally" roll a join, light it, and inhale. It was stupid. I'm pretty much honoursry straight edge at this point, but I grew up around this kind of stuff so I knew how it worked.
"Did you know he did drugs?" I doubt she would, but I was trying to unravel this. It was time I did another piece for Betty's school paper, and I was willing to follow the gossip trail.
"I don't think so. Polly said it was a social thing she did with a few of the cheerleaders, though they've never asked me to try so it may have been some of the girls that graduated or maybe OD'd."
"It seems odd to me. Kids here do drugs when they're bored. Jason has access to video games that haven't even come out yet, so he can't be bored." Betty rolled her eyes at me. "I just mean it's suspicious, and nobody else is even questioning it. I think it's time I write another article for the Blue and Gold, Betts. You in?"