xoxo, Betty and Veronica: In Each Other's Shoes

by Adrianne Ambrose

  “Ronnie!” Betty exclaimed. “That’s a fantastic idea!”

  “It is?” Veronica blushed.

  “Genius!” Ginger assured her.

  The door chimed as the three girls entered Guinevere’s Second Chances, an expansive resale shop that Veronica had never even realized existed. Betty and Ginger sailed on inside, but Veronica edged in slowly, looking around the massive shop like she were exploring an uncharted region of the Amazon. After taking in her surroundings for several moments, she straightened up and said, “It’s really nice in here.”

  “Of course it is.” Betty gave her a look of mild concern. “What were you expecting?”

  “I’m not sure.” Veronica touched the fabric of a black velvet cape that was hanging as part of a wall display. “I guess I thought it would smell a lot more musty or something. This is just like a regular shop.”

  “Only cheaper,” a saleslady said, coming out from behind the counter to greet them. “Hello, girls. Are you just browsing or looking for something special?”

  “Are you Guinevere?” Betty asked.

  “Yes, that’s me. I’m the proprietress. How can I help you?”

  “Well.” Betty bit her lip. “We’re part of the Riverdale High School Charity Fashion Show, and we’re looking for boutiques that might want to participate this year.”

  “Oh.” The woman smiled hesitantly. “As you know, this is a resale shop. Are you sure I have the kind of styles you’re looking for?”

  “Definitely,” Betty assured her. “Our theme this year is going green, so we’re looking for vendors who are environmentally friendly.”

  “There would be a lot of free publicity,” Ginger added. “And maybe some kind of tax write-off or something. I’m not sure, but it is for the children’s hospital.”

  “And free advertising in The Blue and Gold,” Veronica offered.

  “What’s that?” Guinevere asked.

  “It’s our high school’s paper, but it has a lot of readers.”

  “So.” Betty cast an eager eye around the shop. “You’ve got a lot of great stuff here. Do you think you’d be interested?”

  Guinevere pursed her lips and gave it some thought. “You know what? I think I would.”

  There were three resale shops in Riverdale, and all three eagerly signed up to have clothing in the fashion show. As they walked out of the third shop into the early evening air, Betty danced around the parking lot. She couldn’t believe how quickly her luck had turned. Veronica was her best friend again, and she actually had people enthusiastic about having their clothing in her environmentally friendly fashion show. It was just plain incredible! “I really can’t believe it,” she exclaimed to her friends. “This is such a relief! I was totally freaking out about the fashion show, and now I’m all excited about it again.”

  “Wish I could say the same about the paper,” Veronica said, shifting her shopping bags from one hand to the other. She had managed to buy something in every shop. “You have never seen Ms. Grundy as angry as she was with me about the last issue. Normally, I think she’s pretty nice, but let me tell you, she can get really intense.”

  “Well, she’s been helping with the school paper since she started teaching at Riverdale High,” Betty informed her.

  “Back when we were just forming our nation,” Ginger added. “They had only handcranked printing presses.” Betty and Veronica both stopped and gave her a double take. Ginger cracked into a smile. “Just kidding.”

  “But seriously,” Veronica went on. “What am I going to do about the paper? Most of the writers quit over the last issue.”

  “Well, I could talk to some of the writers,” Betty offered. “I’ll explain how you’re repenting your tabloid ways, and you really need some great articles.”

  “Do you think that would work?”

  Betty shrugged. “It might work. A lot of people really love working on the paper, so they probably wish they didn’t quit. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try.”

  “That would be so great!” Veronica gave her best friend a one-armed hug as they walked along. “I superappreciate it.”

  “Of course.” Betty smiled. “And I’m going to contribute an article, too, you know. Something about . . . Well, I haven’t thought of a good idea yet, but I will.”

  “Me too,” Ginger chimed in. “I know exactly what I want to write about for the next issue of The Blue and Gold.”

  “What?” Betty and Veronica both asked, a bit of anxiety hanging in their voices.

  Ginger broke into a crooked grin. “The fashion show, of course.”

  Chapter 17

  As Veronica climbed the stairs to Riverdale High, eager to get her hands on the latest copy of The Blue and Gold, she couldn’t help but flash back to the last morning an issue of the paper was going to hit the homerooms. She had been so excited, so overconfident, and then so very miserable. It would be interesting to see how the other kids reacted to the final issue of the paper for the school year. Betty had worked miracles, getting almost every writer to return to the paper. They all took such care and such pride in their work. Veronica felt ashamed that, the first time around, she had so callously rewritten everything without any consideration for their feelings. At least she’d tried to make it up to them. This time she went over every submitted article with a fine-tooth comb, but looking for only small tweaks to make the articles read better or for obvious grammatical errors. Veronica had to admit she didn’t find many. The Blue and Gold writers obviously took the paper seriously.

  And she felt better about having excised the tabloid out of the paper. Gossip, even in jest, wasn’t really good for anyone. Veronica wondered how movie stars must feel having their weight gains and breakups and fashion blunders plastered across the fronts of magazines. It probably hurt, even if the people were famous. The thought almost made her decide to end her subscription to You Weekly. Almost.

  The first person Veronica saw from the paper’s staff was Nancy, getting some books out of her locker. Veronica wasn’t sure if she should say hi or just pretend she hadn’t noticed the other girl. Before she could make up her mind, Nancy noticed her instead. “Hey,” she called. “I just got a peek at the latest issue.” Veronica held her breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Nancy had been reluctant to return to the paper, but Betty had persuaded her. “It looks really good!” Nancy exclaimed. “Ginger’s article is awesome, and I’m so glad you were able to talk Ms. Grundy into letting me try again with the horoscopes. They’re actually really fun to write.”

  Veronica let out a sigh of relief. “That’s great.”

  “And thanks for encouraging me to put a little more zing in my predictions. I really think I made them more fun to read this time.”

  A big smile spread across Veronica’s face. “No problem. And thanks for giving me a second chance as editor. I really appreciate it.”

  Nancy smiled back. “No prob.”

  “Oh.” Veronica lowered her voice, just in case anyone had decided to eavesdrop. “And thanks for customizing that one special thing we talked about.”

  “My pleasure,” Nancy whispered. “I like playing cupid. And please let me know if it works.”

  Students were reading The Blue and Gold. Lots of students. In fact, several of them came up to Veronica between classes and said they enjoyed the issue. Ms. Grundy even pulled Veronica aside after English class to tell her she was proud of her. “This may be one of my favorite issues of The Blue and Gold in the last decade.”

  “Thanks, Ms. Grundy.” Veronica glowed. “I’m just happy I could do the paper justice.”

  As Veronica was switching out her books at her locker after English class, Toño Diaz came bounding up to her and wrapped her in a giant bear hug. “Oof! Hi, Toño,” she wheezed.

  “Veronica, you’re a genius!” he crowed.

  “I am?” She had to bend slightly at the waist to regain her breath.

  Toño pulled a copy of the school paper out of his back pocket. It was folded open
to the horoscopes. Finding the Sagittarius entry, he read, “Now is the time to look back at past loves. That old suitor that you hastily rejected is well worth a second chance.”

  Veronica couldn’t help but grin. “Yeah, I asked Nancy to put that in there special. I figured it was the least I could do.”

  “Yeah, Nancy told me. And I wanted to tell you, it worked. My ex-girlfriend is now my girlfriend again.”

  “That’s terrific.” Veronica patted him on the shoulder. “But, Toño, you’re a great guy. Are you sure you want to keep dating a girl that’s so influenced by astrology?”

  “Uhhh . . .” Toño considered the problem. “You’ve got a point. But she is awfully cute. And at least now if we break up, I’ll know it’s for legitimate reasons and not to push copies of The Blue and Gold.”

  As Toño went in search of his off-again on-again girlfriend, Betty came rushing down the hall. “Ronnie! You’re not going to believe it!” Veronica didn’t even have time to ask what was going on before her friend continued. “All of the tickets to the fashion show have sold out! In fact, we even sold out the standing-room-only tickets. The show is filled to capacity! If we sell any more tickets, we won’t be able to fit everyone in the gym!”

  “Are you kidding?” Veronica couldn’t believe her ears. “Sold out? That’s incredible! I mean, the show has always sold pretty well, but never sold out. And with standing room only? That’s amazing! I can’t believe it!”

  “I know!” Betty’s face was pink with excitement. “I can’t even begin to figure out how this happened. I mean, there are people actually driving in to see the show.”

  “Driving in? Driving in from where?”

  “Driving in from everywhere!”

  The two friends joined hands and jumped around in a circle they were so excited. “We’ve got to find Ginger!” Veronica exclaimed. “Maybe she knows why this is all happening.” Just then, Ginger rounded the corner.

  “Ginger!” both girls called out to her.

  “You’ll never guess what!” Betty added.

  “What?” Ginger’s eyes were round with wonder.

  After Betty had explained about the ticket sales for the fashion show, there was more squealing and jumping. “I had a feeling this would happen,” Ginger said happily. “I got a ton of comments on my blog.”

  “On your blog?” Veronica stopped bouncing and gave her a questioning look.

  “Yeah, I’ve been writing about the fashion show on my Teen Sparkle blog every day for the past two weeks.”

  “Oh!” Veronica nodded her head. “I bet that’s why so many people from out of town are coming to the show.”

  “That was really cool of you,” Betty said, giving her a one-armed squeeze.

  “Well, it was the least I could do after causing you guys so much trouble.” Ginger cast her eyes down, looking slightly shamefaced.

  “Let’s just forget about that now,” Betty insisted. “The paper turned out great, and now I just want to focus on making the fashion show superfantabulous!”

  Just then, Archie came limping down the hall. Veronica caught sight of him first. Hurrying over to help him, she called, “Archiekins! What happened? Are you hurt?”

  “No,” Archie grimaced. “Just sore from working out.”

  “Well, you shouldn’t work out to the point that you’re in pain.”

  “I don’t normally,” Archie admitted, “but I want to be pumped up for the show. Reggie’s really been looking buff lately, and I don’t want him to show me up. Could you girls point me toward the gym? I want to sneak in a workout during independent study.”

  “Archie.” Betty gave him a concerned look. “You don’t need to work out anymore. The best thing you can do is relax and get a good night’s sleep. That way you’ll look fresh for the show.”

  Shaking his head, Archie started limping toward the gym. “Just one more workout should do it. Then I’ll go to bed early. I promise.”

  The three girls pondered his back as Archie dragged himself toward yet another workout. “Boys are so weird,” Ginger mused.

  Chapter 18

  It was finally the day of the fashion show. Betty couldn’t believe how much work there was still left to do before the show started at two o’clock. There were tables to set up, chairs to put out, decorations to hang, models to dress, and caterers to coordinate. She had to meet with the sound guy, the lighting guy, the hair and makeup lady, the florists, and probably a bunch more people that she couldn’t think of at the moment. It was no wonder she had trouble sleeping the night before; her brain just wouldn’t stop running.

  As Betty drove toward the school, she couldn’t get over her relief that she and Veronica were friends again. Not only was it great to get her best friend back, but Veronica was a dynamo of fashion coordination. She really knew who needed to do what and how to keep things moving.

  By five minutes to one, the Riverdale High School gym was crawling with people setting things up, taping crepe paper to rafters, and coating hair with hair spray. Almost everything was in place, and they were ahead of schedule. There was only one hitch that Betty couldn’t quite figure out. “Where are Archie and Reggie?” she wondered aloud as Veronica sat down next to her to take a wellearned break. “They were so excited about the show. I thought they’d be early, not late.”

  “I don’t know.” Veronica pulled out her cell phone and tried Archie’s number. “I’ve called like five times.”

  “There’s Reggie.” Betty pointed. “Where have you been?” she called. “Where’s Archie?”

  “I have no idea,” Reggie wheezed as he dragged himself over to where the girls were sitting. He was going to say something else but was prevented by a coughing fit.

  “You sound really bad, Reggie. Are you sick?” Veronica got to her feet and tried to peer at his face. “You’re all blotchy. Do you have a fever?”

  “No, I’m fine,” Reggie insisted, blowing his nose. “I’ll be fine.”

  “How can you say you’re fine when you’ve turned into a human snot factory?”

  “It’s not that bad,” Reggie managed to get out before he went into another bout of coughing.

  Betty put her hand to Reggie’s cheek. “You’re burning up,” she told him. “You need to go home and get in bed.”

  “I’m fine,” Reggie told her between coughs. “Seriously, I can do the show.”

  Betty shook her head. “No, you can’t. It’s too risky with a fever. And besides, I don’t want you infecting everyone else in the show. Go home, Reggie. Now.”

  Reggie didn’t try to argue with her. He just mumbled, “Sorry, Betty.” As he went out, Archie stumbled in, looking just as pale and splotchy as his friend.

  “Archie, not you, too!” Veronica cried.

  “What?” Archie straightened his spine and tried to act like he wasn’t feeling miserable.

  “You’re sick,” Veronica said. “I can tell just by looking at you.”

  “Not at all,” he insisted. “I feel great. I’m just a little tired from working out so much.” His statement was followed by half a dozen sneezes, so it didn’t carry much weight.

  “Go home,” Betty told him. “It looks like you and Reggie exercised your way right out of the fashion show.”

  “I can still do it,” Archie whined. “I took some cold medicine.”

  “Forget it, Archie. Go home, eat some soup, and go to bed.”

  After Archie shuffled off, the two girls exchanged looks. “What are we going to do? I was counting on Archie and Reggie. Why did they have to work out so much?” Betty wailed.

  “Did you tell them they had to get in shape for the fashion show?”

  “No, I never encouraged them.” Betty sighed. “They just started exercising.”

  “Boys are a mystery,” Veronica told her. Then, giving her a bolstering slap on the back, she said, “Come on. I think we can figure something out.”

  Jughead was steadying a ladder while Kevin tried to adjust the welcome banner that was
hanging a bit cockeyed over the school’s entrance. “A bit higher on the left,” Jughead called up to him.

  “That looks awesome,” Betty said. “You guys are doing a great job.”

  Kevin smiled down at her. “Let us know if you need anything else.”

  “Well, now that you mention it.” Betty returned his smile. “There is one thing . . .”

  “Absolutely not!” Jughead said as soon as he’d heard Betty and Veronica’s plan to turn him into a male model. “I’m here to hold the ladder, eat the leftover snacks, and maybe take a nap behind the bleachers. That’s it!”

  “Oh, come on, Jughead. Please?” Betty begged.

  “No way! I’m not some fashion plate that you girls can parade around at your convenience,” he insisted.

  “Well, what about you, Kevin?” Veronica asked. “Will you help us out?”

  “Sure, I guess.” Kevin shrugged. “If you’re really stuck.”

  Narrowing her eyes and glancing at Jughead, Veronica said in a casual voice, “That’s so sweet of you, Kevin. Because it’s so last minute and everything, why don’t we take you out to Pop’s Chocklit Shoppe for a burger after the show?”

  Kevin caught on immediately. He did his best not to laugh or look in Jughead’s direction. “A burger? That sounds great.”

  Betty joined in the luring. “I’ll even throw in fries and a shake.”

  It was only a few seconds before Jughead reached his breaking point. “That’s not fair!” he protested. “No one told me there was going to be burgers!”

  “Oh, I didn’t think about it. Does it matter?” Veronica gave him an innocent look.

  “Burgers always matter,” he assured her. “If you’re willing to feed me after the show, then you can dress me up in any silly outfit you want.”

  Betty hurried the guys backstage to get ready. There were only forty minutes before the guests would start to arrive.