Faithfully

67

It was almost election time and Braxton was still divided amongst her friends. Betty refused to speak with Veroinca. Jughead and Archie still had their issues after Archie cut the chains at Southside.

The Serpents all gathered in the classroom once again per Jugheads request. As they sat around waiting for him to get there, the schools secretary came over the intercom. "Antoinette Topaz to the Principal's office." She said, "Antoinette Topaz, please report to the Principal's office." Braxton looked over to her and asked, "What did you do?" As she laughed. Toni shrugged her shoulders and walked out of the classroom.

A few short minutes later Jughead came walking in with Alice and Betty following being him. Sweet Pea rolled his eyes and was about to say something smart, but Braxton reached over to grab his arm which told him she didn't approve of what ever it was.

Alice stood before everyone with her hands folded in front of her. "I asked Jughead to thank you for me, but I reconsidered, because I wanted to do it myself. So, thank you for what you did. I also wanted you to hear it directly from me that I am done attacking and disavowing the Southside." Braxton looked up at Sweet Pea who was sharing a look with Fangs. "It's where I'm from, and I should be proud of that. And from now on, I will be. And like my daughter, I will fight tooth and nail for it."

No one said anything. How could they trust someone who for the last 20 years had it out for their people. But at the same time, people can change, right?

The door to the classroom opened and Toni appeared. "Brax." She called as she motioned for her to meet her in the hall. Braxton was more than happy to leave the awkward silence that filled the air. She quickly stood and followed after Toni.

"What's up?" She asked her.

"Nana Rose called for me. We got disconnected before she could say too much beyond the fact that Cheryl was nearby and that she was with the Sisters." She replied.

"The Sisters? What Sisters?"

"I don't know. Maybe there's a re-education camp called the Sisters."

"Well, there's the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, but that's more like an orphanage. I don't think they do gay conversion there."

"Well, who would know for sure?"

Braxton looked at her not sure. As she did she saw Kevin walking down the hallway. "Oh, my God, of course! Kevin!" She called and quickly walked towards him.

"Yeah?" He asked confused.

"If someone were to send their child for gay conversion, would they send them to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy?"

"Yes, absolutely. It's one of the few places in the country that still does conversion therapy. Off the books, of course."

"What the hell decade is this?" Toni sighed.

"During Prohibition, the Sisters ran a distillery in the basement. They use to smuggle booze out to Sweetwater River via a tunnel that still exists today." Kevin informed them.

"Wait, a tunnel we could use to get to Cheryl?"

"Potentially. Gay boys in the program use it to sneak out, to hook-up with perfectly nice young men, like myself, in Fox Forest."

Braxton let out a laugh, it was clear that Kevin is ashamed of his past with Fox Forest. "Can you lead us to this secret gay hook-up tunnel?" Braxton asked.

"I can probably find it. But we should go at night."

"We need to do it tonight." Toni told them. "She doesn't need to be in there any longer than she already has."