The Story of Emma Andrews

Fail Safe

Jughead Narration: Welcome to The Sisters of Quiet Mercy, Home for Troubled Youth where a certain Cheryl Blossom finds herself more troubled than usual with nary a thing to look forward to except for movie nights, during which time Cheryl imagined what her friend might bet doing. As Cheryl Blossom withered, her friends were squaring off on the most public of stages.

Sitting at her desk, Emma slowly began growing frustrated as she worked on the same math problem for the third time. Luckily for her, a distraction came in the form of her mother. "Hey mom."

"You seem pretty aggravated with your homework." She observed causing Emma to smile softly and nod. She knew her mother had approached Archie about attending their father's campaign announcement on Friday. From what she gathered, he accepted, but it still didn't sell Emma completely.

"Do you think he is going to really show?" She asked as her mother shrugged in response.

"I hope so. He said yes."

"Yeah, his intentions are good. Execution? Less than favorable. I'm not holding my breath."

Mary sighed, knowing Emma had seen sides of her brother she never wanted. "You know, when your dad and I first talked about how would care for you guys when we separated, my immediate concern was where would you two thrive best. Now...? I'm not sure where that is."

Emma nodded. "Trust me, I know. He's just turning into a different person. Every time I try to reach out, I find myself losing more hope in him. It feels like I'm living with the enemy." Mary nodded as Emma continued, "You heard what he said at the Student Body President debate. He endorsed Mr. Lodge. Even Betty and Jughead, and Josie and Reggie were shocked. He's a puppet."

"But he's your brother."

"Yeah, but how far do will he go to challenge that statement. I won't wait forever and I won't appease his wild views. Time's running out."

Mary nodded and stood up giving her daughter a kiss on her head. Leaving her to take her frustration on her 4th attempt of her math equation.

***

Emma had woken up late the next morning.  Noting the dozens of calls on her phone, she rushed to get ready running out of the house barely saying goodbye to her parents. Walking into the office, she watched as people swarmed the main lobby.

"Hey Denise." She said as she rounded the corner. The receptionist raised her eyebrows and huffed. "Good morning to you too, missy. Busy morning, Keller said for you to see him in his office."

She nodded and made her way to his office.

Walking in she was met to the older man's grim smile. "We found a car in a swamp late last night." He slid the photo of the blue mustang across his desk; Emma's hands began to sweat in her gloves. 

"Do they know who did this?" She asked as calmly as she could. Part of her was shaken knowing how her security and freedom depended on two Jones' men, a hot mess ex-serpent, and her righteous daughter.

"Nah, just that it was in the lake." He rounded the corner and grabbed his jacket off of the coat rack. "We are still trying to rule out foul play. It seems to be placed their recently. Might have been a dump site after a joy ride." She nodded. "So, do you want to come take a ride with me to Pop's for breakfast before heading to the scene,"

"Yeah, I'll come." She followed him out, trying to keep her composure. 

She began to internally debate: 'How did they know to look in the swamp? It couldn't have resurfaced. Will they tie it back to that guy? Did the Jones' and Coopers' know yet?"