Chapter 14: Something Is Haunting Riverdale High.
*Aria's POV*
It was now the beginning of March here in Riverdale. It was night time, around 7pm or so as Dilton and I were in the school science lab. Dilton had helped me with science projects in the past and now we got paired up to do a project for the science fair. I guess I was better at mechanics than I thought. Just not with cars. I had my hair up I a bun to keep it out of the way as I wore my jean pants, boots, black fingerless gloves, biker top, studded belt, silver stud earrings, and make up on with a lab coat, like Dilton's, over me. Anyways I was finishing screwing a piece together as Dilton looked over his plans.
"Is this right?" I asked him as he looked up.
"Perfect. Thanks Aria. Though you didn't have to stay here with me." He said as I looked at him with a smile.
"It's no problem. I'm sure you don't need my help but having an extra pair of hands never hurts. Plus I don't like the fact that your in here by yourself all the time. It's not healthy the lack of human contact and social life you have. I figured a friend would be a nice change for you. Also it's kinda cool that you have the keys to the school." I told him as I put the screwdriver down and walked over to him to look over the plans, only slightly confused, while speaking.
"It is a nice change. And yes an extra pair of hands do help. Your brain also helps me with a few things." He said as I blushed lightly at that. He was basically calling me smart. I didn't notice Dilton looking at my blush.
"So what does this do again?" I asked him as my blush went away.
"This machine will revolutionize the way we live. We can create rooms with his with larger spaces so a one bedroom one bathroom one story home can actually have ten rooms and ten bathrooms for more people to live in." Dilton explained as I smiled.
"That's a wonderful idea. It will help man kind without destroying more forests and wildlife and make sure everyone has a home instead of being homeless. That's so sweet. And to think this all started when I said I wish my room was like the TARDIS from Doctor Who. Haha." I said with a laugh.
"Yes your right. It also reduces the risk of endangered species from extinction. I'm glad your here because now I can fully add that part into my report. To be honest I had not fully thought of that but thought of how more people need homes. Adding in saving the wildlife to the mix will be an extra boost. Also why it's nice to have someone else who is smart to help out." He added as I blushed again.
"O-oh. Well thank you." I said lightly. Dilton went over to the machine and some chemicals as I readied the camera.
"It also helps to have an assistant record." I laughed as I got the camera ready.
"Indeed." He agreed. I softly giggled. Dilton was super cute when he talked all scientist like and talked intelligently.
*Concentrate.* I mentally scolded myself.
"You sure you don't need to go home?" He asked me.
"No. I'm sure. I left a note for Archie and my Aunt and Uncle left for a business trip for the next two weeks. I'll be okay." I told him. Uncle Fred went out a lot for business and sometimes Aunt Marry would go with him.
"Right. Aren't they going down to New York City? Near your home?" He asked as I nodded.
"Yeah. Aunt Mary decided this would be the one time she goes with Uncle Fred not only to see his brother and the sister in law, AKA my parents, but to see why I would get into fights and in trouble a lot and stuff like that. I sure hope they see things through my eyes and not believe my parents." I mumbled the last part and was about to turn the camera on.
"Are your parents really that bad to lie to them?" He asked as I stopped. I guess he heard me mumble the last part.
"Its'…..complicated. It's really hard to explain. I-i just." I stopped as I sighed.
"It's ok. You don't have to tell me unless your ready to. I understand completely." He told me as I looked at him and smiled lightly.
"Ready?" I asked as he nodded. I then turned the camera on and signalled that we were rolling.
"Today we are trying the experimental test one of my latest machine to increase amount of rooms. I am Dilton Doiley. My assistant Aria shall be recording this historic event." He said as he tried to get the machine to work. It didn't.
"Um Dilton? Is it plugged in?" I asked him as he huffed.
"I am a scientist. I would know if it was oh!" He said as he held up the plug.
"Guess not." He said as I giggled.
"Yeah. You would know Mr. scientist." I teased.
"Lets try this again." He said as he tried to get it to work. It sparked but nothing worked.
"Maybe I mixed up a wire." I said as I walked over and examined the blue prints.
"It's possible." He said as I looked at him.
"It looks like I did it correctly though. Maybe reverse the Scanotronic Matrix Compositor then it might work." I suggested.
"Good idea. I just thought the same thing." He said as we reversed it and adjusted the wiring.
"Ok. Now for the camera lets try again." I said as I went to go to it. Dilton stopped me.
"Stay here. Your already by the view of the camera. Lets succeed together." He said with a smile. My cheeks went slightly pink as I nodded.
"Are you sure?" I asked him.
"Yes. If it is successful then I want proof that you did much more than work the camera." He said as I smiled and nodded with still light pink cheeks.
"Alright. Lets turn this bad boy on then." I said as we went over to the machine and turned it on. We turned it on and it started sparking and fritz.
"Oh no!" I yelled as I couldn't turn it off. Dilton hit it a few times and it stopped.
"Phew." I said in relief. Dilton sighed.
"Maybe this was a fool hardy endeavour to embark upon." He said as we went over to a station table and leaned on in. I joined him.
"It was not fool hardy. It's not an easy one. It will take time and a few tries but this was, and still is, a brilliant idea." I told him as he sighed again.
"The plan seemed so simple though. We invent the Multi Frequency Modulation Radiation Device, Then we win the science fair. Maybe even a Nobel Prize." He said as he grabbed a bottle of water, opened it and as he finished his sentence he took a few gulps from it before putting it down. I did the same with my water.
"It does sound simple but it's not. We still have time to try and fix this. The fair isn't for 3 days. We can do it." I encouraged him.
"Your right. The reason why I want to win the Nobel prize is to become rich. Then maybe people would visit me more often. I mean I know you do and that's nice but I mean others. And I'd of course split the money with you." He said sadly at first and then the last two parts nervously. I blushed and giggled.
"It's cute when you nervously ramble." I said as I froze up. Did I just say that out loud?
"Huh? You think it's cute?" He asked me. Oh fudge I did say it out loud. I got a bit nervous and was about to say something when a weird rattling sound followed by a bright light stunned us.
"What?" I gasped as I looked at the machine. It was on the fritz before a light consumed us. We both tried to move out of the way and screamed but it hit us anyways. Once the light died down I looked around. Everything seemed normal. I was tired though.
"Dilton?" I called.
"Over here." He said as he got up and adjusted his glasses.
"Are you alright Aria?" He asked me.
"Yes I think so." I said as I got up.
"What happened?" I asked him.
"I'm not sure." He replied. A janitor came in and looked around for us.
"Hello? Are you kids here?" He asked as he looked around.
"We're alright." I told him but he didn't seem to hear me as he turned around. I walked up to him.
"Excuse me?" I said as I went to grab him but I fell right through him.
"Ack!" I said as I started sparking on the ground until the Janitor left and locked the door.
"Aria." Dilton said as he came over to me.
"Wow that felt weird. Dilton? What happened?" I asked him when he helped me out.
"My theory is that my machine has made us in a type of Astral Projection." He stated.
"Astral Projection is an out of body experience though. I don't see out bodies so basically it turned us, body and all, into ghosts?" I questioned him. Please don't say yes.
"I'm afraid thats correct." He said.
"Dash it all. I was hoping you wouldn't say that. How do we reverse it?" I asked him.
"We can try turning off the machine." He said as he went over to turn it off but it pushed him back.
"Dilton!" I gasped as I went to help him up.
"Seems like a magnetic reaction when you put two magnets together." He said.
"Wonderful." I muttered.
"We just have to wait until someone shows up. And hope they don't get hit by this either." He said. Now we had to wait until morning when school started. Until then we tested our abilities. We could walk through walls and move metal objects around easily but other objects took too much strength. Lets hope someone finds out we're missing. And soon.
*Time skip to the morning*
Dilton decided to stay here and figure out the machine while I try to catch someone's attention with our abilities. This should be interesting. I had tried to talk to others but nothing happened. No surprise there. I would close lockers on people but they didn't seem to notice nor care. I had tried for a couple hours before going to History class to try my luck there. I made it into Archie's History class where Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Archie, Moose, Midge and Big Ethel were. I tried to get Moose and Midge's attentions but they didn't see a thing. I went to Jughead to wake him. Nothing. I heard Archie talking.
"It's so weird. I haven't seen Aria today. She never came home." Archie said. He did notice.
"Where do you think she is?" Betty asked.
"I'm not sure. She left a note that she would be working on a science project with Dilton but I went by there before class and didn't see either one of them there." Archie mentioned. He looked for Dilton too?
"Maybe she decided not to come in." Archie soon added.
"Why do you say that?" Veronica asked.
"Well my parents are visiting her parents in the city while they're out there on business and Aria wasn't happy about that. Her parents and her don't see eye to eye and she's worried that after this visit My parents will treat her differently." Archie added. He had no right to tell them any of this but I understood why.
"So you think she's rebelling?" Big Ethel asked.
"So you think she's rebelling?" Betty asked. They ignored Big Ethel completely.
"Maybe. Not the first time. Especially if she's scared or worried. Maybe she went home after I left and is in her room or something. Wouldn't do any good to call. She wouldn't pick up." Archie said as I sighed.
"I'm right here." I said as I went to touch him but felt that shocking pulse and pulled back.
"I'm sure she'll turn up." Veronica added in.
"Mark your calendars guys and gals. Tomorrow is the day I'm going to make History." I heard Reggie say as he walked in and took a seat.
"You mean for the first time ever your going to pick up the bill at Pop Tate's Shoppe?" Archie asked in a joking manner. Jughead soon woke up.
"Huh? Someone's picking up the bill at Pop Tate's? I'm there!" He shouted and stood up in excitement. I giggled. He was cute when it came to food. The group laughed.
"Ha. You all scoff because your jealous. Tomorrow at lunch I give my presentation to the coin club." He says as he pulls out a mini safe. This I'm actually curious about.
"After I'm done I'm sure the club will erect a statue of me to commemorate my presentation." He boasted as he opened the safe. I rolled my eyes. Typical Reggie.
"Coins. Big deal. Back to hamburgers dancing in my head." Jughead said as he fell asleep. I laughed loudly.
"Even Reggie makes Jughead sleep from boredom!" I said. No one could hear me. Kind of depressing but I was used to it. This was my life back at my old school.
"All this fuss over a bunch of coins. Now if it was jewelry That would be different." Veronica said as I rolled my eyes. Some people don't appreciate history or antiques or even collections for that matter.
"Do you have some special coins in your collection Reggie?" Betty asked.
"No duh! It's in a safe!" I said to her. Oh right. Invisible.
"Special coins? Ha! Take a look at this!" Reggie said as he suddenly pulled out a coin.
"Cool. A mint 1912 Baltimore bullock 7 cent piece. There were only three of those made." Big Ethel said as she was impressed by the coin. She knew a lot about them? Who knew? Maybe I should talk to her a bit more. I didn't know her too well. Heck I was starting to get to know Midge a bit more. I'd been helping her out with her stunt moves.
"Do you know what this is?" Reggie asked as he ignored Big Ethel.
"Yes. It's a mint 1912 Baltimore bullock 7 cent piece. There were only three of those made." She said a little louder this time. The three shook there heads no.
"It's a mint 1912 Baltimore bullock 7 cent piece. There were only three of those made." Reggie said as he and everyone ignored Big Ethel as he explained what it was. Poor Ethel. Big Ethel sighed.
"I guess I could just sit here and pretend I don't exist. What else is knew?" She muttered as I looked at her pouted face and crossed arms. I knew exactly how she felt.
"Class. Pay attention." Miss Grundy started. Cream puffs. I need to let them know I'm here. I didn't see metal around so while Miss Grundy was talking I decided to push the papers. I managed to. I heard Betty giggle.
"That's strange. There's no breeze in here." She said as I looked at Archie. Nothing. Once the papers were put back I pushed them again. Miss Grundy was getting mad. I noticed Archie had a quizzical look. It was working. One more time might do it. I used all my strength to grab the papers and try to drag the to the door. If I could get them to follow them maybe we could get them to turn the machine in reverse. I got them half way to the door, becoming increasingly tired, when they were grabbed from me and put back on the desk, Miss Grundy holding the down, and looking mad.
"Betty! Read!" She said in an angry tone. I sat down to rest as I looked at Archie. He had a look on his face that told me he knew something was up.
"Yes!" I shouted as I rested a bit more before leaving to check on Dilton. When I got close to the lab again I noticed the light that engulfed me and Dilton before. It got bigger. I rushed to Dilton.
"What's happening?" I questioned loudly.
"It's getting bigger. It gives off pulses in a time limit and there growing slightly closer together and bigger. For now it's only happened within a few hours but that might change soon. So far I has gone off a total of three times. I calculate the next one will go off in 6 hours time. It's about 10:13 AM right now. Did anyone else get hit? Did they notice you?" He explained before asking me these questions. I walked over to him.
"No one got hit thank goodness. I caught Archie's interest when I moved the papers around so he might investigate the weird mystery I've created. He might think it's a ghost but it's a start." I told him as I sat on the floor and panted lightly.
"Are you okay Aria?" He asked me.
"I'm not sure. I used up to much energy moving papers to get there attentions and then the run didn't help. Being ghost like takes up a lot more energy than I ever thought." I explained.
"Just rest for now. I can't do anything with this confounded machine." He said as he sat next to me. I looked and noticed my cam corder was still there.
"My camera." I said as I looked at it.
"The machine drained the battery when we got hit last night but it should still work. He said.
"I wish I could give it to Archie but we can't open the doors." I said as he nodded.
"It's alright. We'll get through this." He said to me.
"I hope so. He thinks I ran off because of his parents visiting my parents and thought they would treat me differently. I don't want him to think I ran off like usual." I said as I pulled my knees up, wrapped my arms around them, and put my forehead on my knees to rest it.
"Did you run away a lot?" Dilton asked me as I sighed.
"Only when things would get bad. I had no friends so I usually ran to the park to sleep in a tree of hide out until my parents would stop yelling at each other or at me. Especially when mom drinks." I said. I was trying not to cry. I suddenly felt a hand on my back and looked at Dilton with watery eyes.
"I'm sorry. I never knew your parents were that bad. They never hit you did they?" He asked me. I didn't respond and he grew shocked and understood.
"Your mom or dad?" He asked me.
"Mom when she's drunk. Dad only hits me when I either fight mom off me of get into fights. They don't hit my face unless it's already bruised up." I told him as I sighed.
"That's why Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred want me here this year. My parents told them I was rebellious and don't listen to them at all and always fight. They know nothing about the abuse. I never even told Archie about the beatings. Only that they yell at me, mom gets drunk a lot and dad's been getting angrier lately. My dad knows a bunch of cops so that never helped me. The school didn't even care. I'm not sure what changed really. They were fine until I was 7 and then things changed drastically. That's why I didn't have a lot of stuff when I arrived." I said spilling out all of this at once as I tried not to cry.
"I'm sorry. You don't need to hear this. You don't need to know why I'm messed up." I blurted out as I buried my head back to its spot on my knees and gently cried. It felt good to talk about this but the pain of bottling it up for years was too much.
"Aria." Dilton gently said as he then hugged me. I gently gasped at his hug.
"Your not messed up. Your smart, beautiful, kind, strong, brave and wonderful. You stand up for yourself and others. You speak your mind and show so much kindness. Is that why you were happy the day I tested you and told you that you were smart? Did your parents tell you that you were stupid?" He asked me.
"Yes." I muttered.
"They think I cheat on all my tests and the teachers purposefully fail me because mom convinced them that I was cheating and that I'm stupid." I said as my voiced cracked a bit.
"Your not stupid at all Aria. As proven here. You needed this environment to properly grow. You are a unique girl Aria. You're so incredible that they don't see it at all. Is this why you see me in the lab? Because it reminds you how alone you were and don't want to see anyone like that?" He asked me as I nodded.
"That and I really do like you Dilton. Besides Archie I think you and Jughead are my best friends in this world. Everyone else is a friend but you three are my best friends. At least to me you are." I told him as I started calming down.
"I never knew you thought of me as your best friend. I'm honoured. But you should never doubt yourself Aria. Keep being you. But also don't be afraid to open up to me. You should tell Archie about your parents hitting you though. It might help." He said as I looked at him.
"No. No Archie can never know. It would cause more problems. Besides in three more years I'll be in college and then I won't ever have to go back." I told him.
"But Aria, your only suppose to be here for a year. And it's almost up." He said as I shook my head.
"I'll be alright. I can handle it. I always have." I told him.
"Maybe you could finish school here. You know, to continue the education? It would be safer and easier." He said.
"I think that's why they went out there. To see if I can do at least one more year down here." I confessed as I hugged Dilton back finally and buried my face into his shoulder.
"You'll be fine. I still think you should tell them but if you want to talk to anyone about this I'll listen. It hurts to know what's been happening to you. I'll always listen." He told me as I nodded my head before I fell asleep. I guess I used up a lot more energy than I thought.
*Dilton's POV*
I listened to Aria blurt out her life at home and how bad it was. First she told me about how Archie thought she ran away for a bit. Then she told me why she would. I had decided now would be best to ask her about her home life. I had rubbed her back to comfort her while she spoke. She cried and apologized for blurting this out to me and being 'messed up' and I hugged her. I didn't like to see her cry. I never want her to cry over pain. Especially this kind.
I asked if they ever hit her and when she didn't answer I asked which one. I was shocked to find out mostly her mother, especially when consuming alcohol, but her father as well. Archie's father's brother? He was suppose to be as nice as Archie's father. Guess not. I had spoke comforting words to make her feel better and to help her get all of it out. She needs to vent. It was worse when she said he would hit her after getting into a fight. They could've damaged her more. The rude and awful things they said and did to her.
I had asked her about the day I tested her and what she said and she told me about that. How can a school fail someone so smart because they thought that they were cheating? And for her dad to know cops down there? No wonder child services didn't help her. If Archie had never communicated with her over the years then who knows what might have happened. That's why she still gets nervous around adults. That's why she hates bullies. I asked her if the reason why she visits me in the lab was because me being alone reminded her of her and she nodded yes.
"That and I really do like you Dilton. Besides Archie I think you and Jughead are my best friends in this world. Everyone else is a friend but you three are my best friends. At least to me you are." She told me as she finally started calming down.
"I never knew you thought of me as your best friend. I'm honoured. But you should never doubt yourself Aria. Keep being you. But also don't be afraid to open up to me. You should tell Archie about your parents hitting you though. It might help." I told her but she then looked at me in shock and horror. She told me she never wanted Archie to know and that she could handle it. I tried to reason with her but she said 'three more years' so I told her that maybe she might be able to finish school here. I told her she could tell me anything. Whenever she needed to talk to me I'd be there for her. She hugged me back and thanked me. I guess all the emotions and strength she used made her tired because she fell asleep on me. I sighed as I laid her down on the floor.
*Since she was 7 years old? 8 almost 9 years she's been bottling up these emotions? That's not healthy. I wonder what else they did to her. Does she have any scars? How can she still be filled with so much kindness after all that. She's definitely like Archie with staying positive. Her being here is helping her. I should try to talk to Archie and/or his parents in secret to see what I can do to help. She might think I'm betraying her but I want to help.* I thought as I sighed. For now I need to try and get this problem fixed. I had been here for a few hours then decided to walk around to clear my mind to think better. It was after school and not a lot of people would be here right now.
I headed back near the supply closet when the light beam struck again. Oh no. Once it was over I heard someone in the closet of the supply room. I looked and saw Midge trying to pull out a mat.
"Hey Dilton. Can you give me a hand? This is heavy for some reason." She commented. She could see me.
"Oh no. Midge did you see an orange light?" I asked her.
"Yeah. It covered me in a glow and then I had a hard time with this mat. Why?" She asked me. I grabbed her wrist and started pulling her into a run to the lab.
"My machine backfired and now the three of us are ghosts essentially." I told her.
"Wait three? We're ghosts? Boy I think you hit your head." She said as I suddenly pulled her through the door to the lab where Aria was just getting up into a sitting position and looking around.
"Aria." I said as I caught her attention.
"Whoa! How'd we do that?" Midge asked as Aria looked at us.
*Aria's POV*
I felt the beam as I got up and looked around. The beam in a weird way brought back my strength but as I sat up and looked around I didn't see Dilton.
"Aria." I heard Dilton say and as I looked behind me I saw Midge there too in her work out outfit.
"Whoa! How'd we do that?" She asked as she looked at us. I just groaned.
"Where were you when it went off?" I asked.
"Near the storage room." He told me.
"It's growing with each pulse then." I concluded as he nodded.
"Hey? Is anybody going to explain this to me?" Midge asked as we explained everything. We soon taught her what we could and could not do and what was hard to move vs what was easy. She understood and wanted to help out. It was now night time and the three of us needed to make sure the school was empty before another pulse went off. Dilton calculates 5 to 5 ½ hours until the next pulse. We soon saw Principal Weatherbee locking up the school for the night. Midge, Dilton and I came up with a plan to ask for help from him. We tried using Morse code but he ran away screaming. Great.
"Well that didn't work." Midge pointed out.
"He must not know Morse code." Dilton added. Then a light bulb appeared above my head.
"Maybe this isn't a bad thing." I said.
"How so?" Midge asked as I smiled.
"My cousin Archie most likely thinks this is a weird mystery. If Principal Weatherbee asks him about it tomorrow than he can help us. All we need to do is annoy Principal Weatherbee enough with the metal objects and that will be the push we need." I said as they smiled.
"Great idea Aria. It might just work." Dilton said.
"Oh it will work. I'll be sure of that." I said. During the night the machine went off at 6 hours again. It was odd but I didn't question it. But it did have a bigger ray this time. It is growing in size and soon the time gap will be shorter.
*The Next Morning*
Once Principal Weatherbee entered the school we put the plan in motion. Dilton, Midge and I did the locker thing again and when he arrived in his office Midge stayed with me ans Dilton went back to the lab to try and figure out what to do next. We did simple stuff with the metal to annoy him as we grew bored. Once Archie was here I would try to keep an eye on him while Midge got Dilton. I hope this works. Kids were piling in and once home room started Principal Weatherbee called Archie in his office. It worked. I was now playing with the stapler, making it move around like one of those tiny toy bunnies you wind up, a someone knocked on the door.
"Come in." Principal Weatherbee said as we looked and saw Archie poking his head in.
"You wanted to see me?" He asked.
"Good luck." Midge said as she left to go tell Dilton. I sighed as I watched Archie enter the office after Principal Weatherbee told him to sit down and listen to the conversation while still playing with the stapler. What? I was bored! Principal Weatherbee was pacing as he sat down and asked if he was in trouble before he saw me playing with the stapler. Well not me specifically but the stapler that appeared to be moving on it's own.
"I've been reading yours and your cousins 'weird mysteries' column for the past few months and, frankly, I didn't put much stock into it. Spooks and goblins and aliens and werewolves. A lot of balderdash I thought." He ranted and stopped pacing as Archie gasped. I rolled my eyes at him.
"Sir I protest!" Archie said loudly.
"That's what I used to think. But now." He said as he finally sat down and looked at Archie. He looked around for a few seconds and then looked at Archie with a worried look on his face and put his hand next to his mouth to talk quietly but still loud enough for Archie and I to hear.
"Archie. Have you noticed anything unusual going on at Riverdale High School the last few days?" He asked as Archie looked at the stapler again and pointed to it.
"You mean like the stapler on your desk?" He asked as Principal Weatherbee gasped. I giggled at how Archie could be blunt with things.
"It's been doing that on and off all morning." He said and soon the stapler was taken away from me and slammed it in the desk drawer before he slammed the drawer closed.
"Hey! I was playing with that! Now what am I suppose to do?" I yelled but, of course, they didn't hear me.
"Yes sir. It's classic poltergeist phenomena." Archie claimed while putting both hands behind his head and leaned back.
"Figures ghosts are still on your mind." I said to no one in general. Principal Weatherbee was now wiping the sweat off his head with a cloth.
"Ah! So you've had experience in this sort of stuff before. I knew you were the man for this job. Too bad your cousin isn't here. I could've used her help as well." He said as I sighed.
"Believe me Principal Weatherbee I'm helping." I said even tough he couldn't hear me. He suddenly pulled out a gold card and handed it to Archie and as he took Principal Weatherbee spoke again.
"Here! This is a Golden Hall pass. It grants you full access of the High School and exempts you from class. You'll need it." He said as I leaned forward and looked at it with Archie.
"Cool." I said.
"What for?" Archie asked as I smacked my forehead.
"Uhg. Seriously Archie?" I said loudly to him. Right. Still can't hear me.
"I need you to get rid of this poltergeist phenomena. Do whatever it takes. Set traps, burn incense, spray poltergeist repellent. Just get it off my campus." He said as he was pacing around a bit before placing both hands firmly on his desk at the last sentence.
"Ha! I'm a student and you want me out of here? Because you think I'm a ghost? Learn Morse code!" I told him even though he can't hear me.
"You can count on me sir." Archie said as he stood up and shook Principal Weatherbee's hand. Great. Now to get Archie to the lab and get him to turn flip the switch in reverse before more damage is done. Archie left the office and pulled out a magnify glass and started investigating just as the bell rang. Wait. How long was he carrying that around? Sometimes I worry about that boy. He was using to look around and said Hm every now and then. He stopped in front of Veronica and went Hm three times, the third one in an interested way, while she posed before Betty stepped between then. I swear his hormones got the better of him at times. Now he's in trouble with Betty.
"Uh oh." He said as Betty glared at him. He quickly and stealthily turned around and continued the search while Veronica sneaked off somewhere. I then went to catch up to him but went through a few too many people and had to stop to rest. What? The shocking pulses didn't hurt too much but it did wear me out faster. Once I rested up I noticed Archie was completely out of sight.
"Uh oh." I said as I ran around to find him. I found Dilton and Midge standing outside the bathroom as they noticed me.
"Well?" Dilton asked.
"He is investigating but I lost him. Going through people wears you out faster apparently. I'm sorry. I tried to keep up." I said to them. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Midge had her hand on me and both her and Dilton had small smiles on there faces.
"That's alright. If he's roaming the school we'll find him." She said as another surge of light waved over us.
"Oh no. This one was bigger. And it only took two hours. It's getting shorter in time and bigger in size." Dilton said in a panic.
"We need to hurry." I said as we split up to find Archie. The next one would go off in an hour. It's 10:20 am.
"Cheese balls." I said in a huff as I searched around for Archie.
"The lab! Maybe he went there!" I thought as I headed towards the lab. I made it to the lab just in time to see Dilton talking to Archie about the machine and him talking back? That means.
"Archie!" I shouted as I ran to him.
"Huh? Aria?" He asked as I grabbed him in a hug.
"You can see and hear me too?" He asked as I looked at him.
"Dilton and I have been like this since, well, when I left you that note that I would be with Dilton. Midge got hit with the ray yesterday. We've been trying to communicate with you and everyone ever since." I told him as I finally pulled back and looked away.
"Really? That's what happened to you?" He asked me as I soon smacked his arm.
"Ow. Why'd ya do that?" He asked me.
"1st off for not being as worried as you should have. 2nd I did not "Run away" Because Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred went to see my parents while on their business trip. 3rd for not knowing that both Dilton and Midge were missing and finally for not realizing that the papers moving off the desk was me and the same goes for the stapler out of sheer boredom." I explained to him.
"Oh. Hehe. Sorry?" He said as I looked at him.
"No really. I am." He said as I sighed.
"Did you tell him everything Dilton?" I asked as Dilton nodded.
"Yes I did already." He said.
"Good. We should figure out a plan and get moving quickly. We need to get someone's attention to flip the switch or something." I said as we headed out of the lab and into the hallways.
"But nobody can see nor hear us." Archie said.
"I know already. It's like my old school all over again. Except without the fights." I mentioned as we continued down the halls.
"So how did you get like this Midge?" Archie asked.
"I was in the storage room looking for a spare mat when I was hit by the orange glow." She exclaimed.
"I thought you were looking for Moose." He said as I smacked my forehead.
"Really Archie?" I muttered as Midge continued.
"I'm not just Moose's Girlfriend you know. I have interests as well. I'm studying gymnastics to be a stunt woman." She said.
"I would know. I help her out when I do my martial arts practice on Wednesdays." I told him.
"Really?" He asked as we nodded.
"I ran into her when it happened so finding each other was easy. I brought her to the lab where Aria was resting. She used to much energy on the papers to catch your attention." Dilton explained as Archie looked at the three of us.
"Look at that." Midge said as we looked and saw Big Ethel in a long red skirt, a long red jacket to match with a red bow in her hair, a white top and black shoes. It was a different look for her but not a bad one.
"Nothing up my sleeves." She said and whirled her arm around to do a magic trick.
"Big Ethel's really good at magic tricks." Midge commented.
"Who knew. She's never done this in public." Archie commented.
"Or maybe the public never paid attention before." Midge pointed out. Big Ethel made a bouquet of flowers appear and then tossed them behind her. Then we saw an orange light go to Big Ethel and slowly consume her as she spoke.
"Now for my next trick, although that was pretty cool, but not my extract." She said as the light completely consumed her. All four of us could do nothing but watch in shock at how big the pulses were getting. The light then faded and Big Ethel saw us. She looked shocked as she then stood up straight.
"Uh where did you guys come from? And how long have you been there?" She asked as I smiled.
"Long enough. The tricks are cool." I commented as she lightly smiled.
"This is much worse than Aria and I suspected. These pulses are growing larger than we anticipated. Soon it will cover the whole town and that means." Dilton started before Archie finished the sentence for him.
"Riverdale will be a real ghost town." He exclaimed. Archie then ran into a class room as we followed.
"We've got to warn everyone." Archie stated as Dilton and Midge waved a hand in front of a few kids.
"We've tried Archie. I've been trying for two days straight." I told him.
"In this state we're virtually useless." Dilton explained.
"Go ahead. See how hard it is to move those papers." Midge said as I watched.
"Concentrate and focus on the papers." Dilton instructed. Archie mustered up all that he could just to barely knock them over. Archie then sat on the floor and leaned against the desk.
"Whoa. That was tough." He said.
"Now you know how I felt." I told him. He soon sat up as Miss Grundy picked up the papers and put them back on the desk.
"See? It took all your strength just to move some papers." Dilton told him.
"Although for some reason it wasn't hard to open the lockers." Midge said.
"Or clip the stapler around. Man that was kinda fun." I exclaimed. What? I've been like this for 2 days now. That was the most fun I had in those 2 days.
"It's a shame that no one here in this school knows Morse code though." Dilton added in.
"Wait a minute. Both the lockers and the stapler are made of metal." Archie pointed out.
"Yes and the stable molecular density allows us to move them freely and hold them as well. So what?" I asked.
"Why I'll be super amalgamated. How did you figure that one out before me Aria?" He questioned as I looked at him.
"Huh? I thought you knew that already. Your the Guinness here, not me. I'm just the assistant who was barely smart enough to figure this out." I told him plainly.
"Aria I told you that you were smart." He pointed out as I gently blushed.
"So we can still touch and hold anything metal." Midge confirmed.
"Correct. But that means we can hardly move or touch anything else." I told her.
"So what if we find a metal device in your lab to flip the switch in reverse?" Archie asked.
"We keep getting pushed away. I think the metal might help but it would use too much strength that we don't have to flip it." I commented.
"She's right on this one Archie. I've already tried." Dilton pointed out. Then another light bulb went on above my head.
"I got an idea. Reggie's coin. What if we took it and made him follow it to the lab and trick him into flipping the switch?" I suggested.
"Perfect idea Aria. But where is he?" He asked.
"Hey. Where's Big Ethel?" I asked as we then noticed her at the chalk board, with her body in it and her head, arms and foot poking out, as she wiggled them behind Miss Grundy. I laughed at the sight of that.
"Hey. There's some perks to being a ghost. Like walking through walls." She said as she then had only her upper half sticking out and doing a 'I'm a spooky ghost right behind you' motion as I laughed even harder.
"Big Ethel. Stop. Please. That's just too funny." I said as I tried to stop. She soon stopped and I stopped laughing.
"Reggie's next door preparing himself for the coin collection. Maybe now I can get a closer look at that 1912 Baltimore bullock 7 cent piece." She commented.
"I remember you saying that in History class yesterday when no one paid attention to you. I also remember you saying that only three were made. You know a lot about coins. I'm sorry that Archie didn't hear you ask if I was rebelling. I know he heard Betty though when she asked after you did." I commented as Archie flushed pink with embarrassment and Big Ethel looked at me shocked.
"You heard all that?" She asked me as I nodded.
"I got there once Archie started talking about it until after the 3rd time I moved the papers and saw the look on Archie's face. The look that screams 'I smell a weird mystery' look." I commented.
"I wished I had payed better attention to you Big Ethel." Archie said.
"To all of you." He also commented to Midge and Dilton.
"Okay enough of the mushy stuff. I already explained a plan. You four ready to help out?" I asked them. Big Ethel smiled brightly.
"You mean? I'll get to help you two with one of your weird mysteries? Cool. I've always wanted to be in your column." She said as Dilton smiled as well.
"Sure. Why should Betty and Veronica have all the fun?" Midge asked as she was smiling and pumped up for this mystery. I smiled at all of them.
"Alright! Let's get that coin and make Reggie follow it to the lab." I said as we then moved to the next room to put the plan in motion.
"Ok. Let's do one person bring the coin to the next person until we get to the lab so no one gets to tired out." I said.
"Sounds good." Archie said as I nodded.
"Ok." I replied as we set it up like this. Big Ethel will get the coin and slide it under the door, then Midge will have it until she hands it off to me under the door, then when the door opens I toss it to Archie at the machine while Dilton can instruct Archie while I quickly gather the girls and get them in the room quickly to make sure we're all back to normal. We set up as the plan went into motion. I waited in the lab for Midge to give us the coin. She then poked her head inside.
"Get ready. Here he comes." Midge said as she then slid the coin under the door where I grabbed it. I heard a slam on the other side of the door followed by an 'Ow' to go with it.
"That had to hurt." Midge said as she came inside.
"We better hurry. It looks like the device is about to pulse again. And this time it'll cover the whole school." Dilton commented. Suddenly door opened.
"Alright coin. This time it's personal." Reggie said as I waved the coin in front of him before tossing it behind me for Archie to catch. He soon caught it and put it on the switch and used all his strength to hold it there. All five of us were then saw Reggie run and jump to grab the coin. As he grabbed it he flipped the switch.
"Ha! Now your mine again." Reggie said on the ground as the machine soon did a reverse pulse that turned Dilton, Me Big Ethel and Midge solid again.
"Huh? Hey! Where'd you guys come from?" He asked us as he sat up. I smiled brightly.
"It worked. We're not ghosts anymore." I said in happiness.
"Archie! Quick! Get in front of the dish so I can reverse it." Dilton said.
"What are you talking about? Archie's not here." Reggie said as the machine went off again. Soon Archie became visible to all of us.
"Oh no! I can't shut it off." Dilton said as I had a mild Deja Vu moment. That moment made me remember we had to plug it in. I ran up to Dilton and Reggie and grabbed the cord. I yanked on it and unplugged it as the device which turned it off.
"Huh?" Dilton questioned.
"*Ahem* I believe I told you last time that it needed to be plugged in." I reminded him as he looked at me after my ahem and then sighed in relief.
"Yeah." He said as he rubbed the back of his head lightly and smiled back.
"Huh? I'm confused." Reggie said as Midge went up to him.
"Your always confused Reggie. Get used to it." She said as she walked away. Big Ethel then got in front of him.
"Don't let it get ya down big guy." She said and then walked away as well. Now it was Dilton, Myself, Archie, and Reggie in the room and Reggie was still sitting on the floor. I went over to the one side of the room and grabbed my camcorder before rejoining Archie and Dilton. The three of us looked at him and then just casually walked out the door, leaving him there confused. I took off the lab coat and left it on one of the desks before walking out though. We went to Principal Weatherbee and explained the whole situation, which he ended up excepting, and just marked me down as called out sick so Archie's parents, and mine if they ever found out, wouldn't be too mad about it. I could make up the work easily. Now it was the end of the school day and the five of us were now outside by the statue and started talking.
"That was quite an adventure." Archie said as Big Ethel and Midge nodded while Dilton smiled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"We should hang out more." I said in a cheery voice.
"Oh Archie-kins. Aria." We heard as we looked behind us to see Betty, Jughead, and a grumpy Reggie waiting a distance away while Veronica came up to us.
"I've got five free tickets to the movies tonight. Since Jughead has one unlimited one already I thought about you as well Aria. How About you keep me company Archie-kins." Veronica said nicely towards me and flirtatiously towards Archie. I looked back at the three and saw them frown.
"Well. It's back to the lab." Dilton said in a sad tone.
"It was fun while it lasted." Midge said as she then stood up from her spot on the ground.
"At least I had a great adventure. Time to disappear I guess." Big Ethel said as they all looked down in sadness. I looked at Archie and Veronica and saw Veronica give them a smug smile.
"I'll pass Veronica. I have other friends I need to spend time with." I told her as I walked over to the other three. They looked at me and smiled as I smiled back.
"Same here Veronica. I'm going to spend the evening with my other friends." He said as I turned to him and smiled.
"How bout Pops?" I questioned as everyone nodded in agreement. Soon we were at Pop's and had a great time telling stories, eating burgers, and having some milkshakes.
"A toast, to good friends." Archie suddenly said as we all toasted. And soon started drinking the shakes. Once the evening was over we went to say goodbye to everyone. I got pulled aside by Dilton quietly.
"What's wrong?" I asked him.
"Thank you. For spending time with me outside of the lab." He said sheepishly. I smiled and gently hugged him.
"It's not a big deal. You can always ask to spend time with me." I told him.
"If you ever want to, ya know, talk more just come see me. Alright?" He asked me. I knew what he meant.
"I will. I just don't want to be a bother." I told him.
"Aria having you around is no bother at all." He said as I smiled at him. We rejoined the group and soon went our separate ways. Archie and I went home and then started typing the article up.
"Because they're quiet, shy, don't quite wear the right clothes or aren't as flashy as the popular kids some kids feel invisible. Trust me from past experience. I would know. ~Aria. I was guilty of treating Dilton, Midge and Big Ethel like they were invisible by not really paying attention to them. I even ignored Aria's disappearance as nothing but her rebelling. When Dilton's invention went awry it reminded me to notice and appreciate all of the good people in my life. I hope you do to. It was an important lesson I was grateful to learn ~Archie. ….In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie and Aria." We finished up the article for the night.
"Archie? Can I talk to you?" I asked him.
"Sure. You know you can." He told me as we sat on his bed together. I sighed and told him the conversation I had with Dilton. How I broke down and even told him about the abuse.
"Aria. Why didn't you tell me?" He asked me as I shook my head.
"How could I? How could I tell you that my father, you father's brother, and my mother were doing that to me? Uncle Fred might not have believed me anyways. Plus Dad knows some of the cops so I'd be branded a liar as usual." I said as I sighed. Archie put a hand on my back and looked at me.
"I'm so sorry." He said as he hugged me. I hugged him back.
"I'm only telling you because Dilton wanted me to. After being unseen and unheard I thought it was time. You can tell Jughead to. I'll probably tell him. I trust you three. Your my best friends in the world." I told him.
"Aria. The first time we went to Pop's and you ate all that food. I made a comment 'You act like you haven't eaten in days.' was that true without my knowledge?" He asked me as I sighed.
"They locked the fridge and stopped feeding me Archie. I only ate either at school or when they decided to feed me scraps. And remember how I said most of my stuff got ruined?" I asked him as he nodded. I sighed.
"Mom got drunk and tore up all my clothes out of spite and then she tore up all my posters and broke my stuff. I was glad that the few things I had were in the trunk. I'm also glad I put it in a secret hole in my closet where she couldn't get it. It was bad that day. That was the day I fell down the stairs. I didn't fall Archie. She attacked me and I pushed her off me. Dad saw that and grabbed me. He yanked me out of the apartment and threw me down the stairs. When I didn't get up for a couple of hours is when they took me to the hospital. They told them I was clumsy and fell and I went with it. It made them happy for a while. I didn't break anything but I did have a concussion." I confessed to him as I tried not to cry.
"Aria. You should've told me. I could've." He started but I pulled away and looked at him.
"What Archie? Could've done what? Like I said I doubt Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred would've believed me. Nobody did." I told him.
"I do. And so does Dilton. I'm sure Jughead would believe you as well. You have not once lied to us since you've been here. You had no reason to. I can talk to mom and dad and see if they can let you stay the rest of the school year here. I won't let you go back." He said as I smiled and hugged him.
"Thank you Archie. I love you." I told him.
"I love you too. You should shower before you sleep. You stink." He said as he pulled away and plugged his nose with one hand and used the other to wave it in front of him. My jaw dropped as I suddenly smacked him.
"I do NOT!" I scolded ad he tried to defend himself.
"You smell like gym socks." He said.
"You should know." I told him as he surrendered. I told him goodnight as I went to take a shower and then went off to sleep.
*Archie's POV*
Once Aria left I room I sat there and thought about what she said. Everything she told me. How could Aunt Dona and Uncle Bill do that to her? Once I heard the water running I called my dad on his cell.
"Hello?" I heard dad say on the other line.
"Dad. It's me." I said.
"Archie. Is there a problem?" He asked me as I sighed.
"I need to talk to you. Can you make sure your alone please?" I asked him.
"I'm outside the restaurant. What's wrong? Are you and Aria alright?" He asked me. I told him everything Aria told me and I mean EVERYTHING! I told him not to let mom know right away in case she over reacts and told him not to let Aria know either.
"I don't want her going back there dad. Haven't you noticed that the things they say about her like being rebellious or acting up and fighting all the time or even being a lier and cheating on tests hasn't happened since she's been here? She's scarred to go back there and she's scarred you and mom won't believe her. She's scarred to be judged, yelled, and scolded at. She's been very grateful and has shown it. Is there anyway you can convince them to let her stay? I don't want her hurt at all. Please dad. I wouldn't be asking this if I didn't feel like it was true." I told him as I heard him sigh.
"Growing up with my brother I noticed how mean and hurtful he could be, He pushed me down the front steps once. I thought he outgrew that. Maybe not. I've seen Dona drink a lot already so I don't think she's lying either. I'll talk to them and listen to what they say. It'll be tough but I'll see." He said.
"Thanks dad." I said as I sighed. We both said goodnight to each other and hung up the phone. I laid in bed and looked up at the ceiling as I started nodding off. I hope she can stay. I'm worried about her safety now. I ended up falling asleep.