New Beginnings

On the Road Again

Betty excitedly slams her locker door shut, approaching Archie, Jughead and Veronica with a mischievous look crossing her face.

"Ugh oh." Archie groaned, acknowledging the smirk. "What are you up to now?"

"That new arcade opened up on the Southside and I want first dibs on the new PacMan game." She excitedly reveals, folding her arms and leaning against the free locker. "Let's cut gym and go!"

"I'm in!" Veronica agrees, high fiving Betty before joining her side.

"I never miss an opportunity to cut PE-" Jughead began as he adjusted his bag over his shoulder. "But arcades really aren't my thing. I'm more of a comfort gamer." He adds smugly.

In the midst of their discussion on whether to skip class or not, their attention was suddenly drawn to a group of students whispering and gossiping and in deep discussion as they rushed down the hallway and around the corner by the masses.

If past experience was anything to go by, they were either scoping out a fight, a graffitied locker or a dead or passed out body.

Veronica's face beamed, her lips curling into a weirdly excited smile as she knew what was likely going on. "You think there's a fight?!"

The four teens followed the many students making their way around the corner, to what seemed to be the computer lab, coming face to face with a full on crime scene and constant chatter and flashes as the students stood in the hall took photos, gasping in disbelief.

"What the hell's going on?" Betty questioned as pure and utter confusion crossed her face.

"You didn't hear?" Cheryl mentioned rhetorically when she and Toni finally approached the crowd and stood behind them.

"Someone stole the new laptops last night." Toni interrupted with a mischievous smirk, finding the whole situation somewhat hilarious. "They think it was during the fake drill last night."

"Everybody make their way to their classes, now!" Principal Weatherbee bellowed as he removed the yellow tape from the door to get by. "There's nothing to see here." He returned back to room but joy before slamming the door to the computer lab, leaving the students befuddled and looking in awe.

Of course, not one of the students took heed of his order, and they remained in the hallway, continuing with their conversations, still being nosy and attempting to get the lowdown on this grand theft.

"I don't know why we're all pretending we don't already know what happened." Reggie announced loudly, holding the attention of the students in the hallway as they turned to face him.

"Oh please share, great philosopher Mantle." Jughead coaxed ironically.

"Something you wanna share with the class Betty?" Reggie smugly speculated as he leaned up against the near by locker, cockily folding his arms. "We all know you're light on your fingers."

Betty suddenly felt all eyes on her, watching nervously, her eyes shifting back and forth between the students on her left and right and just generally surrounding her in the hall.

She gulped, her mouth and lips priming in embarrassment as she feels herself become shrouded with shame. It was very rare that she was rendered speechless, she could normally mouth off with anybody and slay them with her vicious words in seconds flat, but this situation in particular just wasn't one of those moments.

She was well aware of her reputation and how people viewed her and her family, she knew she had a penchant for stealing and stirring up trouble, she hated authority and being told what to do, just like her mother and sister, it was in her genes, heck her mother grew up stealing and flipping the bird towards authority, but they all knew their limits. They did what they did for survival and to get by, her mothers only issue was the two of them being caught.