Three shots in, and Veronica was losing her sharpness. She didn't notice a man come up behind her, until his hand was on her waist. She whirled around, and the guy threw his hands up playfully. "Whoa, blondie. Just trying to get my party on." It wasn't the only time it happened, and when the third asshole grabbed her just a little too low, she turned around and balled her hands into fists. "Hey, babe. I got this idea about you going down and –"
"The only thing going down is you with fifty thousand volts if you don't back off. Got it, babe?"
The man almost tripped over himself backing away, and she could hear Betty laughing behind her. "You're my hero, Veronica."
The trio pushed through the crowd of sweaty late teens and twenty-somethings and collapsed into their reserved booth. Betty asked a passing server for water, and about a minute later, he returned with a pitcher of water and three short glasses.
"I'm exhausted," Betty moaned as she removed her left shoe and rubbed the heel of her foot.
Ronnie looked tired. "Don't quit on me now, we've still got a long night ahead of us."
"Can the rest be at your place?" Betty pouted.
Veronica's mind snapped into focus. They couldn't leave yet. She needed to question Ronnie while she was off guard. "How about we take a few minutes for Betty's feet and then call an Uber."
Ronnie pointed a finger at her. "Responsible. I like it. You're a good friend, Veronica."
Veronica was fighting to keep the alcohol from buzzing about her brain while simultaneously acting the part. "I get why you don't like Cheryl. She tried telling me that your mom was chatting up some gangbanger at Pop's the other night. But, like, come on. Your mom? She's loaded."
"You think Hermione is some sort of saint?" The consonants ran together as Ronnie spat out the remark. She glanced at both girls then leaned forward. "To be honest, tonight is about screwing over that bitch as much as hanging out with my favorite girls."
"What do you mean?" Betty asked. Two information junkies were better than one.
"I caught Mom making out with Archie's dad. He gave her a job at his company, and I guess she couldn't keep it in her pants."
"Gross," Veronica said sympathetically.
"I know, right? And now she wants me to sign something to give Fred Andrews the contract for the SoDale project."
Veronica froze. "What do you mean? Did Hermione buy the drive-in?"
"Of course not. Daddy is the anonymous buyer." The words were out of her mouth before she'd realized what she said. "You can't tell anyone I said that," she said gravely.
Betty and Veronica nodded then exchanged looks. A new family waltzes into town and buys up land? That could cause serious tension if the Blossoms had found out. Veronica made a note to find out from Penelope and Clifford what they knew about the drive-in and the "SoDale" project.
"So did your mom meet with a Serpent?" Veronica couldn't let that question slide. Ronnie nodded slowly, deciding whether to go all in. "Fuck it, you two could already ruin me if you wanted. Yeah, she was paying them off. Apparently, dear old Dad hired them to hang around the drive-in to drive the price down for the lot."
Bam, said the lady! One more piece fit itself snugly into the puzzle. The Serpents' presence wasn't coincidence, it was business. They were tied to the Lodges, who were trying to tie themselves up with Andrews Construction, and none of them were exactly friends of the Blossoms. The case was quickly becoming more about corporate espionage than she imagined.
When they'd finally gotten a lift to the Lodges' home, all three women were exhausted. "What do you say," Ronnie began. "We skip the movie and just talk until we pass out?"
There was pathetic chorus of nods and "uh huh" before they settled in. Ronnie stripped off her dress in front of the group and shimmied into a blue silk slip. Betty and Veronica weren't exactly prudish, but they both hesitated before changing in full view. They'd both chosen t-shirts and shorts, but Betty's shorts read 'PINK' across the back, and Veronica's shirt had the image of Rocky saying "Yo Adrian."
They discussion everything from music to boys to Cheryl Blossom. In the end, Betty slept on the bed with Ronnie and Veronica on an air mattress. It had been a hard fight to win – "It's king size Veronica! We'll make room!" – but Veronica was adamant in taking the floor. No matter the circumstances, sharing a bed with two sixteen-year-old girls was something she wanted to avoid.
It was sometime around two or three in the morning when Veronica fell into a restful sleep and sometime after that when she felt a hand close around her mouth.