Penny's POV
I was shutting the door to the girls bathroom as I entered it. Sierra Samuels and Hermione Gonzales were standing in it chatting around making me roll my eyes as I adjusted my leather jacket to my body.
"Damn it", we heard my best friend Alice yell out form one of the bathroom stalls. The three of us shared a look as Hermione walked to the door and knocked on it before opening it. Alice was sitting on the toilet with a pregnancy test in her hand.
"Everything okay?". "Mind your own business, Hermione. Shouldn't you be in a church?", Alice snapped. "Oh, crap girls are you?", I asked. "It's probably a false positive, it happens all the time", Alice mumbled wiping her tears away.
"Like three percent of the time", Sierra said. "No one's talking to you, Sierra", I snapped making me roll my eyes.
"What am I gonna do? I tried talking to him but he blew me off for some Vixen he's screwing. Classic FP Jones", Alice chuckled. "FP Jones?", we all asked at the same time.
"Well, well, well, I thought I heard a party in here, hall passes Ladies", Penelope said as she entered the bathroom.
Hermione gave her to the teacher's pet while Alice and I just stared at the girl. "Oh, it's up your ass Penelope", Alice responded.
"Classy as always, Alice Smith. Just curious, were you born with that mouth or is it something Southside mothers teach their bastard babies?", Penelope asked only to earn a slap from Alice while Hermione held me back.
"You trashy bitch", Penelope yelled as she slapped Alice back. Suddenly the girls were punching and slapping each other on the ground while Sierra and Hermione tried pulling Penelope off I tried pulling Alice off.
*
"Welcome, to Saturday detention", our teacher said, "Penny Peabody? Alice Smith? Hermione Gonzales? Penelope Blossom? Fred Andrews? Sierra Samuels? Forsythe Pendelton Jones Junior? While you're here today, you will not talk. You will not play. You will not move and you will not breathe".
"What if we have to pee?", Sierra asked. "Hold it. At the end of the day, you will deliver a 1000-word essay as to why you're here today. I will be right down the hall in my office, all day long. Cause I have nothing better to do", our teacher said and left the room after handing all of us sheets.
I sighed and played on the hem of my black ripped crop top. Soon Alice got up and started craving something into the windowsill.
*
"Dude can you not?", Fred sighed by the sound of Alice actions. "Dude, can you bite me?", Alice responded.
"Oh my God Sh", Penelope yelled. "Sh yourself", I snapped.
"Psst Sierra", Tom Keller yelled from across the room holding something in his hand. "Tommy", Sierra smiled as she ran over to the Keller boy to give him a long kiss having us all looking at them with wide eyes.
"Brought you some sustenance", the boy smiled. "Thank you, I love you", Sierra smiled. "I'll see you tonight okay?", Tom asked kissing her again before leaving.
"You and Tom Keller?", Fred asked confused, "Guys, we've been going to the same school since kindergarten, how do we not know anything about each other?".
"We're not friends", I said. "Cliques don't cross-pollinate. Haven't you seen Heathers?", Penelope asked.
"Well, we've got six more hours to kill, and no one to impress. How about a round of secrets and sins?", Sierra asked smirking.
*
"Tommy and I have been secretly dating for a few months now. Our parents don't want their children dating someone one so different, to use their euphemism of choice", Sierra said.
"My mom's up in my relationships too, you know Hiram Lodge?", Hermione asked. "Uh yes, dude is ripped", Fred gasped. "And a petty criminal", Penelope added.
"He's a self-starter who provides for his family. To my mom, he's a srub That's the way to American Dream, mija. She cleans hotel rooms in that stupid Five Seasons, 16 hours a day. Hiram's got the right idea, get us out of Riverdale, no matter what we have to do", Hermione said.
"Yeah, except Riverdale's not the problem. Me? I wanna stay here my whole life", Fred said. "That how long it'll take you to decided between music or baseball?", Alice chuckled.
"Our minor league is solid and we're close enough to the city to play music gigs. This town's got it all. Could even run for mayor one day", Fred smiled. "Ugh, nightmare job. Why not shoot for something bigger? You can do all those things in a real metropolis", Sierra added.
"Except look after my dad, he's sick, really sick. And he took care of me my whole life, so, now it's my turn", Fred said.
"I get you, Fred, I wanna look after my mom too. I wanna go to college and become a lawyer so I can help her out of this mess she is in with the drugs and all. I also wanna help the Serpents and let them work for me and I wanna get the guy behind bars that raped me that one night. If I have a daughter one day I want to be there for her and never let anyone hurt her not like my mom did", I explained as the room fell silent. My rape last year went around school almost everyone knew about it but no one even asked how I was with it.
"Alice you're up", FP said, "What's your deepest, darkest secret?".
"Let's skip her", I said trying to save my best friend. "Tell them about the time you lit a dumpster on fire on the Southside", FP said.
"Why don't you tell them that you actually live in Sunnyside Trailer Park next to Penny?", Alice asked. "I thought you lived on Elm Street", Penelope gasped.
"Yeah, of course, because it's what Forsythe want you to believe. You parade around the school in your varsity jacket like a Northsider, don't kid yourself. You'll never escape the Southside, you're gonna end up just like your dad. Drowning six-packs in your double-wide", Alice snapped.
"Maybe, but I'm not gonna hit my kid, not like my old man hits me", FP said having us all in silence again.
"Okay, I guess that just leaves me. Fair is fair, The Blossoms, they're terrible people", Penelope sighed. "But, Penelope you're a Blossom", Hermione said.
"No, I'm not. Not really. I grew up at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy orphanage". "Oh my God, Penelope. That place has, like, violated every humanitarian code", Sierra gasped.
"When I was eight, the Blossom's came and asked to see all the red-headed children. The next thing I knew I was leaving with them. I was so excited, I very quickly realized this was not an altruistic adoption. I was being groomed. To first be Clifford's sister and eventually his life companion. Every second away from that house, even today is a relief", Penelope explained a tear rolling down her cheek.
"Why are you still living there?", Hermione asked. "They're my family", "That's not family, it's basically incest, it's disgusting".
"At least I'm not cleaning people's toilets like your mom", Penelope fired back. "Well, at least she has class. She's not stealing child brides out of orphanages", Hermione said before Penelope lunged at her.
"Here we go again", I sighed.
*
"Congratulations, you all just upped your sentence from one Saturday detention to four", our teacher said making us all groan.
After he was gone Hermione went over to the teachers' desk and started opening it. "What are you doing?", Penelope asked. "Yesterday, Misses Crabapple took my Game Lad, and locked it up in here, so I'm getting it back", Hermione explained.
"That's vandalism", Penelope insisted. We all went over to the desk to see what the teachers have been stoking up in the desk.
"Crabapple's been hoarding our stuff for decades", I said taking out my beloved dark red lipstick. Suddenly FP pulled out this game box that had Gryphons and Gargoyles written on it.
"I've heard of this game", Sierra said. "We shouldn't play it, it doesn't belong to us", Penelope said.
"Gryphons and Gargoyles. Thought this was an urban legend", FP said. "I heard kids play at Seaside, heard one of them had a heart attack and died", Hermione said.
"In that case, we definitely have to play it right?", I asked the gang smirking up taking the game from FP's hands.
*
"An ancient evil, long forgotten to this world, has awoken. His name? The Gargoyle King. Defeat him, and receive the supreme reward", Penelope read out as we were all seated on the floor around the game board.
"Okay, how do we beat him?", FP asked. "It looks like the person with the manue, me, is the Game master. I'll guide you through quests and you complete them until you ascend to the next level. But first, pick your characters", Penelope smiled.
"I pick the Sorceress, maybe I can make all you nerds disappear", Alice chuckled bumping into me slightly.
"I pick the thief, I've always wanted to be free moral reasoning", Hermione said. "Well, as the voice of the people, I choose the Siren", Sierra explained.
"I will pick the Snake Charmer, I always wanted to wrap people around my little finger", I chuckled.
"Deadeye", FP said. "Fred we all know you're the Radian Knight", Penelope said.
"Clinging to the ideals of hope, justice, and righteousness, I don't know, seems kind of-", "Perfect", we all chuckled.
"Now pay attention. Welcome brave new adventures, to Eldervair, realm of Gryphons and Gargoyles. Lady Smith, please pick a quest card", Penelope said. "Free the souls of the undead", Alice read out.
"You are standing at the top of Necromancers alley", Penelope read out.
*
We were playing the game for hours being so into it that we didn't even realize how the time flew.
"You approached a well at the center of Arcan Maze. The hedges grow behind you, sealing off the exit", Penelope read out. "I'm gonna toss my Gildite Coin. Please be heads", FP begged and cheered.
"A geyser bursts, depositing the scroll in your hand", Penelope said. "NIcely done, Squire Pendleton", Hermione cheered giving FP a high five.
"Is it too late to start another round?", Fred asked. "Not at all, might I suggest we kick things up a notch. Take the game off-board", Penelope smirked.
"Run around school with Featherhead down the hall?", Fred asked. "He takes a nap after school", I said, "I'm in".
"Trust me you'll love it. Uh, there is this quest, the Wedding Stone that requires pairs. So, Squire Pendleton, Madam H. Sir Fredrick, Lady Smith. I hid a gemstone from Thornhill in this building. First pair to find it and show it to Sierra gets to keep it", Penelope explained.
Soon everyone left us behind, "Looks like it's just us three for a bit. Shall we pillage the cafeteria?", Penelope smirked.
"Why those specific pairings, Penelope?", I asked the ginger girl, "Did the Gargoyle king make you do it?".
"I guess, I'm just in the mood for a little chaos", the girl smirked.
*
The weeks passed and we played almost every night at the school. Leaving windows open so we could climb in without anyone noticing. We called ourselves, the midnight club.
Before we would play we would steal some clothes from the drama club and dress up as villains from the 17 hundreds. While everyone was wearing some knight like costumes I went with a crown and a snake around my neck.
We walked down the halls one night when we heard laughter coming from other halls, "What was that? You guys heard that?", Fred asked.
FP and Alice, as well as Fred and Hermione, grew closer making out a lot of the time. We all went in defense mode with our fake weapons as we turned the corner.
We stumbled across a group of boys we were very familiar t. "Hermione?", "Hiram?". "Sierra?", "Tommy?". "Ricky?", "Penny?".
Ups, did I mention I was secretly hitting it with the school jock, Ricky Mantle?
"Are you guys playing G and G too?", I asked. "Have been for about a week now", Ricky said.
"Daryl Doiley found it in the restricted section at the library", Tom explained. "Relinquish your Game Master", Daryl said. "Make me, heathen", Penelope yelled.
*
A couple days later we all received letters in our lockers: ' Members of the Midnight Club, come to the Detention Room tonight. Rise to the challenge, and ascend the next level of the game. Eagerly yours, the Gargoyle King'
That's why we were all at the detention room where serval snacks and drinks were placed in. Penelope really did a great job. I was sitting next to Ricky as his hand laid on my upper tight.
"Welcome to the Ascension Party, find the chalices. Flip the Gryphon coin for your fate, drink from the chalice and meet your destiny. The successful among you will ascend to the third level", Penelope read out loud.
"Sounds simple enough", my best friend said, "Not much of a party".
"So, why don't we make it one?", Hiram asked taking of a package and placing something in his mouth. "What is that Hiram?", Hermione asked.
"Fizzle rocks, they're new in. Just hit the streets", he smiled. We passed the packages around taking in the drugs.
Then everything was blurry from the night. We danced around the school and laughed so much. it was like our dark double gangers came to the light and took control for one night.
For some reason Alice wasn't enjoying it as much as we were, I was making out with Ricky and FP for some reason I can't explain anymore.
*
The next day at school I was still hungover from the night before, at home, my mother threw a beer bottle at me for coming home so late. I had giant hickey's covering my neck from FP and Ricky which I tried to hide with a turtle neck even though it didn't really work and you could still see the love bites all over my neck.
"Penny, thank god. I've got this bad feeling. Were things okay last night?", Alice asked confused. "You didn't hear?", I asked.
"I knew it, what happened?", Alice asked making me look at her confused. "FP was supposed to tell you".
"Tell me what?". "Fred's dad, he died while we were at the Ascension Party last night. Fred found him when he got home", I explained.
*
That weekend was the funeral from Fred's father and the Midnight Club decided to go to Pop's.
"It was a beautiful service, Fred", Sierra said breaking the silence that grew over the table.
"I should have been there when he ", Fred said pushing Hermione's head slightly off his shoulder. "You have to stop beating yourself up, man", FP told the boy, "there's nothing you could've done".
"He was sick and he died alone. Because I was high, running around school like an idiot with you guys", Fred said.
"Fred, look between this and Featherhead going MIA, we're all a little on edge", Penelope said trying to cheer the boy up.
"I saw him, that night at the school. During the Ascension Party, I saw Featherhead. The next morning he was gone. Did anyone else run into him?", Alice asked, "Do we tell someone?".
"You didn't see anything", I snapped. "Penny", "Nobody did. Want the finger pointed at us because we happened to be doped up and trespassing on the night Featherhead disappeared? We don't know what if anything happened to him and no one else knows we were there. So we keep our mouths shut", I ordered glaring at Alice.
What was it with her and playing the saint lately?
*
About two weeks later the smell in the school was horrible and there were flies everywhere. No one knew why that was increasing day by day until the janitor decided to open the janitor closet.
When he opened it, Mister Featherhead fell out of it. His limp dead body, he had blue lips and a cold stare.
"There was blue liquid in the chalices when I saw them. Featherhead's corpse had blue lips. And the police said he had poison in his system. What did you guys do to him?", Alice yelled at us. We were having a crisis meeting of the Midnight Club after the current events.
"What do you mean, what did we do? You were there too, Alice", Penelope told my best friend whose stare was cold.
"And you're the only one that saw him", Hiram said. "Because you guys were tripping. And who was even wearing that insane Gargoyle King costume anyway?", Alice asked.
"What are you talking about? We were in our normal outfits and the chalices were empty", Ricky said as he sat up next to me.
"The Lady Smith doth protests a little too much, methinks", FP said. "Yeah, pretty convenient that you left early. Tell us what you did to Featherhead", Hermione demanded.
"Wait, this is ridiculous. Fred, you're the Radian Knight. You always do the right thing, you'll go to the cops with me?", Alice asked.
"We're not telling the cops", I told Alice. "Why suddenly such an incredible rule breaker, Penny? Because you killed him?", Alice asked me.
"And how would I have killed him? With our magic chalices?", I asked stepping forward. "Yeah, the giblets were full when I went into the bathroom, okay? Maybe you poisoned them when you set up the quest, Penelope", Alice said.
"Except for I didn't set up the quest, and neither did Daryl. We were as in the dark as the rest of you", Penelope said.
"Guys, the chalice were just sitting there. Any of us could've drank from them. So, whoever invited us to the Ascension party was trying to kill one or more of us", Alice said.
"Then we destroy the game, so it can't be traced back to us", Sierra suggested.
"The manuals, we destroy the manuals, scatter everything else", FP said. "I'll handle the dice", Hermione said.
"I'll dispose the manual", Penelope volunteered.
"And I'll burn our copy", I said looking at Alice. "Right, everyone, spit. We're making a pact. From this moment on no one talk about Gryphons and Gargoyles. It's a secret. Forever", FP said.
We all spit in our hand and formed a circle where we shook a hand making it one big unity. "To the grave", we all said.
*
After playing G and G it was a return to reality. We went our separate ways and burdened by our guilt became different people.
The wannabe rockstar sold his guitar and began breaking rocks at his family business.
The Catholic schoolgirl went against her mothers' wishes and began a lifetime of compromises.
Romeo and Juliet took their curtail to call.
The game master became the pawn.
The high school MVP became a greaser gang member.
The biker girl that was once Alice Smith traded her leather jacket for a big lie. She also gave traded our friendship along with her leather gang jacket.
I myself was working hard on passing school and going to college while helping the Serpents out where ever I could. FP and I were working together and started a fling nothing romantic just sex.
When the Midnight club passed each other in the halls, we didn't so much as smile.
*
Lou's POV
Sweet Pea, Fangs, Toni, Cheryl, Jughead and I were placed in Dilton Doileys bunker playing our new found addiction. Gryphons and Gargoyles.
*****
Hey guys!
Ahh, a really long chapter for you all. I hope you liked it and the fact that I worked Penny in it and giving it some kind of twist. Her and Alice being best friends and then later both girls turning their back to each other. Also with Gryphons and Gargoyles was Penny's name born and that's why everyone was calling her Snake Charmer.
I also wanted to include some back story of Penny Peabody and how she failed on her goals for her daughter.