Funeral Games, Chapter 1
By: pindips
Disclaimer: I do not own Riverdale/Archie Comics or any of the characters associated with them. This written work is purely for fun.
Leaving my house that morning, I had no idea what to expect for my first day at Riverdale High. I figured it would be more of the same things that I had encountered at high schools all over the country. Cliques, horrible school lunches, and curriculums that bored you to tears. To say that I was in for a rude awakening would be quite the understatement, but it was the start of a great adventure that I had never known that I'd longed for.
Our new house was only a couple of blocks away from the school, so I stepped out of my front door that morning and drank in the crisp autumn air, preparing myself for the walk. I was late to the game, starting at the school in the middle of the year, but that's what happens when your father is in the military. You never know when you'll be sent somewhere else. When your life will be randomly uprooted and rearranged overnight.
I had learned to not become attached to places or people because of this. What was the point? I had tried to keep up with friends I had known at other schools in the past, but they always stopped calling or texting after a while. They always forget about you.
That morning I had no idea that I would meet the people who would teach me what true friendship is. I also had no idea that I would be dragged into a criminal investigation, but that's a whole other story. I walked through the front doors of Riverdale High with extremely low expectations. I was only looking to get my assignments and walk back out. Blending in and keeping my nose down had become my specialty at this point. I reminded myself that I was a junior and wouldn't have to suffer through the high school nonsense for much longer, and it comforted me a little, but graduation still felt like a distant horizon that was shrouded in haze.
I knew the new kid routine like the back of my hand. Go to the office, grab your schedule, walk around and tune out the tour guide assigned to you. My tour guide was a girl named Betty Cooper. She greeted me in the office, beaming, her bright blue eyes kind and warm. She was apple pie and sunshine. I hated that I was fond of her immediately.
"Welcome to Riverdale! My name is Elizabeth Cooper, but you can call me Betty. Everyone does. And you must be…"
"Audrey Julian. It's nice to meet you." I shook her hand, and it was as warm as her personality. It was the thing I hated about small town schools. The intimacy of it all made it hard to simply be a wallflower.
"Where are you transferring from?" she questioned, batting her long eyelashes.
"Here, there, and everywhere," I replied. "Military family."
"Ah," she said, nodding.
"But to be technical, I'm transferring from a high school in Maryland this time."
"Wow, so you guys are just all over, then."
"Yeah, I've lived in… 27 of the 50 states so far."
Her eyes widened, and I could tell that she had hardly even been out of Riverdale, let alone the state. I just smiled as we walked, and she began to show me the wings of the school, as well as the cafeteria and where my locker was – which was conveniently right next to hers. I inwardly groaned, it was going to be hard to avoid her now, and if my gut was right, she seemed to be a bit of a clinger.
Once it seemed that she had shown me all there was to see (which wasn't a whole lot), there was a bit of an awkward pause and silence in the middle of the hall outside of my second period class. We had spent the whole of first period and then some walking around the school while she talked my ear off and I nodded along.
"Well, here's your class," she said, gesturing to the door.
"Thanks for showing me around, Betty," I said, trying to quickly get inside the classroom.
"Hey, wait, do you want to have lunch with my friends and I today? They're really nice, and I think they'd like you!" She was so annoyingly excited about me having lunch with her. I want to groan out loud.
"I don't know, Betty, I – "
"Oh, come on, Audrey, please?" she pouted, and I sighed.
"Yeah, sure, why not," I deadpanned, motioning for the door.
"Great! See you then!" she exclaimed as I walked in the classroom. Once inside, I gave the teacher my late pass and sat down, ready to take notes. I was exasperated that Betty had coerced me into having lunch with her and her friends. If I was honest with myself, though, I was a little pleased. She seemed like a nice girl and I enjoyed her company.
I had to remind myself that it wouldn't last.
Veronica and Archie slid on the bench across from Betty, who was anxiously tapping her foot.
"Waiting on the new girl, Betty?" Veronica asked. Betty furrowed her eyebrows, and before she could ask the question, Veronica said, "Girl, I know you. You asked her to come have lunch with us because you're, like, the nicest person in existence."
Betty shrugged. "She just seems like she needs company, that's all."
Veronica and Archie looked at each other, shrugged, and started eating.
"Have you talked to Jughead at all?" Archie asked, still chewing on a slice of apple.
Betty shook her head. "I talked to him last night, but… we haven't been talking as much. I don't know what it is. He's at that school, and I'm here, and we just…" she trailed off, unsure of her words.
Veronica reached over and placed a hand on her arm. "It's okay, B. It'll work out one way or the other. If it's meant to be, it will be."
Betty gave her a small smile and shrugged. "But I want to be with him. I want it to work. It's just hard right now."
"You just gotta give it your best shot. That's all you can do," Archie said. This seemed to give Betty some resolve, and she returned to her meal. Until she felt unexpected warmth at her side.
"Audrey! I didn't think you'd come!" she said, smiling up at the taller girl.
"Well, here I am, in the flesh."
"Audrey, this is Veronica Lodge and Archie Andrews. Guys, this is Audrey Julian. She's lived in 27 of the 50 states." She quipped, taking a bite of her noodles.
"It's not all that great." Audrey said, looking down.
"Sure it is! What's your favorite state that you've lived in?" Veronica asked, peering at the new girl with her intense gaze.
"Well… I really liked living in Boston. It was so lively there in the summertime. There was always something to do. When you walked around, everyone was active. They were either walking, running, biking, or canoeing on the Charles River. It was such a cool place, so filled with history. I would definitely go back there." Audrey seemed wistful almost, and Betty smiled. Maybe she and the gang could break through to the new girl after all.
"I take it you move around a lot, then?" Archie prompted.
"Yeah, my dad's a Marine. He's at the base in Garden City right now. But as you can imagine, I've had many homes before this one."
The trio of friends all nodded, and Archie began to rise from his seat. "I gotta go talk to Coach about something. It was nice to meet you, Audrey."
"Likewise," she said, taking a sip of her coffee.
He gave Veronica a peck on the lips before parting. Audrey waggled her eyebrows in Veronica's direction, which made her giggle.
"He's a sweetheart," Veronica gushed, her cheeks tinged red.
"What about you, Betty, do you have a boyfriend?" Audrey questioned, turning slightly to face her.
Betty looked down at her lap, her hands slightly clenched. "Well, yes, but… Jughead and I are sort of going through a rough patch right now."
Audrey frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that, Betty. But maybe you guys will get through it. Besides, he's a total idiot if he can't see how great you are. I don't even know you and I already know you're just a ball of sunshine and goodness," the new girl laid her hand on Betty's shoulder tentatively. "You'll pull through, come what may."
Betty grinned up at the new girl and pulled her in for a hug. Audrey froze, but relaxed into it after a second. "Thank you. That means a lot to me, Audrey."
Audrey waved her hand flippantly. "No worries. I just call it like I see it."
"And I see that the new girl and I haven't been properly introduced!" Sang an all-too-chipper voice from above. Startled, the three girls whipped their heads around to look at the red-headed bombshell herself, Cheryl Blossom.
Cheryl beamed down at them, while Betty and Veronica sent each other quizzical looks. Audrey simply stared at the pale girl before her.
"Well, we may as well get acquainted, then. I'm Audrey Julian," Audrey replied, breaking the tension in the air.
"Cheryl Blossom. Good to meet you. You know, you picked a very… strange time to come to Riverdale."
"Oh, I didn't pick, believe me. Uncle Sam did." Audrey shot back, arms folded on the table.
"I see. Well, if you ever feel that you need some spice in your life, come ask me about joining the River Vixens. We could use a long-legged spitfire like you," Cheryl said, looking Audrey up and down before settling on her face and smiling innocently. "Bye now!" she turned on her heel and sauntered away, red hair bouncing on her shoulders. Audrey stared after her.
"Pay Cheryl no mind," Veronica warned, leaning in. "She is Rosemary's Baby, the she-witch of Riverdale High."
"Veronica, she's not all bad. Especially as of late." Betty shot Veronica a knowing look, and Veronica seemed to concede.
"You're right, I just still don't trust her completely, is all."
"What did she mean when she said that I picked a strange time to come to Riverdale?" Audrey implored, gaze flickering between Betty and Veronica.
Betty sighed. "Cheryl's brother was… murdered over the summer. It's a really long, terribly involved story."
"We were a part of figuring out who his killer was, in a sense," Veronica interjected. "We as in Betty, Archie, Jughead, and myself."
Audrey cocked an eyebrow. "That's… interesting, to say the least."
"Yeah, and that's only like the tiniest nutshell of the whole story… but lunch period is over, so… we can all talk about it some other time, okay?" propositioned Betty, looking over at the long-legged, brunette new girl.
Audrey nodded, and they all picked up their trays and said their goodbyes, going to their classes. Audrey's head was spinning.
This was going to be an interesting school year.