The Serpent's Jewel •Sweet Pea• Riverdale

Chapter 6| Jingle Jangle Raid

💎Jewel💎

I sit at the kitchen table with Toni and Jughead. Who is trying to memorize the Southside Serpents laws. "A Serpent never shows cowardice. If a Serpent is killed or imprisoned, their family will be taken care of. Serpents, uh..."

"Come on. Focus. You need to take this seriously."

"Okay, I am, Toni. I swear to God I am. It's just—. First the Beast and now these laws?" He says getting up and leaning against the counter. "Why the change of heart, anyway?" I ask him. "The first day I was in school you told me to stay away."

"Yeah. Why go from conscientious objector to full-fledged member?"

"Because of something you said. My dad was the only one keeping idiots like Sweet Pea in line. Someone needs to step up...to keep an all-out war from erupting. I am taking this seriously, Toni."

"So, from the top." Finally we go to the Whyte Wyrm and the laws become a screaming match. "What is the fourth law?!"

"No Serpent is left for dead!"

"What is the fifth law?!"

"A Serpent never betrays his own!"

"What is the sixth?!"

"In unity, there is strength!" All the Serpents say, "In unity there is strength!" I stand beside Sweet Pea, his arm discretely around my waist. I listen to the rock music playing over speakers. "You know the laws. Now it's time for the next trial." He sidesteps and reveals a cage, lying curled up inside is a rattlesnake.

"Retrieve the knife," Tall Boy says and Jughead looks at him like he's crazy. "What?" Jughead looks at Toni who stood beside me. She nods asking him to trust her. Jughead approaches the cage and looks into the rattlesnake's eyes.

He opens the top of the cage and it rattles in warning. Jug quickly thrusts his hand inside and retrieves the knife. But then I see his hand. Two tiny puncture wounds and blood drips down his wrist.

Toni leads him to the table and begins to bandage his hand. "A rattlesnake, Toni. A rattlesnake bit me and drew blood."

"One that had its venom glands removed, okay? The important thing is you showed no fear, grabbed the knife, and remembered the laws." I nod and place my hand on his shoulder. He looks up at me and smiles gratefully, putting his noninjured hand over mine.

"Which means you're almost a Serpent now."

×ו××

I sit in Toni's house pizza box in front of us. "Something on your mind, Jewel?" I look up from my pizza and into her eyes. "I was just wondering with Jughead going through initiation what's the initiation for girls? Is it the same as the boys?"

Toni gets an annoyed look and sets her pizza down. "The initiation for girls is sexist and outdated. The girls, wearing nothing but lingerie, perform what they call the Traditional Serpent Dance, on a pole in front of the entire bar."

"What?" I ask and she nods. "Yeah, I tried to get it outlawed, but misogyny dies hard." She's silent for a moment and then looks at me questioningly. "Jughead isn't the only reason you're asking is it?" I take a bite of my pizza.

"I don't know what you're insinuating," I say after swallowing. "What I'm insinuating is that you want to join to be with Sweet Pea. And I don't think that's the only reason you should join."

"I don't want to join. Hanging out with you guys is enough punishment." Toni gives me a fake hurt look. "Oh, it's punishment now is it?" We laugh and continue talking. Toni looks at her watch and says she needs to go see Jughead.