Snakes and Ladders - Falice

Union Of The Snake

Telegram force and ready, I knew this was a big mistake.

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            Her daughter was reliving Alice's worst moments.

Go to hell, Serpent Slut. Written on her locker in pig's blood, complete with a blonde voodoo doll hanging by its neck. She wondered if it was mere irony that Alice herself had once been referred to as the Serpent Slut. Everything that she had worked so hard to avoid was coming together anyway. She was just waiting for the day that Betty comes home wearing a Serpent jacket. Alice knew what it was like to want to become a part of a dangerous world for the sake of an angsty, dark-haired boy. And she knew just how it could destroy girls like her and Betty.

"Nothing happened at school, it was fine." Betty argued, though her deceitful stance betrayed her.

"Fine?" Alice shifted in her seat, "So, no one wrote on your locker Go to hell, Serpent Slut and hung a Betty doll from a noose?"

"Jeez Pol, is there anything you didn't tell her?" Betty shook her head in disbelief at her sister as she tried to walk away from the situation.

"She wouldn't stop grilling me!" Polly tried to explain as Alice followed Betty into the kitchen.

"I warned you, Elizabeth, about publishing that article. Why do you constantly defy me?"

"Because I'm sick of all the secrets and the lies in this town and in this family. I would much rather take some heat for being honest than do what you're doing. Living in fear of the truth."

"I am scared for you, Elizabeth, not of the truth!"

"Oh, really?" Betty lowered her voice, knowing that her mother wasn't being honest with her. "Let's go, then." Whatever darkness had come over her, Betty was no longer able to control it as she faced off against Alice who blinked in confusion following Betty's words. "You talk a big game about liking Jughead, but wouldn't you be much happier if we weren't together?"

Alice scoffed, but knew that she couldn't even try to deny this. What Betty didn't know, was why exactly Alice hated the idea of her dating a Jones boy. "Thought so." Betty continued, "Question number two. When you invited FP over for dinner, he said that you and Dad got in a huge fight when you were in high school at homecoming." Alice looked down and shook her head, wishing that people would stop bringing up that one memory that was too painful to even think about. "What was that about?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Alice tried to brush it off, not willing to have this conversation with anyone.

"Oh, come on, Mom. I saw the look on your face. You were terrified." So, FP hadn't been the only one to spot her fear that night. "What were you so scared he was going to say?"

"It is none of your damn business!" Alice yelled, finally cracking under the pressure that her daughter was applying.

Betty walked around her mother with a shaking head. "Dad was keeping a secret that almost destroyed us." She had lowered her voice, "How many are you keeping?"

There's a fine line drawing my senses together... and I think it's about to break.