« Book One of the Sunshine Series »
Clemintine Bartholdy had lived across from Archie Andrews and Betty Cooper her entire life. Her father was one of Sheriff Keller's deputies and her mother taught at Riverdale High. Her life seemed perfect at first...
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Clemintine remembered meeting Joaquin like it was only minutes ago. She worked at the Twilight Drive-in alongside an awkward dark haired boy by the name of Jughead. She remembered meeting him too. He was the one that had trained her, became her friend. The day she learned Jughead's real name, she refused to call him anything besides Forsythe; it was how she was raised. She had only begun calling him Jughead again when he threatened to flush her paycheck down the toilet if she didn't stop. From that day forward, she called everyone she met by their preferred name.
The day Clemintine worked the Drive-in by herself, due to Jughead attending some after school program involving a writing program, was the day she first laid eyes on the Serpents. She was running late and arrived an hour after her scheduled shift was to start. She knew that the Serpents came every night, she could hear them from the projection booth. They always seemed to arrive after her and leave before she did. Almost as if they knew her schedule. That day, however, the Serpents were already there, making just as much noise as they usually did each night. They had drove away almost all their business, including several employees, and she knew it was a matter of time before the Drive-in would close for good.
She pulled her jacket tightly against her body as she made her way past the Serpents to begin her shift. Some stopped their talking and noise making to stare as she passed. A few let out whistles. Her heart rate picked up. No grown man should be whistling at a 15 year old girl.
Finally, she escaped into the comforts of the chilly projection booth. Removing her jacket, she placed it onto Jughead's makeshift bed. Once the projector was turned on, the motor would warm the room.
The platinum blonde sat down with a quick fix of her ponytail. A knock sounding from the door caused the Northsider to jump back. She assumed it was Jughead getting back early. But as she pulled the door back, she was surprised to find a young Serpent standing before the threshold.
He smiled at her, extending his hand forward. "You dropped these back there." He had soft brown eyes that fit with his tanned like skin perfectly. His long black hair was sleeked back, tucked neatly behind his ears, settling nicely with the rest of his stunning features. "The money's all there. Go ahead and count it." He continued when the girl had yet to move. Clemintine now realized what the boy was talking about. He held her light blue wallet and black gloves in his hand. Her right hand rushed to her back pocket out of instinct, making contact with the empty jean material.
"Oh... Thank you." Her voice came out soft in the presence of a gang member. The horrible picture that her parents had painted of the Serpents was being washed away at the young boys actions. He seemed to be the exact opposite of the thieving criminals she was informed of.
