Riverdale - Beneath The Town (English Version)

Chapter 10: The Lost Weekend

Weekdays from 8:25 a.m. to 3:01 p.m., we adhere to a strict regimen, everything in our lives controlled. But then something like the murder of Jason Blossom happens and you realize there is no such thing as control. There is only chaos. Nevertheless, some of us strive to impose and maintain order in what is, fundamentally, an orderless world. A fact which would very soon be confirmed in ways none of us could have foreseen.

At break, I sat with Kevin, Betty, Veronica and Archie in the lounge and Kevin made a kind of test in form of an online quiz with each of us. "So Scarlett, would you say you're more of a lover or a fighter?", he asked me and I shrugged my shoulders and said that it depended on the situation. "All right, let's find out", my mate said and started to ask me the quiz questions, which were mainly about how you would react in certain situations. In the end, he called my score: "52% Lover and 48% Fighter, you're both in roughly equal shares." I tilted my head a little bit and then smiled, because I had expected something like that. Finally, Kevin was on his way to his next class and I changed a look with Archie and Betty, because we still had to tell our friend what Archie had found out at the banquet. Betty and Archie explained to Veronica that Clifford Blossom was apparently responsible for her father being in prison. She had taken the news quite well, but asked the question that was on all our minds: How could Clifford Blossom have anything to do with it? No one knew the answer, but at the moment, there were other things I was more concerned about anyway. I was about to leave for history class when Archie followed me in the hallway and walked beside me for a while. "Hey, you may or may not know this; but... it's Jughead's birthday", he told me and I looked at him in surprise. "What, today? And he didn't say anything?!", I replied surprised, but Archie explained that it was tomorrow. "He doesn't like making a big deal out of it. Every year he goes to a double feature at the Bijou. It's like this tradition. The last few years, I've been his movie buddy, but now that he has a girlfriend...", he said and I looked at him and explained that I liked going to the cinema with him, but Archie should be there, too. "I don't wanna be a third wheel", he said, shaking his head, and I looked at him with a smile. "We're not so bad after all", I replied with a grin and lightly punched him in the arm. "I'll see you later, Scar", he finally said goodbye and I thought about what I should do now. I wasn't planning anything big for Jug's birthday, but I thought it would be a good idea to invite his dad, and at break, I called F.P. Jones. "Yeah, this is Jones", he answered and I said: "Hello, Mr. Jones. This is Scarlett Fry, Jugheads-" But he interrupted me and finished my sentence himself. "Girlfriend; yeah, I remember", he explained, and I asked him if he wanted to go to the cinema on Jughead's birthday and have something to eat afterwards with us. "Does he know you're calling me?", F.P. wanted to know and I explained that it was more like a surprise. "Man, there's one thing that Jughead likes less than surprises, and that's his birthday. Kid's never even had a party, never wanted one", Jug's dad said, and then went on to say that the best gift he could give was to stay away. "But I appreciate the call, Scarlett", he finally said and ended the conversation. A little frustrated, I looked at my cell phone and thought about what I should do now. At lunch break, I sat down with my friends and told them about my phone call with Jug's father. "He's never had a birthday party before? Let's have one for him", Veronica immediately said, but Archie looked at her seriously and shook his head. "Mmm, no", he just said while eating his baguette. "Come on, that's a fantastic idea", Veronica said enthusiastically and I waited to see what Archie had to say about it. "Jughead doesn't like his birthday", he declared, and Kevin stepped in. "Everybody says that, nobody means it", he interjected, but Archie was adamant. "Jughead is a lone wolf", he tried to explain, and I pondered what I should do. "Okay, ignoring the negativity. Scar, you know me; any excuse to wear a cute party dress", Veronica started and I made an indifferent head movement, but gave her a smile. "Okay, so I'm thinking a quaint gathering; inner circle only", she explained and turned to me. "Oh, my God", Kevin said and we followed his gaze into the cafeteria hallway. "Don't turn around", Kev said, but it was already too late and we saw Chuck Clayton. My pulse quickened and I looked at Betty, who was sitting next to me and staring at Chuck as well. "Holy Chuck, I think his lats got bigger", Kevin noticed as he walked past our table and our friend turned back to us. "Not that I care, he's evil incarnate", he continued, and Archie asked why Chuck was back. "He got suspended, not expelled. Even though he should have been drawn and quartered", Veronica explained, while my best friend got up and went to the table where Ethel was sitting and where Chuck was now sitting, too. I followed her and when we arrived at Ethel's table, Betty demanded that he leave her alone. "Easy. Look, I only came over here to apologize", he replied with a slight grin and I could tell Betty would like to punch him in the face as much as I did. Pictures of that night came back to my mind and especially the black wig of my best friend just wouldn't leave hold on me. "You don't have go to Dark Betty on me", Chuck kept talking, and now Betty angrily stroke on the table. "I'm not going-", she started, almost screaming, before she noticed it and lowered her voice. "I'm not going dark anything", she kept talking at a normal volume and then turned to Ethel. "Ethel, is Chuck bothering you?", she wanted to know, but Ethel negated it. "No, guys, you can relax. It's fine", she replied, and Chuck meddled again. "Yeah, Betty, we're fine", he said provocatively, stressing every word. "Now, the real question is, are you?" I saw how tense my best friend was and gave Chuck a nasty look. "Just shut up, Chuck", I said and then went back with Betty. "What was he doing? Accosting her?", Veronica asked and Betty replied that he apologized to her. "Oh, I'm so sure. Chuck Clayton doesn't have a contrite bone in his muscle-bound body", Vroni explained, and my best friend changed the subject and returned to Jughead's surprise party. "So Scarlett, what do you think? Should there be a surprise party?", she then turned to me and I thought about it for a second. "I think it would be okay if we kept it really small; like you said, just the inner circle", I answered, turnning to Veronica and then I said to Archie: "If he hates his birthday, maybe we can change it this year." Archie thought about it for a moment, then put his head back and finally agreed. "Screw it; I'm with Scar. My dad's awway, we can do it at my house. We could all use a good time", he said, and Veronica nodded in agreement. "Now you're talking my language", she said, and Archie added that it was going to be epic, and I noticed his look at Valerie, who had dumped him yesterday. After school, I went to the site where the Twilight Drive - In used to be and where Jug's father worked for Fred Andrews. I saw him getting into the trailer and then I knocked on the door before I entered. "Hello, Mr Jones", I said with a smile and closed the door behind me. "I really don't want to ambush you", I started and he nodded and took off his gloves. "For Jug's birthday, Archie and I are inviting some of his friends over to Archie's place. And I think it would mean a lot to Jughead if you came too", I explained and he looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Man, you don't quit, do you?", he said and I slightly shrugged my shoulders. "Not really", I confirmed with a slight smile and he took a step towards me. "This is supposed to be something special; and if you were there it would be special", I kept talking and he mustered me and finally nodded in agreement with a small smile.