The whole town had turned out for Pickens Day, walking around playing games and eating overpriced treats like it was a day at the fair. I kept to the edges, alerting Serpents it was time. As I passed them, they abandoned their designated posts and made their way to the truck where the signs and tape were.
When people began turning their attention to the stage, I made my way back with the others. We were counting on everyone being focused on the performance so we could make our entrance.
"Is everyone ready?" Toni was asking.
"Almost," someone called out in response.
I found Sweet Pea and Fangs, pulling the remaining signs from the bed of the truck. "No tape over your mouths?" I asked.
"We were waiting for the expert," Fangs said with a grin, tossing the roll to me.
I rolled my eyes. "Who's first?"
Fangs stepped forward and I pressed the tape across his face, followed by Sweet Pea and myself. With our signs, we took our places by Toni and led the Serpents toward the stage. No one said a word as we made our way through, and Veronica was too focused on her song to notice us until we were at her feet.
"Toni? Jughead? What the hell is going on?" she asked, stepping away from the mic.
Toni raised her megaphone, addressing the crowd. "We're here representing the dead and the silenced. Pickens Day is a lie," she said. "General Pickens slaughtered the Uktena tribe, my grandfather's family. And this land, the land that we're standing on, the land that will soon give way to a new Southside, was stolen from them. And we can't bring them back, but we must honor them."
I watched the crowd carefully, none of us knew what sort of reaction we'd get. Most were confused, though I was surprised to see that Cheryl Blossom had abandoned her mother to stand with the Serpents. Then again, I had heard she was no longer proud of her ancestor. I nudged Sweet Pea, directing his attention to the side of the crowd where Hiram Lodge was quickly heading towards the stage.
"Hey, folks, hi," he stammered, taking the mic from his daughter. "Uh, I think we can all be proud to live in a Riverdale where young people can stand up for justice," he said smoothly, playing the part of the perfect businessman. "Where a young woman can defend the honor and legacy of her grandfather. And where we can celebrate the living legacy of the Uktena, who contribute to the rich tapestry that is Riverdale, that is the Southside, and that will be SoDale. So, let's hear a round of applause for that, am I right?" A few people clapped, but not many. No Southsiders were happy about SoDale, but it seemed not all Northsiders were either. Or they just didn't like Hiram Lodge which was a distinct possibility. "That's right," Lodge continued, urging more people to clap. "What do you say, people?"
I saw Jughead start forward, only to be held back by Thomas. The crowd began to disperse, huddling in small groups.
"We lost," Toni said quietly. "Just like that, it's over."
I pulled the tape off my mouth, glaring up at Lodge still standing triumphantly onstage. "No we didn't," I said, turning back to Toni. I pulled her and Sweet Pea away from the stage, closer to the remaining Serpents. "Lodge may have had the last word, but we didn't lose anything. We're the ones who got the Northsiders attention, and for probably the first time ever, they were listening to us." I saw several people nodding their heads, I wasn't the only one to have seen it. "And we're not going to let that go. We're going to walk out of here just like we came in, with our heads held high." The group cheered, turning with their signs held proudly, continuing the protest for a few minutes more.
"Thank you," Toni said, throwing her arms around me. "That was amazing."
Fangs stood behind her, smiling. "Looks like you saved the day. Come on, let's get out of here."
"You really are amazing," Sweet Pea said, pulling me closer to him as we walked. "You not only helped organize all of this, but you ended up saving it when even Toni gave up."
"It's weird though," I said. "Usually Toni's the optimistic one around here."
Sweet Pea laughed. "Maybe she's rubbing off on you." We placed our signs in the bed of the truck and made our way to Sweet Pea's bike. "You hungry?" asked.
I shook my head. "Can we go home? It's getting cold out here."
"Home it is, then," Sweet Pea said as I wrapped my arms around him.
The next morning we were woken up by someone banging on the door. "Tell Fangs it's too early for us to be awake. It's the weekend," I groaned into the pillow.
"Fangs is the reason whoever it is stopped banging," Sweet Pea said, pulling on a pair of sweatpants. "Remember? He slept on the couch last night." I followed him out a few minutes later, standing between the two boys facing Sheriff Keller.
"Considering your little protest yesterday, it does make sense that a Serpent would be behind this," Keller said.
"Behind what?" I asked.
"Someone cut the head off the statue of General Pickens last night," Fangs said.
"And we're being accused of doing it," Sweet Pea growled.
"No one's accusing anyone," Keller said. "I'm just trying to cover all my bases, find out if anyone has any information."
"We had nothing to do with that statue," I snapped. "And that head isn't exactly trophy material."
"If you do happen to come across the head, you know how to contact me," Keller said, letting himself out.
"We know the three of us are clear," Fangs said, "but what about anyone else? You think Jones was behind it?"
I shook my head. "No, it's a plan he'd come up with, but he wouldn't go through with it."
"I'm gonna head home," Fangs said.
Sweet Pea sighed. "I'll make you some coffee."
I sat at the table, laying my head on my arms. "They should add a statue of a horse," I said after a few minutes.
"What?" I looked over at Sweet Pea, a confused look on his face.
"It's already a headless statue, so why not add a horse and say it's now the Headless Horseman? Easy fix."
Sweet Pea set the mugs on the table with a laugh. "You have some of the most random thoughts," he said.
I smiled at him. "You love it though."
"I really do," he replied, leaning over to kiss me. We drank our coffee in silence before going out for the day. Unfortunately, neither of us knew that the coming week was about to bring more bad news.
Author's Note: Sorry for the short chapter, this just happened to be a good breaking point.
On a side note, Happy Halloween!