Riverdale - Beneath The Town (English Version)

Chapter 3: Body Double

Guilt, innocence; good, evil; life, death. As the shadows around Riverdale deepened, the lines that seperated these polar opposites blurred and distorted. I'm guilty, Cheryl said in biology class. But of what?

After Cheryl was interrogated, her parents had picked her up, and of course everyone in school talked about it the next day. I was just sitting in the lounge with Betty, Veronica, Archie and Kevin, and it turned out that of course Cheryl was not Jason's killer, but had lied about the events of July 4th, as Kevin told us. "So are you a suspect now?", Veronica asked Kevin, and he replied that we all were, including him. "Not me, girl. I don't know these people", Veronica clarified with a faint smile and Kevin looked at Betty and me. "Guys, should we maybe rebinge Making A Murderer on Netflix tonight?", he asked with a grin and Veronica replied that she had a date tonight. "You do?", Archie followed up and didn't sound too enthusiastic. "Which Riverdale hottie made the cut?", Kevin wanted to know, and before Veronica answered, Chuck Clayton came through the door and spotted her while walking past. "Hey VeLo, I'll swing by the Pembrooke to pick you up at eight?", he said and she replied smiling that she would be waiting. "Cool", Chuck just said and was out the door again the next moment. "You're going on a date with Chuck?!", Kevin noted perplexed and Veronica pulled up her shoulders and smiled innocently. "Chuck isn't exactly picky, he has already dated half of Riverdale High", I just commented, and Betty agreed with me that he was kind of a player. "Who cares? He's the hottest of hot, and he's the varsity football coach's son! In Riverdale, that's... like dating a Kennedy", Kevin explained and Veronica just raised an eyebrow with an interested smile. "Okay, so what about you; Betty, Scar, Archie?", Kev then turned to us and Archie explained that he had football training. "Even though the temptation is great and procrastination would be convenient...I'm working with Betty on the school paper today, sorry", I said regretfully and Betty said we would definitely make good for it. In the school paper room, Betty and I were waiting for Jughead to come to the meeting at any moment. After we waited a few minutes, he finally appeared casually leaning against the door frame as if he wasn't quite ready to enter. "If print journalism is dead, what am I doing here?", he asked and finally came into the room. "The Blue And Gold  isn't dead, Juggie", Betty contradicted and I agreed with her. "She's just taking a well-deserved nap... which takes a little longer, but that's not what this is all about", I continued as Betty gave me a sharp look. "You're writing a novel about Jason's murder, aren't you?" I finally got to the point and Jughead looked around the unlit room and pulled an old magnifying glass from a pencil jar on one of the tables. "I am", he just replied, looking directly at me. He then held the magnifying glass up to take a quick look and it looked as if he was trying to ward off a spell. "Riverdale's very own In Cold Blood", he added, and Betty stepped in. "Which started out as a series of articles. I'm hoping you'll come write for the Blue And Gold", she said, but Jughead replied that he didn't think the school paper was the right fit for his voice. "Juggie, Jason's death changed Riverdale. People don't  wanna admit it, but it's true; we all feel it. Nothing this bad was ever supposed to happen here, but it did. We wanna know why", Betty explained and he looked from her to me and then asked if he would get complete freedom. "Yes... I'll help; and edit; and suggest, but it's your story, it's your voice", she replied and Jughead looked at her somewhat skeptically. "Doesn't sound like complete freedom", he said somewhat exaggeratedly and I couldn't suppress a grin. "I know what you mean, but believe me, it sounds worse than it is. If you consistently resist the suggested improvements, you'll get through well. Betty doesn't even try to change anything I write anymore", I told him with a grin and reaped an angry sideways glance from her. "But there are many advantages of not having a fixed schedule. You don't necessarily have to write something every week and that's why you don't have to invent something and then report on Wuffie, the new dog in the city council or something similarly soporific", I continued to talk and Jug listened attentively while Betty seemed less than enthusiastic about my lecture. "What I want to say is, you can write how and about whatever you like", I finally ended and Betty took a deep breath. "Yeah, basically; more or less", she agreed with me, but emphasized the last word and looked at me sharply. "Okay, I'm in", Jug finally replied with a little smile and Betty and I exchanged a delighted look. "Okay, great. In that case, I have your first assignment. There's one  person who was at the river on July 4th that no one's talking about", Betty continued in a mysterious tone and Jug nodded knowingly. "Dilton Doiley and his scouts", he guessed and Betty replied: "Exactly." Jughead looked from her to me and made the nose gesture like in an old detective movie before turning around and walking to the door without another word but with a little smile. "That went quite well", I said with a smile to Betty, who agreed with me happily.