Riverdale - Beneath The Town (English Version)

Chapter 11: To Riverdale and Back Again

People like to say that the death of Jason Blossomchanged everything at Riverdale High. But certain things, certain traditions,never change. Take homecoming, for instance. Though Jason's jersey had beenretired, the Riverdale Bulldogs would still be playing their archrivals, theBaxter High Ravens, with the River Vixens cheering them on. As in previousyears, graduates from days of Riverdale's past will come to town to relivetheir more youthful, more carefree days. Or... to make up for lost time.

Betty texted me at break and said that I should come to the school paper and Veronica just arrived at the room at the same time. "Oh, finally. Close that door", Mrs. Hayle greeted us in her usual commanding tone and Veronica and I went to her and Betty. "Ladies, I need you to look around the room. Whoever is not in this room is on the table as a possible murder suspect", she said and I exchanged a gaze with my friends. "Let's talk about your father", she then turned to Veronica and she replied that he had an epic grudge against the Blossoms. "So, yes, it's totally within the realm of possibility that he hired someone from jail to kill Jason. Maybe Jughead's dad", Vroni added with an apologetic look in my direction. "My dad paid Jughead's dad to trash the drive - In. Maybe he paid him to-", she wanted to say, but Darleen Hayle interrupted her. "Commit murder", she finished the sentence. "And for all we know, that gay greaser serpent is an accomplice", she continued, and I asked how she knew about Joaquin. "I saw him and F.P. Jones talking at Archie Andrews' house and I heard that the sheriff's son is his friend. It looked like they were conspiring", she explained, and we looked at her skeptical and Betty got involved. "Conspiring about what?", she suspiciously asked and Mrs. Hayle looked directly at me. "That's what I need you to find out, either through Jughead or F.P. directly; without raising suspicion, of course. Which is why I have prepared a seemingly innocuous list of questions", Polly's mom told us and went to the desk where she had a piece of paper in front of her and I looked at her as if she had gone crazy. She must be kidding! She asked me to interrogate my boyfriend and his dad?! "Mrs Hayle, I directly asked Jughead if he thought his father had anything to do with Jason's murder and he denied it. Besides, I was there and I don't think F.P. Jones is capable of murder and I believe Jughead", I clarified in a determined tone of voice and Darleen Hayle looked at me from across the desk. "Scarlett, you're too close to this", she said, which I expected, but I didn't let her get away that easily. "I will certainly not ask Jughead or his father any of these questions or abuse his trust by even thinking that F.P. might be the killer", I stated and then turned my back on her to leave the room. "Come on, guys", I prompted my friends and they followed me and left Mrs. Hayle behind. At recess, I was sitting at one of the tables with my friends when Cheryl joined us. "Sorry to interrupt, but I have an announcement to make. One that tangentially involves you, Scarlett. I'm bringing Polly to the dance as my date, and we're campaigning as co – queens of Homecoming Court", she explained, and I asked why Polly should be there. "Because, Harley Quinn, by all rights, it should've been Polly and Jason on that stage", she said with a side blow to the party at the weekend. "This is the next best thing. So, don't forget to vote; and I'll see everyonel at my coronation", Cheryl said goodbye, leaving us alone again. "Um Betty, about the homecoming dance, can I play a couple songs? I told my mom that-", Archie turned to my best friend, who was involved in planning the ball. "Wow, you don't want me to?", he remarked, judging by her face, and Betty rowed back apologetically. "No no, it's not that, Arch. It's just, um... this dance needs to be... fun and your songs, as amazing as they are-", she tried to explain when Jughead interrupted her. "They make you wanna slit your wrists", Jug put it in a nutshell, and I had to hold back so as not to laugh. "In a good way", he therefore added in a conciliatory tone and with a hint of a smile, and Veronica tried to explain it to Archie differently. "In an amazing way", she said, then looked at my best friend. "But no need to fret, Betty; 'cause Archie asked me to sing with him and we're thinking about doing some upbeat covers", she then explained, and Betty looked from her to Archie, who looked back at her in a somewhat confused way. "We are?", he just said and Veronica turned to him and said: "Aren't we?" Archie finally relented and said they should talk about it again. At that moment, Betty got a message and Veronica also noticed that her friend was smilingly looking at her cell phone display and she exchanged a look with me. "Who is it?", she asked Betty, who now looked up at her and smiled somewhat embarrassed, when she told her it was Trev Brown. "We're, um, well we have...", my best friend was groping for the right words and I helped her and finished the sentence for her. "You've got something going on", I explained with a grin and our friends looked surprised from me to Betty. "Oh, I'm happy for you, B", Veronica honestly said with a smile and Archie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's really great, Betty", he said and our friend thanked them with a smile and looked back at her phone. "Well, I'll be off", she said goodbye and Veronica gave me a tense look which I returned with a smile and we watched her disappear into the school building. A little later, I was sitting in the room of the school paper, writing an article, when Polly called me. "Hi, you finally called. Why are you running to be homecoming co – queen with Cheryl?", I wanted to know, and she replied that she did it to distract them. "Did you find out anything?", I asked and she denied it. "Not yet, but they're hiding things", she added and I reminded her of our agreement. "If you haven't found anything by homecoming, that's it", I told her again in conscience and she now replied that all she had to do was to get into their bedroom. "They protect it obsessively", she said and I said that she shouldn't put herself in danger. "Scarlett, I gotta go; I'm sorry", she said, and ended the conversation. I turned back to my article when the door opened and Mrs. Hayle came in. "I've already told you that I won't ask Jughead and F.P. your questions", I sighed as I continued to look at the screen of my laptop. "Oh, I'm not here for your boyfriend or his criminal father, Scarlett", Polly's mom however just replied, and now I looked at her curiously and biding over the edge of the screen. "I've been thinking and I think maybe I should finally bury the hatchet with Richard Parks", she said and I wondered where she was going with this. "Since the thing with Polly... well, I thought we were a family now, in a way. And I would like to invite you and your adoptive father to dinner tomorrow", she explained and I looked at Mrs. Hayle in disbelief. I never expected that and I was more than surprised about this invitation. "Do you really mean it?" I looked at her somewhat suspiciously and Darleen Hayle returned my direct gaze and nodded sincerely. "Yes. You wanted to help me keep Polly and I think it's a good idea if Richard and I... talk about everything and start all over again", she said and I took a deep breath and thought about it. Maybe this invitation for dinner was just the opportunity we needed to make it clear to Mrs. Hayle that my dad had no intention and never had intended to take Polly away from her, as Darleen Hayle had claimed when we first met at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. "Okay, I'll talk to my dad and ask him, but I can't guarantee that he'll accept the invitation", I finally agreed and Mrs. Hayle even smiled a little. "Just let me know about his choice", she just replied and with these words, she left the room and I still looked at her a bit perplexed.