Our story is about a town, a small town, and the people who live in the town...
...We were still talking about the "July Fourth tragedy" on the last day of summer vacation, when a new mystery rolled into town...
"Now brace yourselves," Mother says as she comes around the rear of the car, "The apartment's small, a pied-à-terre, but..."
We three Lodge women chorus together, "Quality, always."
"Plus, it's the only piece of property in my name and not your father's," she adds as she steps towards the...I suppose you could call it an apartment building?It certainly isn't as big as the building where we'd lived in New York, but it's still sizable compared to the rest of this ramshackle town. As we had driven through the streets of this podunk, this 'Riverdale', I have to admit that I found myself frowning and scrunching my nose, even though I know such behavior can bring about early onset wrinkles.
The foyer of the building is nice enough, white and chrome in an attempt to look chic. A doorman hurries towards us, almost smiling from ear-to-ear as he calls out, "Miss Hermione! Welcome home!"
Mother clearly knows him, so she hugs him and kisses him on the cheek. Veronica looks less than impressed with Mother's friendship with this man, apparently called 'Smithers', and I'm sure my face is wearing a similar expression.
I don't pay much attention to Mother's niceties, too busy taking in the foyer's design, until I hear her say, "Smithers, I'd like to introduce you to my daughters - Gwendolyn and Veronica."
"It's a pleasure," the cheerful man says, sticking his hand out. Veronica shakes first, but she's always been eager to please. I put on my best cordial face as I shake his hand, but the look Mother gives me tells me that my best isn't good enough in this situation. But when is it ever good enough for her?
Smithers looks between Mother and I, a slightly worried expression on his face. "I'll get the bags."
"Would you?" Mother replies, all smiles as he walks past her. She shoots me a glare. I raise an eyebrow in response.
"Oh, and would you like some menus, ma'am, so you can order in?" Smithers asks from behind us.
I turn around to inform him that yes, we would very much like some menus, but Mother stops me in my tracks. "Oh, no. I have been craving one of Pop Tate's cheeseburgers since noon," she tells him wistfully, "Is his Chock'lit Shoppe still open?"
Veronica and I share confused looks. "What is a Chock'lit Shoppe, and why does it sell burgers?" she inquires, thankfully taking Mother's attention off of my 'rude' behavior. Mother smiles at the two of us, one of the toothy grins she always gives babies that we pass in Central Park.
"Don't worry, girls. You'll love it."
As part of our 'initiation' into the town of Riverdale, Mother insists that Veronica and I go to Pop's to pick up our burgers while she calls in the order and sorts out our boxes. Honestly, she probably just wants to have some alone time, something she hasn't had since Daddy's mishap blew up in our face. As much I loathe the idea of facing the masses, I can't deny Mother a chance to collect herself.
So off Veronica and I go, GPS coordinates programmed into the driver's navigation system because Mother can't remember exactly how to get to the restaurant. Veronica and I don't say much to each other as we drive along: she is too busy looking at the streets around us, while I sift through websites to see what is being said about my family today.
The Chock'lit Shoppe is a vile place, styled after a 50s diner with a brilliant neon sign and tarnished metal siding. I almost gag at the thought of stepping into such an establishment, but I can't let my sister go alone. We don our hoods and make the driver promise to wait for us as we step out of the car. Veronica goes in first, and I trail after her, refusing to open any doors. Who knows what kind of germs these people have?
We survey the room as we entered, and Veronica quickly plasters on her man-eating smile. I look to see what's caught her attention, and I notice a red-haired boy staring at her in awe. I'm not surprised. My sister is beautiful, like moi, but he hardly looks like he's worth her time. Besides, there is a blonde girl with a tight ponytail sitting across from him at a booth. He's probably already taken. Of course, that would never stop Veronica.
She struts down the aisle between tables like it's a runway, and I decide to follow her lead. I may be older, but she's much better at interacting with the common folk. This is her area of expertise, not mine.
"I called in an order for Lodge?" Veronica asks of a man in an all-white outfit. He's really going for this 50s theme, and as much as I hate the outfit, I am impressed. Not enough people have that much dedication in this world.
"Three burgers, yeah, almost ready, but you gotta wait," the man says in a deep voice as he walks past us. He has kind eyes, and I feel a little more at ease here. I haven't seen much kindness lately, so I am pleasantly surprised.
As the man walks away from us, Veronica zones in on her prey. "Hi," she says to the couple at the table.
"Hey," the redhead responds, looking for all the world like he's in a trance. Behind Veronica's back, I roll my eyes.
"How are the onion rings here?" my sister asks him, stepping towards the table and smiling coyly. The blonde girl and I exchange quick looks, but then she almost immediately returns her attention to the action.
"So good." The redhead is almost drooling as he looks Veronica up and down. I snort, something I try to do as little as possible.
"Can we get some onion rings, too, please?" Veronica calls over her shoulder, barely tearing her eyes away. The man from earlier gives her an affirmative acknowledgement.
"Thanks," she says to the mystery ginger, "My mom, my sister and I just moved here, so..."
"From where?" he asks, quick as lightning. I bite my tongue so I won't say anything negative. Veronica seems interested, after all. Who am I to stand in the way of a fling?
"New York," she says, and he makes an impressed sound. I look at the blonde girl, who seems rightly irritated.
"Do you guys go to Riverdale?" Veronica is off her game, it seems. These two are obviously about her age, which she would usually know.
The couple speaks at the same time. "We do. Both of us. Together," says the blonde girl.
Meanwhile, the redhead is still looking at Veronica with hearts in his eyes as he says, "We're sophomores."
"Me too," my sister says, a bit of awkwardness in her voice. I would tell them that I was a senior, but no one is really acknowledging my presence, which is absolutely insulting. "I'm filled with dread."
"Why is that?" the redhead asks, as if finding out the answer will solve every problem in his life. He needs to calm down. He's acting like an excitable puppy, and it's not a good look on anyone.
"Are you familiar with the works of Truman Capote?" Veronica asks, probably with an eyebrow raised.
The redhead boy nods dumbly. I highly doubt he can even spell 'Capote'.
"I'm Breakfast at Tiffany's, but this place is strictly In Cold Blood." She and the redhead laugh, and I am actually pleased. It's been quite a while since Veronica has been this happy. Meanwhile, the blonde girl shoots the boy a look of angry confusion. She is jealous, clearly. I knew they were a couple.
"Veronica Lodge," my sister declares, sticking her hand out to the redhead. He's quick to meet her hand with his, his smile a mile wide.
"Archie. Andrews." The blonde is still giving him that look. He turns to her sheepishly and introduces her. "Uh, this is Betty Cooper."
"This is my sister, Gwendolyn." Finally, someone recognizes that I'm here. I step forward to give myself a formal introduction, but Veronica cuts me off as she peers at Betty.
"Wait, are you..." she trails off, as if this girl is familiar but she just can't place exactly why. I feel the same way. She looks like a girl I vaguely remember seeing in New York, but I can't remember when or where. Not a lot of bright-eyed ingenue types back home.
"Supposed to give you your tour tomorrow? Yes. I'm your peer mentor." Betty says the words with a smile on her face, but there is a sense of loathing sitting right under the surface. I doubt it's an emotion she feels often. She looks like one of those small town girls with a perfect life.
Archie hops back into the conversation with a quick, "Do you want to join us? Hey, maybe we can un-fill you with dread." I want to point out that 'un-fill' isn't a word, but I don't really feel like wasting my time trying to educate him.
"My mom's waiting for us," Veronica says, and Archie gives a small nod. I roll my eyes again. "But...to be continued."
Veronica walks away, and I follow after her like a sheep. I'm supposed to be leading here, but Veronica is in some sort of zone, and I don't want to deal with her in this state. She's probably plotting something, and I'm too drained from this town's awful scenery to stop her or plan with her.
We make our way to the counter, and Veronica grabs our food while I fish some cash out of my purse. Then we're back to the car and on our way home. Food and sleep are a must before tomorrow. After all, even if this town is practically Stars Hollow, I still want to be at my best for school tomorrow. If I'm actually going to be stuck here for the foreseeable future, I might as well stake my claim as the most popular girl in school. It's only right.