It was a slow night at Pop's. Only a few booths were occupied, and Maisie, who had just topped off their coffee cups, stood behind the counter, listening to the cook named Burgess attend to the pots and pans in the kitchen behind her.
She'd only been back in Riverdale a few hours but was surprised at just how few kids from school were at the diner enjoying the last moments of summer. Besides the high school during football games, Pop's was the only place you'd find teenagers after school was out.
Maisie sighed and straightened her back. She took in the familiar scent of grease, bacon, and ripped vinyl. She opened her eyes just as her stomach growled, long and loud, and she realized that she hadn't eaten since getting off the plane around lunchtime. She made another round with the coffee pot then headed to the kitchen for a moment.
"Hey Burgess," she greeted. "Do you mind making me one of those delicious cheeseburgers?" The tall, heavyset man wiped his brow and smiled at her. It was crooked and kind.
"You got it, kiddo."
"Thanks." Maisie stepped back into the diner where she opened the cash register and paid for her meal, and as she poured herself a drink, none other than Archie Andrews and Betty Cooper came through the door.
Archie had grown significantly over the summer, not just in height, but he had grown into his body, and he was no longer the lanky kid that Maisie remembered. Betty, on the other hand, looked the same. Blonde hair pulled into a tight ponytail, meticulously applied makeup, and those innocent blue eyes Maisie had always envied just a little. She liked both of them, though; they had never been anything but nice to her.
Pop greeted them with a big smile and led them to an empty booth, but he sent Maisie to take their order. She wasn't shy per se but waiting on kids from school was a little awkward nonetheless. She smiled when she got to their booth.
"Hi guys," she greeted, pen already at her notepad. "What can I get you?" They ordered, and when she came back with their drinks, Betty asked about her summer.
She shrugged. "Norway was… cold, but it was fun to see where my ancestors came from." Betty offered a kind smile, but before Maisie could ask about her summer, a dark-haired girl she didn't recognize entered the diner and requested an order for Lodge. Something about the name sounded familiar, but she couldn't pinpoint where she'd heard it before.
Maisie offered a small wave at Betty and Archie before going to the kitchen to get the order. She double-checked that everything was in the bag and added the onion rings she'd heard the girl request just before the kitchen door had closed.
"Your food will be done in about five," Burgess said over his shoulder just as Maisie stepped back into the diner and handed the dark-haired beauty the brown bag. The girl thanked her with a smile and then disappeared into the darkness beyond Pop's.
"Are you or mom taking me?" Maisie asked the next morning at the breakfast table. The big, extravagant breakfast was a back-to-school tradition that they enjoyed every September. Her mother was on the phone with a client in the next room, but she could tell her mom was trying not to yell at the bride.
"Your mom is," her dad replied, his mouth full of bacon. "If she doesn't spontaneously combust first." They clinked their glasses together with private smiles just as her mother came back into the kitchen, releasing an exasperated sigh. She put her phone on the table and slipped into the seat opposite her father.
"Difficult bride?" Maisie asked. She'd always been fascinated with her mother's job as a wedding planner and how she hadn't lost her mind yet, but business was booming even in a small town like Riverdale.
"Difficult groom," her mother replied. "The Wedding Monster does not discriminate." Maisie chuckled and took another bite of her toast while her mom filled her plate to the brink with pancakes, toast, eggs, a waffle, a smoothie cup, and finally grabbed herself a glass of orange juice.
"I think I hear your plate screaming for help," Maisie commented, not entirely sure if her mom even had a plate anymore. "You drowned the poor thing." Her mom stuck her tongue out at Maisie before she dived headfirst into her enormous breakfast. Maisie had eaten so much that she was actually feeling a bit nauseous, so she pushed her plate to the side and took a book from her school bag, and began reading.
"What's that?" Her father asked, grabbing the book out of her hands. "Macbeth, huh?" She leaned over and tried to get the book back, but her father lifted it out of reach.
"Give it back!" She tried to reach for it again, but he just put the book in his other hand.
"Why are you reading Shakespeare at 7:30 in the morning?" Asked her mom, mouth full of pancakes. What was the deal with her parents and talking with their mouths full? Weren't they supposed to be the ones reprimanding her for doing it, not the other way around?
"We're studying Shakespeare this year," Maisie said matter-of-factly. "I'm not sure which of his works we're reading yet, so I figured Macbeth was a good place to start. I have about five of his plays in my bag just to be on the safe side. I'm going to the school office first thing to get the reading list for Ms. Elmore's class and a list of recommended readings. Sylvia emailed me yesterday to let me know that it was ready for me first thing." Her father finally gave the book back with a slightly concerned expression on his face.
"You're on a first-name basis with the office administrator?"
"Of course," Maisie stated as she put the book back in her bag. "You really shouldn't be surprised; I'm establishing reliable contacts." Maisie stood and went to put her plate in the dishwasher.
"But you're only sixteen," he said, his voice hopeless.
"You're the one who showed her that documentary on investigative journalism when she was ten. You started this," Charlotte Kane reminded her husband as Maisie disappeared into the bathroom to brush her teeth.
"She's right," Maisie agreed before stuffing her toothbrush in her mouth. "You knew I loved writing and solving mysteries. You gave me my first Sherlock Holmes book when I was eight." Her father let out an exasperated groan, and Maisie resumed brushing her teeth. She heard her father stating that he had created a monster, but it was a monster that Maisie liked.
That documentary had changed her life, and it meant she knew what was required of her to obtain the career she wanted, which meant she could start early. She'd volunteered at the police station two summers back and had made friends with the lady at the front desk who could provide information if Maisie needed it. The following summer, Maisie volunteered at the hospital and made friends with a medical student. While the school paper was online and Maisie was the only employee, it gave her creative freedom and a place to put her discoveries, and while she hadn't been able to sniff out a big story yet, it was coming. She knew it was.
"Ready to go, sweetheart?" Her mom brought her back to reality, and Maisie found herself with a big toothpaste stain on her shirt because she'd spaced out. She quickly dabbed some water on the offending spot to try and make it less visible. It didn't work very well, but she didn't have time to change, so the stain would have to do. She turned off the bathroom lights and took the bag her mom held out to her.
"Bye, Dad!" Maisie yelled before stepping out in the early September sun. She slipped into the front seat of her mom's car, which had a big Kane Weddings ad printed on the side. It was in no way subtle, and her mom kept referring to it as the Wedding Mobile even though Maisie had asked her to stop. Repeatedly. She backed out of the driveway.
"Are you going to the dance on Friday?" Maisie closed Macbeth and looked at her mom.
"How do you know about the dance?"
"You're not the only one who communicates with the school office."
"So all parents got an email?"
"Yeah." They laughed, and it struck Maisie just how similar those sounds were. Being an only child had its benefits, and having a close relationship with her parents was definitely one of them. Maisie never had to compete with anyone.
"I'm not going," she said, answering her mom's initial question. "I have a night shift." It seemed as if her mom wanted to say more but changed her mind and closed her mouth again.
By the time Maisie had been dropped off, gone to the office to get the lists, and was walking to her locker, happy that choosing Macbeth had been the right decision, she'd forgotten why her mom had suddenly been interested in whether or not she was going to the dance.
She approached her locker only to see Jughead standing a few feet down the hall at his own locker. He looked up at her and held her gaze for a moment before looking away. Maisie turned the lock combination, and the door swung open.
"Jughead," she said, not looking at him.
"Maisie."
"How was your road trip with Archie?"
"Didn't happen. How was Norway?"
"Uneventful. Did anything interesting happen around here?"
"Jason Blossom drowned."
"What?" She jerked her head up and turned to look at Jughead, whose eyes were already on her.
"You didn't see the shrine on your way in?" Maisie shook her head, trying to process what she'd just been told. The Blossom twins were more or less the king and queen of Riverdale High, they were loved and feared simultaneously, and the idea that part of that power duo was no longer alive seemed surreal. Maisie's heart broke for Cheryl. Losing your other half like that could be nothing short of paralyzing.
"No." Maisie shook her head. "I was trying to get ahead on the reading." She held up her copy of Macbeth to show that she was telling the truth, not that Jughead had any reason to doubt her. He snorted, which was not the reaction she had expected.
"Of course you were." He closed his locker and disappeared into the blur of people in the crowded corridor. Maisie closed her locker and walked to the gym, where the first assembly of the year was being held.
It was already crowded, but she managed to find some empty space a few bleachers up where she soon after was joined by Betty, Kevin, and the new girl whose first name she had yet to catch. Maisie wondered for a brief moment if she should introduce herself but decided against it, knowing it wouldn't make a difference. The new girl would forget her name right away and never speak to her again. That was the simple kind of high school logic Maisie had accepted early on.
"Here goes," she heard Kevin say as Cheryl Blossom took the stage. During her speech, Maisie listened intently for any details that might reveal how Jason had drowned, but Cheryl didn't say a word about it, only that Riverdale should celebrate and not mourn.
It was a good speech, but the underlying tone of superiority that ebbed from Cheryl's very existence put a slight damper on Maisie's sympathy towards her. Still, grief changed people, and maybe this was her way of dealing with the hardest thing she'd ever had to go through. Once it was over, there was a round of applause as Cheryl announced that they would go forward with the back to school semi-formal.
"You should sit with us at lunch," Betty said to Maisie when they stood to leave the gym. She was a little taken aback because while Betty was always kind to her, she'd never offered her a place at the lunch table she usually shared with Archie and Kevin. Maisie nodded but didn't say anything.
At the bottom of the bleachers, Ms. Elmore took her aside to discuss the recommended reading for her AP English class. When she finally escaped Ms. Elmore's seemingly endless chatter, Jughead was standing off to the side as if waiting for someone.
Maisie furrowed her brow but didn't think anything more of it as she walked past him and out of the gym doors.
"Are you going to look into it?" Jughead asked when he caught up with her. She knew he was referring to Jason.
"What's there to look into? He drowned." Jughead grabbed her elbow, effectively stopping Maisie in her tracks.
"They never found his body."
A/N: Right, that concludes chapter one. I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, I would appreciate a review but that totally your call. No pressure. Feel free to message me on tumblr (itscapokaybye) if you have any questions or just want to chat about Riverdale. Thanks for reading!