Riverdale presents: The Midnight Club (English version)

Episode 2

Jughead had arranged to meet us at 5:00 pm. He absolutely had to talk to us about something really important, at least so it seemed from the peremptory tone with which he had summoned us. I went to the restaurant half an hour earlier, just to make sure everything was fine, from food to drinks, to heating. Reginald 'Reggie' Mantle followed suit.

Since I had acquired Pop's and decided to open the adjoining room, he had offered to help me with the management of the bar. I had accepted with enthusiasm, especially because Reggie was a trusted man and I was sure that he would administer everything with seriousness and attention.

The creaking of the wheels on the pavement warned me that Archie had just parked his car in the parking lot behind the diner. I was relieved of it, in a sense.

It always made me a little embarrassed to be alone with Reggie, especially since I knew that Archie was slightly jealous. He would have denied it until his death, he would never have admitted such weakness; however, it was clear the way in which the two undisputed leaders - albeit for different reasons - of the school football team studied good-naturedly whenever someone presented an opportunity to excel.

And one aspect that Reggie was particularly gifted with, both in the field and in life, was surely that of easily identifying the adversary's weaknesses and striking him right there, in a direct and precise way. So I was convinced that if he had the slightest suspicion that Archie could have seen him as a rival in love, he would not have spared me - his friend and employer - even to tease his teammate.

Archie entered the room with his dazzling smile on his face and hugged me, kissing me.

<<I missed you, Archiekins. >>, I told him after having hardly separated my lips from his.

For me, there were nothing and nobody else when he was there. If only he could read in my mind and in my heart, he would realize that there was no reason to be jealous. For me, there was only him. He was my alpha male. No one else could have given me the same kind of love and protection and with the same intensity.

I brought him a soda and sat down at a table, while Reggie, behind the counter, finished drying the last glasses out of the bar's dishwasher.

In the meantime, Josie McCoy - who was working a few nights a week as a resident singer in the club, and Kevin Keller, the son of the Riverdale sheriff, - also joined us. As well as Cheryl Blossom with her partner Toni Topaz, one of the Jug gang members: the Serpents.

Jughead and Betty, finally, made their triumphal entry like a king and a queen, and we, as subjects, hung on their lips. What should they tell us? Why that encounter so serious, so as to be almost formal? They had discovered something important during one of their investigations for 'The Blue and the Gold'? But why then did they not immediately inform me and Archie that we would usually help them in their investigations, without bothering the whole gang?

<<Guys, there is something important that you should be aware of. >> Betty said in a deep tone.

Betty Cooper. The most selfless and helpful person I have ever known, but also the most stubborn. The one that would not stop at anything to do justice.

Betty Cooper. The first person I met in Riverdale just after my move from New York.

Betty Cooper. My best friend.

Betty told us about the discovery of the engravings with the initials and then passed the word to Jughead. When the latter finished speaking, we all remained silent. He and Betty stood there, on their toes, waiting for our reactions. But such news was difficult to process on the spot. Archie put an arm around my shoulder protectively. Reggie put down the glass in his hand and rested his elbows on the counter. Cheryl looked down, snorting and pulling a lock of her thick red hair in front of her eyes and Josie and Kevin sipped the soda in front of them, more out of disengagement than by thirst. Toni was the only one who was not directly affected by the news and was the first to break the ice.

<<The Midnight Club?>> she began with a questioning tone. << What is a sort of cult, a secret society, or what? >>

<<That we would like to try to discover ... with your help. >> Betty reply her, pausing for a few seconds her gaze on each of us in search of approval. Jughead, next to her, nodded without a word.

<<What should we do? >> Archie asked, assuming that we all agreed to cooperate in that kind of investigation, given the people involved.

<<For the time being we should look for any evidence linking the incisions found by Betty in the detention room with our parents and consequently with this phantom 'The Midnight Club'." Jughead replied. <<If they have never talked about it, there must be a valid reason and it will certainly not be a piece of cake to find something concrete. We have to move discreetly. >> he continued.

<I'm in. >> I stated in a serious and decisive way, getting up from my chair. << But we must all commit ourselves to the end. No changes in progress. So if you want to call out, do it now. >> I said with the grip of those who do not admit replies.

<<I'm in, too. >> They added, one after another, all the others. They stood up, involuntarily emulating my movement and signing in a sense the official nature of that sort of investigation.

Betty and Jughead smiled, with satisfaction.

The hunt for 'The Midnight Club', whatever it was, had just begun.

Veronica Lodge