"And for the guys who beat on me?"
✿
Mickey is determined to have a good day. She woke up, decided to make her best blueberry pancakes for her family, and a mimosa for her mother.
It seems her mother is not in the same spirit when she sits down at the table with a grim expression. "The lawyers are coming over this week to take our statements for your Dad's hearing." She rubs her palms together nervously. "We're all gonna have to testify on your father's behalf."
"What if they ask about what he did? Embezzling all that money?" Veronica walks into their dining room.
Mickey huffs. "It's always something. Are we going to have to lie?"
"Well," Hermione sighs, "we might have to...shade the truth a bit, girls." She's downplaying things, but Mickey knows there's more on her mind than testifying. "I have just made a mess of things. Your father found out about Fred and me."
Mickey and Veronica take a seat on each side of her.
"Someone went to him before I got a chance to say anything."
"How'd he react?" Mickey questions.
Hermione purses her lips together, ignoring the question. "On top of that, the Blossoms are still after the drive-in land, and Fred still doesn't know that we own it."
"Maybe it's time you tell Mr. Andrews the truth," Veronica suggests.
"Yeah," Mickey agrees. "He's a good man. He doesn't deserve to be left in the dark."
"And risk having him walk off the project?" Hermione shakes her head. "We've bet everything we have on the SoDale construction."
Veronica warns, "Mom, this is a small, gossipy town."
Mickey picks her bag off the floor and stands up, "Tell Fred before someone else does, like they did with you and Dad."
Veronica wraps a couple pancakes in a napkin and grabs her bag as well. "Come on before we're late for school." She goes ahead to the elevator.
Hermione grabs Mickey's wrist before she follows Veronica. "Sweetie, I need to tell you something."
Mickey rolls her eyes, "There's more? What else could possibly be wrong?"
She takes a deep breathe and exhales slowly. "Your Dad...could've been responsible for the damage done to Fred's construction site."
"And for the guys who beat on me?" It all starts making sense for Mickey. "Bye, Mom." She can't look at her any longer.
✿
"This is the most depressing day ever," Mickey plops down next to Kevin in the student lounge.
"That bad?"
"Worse than the time I snapped on Nicole Kidman for stealing my hot chocolate."
Kevin's chokes. "You met Nicole Kidman? Better yet, you screamed at her?"
She says, "Good thing I smoothed that over or social events we both attended would've been awkward. We use to be members at the same country club."
"Mickey and Kevin will be there!" Veronica tells Ethel from a few feet away, both Kevin and Mickey overhearing.
Ethel looks down. Earlier today, she read a poem in front of the entire class that that was so sad, but so authentic. It exposed her vulnerability and feelings.
When Veronica leaves the lounge, Kevin and Mickey chase after her "So, what was that about?"
She tells them, "Ethel's poem was a cry for help if I ever heard one, the likes of which I vowed never to ignore, not after...—"
"Uh-oh. Do we need to sit down?" Kevin gestures to the bench in the hallway.
Mickey knows exactly what Veronica's going to bring up. It has always shaken Veronica up and it's never stopped bothering her."
"Okay, so, last year at Spence, my best friend Katy and I kind of terrorized this girl, Paige. One time, we made her drink gutter water." Veronica cringes.
"Ew! Why?" Kevin scrunches up his nose.
"Because she was there," Mickey remarks.
Veronica frowns. "Because she was a misfit and—"
"And they were class-A brutal bitches," Mickey finishes.
Kevin looks at Mickey, "And you weren't?"
"I was a different kind of bitch in New York," she states with a shrug. "Ronnie was just mean."
"Anyway," Veronica tries to finish, "by December, Paige couldn't take it anymore."
Kevin gasps, "Oh, my God, did you drive her to suicide?"
"What?" Veronica shakes her head, "No. But she did transfer schools. And went into therapy."
"What does this have to do with Ethel?" Mickey raises an eyebrow. "You didn't terrorize her."
"If I can make Ethel Muggs' life a little better, even for one afternoon, I'm going to do it."
The bell rings and the the three of them head back to the lounge to get the good seats for the rest of their friends.
Jughead's the last one to arrive. He sits on the arm of Betty's chair just as Archie begins explaining his Blossom run-in.
"Just in time. We're celebrating." Veronica sticks a piece of watermelon into her mouth.
Kevin says, "Archie was just telling us how he's going to some super-exclusive music program this summer."
"Maybe," Archie corrects. "If it happens, though, it would be huge for me."
"Do you have to audition for it?" Jughead questions.
"Well, not exactly. Mrs. Blossom came by earlier and said she'd put a good word in for me."
Kevin clasps his hands together proudly, "Amazing."
At the same time, Veronica says, "Terrifying."
"Weird," Mickey says with them.
Jughead isn't convinced that this is a good thing. "What's she getting out of it?"
"I told her I'd take Cheryl to their family's tree-tapping thing," Archie says as if it isn't a strange exchange. "I already talked to Valerie, and she's cool with it."
"That girl is lying through her teeth," Mickey mutters under her breath.
"Cool with you being a gigolo now?" Jughead retorts.
Bitterly, Archie tells his best friend, "I'm doing someone a favor for my music, Jughead. I need to make connections outside of Riverdale."
"That's the way of the world," Veronica says. "One time Mickey wanted this guy to drop out of an election, so she planted—"
"They don't need to know that," Mickey cuts her off.
Kevin turns his head and looks at her with a playful grin, "I'm learning a lot about you today."
She smacks his knee.
"Okay, the point is, she became the President at our school and got some serious connections from it that can help her in the real world. No matter how you get them, it's all about connections." Veronica adds, "But Jughead's right. These kinds of favors always come with a price tag. Betty, back me up here."
They all look at Betty. Instead of backing up Veronica, Betty says, "I think it's a great idea."
"Thank you, Betty," Archie smiles.
She smiles, "Yeah, and while you're there, would you talk to Polly for me? I just want to make sure she's okay."
"Definitely," Archie nods. "And don't worry, Ronnie, I can take care of myself."
She waves her her fork in front of his face, "Famous last words, Archiekins."
✿
Mickey walks into her home later that night after a study session at the library. She's surprised to see Betty, Ethel and Kevin alone in her dining room. "Uh, hi? Where's my Mom and Vee?"
Betty points in the direction of the kitchen.
Mickey walks in as her mother and sister are whisper-shouting at each other. "What's going on?"
"Where have you been? You missed dinner," Hermione chides.
Veronica rolls her eyes, "Ethel's family is having money problems and guess whose fault it is."
Mickey sees the guilt and shame on her mother's face. "Our rotten father."
Hermione states, "When your dad was arrested, the Muggs probably lost all their money because they invested with your father. Possibly everything."
"Mom, they're being kicked out of their house, their home!" Veronica exclaims upsettingly.
"Well, from what I've been told, the Muggs family is going to testify against your father," Hermione says, sounding offended.
"They should," Veronica hisses. "How many, Mom? How many families like Ethel's?"
She huffs. "It's the risk of doing business with your father."
Veronica crosses her arms over her chest, "Could Mr. Andrews lose everything, for doing business with you and Dad?"
"I'm not sure," she admits.
"Mom!" Mickey exclaims. "How could you do this to Fred?! And to Archie? He's my friend!"
"My God," Veronica walks back into the dining room.
"We'll talk about this later," Hermione says before trailing behind Veronica back into the dining room.
✿
Later that night, Veronica walks into her sister's face with a long face. The house has been quiet ever since the guests left. "Since Daddy is the reason Ethel's family is in this mess, I thought maybe we could give her some stuff. Anything you don't want anymore."
"All the stuff I don't wear or use anymore is on the left side, the stuff that wasn't taken for evidence. What's left."
Veronica enters the closet and looks through some of the items, catching a pattern for each. "Mickey, most of this stuff is what Dad bought you."
Mickey shrugs. "Haven't you learned anything from Ethel? Dad ruined lives, including ours. He gave us this stuff to buy us off, buy our relationships with him. When did he give us these expensive gifts, Veronica?"
It's hard for Veronica to admit the truth, but she answers, "When he did something wrong..."
"You should be giving everything he gave you away. Including those pearls you're always wearing."
Veronica sits next to Mickey. "He really wasn't a good guy."
"Look," Mickey nudges her sister and smiles. "No matter what happens, we have each other. Right?"
"Right."
✿
Mickey is on her way to Veronica's locker when she sees her sister storming away from Betty and Kevin. She follows her into the girls' bathroom. Just as she steps in, she sees Veronica rip the pearls off her neck, causing them to scatter all over the place.
Veronica begins to sob.
Mickey wraps her arms around her for consolation. "This isn't what I meant when I said get rid of the pearls," she tries to lighten the mood with the joke.
"T-this is all daddy's fault!" Veronica manages to get out in between sobs. "Ethel's dad tried to kill himself!"
"Ronnie, you can't blame yourself. This is all on Dad." She knows her words aren't soothing. When Veronica gets like this, there's nothing to stop her. She just needs to get it all out of her system and then she'll pull herself together.
All Mickey can do is be by her side for it.
✿
Veronica insisted she go to see the Muggs family at the hospital.
Mickey deemed it to be inappropriate, but doesn't fight her sister on it. Maybe it can provide some relief.
Then as soon as Veronica comes back to the waiting room, she loses it on their mother. She tells her she won't lie for Hiram. Veronica has reached her breaking point.
Haven't they all?