Asher and her father have just moved to Riverdale from the sunny state of California. Despite living on the south side, she will be attending Riverdale High due to Southside High being shut down. She prefers being alone and doesn't generally open up...
*Beep beep beep* Ugh... I was not ready to wake up. I peeled my eyes open and looked at the clock on my side table. 6:30. Time to get up. I reluctantly dragged myself out of my cozy bed and stumbled into the bathroom. I gazed into the mirror and stared at my reflection, looking deeply into my deep brown eyes. The dark bags under my eyes that had developed due to a lack of sleep were prominent on my light complection. Gross. "Okay, it's a new day at a new school. You've got this" I said to myself.
Following my little confidence boosting pep talk, I put on my usual makeup: a little bit of eyeliner and mascara, nothing too fancy. Now onto hair. Surprisingly, it wasn't a complete rat's nest after a restless night of slumber. My hair was long and wavy, and I had dyed the ends of it a dark purple, leaving my roots their natural black and creating an ombre effect. I decided to add a little braid and leave the rest the way it was.
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I entered my room again and dug through some of my boxes searching for some clothes to wear. I settled on some ripped, black, skinny jeans, an old band shirt, a flannel around my waist, worn and beat up combat boots, and my leather jacket of course. I looked at myself one last time before grabbing my book bag and leaving my room.
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I descended the stairs quickly and hurried out the door before my dad could stop me. I grabbed my skateboard that was sitting on our front porch and started heading for school. It's cliché, I know; the Californian being a skater, but what do you want me to do about it? I rolled over the train tracks that seperated the north side from the south and made my way towards my ultimate doom: high school.
* * *
"Hi, I'm Betty. I'll be showing you around school today" said a chipper blond girl with her hand extended. I shook it reluctantly, smiled at her.
"I'm Asher" I replied.
"Welcome to Riverdale High. That's the main office" she said, pointing to the room that I had just gotten my schedule from. We started walking and she showed me the cafeteria, the library, and a few of my classes. After about ten minutes of her showing me around, we ended up in front of what I assumed was my locker.
"If you have any questions, just feel free to ask me" Betty said with a smile, queuing the end of our little tour.
"Thanks" I replied quietly. I didn't mean to be rude or shy with my short responses, but that's just the way I am. With that, Betty waved goodbye and made her way over to a small group of people that consisted of a ginger boy, a pretty dark haired girl, and a guy with a weird beanie on his head.
I then turned my attention to my locker, opened it, and shoved a couple of notebooks in it along with my skateboard. After shutting my locker, I leaned against it and took a moment to observe the crowd of teenagers surrounding me. I knew immediately that I'd have trouble fitting in. Everyone at this school just seemed so... preppy. Yeah, I'm definitely going to stand out.
As I was about to head to my first class, a group of students cloaked in leather jackets started making their way down the hall. Maybe I'll fit in better than I thought. The crowds that blocked their way suddenly parted, showing the intimidation that the other students felt towards these guys. As they passed me, the guy who was leading the pack glanced in my direction. He was easily a foot taller than me at least. He was very handsome and had gorgeous brown eyes and greased black hair. I noticed a strange snake symbol tattooed on his neck. I wonder what that's for. We suddenly made eye contact and his brow furrowed in confusion when he looked at me. I quickly looked away, not wanting to create any conflict with this menacing group.
Once they all passed me, I stole one last look at them. On the backs of all of their jackets were large patches with a snake that matched the tattoo on the tall guy's neck. The patch also read 'South Side Serpents'. Interesting.
* * *
Before I knew it, the day was already halfway over. I had just finished lunch and I pulled my schedule out of my bag to see what class I had next. Free period. I eventually found myself in some sort of hang out room with a bunch of couches and tables. It wasn't too crowded; the pretty dark haired girl that I saw in the hall this morning was sitting at one of the couches. It was relatively quiet, so I figured it was a good place to spend a free hour.
I found an empty table and decided to camp out there. I pulled my sketchbook out of my bag, put on my headphones, and started drawing. I was planning on designing a new graffiti piece, but instead found myself drawing the snake symbol that covered those guys' jackets. I wonder what it symbolized.
After about five minutes of drawing and being completely consumed by my thoughts, I was startled by a spraypaint can that was suddenly slammed on top of my sketchbook. I ripped out my earbuds immediately.
"I think you dropped this last night", I heard a familiar voice growl. I looked up slowly to find the tall, dark haired boy inches from my face. Images from the previous night's events suddenly flashed through my mind: someone yelling at me, a tall and dark figure, someone picking up my spray paint can. This guy has to have been the one who saw me last night.
"What's a Northsider like you doing tagging my turf in the middle of the night?" he questioned angrily, gaining the attention of a few people sitting near by.
"First of all, I'm not a 'Northsider'", I replied coolly, not letting his ginormous stature intimidate me. "And second of all, I have no idea what you're talking about" I said trying to act innocent.
"Oh really?" he asked doubtfully while gesturing to my hand. I looked down only to realize that my fingers were stained with black spray paint.
"Shit" I mumbled.
"And if you're not a Northsider, then why haven't I ever seen you around before?" he questioned.
"Because I just moved here last week" I snapped back.
"So you live on the south side?" he asked. I nodded. "Well, why didn't you just say so?" he exclaimed. His tone changed from threatening to welcoming so fast that I thought I got whiplash.
" I'm Sweet Pea. Welcome to Riverdale" he said as he began making his way to the door. "Come with me" he commanded assertively. Although he was acting nicer, he was still incredibly intimidating.
I sat there for a moment frozen with shock. What the hell just happened? I began collecting my things and throwing them in my bag, making sure not to forget my spray paint again. My mind was racing. First of all, what the hell did I just get myself into? And second of all, what kind of a name was Sweet Pea?
