The next morning, I wake up at 5 AM, just like I always do. Being a queen bee like me takes a lot of effort, not that movies will ever tell you that. Of course, I plan my outfits a week in advance, as well as my hair and makeup for every day, but actually implementing my look takes a lot of time. School starts at 8 AM here, which gives me two and a half hours to get ready, fifteen minutes to eat breakfast, and fifteen minutes to get to school. In New York, the travel time would be at least an hour. That's one point in Riverdale's favor, I suppose.
I decide to start the school year off in pastel pinks, because it's an approachable color and it will take my classmates off-guard. And then, when their defenses are all down...well, that's when I'll go in for the kill. I'll be at the top of the Riverdale food chain in no time.
I'm just lint-rolling my favorite Ted Baker dress one last time when I hear Veronica calling for me. I grab my Mahon Fichero tote bag and trot into the dining room. Of course Veronica is wearing pearls. Sometimes it feels as if she takes every word Mother says as gospel. Veronica has been wearing the same pearl necklace ever since Mother once said to us, "A girl is never dressed without her pearls." I personally think it makes her look like an old lady.
"Are you ready to go, Gwennie?" Veronica asks, a small brittle smile on her face. She's been trying to keep up a cool exterior, but I know her better than that. She's worried about this new school. I understand where she's coming from. It's entirely possible that, even here in this one-horse town, these people have heard about Father's scandal. I'm used to people staring at me, but the attention generally stems from envy, not pity.
I do a quick twirl, posing at the end with a hand on my hip and the other behind my head in the 'classic' model pose. "Aren't I always, Ronnie?" The edges of her mouth curl up. I only act like this to make my baby sister happy. Pushing my dignity aside for a few moments is a small price to pay.
Betty Cooper from the diner is waiting for us in the front office, a much more convincing smile on her face than the one Veronica was wearing earlier. But I can still see behind her facade. She's still on edge from last night's interaction. I'm not surprised. She's pretty in a small town sort of way, but Veronica is big-city beautiful. Definitely a threat.
The three of us don't say a lot as the secretary loads up Veronica and I with pounds of paperwork. It's not until we leave that Betty actually decides to open her mouth. "So, I usually start off my tours with a little history and context."
I try to pay attention, but this school is so stereotypically Americana. I feel a mixture of wonder and disgust as I take in the scenery, both architectural and human.
"Riverdale High first opened its doors in 1941..." Betty continues to drone on, and I debate on whether or not to listen.
"And hasn't been redecorated since, apparently." Veronica's comment is a tad biting, and I am proud. "Honestly, I feel like I'm wandering through the lost epilogue of Our Town." There she goes with the literary references again. I only hope Betty can keep up. I barely can, and Veronica and I have had the same (extremely expensive) education. Betty laughs lightly, and Veronica shoots her a small smile.
"So what's the social scene like here? Any night clubs?" My sister has always loved partying. Of course, I do, too. But she's a little more flamboyant about it. So it makes sense that this is one of the first questions she has.
A boy with perfectly gelled hair comes swooping up behind us. "A strip club called The Ho Zone, and a tragic gay bar called Innuendo." It's a good thing he came along when he did. Night clubs didn't exactly seem like they'd fall under Betty's area of expertise.
"Friday nights - football games, and then tailgate parties at the Mallmart parking lot. Saturday night is movie night, regardless of what's playing at the Bijou, and you better get there early because we don't have reserved seating in Riverdale, and Sunday nights? Thank God for HBO."
"Gwendolyn and Veronica Lodge, Kevin Keller," Betty begins the introductions, "They're new here. Kevin is..."
Veronica butts in, and I sigh internally. "Gay, thank god. Let's be best friends." I cringe. My sister has never sounded like a small-town airhead before, but I suppose there's a first time for everything.
"Is it true what they say about your dad?" Kevin asks, and Betty shoots him a scathing look. I do, too, but once again no one is paying me a lick of attention. I consider continuing the tour on my own, but I'm also kind of interested to see how this plays out. Veronica is very protective of Father, and I want to see what she comes up with to defend him.
"That he's the devil incarnate?" Her body has shifted into her favorite 'sass' stance, and I'm waiting for her to explode. This should be fun. "I stand by my father."
I don't add anything to her statement. I don't agree with it, but we Lodges must present a united front in these troubled times. Image is everything, no matter where you live.
"Does everyone here know?" she asks, crossing her arms. Betty and Kevin don't say anything, but based on their awkward body language, the answer is clear as glass. "Wonderful. Ten minutes in and I'm already the Blue Jasmine of Riverdale High." She storms off - well, as much as she will allow herself to in a public setting like this - and Betty follows her after shooting death rays at Kevin.
I stay behind, not eager to get involved in my sister's drama. Kevin turns his attention to me, doing a double take as he finally takes me in. "Holy shit. You're the Gwendolyn Lodge." I smirk, flipping some of my hair behind my shoulder. "I saw you in People hanging out with Kendall and Kylie! You were at Taylor Swift's Fourth of July party! You presented at the Tonys!"
I offer my hand to him, the first person I've done so for in Riverdale. He takes it quickly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kevin Keller. I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."
We follow after Veronica and Betty. Kevin moves quickly, clearly eager to please. My pace is languid. I'm not particularly bothered with the tour. I've found that the most interesting parts of the school are the things nobody wants to talk about. I'm sure that these are the kinds of things Betty Cooper doesn't know.
"Oh, and of course, there's the back-to-school semiformal dance this weekend," Betty says as we leave one hallway and enter into another. I watch silently as my sister grabs the other girl's arm and drags her back, practically stopping her midsentence.
"Oh! There's the hottie we were with last night. The red-headed Ansel Elgort." Archie Andrews, the ginger idiot from Pop's, is standing in the hallway with a letterman's jacket on. I can kind of see the appeal, I suppose, but I also think Veronica is overreacting. "Is he your boyfriend?"
"No," Betty and Kevin chorus.
"He's straight," Kevin says, dejected.
"We're just friends," Betty firmly states, speaking over Kevin. I scoff, but of course no one pays me any attention. I'm starting to feel invisible, and I'm not a fan.
"In that case, mind putting in a word? I've tried every flavor of boy but orange." Sadly, this is true. Veronica gets around even more than I do, which is saying something, considering I play both sides of the field.
"Actually, to clarify," Kevin chimes in, "Betty and Archie aren't dating, but they are endgame." Betty sort of waves her hands in the air, like she doesn't know what to say to that.
My sister immediately changes her tune. "You should ask him to the semiformal then." This is a new side of her. She rarely lets other people get in the way of what she wants.
"She should, but I heard it might be getting cancelled, because of what happened to Jason. They're gonna tell us at the assembly," Kevin says, and I appreciate his knack for gossip. Although this news is disturbing, considering a dance is the perfect chance for me 'submit' myself as a candidate for Queen Bee.
"Who's Jason, and what happened to him?" Veronica asks. Kevin and Betty both stop quickly and give each other loaded glances. Veronica looks between them, but I'm not particularly bothered about this 'Jason' character. This town was probably the most boring place on Earth before the Lodges arrived. Nothing too bad could have happened.
All that I really glean from the assembly is that the dance is still on. I still don't know what happened to 'Jason', and I still don't care. His sister gives an emotional speech in front of the entire school before announcing the news, and I spend most of the time looking at my phone. I've lost five thousand Twitter followers in the past two days, which is something I actually give a shit about. This is just another tragic consequence of my dad's incarceration.
Nobody pays me a lot of mind during classes, which is fairly insulting. They're all too busy gossiping about Jason and about the dance and what-not. I'm going to have to do something big to get their attention, but I'm not quite sure yet what that will be.
Lunch time has Veronica and I confined to school grounds, at our mother's insistence, and with nowhere to sit. Back in New York, we both went off-campus daily, eating lunch at the trendiest restaurants in town. But those days are gone, which this situation is pointedly reminding us. As if we needed another reminder of how far we've fallen from grace.
Suddenly, Veronica latches onto my arm. She pulls me over to a table occupied by Betty, Kevin, and Archie. Tinny music is playing from the speakers of a laptop Archie has open, but he shuts it immediately when we arrive.
"Can we join?" my sister asks, and Betty gives an affirmative answer. Kevin scoots down to make room for us on the bench. I sit down first, because I would actually like to get to know him a little better.
"What are we doing?" Veronica inquires. She's getting desperate to be included, and I'm starting to pity her. Like me, she is a beautiful butterfly stuck in Riverdale's spiderweb. But instead of struggling to get free, like I intend to do, she seems to have accepted her fate.
"Listening to one of Archie's songs," Betty sighs dreamily. She has it so bad. It's almost cute. Almost.
Kevin leans in towards the table. "I thought we were going to have to pretend to like it, but it's actually really good."
"Wait, that was you singing?" Veronica's tone is one of disbelief, and I don't blame her. Who would have thought that this red-headed dunce would actually have some sort of talent?
"It's rough," Archie replies, all modesty.
"No, it's great," Betty insists, her wide-eyed sincerity almost giving me hives. I roll my eyes.
"It's incredible, actually, the little snippet I heard." There goes Veronica, sucking up to a cute boy. She thinks catching them with honey is the way to go. But no matter what anyone tells you, people secretly crave vinegar. "Is that your thing? Music? Are you doing something with that?"
"Yeah, that's the plan." Archie clams up, and I decide to have a little fun. I lean in, like Kevin did earlier, but I place my perfectly-manicured hand on Archie's arm.
"You know something, Archie?" I ask, plastering a coy smile on my face. Betty instantly wrinkles her nose. "I know a few record producers, both in New York and L.A. If you put a demo together, I'm sure they wouldn't mind giving it a listen. You really are quite talented. I could help you go far, if you want." I wink at him.
Betty's jaw clenches. Veronica hits my thigh underneath the table. I smirk, removing my hand and returning to my subpar cafeteria food. Archie clears his throat, blushing slightly.
"So, how's your first day going? Good?" he asks Veronica, who returns to her normal self.
"Not to be a complete narcissist, but I thought people would be more..."
"Obsessed with you?" Kevin asks, craning his head around me. "Any other year, you two would be trending number one, for sure. This year, though, it's all about Cheryl trying to win the Best Supporting Psycho Oscar for her role as Riverdale High's bereaved Red Widow." Kevin obviously has no love for Cheryl and I smile. So Cheryl must be the girl that gave the speech earlier.
Archie suddenly gets up and starts packing his things. "Hey, I should go," he informs us, "I got that that meeting with Grundy, and then football tryouts, so..."
"You play football, too?" Veronica asks in shock as he gets ready to leave, "What don't you do?" How she hadn't gleamed he was an athlete based on his jacket, I honestly can't say. I catch his eye before he leaves, and I bat my eyelashes at him.
He walks away quickly, blushing even more, and Kevin immediately starts in. "Before you ask, Blue Jasmine, no, she has not invited him to the dance yet."
"Not yet, and don't talk about Archie," Betty butts in, practically hissing at the three of us. She seems like she's going to say more, but Cheryl appears out of nowhere with a grin on her face.
"Gwendolyn and Veronica Lodge. I'd heard whisperings. I'm Cheryl Blossom, may I sit?" She doesn't actually wait for an answer before she forces Betty to move down the bench.
"So, what are you four hens gossiping about?" I raise my eyebrow at her. Who says 'hens'? "Archie's Efron-esque emergence from the chrysalis of puberty?" Betty side-eyes her and I fight the urge not to laugh. There is clearly some bad blood between these two.
"Extracurriculars," Veronica says suddenly, probably in response to Betty's small headshake of despair. "Weatherbee wants us to sign up for a few." It isn't a complete lie. The principal had suggested that it would be better for our reputations if we 'make an effort to be active in our school community'.
"Cheerleading!" Cheryl declares, "You must. I'm senior captain of the River Vixens." She does a practically-choreographed move of her hair from one shoulder to the other.
"Is cheerleading still a thing?" Kevin inquires, salt evident in his tone.
"Is being the Gay Best Friend still a thing?" Cheryl snips back. So, bad blood between these two as well. Good to know.
"Some people say it's retro, I say it's eternal and iconic," Cheryl carries on in a dreamy tone.
"At Spence, I sat at the top of the Elites' pyramid," Veronica informs her, and I smile. She'd only sat at the top because I didn't do pyramids. But I guess Cheryl doesn't have to know that. "I'm in. Betty, you're trying out, too."
"Of course!" Cheryl says, her voice oddly high-pitched, "Anyone's welcome to try out, but Betty's already got so much on her plate right now, and being a Vixen is kind of a full-time thing. But...open to all!"
She gracefully stands up from the table, saying to us before she leaves, "Follow me on Twitter and I'll do the same. My handle is cherylbombshell." She leaves us, and I can't help but snicker. How many followers could she even have? Like...a thousand? Riverdale isn't that big, and it's unlikely that anyone outside of this town gives a rat's ass about her life.
"Okay. Go ahead and hate on cheerleading," Veronica says, returning her attention to Betty, "But if Hipster Prince Harry..."
Betty cuts her off. "I'd love to be a cheerleader." The sincerity has returned, and this time it's both adorable and irritating. "It would look great on my college applications. But last year, when I tried out, Cheryl said I was too fat."
"'Too season 5 Betty Draper,'" Kevin adds, something akin to awe in his voice, "It was a great line, but not at all true."
"Well, you're a total smoke show now," Veronica says, and I begrudgingly nod. "I mean it. As hot and as smart as you are, you should be the Queen Bey of this drab hive." I glare daggers at my sister. She should know that I plan to rule this school. How dare she go and give anyone ideas? Even a goody-goody like Betty could preset trouble to my reign, if she felt so inclined. Of course, I could easily take her. But if I'm going to have competition, I'd rather it was a worthy opponent. Someone like Cheryl, who clearly understands the attitude it takes to be on top.
"Look, if you want to be a River Vixen, Gwen and I will help you prep. We have moves." Of course she's volunteering me for this. I don't even like Betty that much. But it would be nice to have a protege other than Veronica, I suppose.
Betty mulls the idea over for a moment before she says, "Okay. You know what? Show me your moves." I can't help but smile. The game is on.
A/N: I know Gwendolyn doesn't have a ton of dialogue yet, but she's really just trying to size up Riverdale right now. Soon enough, she'll start speaking up, don't worry.