Veronica Lodge was the talk of the halls. Students watched her from their lockers, backpacks hanging on one shoulder, as she traveled past them, her mother right behind her. Both women received whistles from immature boys, who encouragingly hit each other on the shoulder for each vile comment they shouted, laughing like a pack of hyenas. But the women kept moving, never once acknowledging what was directed to them. There was an air about the daughter that the mother didn't carry. An air that spoke of self-righteousness, an air that only seemed exclusive to the sociopaths that were business leaders. An air that Cheryl Blossom had, and she recognized it the second she saw the newcomers for herself.
She didn't have to say a word to her posse for the band of girls to follow her, and kept an approving distance between her and the two women she followed. Veronica and her mother were on their way to the administrative office, no doubt to check in and receive her last-minute schedule. It had startled everyone to hear that the Lodges were coming back to Riverdale- well, just the women of the mighty family. The head, Hiram Lodge, was currently incarcerated for embezzlement. The news broke two days ago that the women were arriving, and the accommodation seemed miraculously put together. Cheryl knew she couldn't follow them inside without drawing attention, so she subtly turned down the halls back in the direction she needed for class.
"Ah, Hermione Lodge!" Principal Weatherbee retreated his hands from his pockets and extended one to Veronica's mother, who accepted it happily.
"Weatherbee," she acknowledged, "Thank you for taking Veronica in on such short notice."
"It's absolutely my pleasure," the man smiled. "Besides, the year just started, and all the young lady has missed is just homeroom." He reached for Veronica's hand.
"Yeah, sorry about running late," Veronica apologized, returning the handshake.
"Its fine, on first days everyone is late." Weatherbee smiled politically. "But don't worry, that won't be a recurring problem. In fact, I want you to be very familiar with the school, just as if you went here during your entire high school career! Veronica, this is Betty Cooper, she'll be your liaison for the week."
A girl, whom both women didn't notice earlier, was standing by the receptionist, a couple text books clutched to her chest. Veronica, for the first time setting foot in Riverdale, had dropped her façade. It was for a split second of course, she caught herself, but for that split second, she blushed vibrantly. She felt like if anyone got too close to her, they could feel the searing heat rising from her face. Veronica Lodge never swooned. Ever.
"Nice to meet you, Veronica," Betty beamed, disarming Veronica's guard once again. Veronica didn't like this.
"Likewise," Veronica chose to reply.
"Let's get a move on then, the bell will be ringing soon. I already had a look at your schedule while we were waiting for you."
"Alright," Veronica turned to Hermione. "Bye, mom. See you later." She reached over to embrace her mom, placing a kiss on her cheek as she received one in return.
"Bye, mija," Hermione smiled. Betty nodded as she reached for Veronica's arm to gently urge her from the office. The girls were back into the hallway, and it was less populated than before.
"So you have chemistry first thing in the morning," Betty started. "I guess for most people that's a bad thing, but I think its good to have something stimulating in the morning."
"Chemistry is stimulating for you?" Veronica scoffed, looking the blonde from head to toe, as the girl continued, oblivious.
"I mean, I understand how some people may be too tired to handle certain subjects in the morning, but I would rather have something that'll force me to focus than enable me to daydream."
"I guess," Veronica noted. There was a minute of silence between the girls as they walked through the school.
"You have PE right after this," Betty chose to break the silence. "I do, too. If you need someone to hang out with during the day, don't hesitate."
"That's kind of you, but I think I'll be okay," Veronica responded, realizing how rude it sounded. She hadn't meant for it to be rude- she just meant she didn't think she wouldn't have trouble making friends, not that she wouldn't appreciate Betty's offer. However, she remained quiet about it, feeling a need to not come off as overly apologetic. Betty nodded at the comment and the silence resumed once more. They made it to Veronica's chemistry room and parted ways with silent goodbyes. When she crossed the threshold of the classroom, the late bell had buzzed, and everyone looked at her. Annoyed at the attention, Veronica held her head high, not even bothering to be in a rush to look for a seat.
"You can sit here," said a girl in the middle of the room. Veronica's russet eyes laid on none other than Cheryl Blossom, who had quietly, yet authoritatively, commanded a girl to leave the chair next to her. Veronica crossed the room, all eyes on her, her high heels clicking through the space. Seating herself next to Cheryl, she scooted her laboratory stool closer to the long black table universal to all science classes.
"I'm Cheryl Blossom," she introduced as the teacher began to drone over the syllabus. "Riverdale's number one family."
Veronica raised an eyebrow. "Veronica Lodge," she introduced.
"I know that," Cheryl smiled with a faux laugh, her pink glossed lips curving into a plump smile. "Everyone does. Listen, Veronica, how are you liking Riverdale?"
Veronica's eyes darted to view the faces of the huddled girls around her. She knew this atmosphere all too well. It was the typical popular girls' clique, an environment she had just left in New York. The girls around her would never be anything more than assets, who in turn viewed her the same way. It was the normal way of things, a mere playground version of real world politics.
"Haven't been here long enough to have an opinion just yet," Veronica shared, "although I do appreciate how quiet it is."
"Oh, it may seem like that for now, Riverdale is unique. Where we may lack in one area, we make up for in others." Cheryl informed. "Stick with me, though, and you'll be on the right side of things whenever something goes awry." And there it was, what Veronica was expecting. She huffed a light chuckle as her mind likened her situation to her father. She imagined how his first day behind bars went. If he had to fight anyone, and if not, who approached him to offer him protection. Was school like prison? In the likeliness that you had to pick a group to associate with to survive? Was every part of the social world just as institutionalized? Yet ascribing to a group was a very powerful defining factor in the game of social control. Her abuela had once told her when she was very little to be careful with choosing her friends, saying: "show me who you're friends with, and I'll show you who you are."
Veronica never quite appreciated the saying. The world was too ugly for it to be real. Everyone was rotten, and you couldn't live unless you were rotten yourself. Veronica wasn't one of them. One of these people. She was just a survivor who had learned how to adapt to the game; a special kind of vile.
However, Veronica knew this was a very important moment. She had to choose her words carefully. Would she define herself as someone eager to run under the protection of another, or define herself as a new unmovable force in this "wholesome" town that wished they were anything close to being like New York?
"Thanks, I appreciate that," Veronica said. Cheryl smiled, and Veronica could feel the atmosphere of submission being recognized by the group. Something deep inside Veronica was greatly enraged by this, and told her to kill it, destroy it, you are no one's subject. "I don't think I'll ever need help in a place like this, though. But I'll let you know if I ever actually need you."
That's much better, Veronica's competitiveness and pride was redeemed. She delivered her words in a way that all vicious elites could detect: fake respect. Fake gratitude. But not direct enough to start a war.
"Be that as it may," Cheryl tried to recover, resuming her ambassador persona, "I know everything about everyone in this town, and I'm not ashamed to say that I pretty much have the power to control anyone's lives in this school. Even you." The redhead had said it with such energy, such optimism, that the last two words could have been mistaken for just a simple example, but Veronica knew better. A weak demonstration of power. Veronica had seen better. Had been better. If that was all it took to command a pack of followers, Veronica could have this whole school under her within a day or two. In fact…
Veronica's lips twisted into a smile. That's what she'd do. She was a Lodge, she could manipulate this whole school. She could take Cheryl's power simply just for thinking she could flaunt it over her. Nothing made the anger in Veronica's soul more pleased than the thought of snatching power from someone…
"Show me." Veronica was smiling. She couldn't hide it. This was be the entertainment of the year. Of her high school memories. She clicked her pen and began to fill out a worksheet that hand been handed to her from the student at the table in front of them, feeling the atmosphere radically change. Cheryl's followers were agitated and excited. Drama- their life sustenance.
Cheryl was surprisingly silent, with words at least. She rolled her eyes and checked her body language into one that expressed that she was un-phased. It was the least she could do to pretend that such an attack didn't blow right through her. Veronica knew ignoring her for the rest of the period was the most powerful move, so she did just that, pretending to watch the teacher list the periodic table on the dry erase board. Her mind had wandered. It wandered to thoughts of Betty. Veronica wanted to concentrate on why the blonde had such a profound effect on her at first sight.
She had checked her out in the hallway; Betty had a nice ass in those jeans, her thighs appeared to be quite thick, her posture was just phenomenal- it spoke of physical strength- and her face was just a masterpiece. Everything about it, from her perfectly shaped eyebrows, her clear complexion, her blue nova eyes, to her pink lips. The girl was a bombshell wrapped up in modesty. Maybe that's why it took Veronica by surprise. She had her experience with luscious party girls from her previous school, but Betty was a refreshing example of how women could pretty much look great in practically anything.
The class ticked by, and the bell rang. Betty was waiting for her, and Veronica got up from her seat quick, wanting to make it to her guide before Cheryl had a chance to interfere somehow. Betty asked typical questions, like if Veronica enjoyed First Period, and if she was excited for PE. They walked together to the locker room, and that's where Betty left her. Veronica changed out into her gym uniform and joined the rest of her peers. She had noticed that Cheryl was there, put paid no mind. Well, except for how frizzed she got whenever the jockheads of Riverdale started to check Veronica out more than Cheryl. Being the first day of PE, not much happened aside from the coach assessing where everyone's boundaries were, making them run laps, do crunches and pushups, and a couple pull-ups.
When it was over, they all returned to the locker rooms to undress. This was disgusting to Veronica. Having to sweat for an hour and a half, then having just five minutes to change out and go to your next class? Fuck this, Veronica would take the tardy, she was going to take a shower. She'd tell Betty not to bother waiting for her, she knew that girl was the type to not want to be late for class. She turned around the main segment of the locker room to the side closer to the showers, when her legs locked at her knees, and she froze in place.
Betty was there, alone in this segment, drying her hair with a towel. She somehow found time for a shower- the only one too. There was no one on this side of the locker room. Her shower obviously had to have been a quick one, because the blonde stood next to her clothes that were balled up on a bench. Veronica knew she shouldn't have been there. She shouldn't have been watching Betty reach down to slip her arms through her bra straps, hoister the garment up to cradle her perfect breasts; step into simple panties and shift them up pull by pull up to her hips. She then brought the towel back to her wet hair, raising both her arms up as she rubbed the towel into her hair.
This was picturesque. This was a renaissance painting somewhere, it had to be. Albeit a modern take. Betty then dropped the towel onto the bench and readjusted the cups of her bra. Goddamn women, Veronica thought as she swallowed hard, clearly enjoying it. It was in this moment that Veronica decided that she had to have her. She had to stop being disrespectful, and was going to clear her throat to get Betty to be aware of her presence, to apologize for invading her privacy, when:
"Why don't you slip some bills in her panties while you're at it?" a whisper had tickled in her ear. "Shhh, or she'll know," the voice was amused as it teased. Moving slowly to not trigger attention, Veronica turned around to see Cheryl standing behind her. The girl was very pleased with herself, her phone in hand as her arms were crossed.
"What are you talking about?" Veronica asked, trying to stay neutral.
"Oh, please, don't act like you weren't watching her," Cheryl retorted. "I didn't know you were into girls…" Veronica opened her mouth to reply, when Cheryl resumed. "Do you remember what I said in Chemistry this morning? Of course, you do-"
"Veronica, Cheryl!" The two girls snapped their attention to Betty, who was cheerfully gazing upon them. "I didn't know you were there…" a blush slowly bled into her cheeks.
"Oh, don't worry, Betty, we're all ladies here," Cheryl beamed in return. "Besides, no one would ever really care to look at you."
Veronica looked back at Cheryl, appalled by the comment. "That's rude," she said.
"Oh, please, Betty knows it's just banter," Cheryl continued to smile. "Isn't that right, B?" Betty shrugged lamely, now covering her body with her arms. "Anyway, Veronica," Cheryl turned to face her subject, "I have a very interesting video on my phone, its quite new… I'm wondering if I should share it, but I don't think it's the right time. Would you like to see it?"
Veronica's face went pale. She could see in Cheryl's black eyes exactly what she was implying.
"Well, uh, Veronica, we should get going, you really need to change out so I can take you to your next class," muttered Betty, who had put on the rest of her clothes with surprising speed.
"Guess I'll show you later then, V." Cheryl smiled again, and Veronica wanted to slap it off her face. So many fake smiles after smiles. It was filling her with spite. "Bye!" She reached over and gave her an empty hug and turned on her way.