“The show is going great,” Veronica whispered as she and Betty, both standing backstage, peeked through the curtain.
Midge, Ethel, and Brigitte had all just exited from the runway, looking fabulous. “Nice job, girls,” Betty whispered to them.
Kevin was on the runway, showing off a pair of gabardine slacks and a slim-fit, buttondown navy shirt. The blue in the top brought out the blue in his eyes and made them sparkle. He paused at the end of the stage and then did a pivot turn. As he headed back up the catwalk, Jughead passed him, looking stylish in a black turtleneck and dark blue jeans. He was adamant that he was able to wear his crown beanie, which kind of threw off the whole James Bond–style he was supposed to be projecting, but he still looked good. “The clothes look so fantastic.” Veronica nodded her approval. “I never would have guessed they were from a resale shop.”
“I can’t believe we pulled off a green fashion show. It’s incredible!” Betty marveled.
“I can’t believe I put out an issue of The Blue and Gold that made Ms. Grundy happy,” Veronica countered. “Thank you so much for helping me win back the writers.”
“No problem,” Betty told her.
“You know,” Veronica went on. “At first I didn’t want to do the paper at all, but once I started working on it, I really did enjoy it. I mean, it was megachallenging and everything, but in a good way. Do you know what I mean?”
“Totally,” Betty assured her. “I feel the same way about the fashion show. I guess it’s good to get out of your comfort zone every once in a while and try new things.”
“Yeah, but it really helps to have your best friend there in case you totally screw up.”
Betty enthusiastically nodded her head. “No kidding.”
Epilogue
Finals were barreling down on the students of Riverdale High, and the excitement of a fast-approaching summer vacation was, too. “I can’t believe how much studying I have to do in the next two weeks,” Betty groaned as she paged through a notebook.
“Well, there’s no one saying we can’t do our studying poolside,” Veronica told her. “We might as well work on our tans while we work on our finals.”
“Girls! Guess what?!” Ginger came charging down the hall toward them, waving a copy of Sparkle Magazine.
“What?” Betty and Veronica asked.
“Wait, let me show you.” Ginger skidded to a stop and then began thumbing through the issue. She found the page she was looking for and said, “Here, read this.”
Betty squinted at the magazine and read the headline of a small article in the What’s Happening section: “Riverdale Geeks and Chics Shine in Green Fashion Show.” Then she looked up at Ginger. “You wrote an article about the fashion show for Sparkle Magazine?!”
“It was a last-minute addition. I didn’t want to tell you about it until I was sure it would get in.”
“But why? How?” Veronica asked.
Ginger broke into a huge grin. “I told you I got a lot of comments on my blog, so they let me put it in.” Then she turned to Betty. “You know, you might actually have started a trend. I think some designers will start going green.”
“I’m a trendsetter.” Betty laughed.
“I know!” Veronica gave her best friend a hug. “I’m going to have to start taking my fashion advice from you from now on!”
xoxo, Betty and Veronica: In Each Other's Shoes Page 9
