monsters | riverdale

Ex-Libris

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The last thing Mickey expected to be woken up by are aggressive knocks on her apartment door. She trudges through her apartment to get to the door to seize the loud noises,. To her surprise, it's Percival with his three deputies—including Kevin.

"Why the hell are you banging on my door at seven in the morning like a mad man?"

"That's no way to speak to your mayor, Ms. Lodge." Percival smiles triumphantly.

"Excuse me?"

"He's our new mayor, Mickey," Kevin speaks up. "Don't you watch the news?"

"I would use the word 'news' lightly with Alice as the host."

"Regardless," Percival cuts back in, "we're here on behalf of Riverdale Public Library. Then he steps into her apartment without invitation. "It's closing, you might have heard."

"Why?" She rubs her eyes tiredly.

"Well, eventually, of course, it will be a hotel to service the new railway."

Mickey scoffs. "Does that make you feel good? Riverdale, a town without a public library. Nice." Her tone is condescending.

He goes over to her bookcase and examines it. "In any case, I've been going over the library's outstanding accounts tracking down books that were never returned. And according to my records, you have an outstanding copy of First Love by Ivan Turgenev. A bit tragic, no?"

She puts both of her hands on her hips, annoyed to her core. "What? I must have checked that book out in high school." It was definitely in high school because Jughead and her read it together, thinking it would be romantic.

"May I have it, please?" Percival holds out his hand.

"Are you serious? I have no idea where that thing is. Let me just pay you the fee and you can replace it with a new one."

"Well, the late fees are in the thousands by now, Ms. Lodge."

"That's ridiculous! For a book?" She shakes her head furiously, "No. No. I'll replace it instead."

He informs her, "It was a very particular edition. Any replacement would have to be that exact version, and I'm afraid it's out of print."

"Okay. If you're shutting down the library, why do you need this book?"

"It's the principle. I mean, that book is property of the town. Currently stolen property. Just replace it and all fees will be waived."

"Fine." She gives him a dirty look. "I'll look for it."

"Do. In the meantime, I'll need collateral." He surveys her bookcase again and the one with Jughead's name on it catches his eyes. "Um...how about this?" He picks out The Outcasts from the case and faces her fully. He cracks it open to see the signing from Jughead and the ultrasound picture.

"Uh, no," she tries to shut the idea down immediately. "Take something else as collateral. Take my necklace. It's worth a lot of money." She reaches for the clasp of the necklace she's wearing—a gift from her father for her college graduation.

"No. This is the item we require. It's more meaningful. Isn't that right, gentlemen?" Percival gazes at his deputies.

The deputies cock their guns in response.

"But fair is fair, Ms. Lodge. Find the book you owe the town, you get your stuff back."

Mickey stands stuck in place even after Percival and company leave. It's not until her phone rings—as if on cue—a couple minutes later that she moves. She goes to pick it up from her coffee table only to see Jughead's name and picture.