Hello, everybody! And, a
very happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you today! As you can see, I've made this place a little bit Irish to
celebrate the occasion, and this post will be written in green font to make
this post really pop.
I figure it's the best that I can do, given that I have not a drop
of Irish blood in me. When you have a
first name with Hebrew origins and a last name that is French-Canadian, that
pretty much guarantees that the luck of the Irish is NOT on my side.
But hey, I ate Lucky Charms and watched Harrigan as a kid, so I
guess that counts for something, right?
Now, I imagine that later on tonight, many of you will be doing a
lot of pub crawling. Or, in the case of
my small town, going to like one of the three or four bars that happen to be in
town and seeing which one is the busiest.
And why would you do that?
Well, I would imagine that it may have a little to do with this.
Green beer.
Let's face it. For most of
us who are Irish or who want to be Irish, green beer is the best way to blend
in with the crowd. It's only available
once a year, and it's the same colour as lemon lime Kool-Aid a lot of the
time. It's like going back to childhood
in a way...only with a lot different taste and a lot less equilibrium the more
you indulge.
But what about those of us who don't like green beer? Or beer of any kind? Where does that leave us?
I guess I should explain.
While I have nothing against drinking beer - I've been known to enjoy a
Heineken once in a blue...ahem...green moon - I'm not much of a drinker. I'm the kind of person who would prefer to
drink water over alcoholic beverages at a party. There are reasons behind it, but I won't go into them too much
here. For the most part, I practice
teetotalism, and I'm fine with that.
Of course, it leads to a dilemma.
If I don't want green beer, and if Irish creme based alcoholic cocktails
are also out of the question...what else is there for us to drink?
Fortunately, there are other options out there for having a good
time the non-alcoholic way. Allow me to
share some with you.
1 - SHAMROCK SHAKES
Remember when you were a kid, and you went to McDonald's every
March 17th? Remember how they had a
special edition milkshake that was only available on that day that you just had
to have?
Yes, I'm talking about Shamrock Shakes. And, no...they weren't made with real shamrocks either. We're at McDonald's...not Whole Foods.
No, a Shamrock shake is a basic vanilla milkshake mixed with
peppermint flavouring and green food colouring. When I was a kid, I loved them.
By my teen years, I lost interest in them. And now as an adult, I've grown to like them again. But if you don't want to go out to
McDonald's to get one of these yourself, you can make one using mint chocolate
chip ice cream, milk, and a blender.
Honestly, homemade ones are much better anyway. But still, it's nice of McDonald's to keep
making them every year.
2 - 7UP/SPRITE
Many of us have had the debate as to which one is better. I've always preferred Sprite myself - though
I loved Cherry 7UP when it was available in Canada. But these sodas - while not green in colour - are made with lemon
and lime flavouring. And at least with
Sprite and 7UP being clear in colour, it makes it easy to dye green! It looks like green beer, but has no
alcohol, so you can drink as much as you like!
Other green-ish sodas that you could indulge in are Mountain Dew,
Sierra Mist, Mello Yello (which I believe still exists in some parts of the
U.S.A.) and Canada Dry Ginger Ale.
3 - IRISH COFFEE
Now, I know, I know. You
think Irish Coffee is made with alcohol - which if you use Bailey's Irish
Creme, yes it is. But if you want the
taste of Irish Creme without the alcohol, grab some coffee flavouring that is
made with cream. It tastes just as
delicious and you won't get buzzed!
4 - GREEN KOOL-AID
Okay, so this is more of a kid beverage, but still...if you want a
non-alcoholic St. Patrick's Day beverage, this works!
Regardless of your choice of beverage, just remember not to overdo
it. Call a cab or Uber it if you feel
like you've had too much. Stay at a
pal's house overnight to sleep it off.
Do NOT drink and drive.
Have yourselves a safe and
enjoyable St. Patrick's Day.
The next day, Archie and Jughead were moving quickly through the halls
of Riverdale High. They were late for Miss Grundy's history class after
spending their study hall period putting the finishing touches on their
projects for class.
“I can't believe that we lost
track of time!” Archie exclaimed. “Why did my watch battery die?”
“I don't know, but in all
honesty, the class is really the last thing on my mind.” Jughead said.
Archie stopped. “You're
thinking about Wembley.”
“He hasn't been in school all
day long.” Jughead said. “I can't help but worry about him. I
mean, Clay and Johnny have both been suspended from Riverdale High for what
they did to Wembley, and Mr. Weatherbee has said that if they go near Wembley
again, they'll face expulsion. I would have thought that would have been
enough.”
“Jughead, you did everything you
could.” Archie said. “You can't fault yourself for that.”
Jughead frowned. “I just
wish that...”
But, then Jughead stopped
mid-sentence and began to smile as someone approached.
“Wembley!!!” Jughead
exclaimed.
“And, here I was thinking that I
was the only one late for class.” Wembley said.
“How are you doing?”
Archie asked.
“I'm hanging in there.”
Wembley said. “When I left Pop's yesterday, I had a really long talk with
my aunt and uncle. They aren't mad at me for letting the jewelry box get
broken. In fact, talking with them about what had happened really helped.”
“I had a feeling.” Jughead
said, smiling. “Judging by your aunt's reaction, I take it they didn't
know what was going on.”
“No.” Wembley said.
“At first, I felt scared to talk to anyone. But, since I found talking
about it with you two so easy, I figured that telling them would be too.
Just talking about it helped.”
“Good.” Jughead said.
“And, besides...with Clay and
Johnny suspended from school, it'll at least make the next couple of weeks easy
to get through.” Wembley said.
“So...” Archie
began. “...does this mean you're sticking around?”
Wembley nodded. “It's like
you guys said. Maybe I need to trust that you are right...and maybe I
need to give you guys another chance too...I'm going to see how it goes.
One day at a time, right?”
Jughead smiled. “It's good
to see that you're staying.”
“Me too.” Wembley
said. “Although, I'm a little nervous about going to Miss Grundy's class
without a project.”
Archie and Jughead's eyes
widened. “CLASS!!!”
“Come on!” Jughead
exclaimed. “We're late!”
Meanwhile, in Miss Grundy's
classroom, Veronica was just finishing her oral presentation.
“...so, in conclusion to my
project, I really hope that I inspired all of you to put your best foot
forward. It wasn't easy for me to slip into the subject, but once I got
to talking about it, it felt as comfortable as an old pair of slippers.
And, thanks to the wonderful invention of modern shoes, everyone in the
twentieth century could get to wherever they wanted to go, and look good doing
it! Thank you!”
The class all clapped as Veronica
took her seat.
“Thank you, Veronica.”
Miss Grundy. “I must certainly say that when you brought in fifty pairs
of shoes from your own closet, I was initially worried that you'd make this
project into nothing more than a fashion show, but you really demonstrated how
our footwear has evolved over the past one hundred years. Very well
thought out project.”
“I knew you'd appreciate
it.” Veronica said.
:Have to admit.” Betty
said. “That was very informative. I really misjudged you.”
“Thank you, Betty.”
Veronica said. “Your project was great too.”
Just then, Archie, Jughead, and
Wembley ran into the classroom.
Miss Grundy did not look
impressed. “Would you care to tell me why you're twenty minutes late for
class?”
“We lost track of time.”
Archie said.
“We got lost.” Jughead
said.
Miss Grundy sighed. “Boys,
just take your seats.”
Archie and Jughead sheepishly
sat down. As Wembley walked in, Miss Grundy smiled. “Wembley...nice
to see you back!”
“Thank you.” Wembley said.
As Wembley walked to his desk,
Betty smiled at him. “Nice to see you, Wembley!”
“Good afternoon!” Veronica
said.
“Oh...” Wembley said,
smiling. “...Hi, Betty...Veronica...”
As Wembley sat down, Miss Grundy
began to speak. “Okay, so we've heard from Betty, Midge, Chuck, and now
Veronica. The next person on my randomly drawn list of names is Reggie
Mantle, but he doesn't seem to be here right now, so we'll go on to the next
name on my list, which is...Wembley...”
Wembley sighed sadly.
Miss Grundy looked sad.
“Wembley, I know that your project was ruined yesterday, and if you want, I can
skip your name and go on to the next student.”
“He doesn't have to.” said
a voice from behind her.
Miss Grundy turned around and
saw Reggie standing behind her, holding something in his hands.
“Reggie Mantle, you are late for
class!” Miss Grundy said, her voice rising.
“I know...I know.” Reggie
said. “Believe me, I have a good reason. And, it looks like I got
back just in time for Wembley's project.”
“Reggie, what are you talking
about?” Archie asked.
“What's going on?” Jughead
questioned.
“You'll see.” Reggie
said. “Wembley, can you come up here, please?”
Wembley looked shocked.
“Um...what?”
“Go ahead.” Betty motioned.
“Yeah.” Veronica said.
Wembley nervously approached the
front of the classroom where Miss Grundy and Reggie stood. Jughead and
Archie followed.
“What's this about?”
Archie asked Jughead.
“Your guess is as good as
mine.” Jughead admitted.
Wembley turned towards
Reggie. “Reggie, I'm not doing my project...I can't. I mean, I
memorized my oral report, but I have nothing to show.”
“That's not true.” Reggie
said.
It was then that Reggie placed
what he had in his hands on Miss Grundy's desk, and removed the cloth over top
of it. And, once he did, everyone in the room gasped in shock while
Wembley's eyes bugged out of his head.
There in plain view on Miss
Grundy's desk was a blue jewelry box. The same jewelry box that had
gotten broken the day before. Fully repaired.
Wembley was blown away as the
rest of the class beamed with excitement. “What? I...how?
You?”
Reggie just stood there as
Archie whispered to Jughead. “I don't believe it!”
Jughead just smiled.
“Maybe Mantle has a soft side after all.”
“How in the world?”
Wembley exclaimed. “This was smashed into pieces! And, yet it's all
here...the blue lid...the blue flowers, the inscription on the bottom!
How did you fix it?”
“It took a lot of work.”
Reggie exclaimed. “But, I was up for the challenge. In shop class,
I was doing really well in the woodworking part, and figured that if I could
carve wood, I could do just as good a job gluing it back together. I had
some help from Mr. Krosskutt in putting this box back together again.
It's not perfect, and there's some cracks in it that I don't think will ever be
completely fixed, but I wouldn't stop until I managed to get this box back to as
close to the way it was as it could be.”
Wembley was shocked.
“You...you did this all yourself?”
“Well, I did have help from the
teacher, who by the way signed a note excusing my lateness.” Reggie said,
handing Miss Grundy the note from Mr. Krosskutt. “But, I stayed up late
trying to get this box back together, and ended up being late for class to fix
up one little detail.”
“Which was?” Jughead asked.
“Well, I noticed that when the
box was broken, that the part that played the music was broken too...”
Reggie said.
“Oh, that was broken for
years.” Wembley said, as he went to open the box up. “It hasn't
played any music...”
But before Wembley could finish,
he heard a faint melody coming from below. When Wembley opened up the
box, the song that was inside began to play. And, once he heard the first
few notes, Wembley's eyes began to water.
“Oh my...the music.”
Wembley said. “The music works!”
“Did I mention that Mr.
Krosskutt can fix broken music boxes?” Reggie said. “He managed to
get the music playing again in no time!”
“But, why would you go to so
much trouble?” Wembley asked Reggie. “You didn't really know me?”
Reggie sighed a deep sigh.
“No...but I'd like to. I had no idea that this box had so much meaning
for you, and when those guys broke it, I really felt bad. I wanted to fix
it back up for you because I knew that It would be something that I could do to
apologize to you. I am so sorry that I couldn't stop Clay and Johnny from
bullying you, and I am really sorry that I couldn't stop them from breaking
this box. I hope that by repairing this box for you that I have shown you
that we really do care at Riverdale High, and that I hope that you can forgive
me for not being able to help you before.”
The entire class was a bit
misty-eyed at this point. Even Miss Grundy looked like she was moved by
the whole thing.
Wembley stared at Reggie and
smiled. “This is...one of the nicest things that anybody has ever done
for me. Thank you so much, Reggie.”
Reggie shook Wembley's hand,
trying to keep his composure. “You're welcome, Wembley. And, after
school, I hope that you'll come down to Pop's and join the rest of the football
team. We all want to apologize to you and let you know that not all of us
are like Johnny and Clay.”
Jughead headed over towards
Wembley. “You see now?”
Wembley nodded. “You know
something...I think I'm really going to like it here.”
Wembley then gave Jughead a
hug. “Thank you.”
Jughead smiled. “Welcome
to Riverdale High, Wembley.”
“Okay.” Miss Grundy said,
dabbing a tissue to her face. “We still have presentations to do.
This whole week has been really an...interesting one here.”
“You can say that again!”
Archie said.
“Wembley...” Miss Grundy
said. “...would you like to do your presentation?”
“Yes...” Wembley
said. “I'm ready now.”
“Good.” Miss Grundy
said. “Class, take your seats, please.”
Jughead, Archie, and Reggie sat
back down in their seats as Wembley began to speak.
“For my class project, I brought
in one of the last things that I have from my parents. It's this jewelry
box that my father had given to my mother when they were dating.
Initially, I was going to talk about why this jewelry box meant so much to me,
because of my parents...but seeing all of these cracks in the top...well, it
has so much more meaning to me now. This box has a rich history of love,
memories, laughter, and joy...and, thanks to some really, really good friends
that I have made here, it now has another form of history to it...the history
of friendship.”
As Wembley continued with his
presentation, Jughead leaned back and winked at Wembley. “You're gonna be
all right, kid. I know it.”
Welcome
to another edition of the Tuesday Timeline. It's the fifteenth of March, and I have to say that I was
definitely bombarded with a lot of choice for subjects to discuss! Let's just say that March 15 was a busy day
in pop culture history!
I
did settle on a topic that could answer the question "where are they
now?" for one entertainer - and no, I'm not talking about Richard Simmons
either. But, it could also answer the
question "who are they now?"
Confused? You won't be as you read on. First of all, let's see what took place in
history on this date, starting with a rather significant event...
44 B.C. - Julius Caesar is stabbed to death on the Ides of
March
1493 - After his first visit to the Americas,
Christopher Columbus returns to Spain
1672 - Charles II issues the Royal Declaration of
Indulgence in Britain
1783 - George Washington makes an impassioned plea to
his officers to not support the Newburgh Conspiracy - the plea works, and a
planned coup d'etat does not take place
1820 - Maine is admitted as the twenty-third state to
join the United States
1875 - Archbishop of New York John McCloskey becomes the
first cardinal in the United States
1877 - The first official cricket test match is played
in Melbourne, Australia
1906 - Rolls-Royce Limited is incorporated
1913 - Soap actor Macdonald Carey (d. 1994) is born in
Sioux City, Iowa
1919 - Actor Lawrence Tierney (d. 2002) is born in
Brooklyn, New York
1935 - Percy Shaw founds Reflecting Roadstuds Limited -
a company specializing in the manufacturing of cat's eyes
1956 - The Broadway musical "My Fair Lady"
debuts at the Mark Hellinger Theatre
1975 - Businessman Aristotle Onassis dies at the age of
69
1985 - The first Internet domain name is registered -
symbolics.com
1986 - Thirty-three people perish following the collapse
of Singapore's Hotel New World
1990 - Mikhail Gorbachev is elected President of the
Soviet Union
1998 - Pediatrician and author Dr. Benjamin Spock dies
at the age of 94
2011 - The Syrian Civil War commences
2015 - Toto bass player Mike Porcaro dies at the age of
59
Wow...hard
to believe that the conflicts in Syria began five years ago today and they're
still nowhere near resolving it.
Certainly makes one think.
Celebrating
a birthday this March 15 are the following famous faces; Jeanne Mockford, D.J. Fontana, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Judd Hirsch, Jimmy Swaggart, Margo Howard, Mike Love, David Cronenberg, Sly Stone, Howard E. Scott, Heather Graham
Pozzessere, Dee Snider, Park Overall, David Silverman, Harold Baines, Terry Cummings, Craig Ludwig, Bret Michaels, Rockwell, Chris Bruno, Mark McGrath, Kim Raver, Penny Lancaster, Mark Hoppus, will.i.am, Eva Longoria, Katherine Brooks, Joe Hahn, Young Buck, Jordan Hastings, Emily Tyndall, Sean Biggerstaff, Tom Chilton, Kellan Lutz, Jai Courtney, Adrianne Leon, Alexander Sims, Siobhan Magnus, and Ellie Leach. Happy birthday to you all!
And
now comes the year that we're flashing back in time to...
Yes,
today we're looking back on March 15, 1962. And, as it so happens, this also happens to be a celebrity
birthdate. But, just who is turning 54
years old today?
Seriously,
who? After all, this guy has actually
changed his name, and has released music under both names.
Now,
I'm guessing that the name Sananda Francesco Maitreya probably will have you
wondering who I'm talking about. For
all you know, I've either described a South American delicacy, a race car
driver from Europe, or Kimmy Gibbler's ex-husband on "Fuller House"
(whose name is actually Fernando).
That
just happens to be the name that our mystery subject has gone by since he
legally changed it fifteen years ago.
But prior to that, he went by a totally different name. A name that many who were born after 1987
probably won't recognize. You see, that
was the year that he released his debut album and scored his one and only #1
hit on the Billboard charts. Here. Let me play it for you now. It's quite catchy in a late 1980s Roland
synthesizer and Linn drum machine kind of way.
ARTIST: Terence Trent D'Arby SONG: Wishing Well ALBUM: Introducing
the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby
DATE RELEASED: October
1987*
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #1 for 1 week
(The
* denotes that this was the UK release date.
In reality, this song didn't reach the top of the charts until May 1988
- almost one year after the release of this album.)
If
you haven't guessed by now, the subject of today's blog is R&B singer
Terence Trent D'Arby, who burst onto the scene in the late 1980s with a brand
new style and sound that had everyone dancing all over the place. And certainly, "Introducing the
Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby" was a successful album - it
even netted D'Arby a Grammy Award in 1988 for Best Male R&B Vocal
Performance.
So
how did he go from Grammy Award winning artist Terence Trent D'Arby to Sananda
Maitreya? Well, let's start at the
beginning.
He
was born Terence Trent Howard in Manhattan, New York, and changed his name to
Darby when his mother remarried. He
added the apostrophe himself to give the name a little extra flavour (so, I
guess if you want to get technical, he changed his name three times). Interestingly enough, he didn't start out
wanting to be a singer. In his early
years, he trained as a boxer. When he
was eighteen years old, he won the Florida Golden Gloves lightweight
championship and was given the opportunity to attend boxing school in the
United States Army.
(And,
you truly learn something new every day because I had no idea that boxing
school even existed!)
At
any rate, D'Arby turned down the offer to attend college. Though that college life only lasted a year
before he decided to join the United States Army after all. His tenure though was short. He was dishonorably discharged in 1983 for
absence without leave. By then, D'Arby
had decided that he wanted to pursue a career in music. After all, his mother was a gospel singer,
and the musical talent did run in the family.
In 1984, he released an album with a band known as Touch, and by 1986,
he was playing in a band known as The Bojangles. But it wouldn't be until July 1987 that he would branch out as a
solo artist and release his debut album.
Certainly
his first album was a hit in North America.
"Wishing Well", as I revealed earlier became a #1 hit. But it was even more successful in the UK,
where D'Arby had several hits from the album chart which included "Dance
Little Sister", "If You Let Me Stay", and this song - which I
have to admit is one of my all-time favourite songs from the 1980s.
Yep...you
could play "Sign Your Name" on a continuous loop, and I'd still be
happy with it.
But
while D'Arby was promoting the album, something happened along the way. He started to develop self-confidence to the
point where he was starting to sound as if he were up himself. Would you believe that he even said that his
debut album was the most important album ever released since The Beatles
released "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"?
Whoa,
now. I don't deny that Terence Trent
D'Arby had talent, but to seriously say that his album was the best album ever
released in a 20 year time period?!?
That's a little more than ballsy.
In
fact, D'Arby's statement is kind of reminiscent to some of the ridiculousness
posted by a certain person who has lost his ever yeezy mind as of late. The only difference is that I think we've
become so desensitized to his attention seeking ways that in the case of the
latter we just laugh it off.
Not
so for the pre-Twitter world of Terence Trent D'Arby. His comments were more or less vilified by the music press at
that time, and when it came time for D'Arby to release his second album in 1989
- fans were no longer interested in what he had to say. The album bombed, and some may say that it
was the moment in which D'Arby decided he didn't want to be Terence Trent
D'Arby any longer.
During
the 1990s, he released two more lacklustre albums - 1993's "Symphony or
Damn" and 1995's "Vibrator", and in the late 1990s he
temporarily became the lead singer of the Australian rock band INXS following
Michael Hutchence's suicide in November 1997.
He also appeared as Jackie Wilson in the 1999 CBS miniseries
"Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story".
But
by the time the 1990s ended, Terence Trent D'Arby had decided that he was done
being Terence Trent D'Arby. Following a
dream that he had back in 1995, he had declared that Terence Trent D'Arby was
dead, and that he would be reborn as Sananda Francesco Maitreya. And in October 2001, he had his name legally
changed to Sananda Maitreya.
Now,
of course, he continued to record music under his new name - since 2001 he has
released seven albums. Of course, none
of them quite matched the success that he had when he was Terence Trent D'Arby. However, I think that he's quite all right
with that. No longer does he feel
pressured to compete with other people.
Instead he can record at his leisure for himself.
Regardless of what name he goes by these days,
you can't deny that he made a mark on the music industry - and you don't need a
coin to toss in a wishing well to cement that.
THE CONCLUSION OF THIS STORY WILL BE POSTED WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16...
“Jughead!” Archie exclaimed. “Wait up!”
Jughead was practically running
down Pickins Road, with Archie running right behind him.
“Jughead! Slow
down!” Archie yelled.
“You're gonna have to keep up
with me!” Jughead said.
“Jughead, considering the fact
that you're known for taking naps that last eleven hours at a time, the very
fact that you're running so fast that I can't keep up with you speaks
volumes!” Archie said.
“I can't help it, Arch.”
Jughead said. “When I think of how Clay and Johnny bullied poor Wembley,
and how his most prized possession bit the dust because of those two
insensitive jerks...”
“I know.” Archie
said. “I know...how you're feeling.”
“Archie, I appreciate the
thought, but I'm not sure you know exactly what's going through my head right
now.” Jughead said. “Right now, Wembley's out there somewhere
completely devastated and alone, and he feels as though he has been let down.”
“But, that isn't your
fault!” Archie said. “You had nothing to do with this! You've
been nothing but a friend to Wembley.”
“And, yet, I'm the one who
practically convinced him to use that jewelry box for his project!”
Jughead moaned. “Why didn't I keep my mouth shut?”
“Jughead, look at me.”
Archie said. “Be honest. Could you have possibly foreseen this
happening? Honestly.”
Jughead sighed. “No.”
“Then stop beating yourself up
about this.” Archie said. “We just have to find Wembley. And,
seeing as how we're just a couple of blocks away from Pickins Park, you must
think that he's nearby.”
“It's just a hunch.”
Jughead said. “But, it's all I have. Come on.”
Archie followed Jughead down
Pickins Road where Jughead motioned Archie to turn the corner onto Walnut
Street. From there, Jughead pointed towards the direction of Pop's
Chocklit Shop.
“Jughead.” Archie
said. “I hardly think that this is the time for you to satisfy your
hunger with one of Pop's cheeseburger specials.”
“No, just hear me out.”
Jughead said. “Remember where we first met Wembley?”
“Well, you first met Wembley
outside of the gym...” Archie said.
“No...I mean, where did we have
our first conversation?” Jughead asked.
Archie nodded. “Pop's.”
Jughead headed towards the front
door of Pop's. “Ah, but do you know specifically?”
Archie looked confused.
“It was a booth, right?”
Jughead started to open the
door. “I may have only known Wembley for a week, but one thing I've
always noticed about him is that he likes familiar places. His bedroom at
home. The fact that he sits in the same spot every day in the cafeteria...”
And, as Jughead and Archie
entered Pop's, Jughead glanced over towards the booth right next to the gumball
machine and breathed a sigh of relief.
“...and apparently he loves that
booth too.”
Sure enough, sitting in the
booth next to the gumball machine was Wembley Morris, whose face was buried in
his hands.
“Jughead...how...?” Archie
stammered.
“I told you...it was a
hunch.” Jughead said. “Archie, why don't you go over to the counter
and order us three lime fizzes?”
Archie nodded. “If you
need me...”
“I'll let you know.”
Jughead said.
“Good luck, buddy.” Archie
said.
Archie walked towards the soda
fountain counter in Pop's, while Jughead approached the booth where Wembley was.
“You know, you should try the
lime fizz.” Jughead said to Wembley. “It's very...fizzy.”
Wembley looked up at Jughead,
his eyes still wet from crying and his cheeks red and blotchy. “I know
what you're trying to do, and it's not going to work. I'm still leaving
Riverdale High, and you aren't changing my mind.”
Jughead sat down beside
Wembley. “Well, at least you're still talking to me.”
Wembley sat there silently.
“Or, maybe not.” Jughead
said.
Wembley frowned. “Look,
Jughead, I don't blame you for what happened today, but no matter what, it
doesn't change things. My mother's jewelry box is gone, and there's
nothing you can do about it.”
“Maybe not about the box.”
Jughead said. “But, would you like to know what happened after you left
the school?”
“What?” Wembley
asked. “Did everyone else laugh at me too about what happened?”
“NO!” Jughead
gasped. “Quite the opposite actually. They were all very upset over
it.”
“I bet Clay and Johnny laughed
it up though.” Wembley sighed.
“Yes, until they got in trouble
for it by Mr. Weatherbee.” Jughead said. “Turns out that Reggie was
so angry over what Clay and Johnny did to your mom's jewelry box that he
squealed on them.”
“Oh, great!” Wembley
moaned. “Now Clay and Johnny are going to really make things miserable
for me!”
“Actually, if I know Mr.
Weatherbee quite well, I guarantee you that Clay and Johnny will never hurt you
or any other student at Riverdale High again.” Jughead said.
“That's what you promised me the
last time!” Wembley cried. “You lied to me!”
“No!” Jughead
yelled. “I had no idea that Clay and Johnny could be so cruel!
Nobody did!”
“I did...” Wembley
said. “...and now I don't have my mom's jewelry box.”
“What happened was
horrible.” Jughead said. “But, you have to trust me when I say that
Mr. Weatherbee and all of us at Riverdale High won't ever let this happen
again.”
“You don't know that!”
Jughead said.
“Jughead, just leave me
alone!” Wembley snapped. “You don't know what it's like to be
teased on a day to day basis! You don't!”
“Oh, I bet I could relate to you
more than you realize.” Jughead said.
“I need to go.” Wembley
said, getting up.
“Wembley, wait!” Jughead
said.
“Just leave it, Jughead!”
Wembley screamed. “How would you know how I feel?”
As Wembley started to head
towards the front door, Jughead stood up and shouted “BECAUSE THE SAME THING
HAPPENED TO ME!”
Wembley froze and slowly turned
around and stared at Jughead.
And, Archie who was still at the
counter stared at Jughead. “What?”
Jughead sighed. “Wembley,
you are not the only one who was bullied.”
Wembley looked confused.
“You...you were bullied too? When?”
Jughead sighed. “It
happened when I was younger. When I was six years old. I had just
moved to Riverdale, and I had left all of my old friends behind. I wasn't
very happy because I was starting over in a new town.”
Archie listened intently as
Wembley sat back down at the booth where Jughead was. “Sounds kind of
like me when I first moved to Riverdale.”
Jughead continued.
“Anyways. I was in a rather bad mood my first couple of weeks in
town. I didn't know anyone, so I didn't really talk with anyone. I
just kept thinking about my old friends, and how I would never make new
friends. My first week at Riverdale Elementary School was really
rough. All the bigger kids used to push me down. They called me
names like 'Platypus Beak' or 'Pencil Nose'. When they found out that my
real name was Forsythe, this gave them more of an excuse to make fun of
me. This happened to me for days. I didn't know what to do. I
went home crying every day.”
“Sounds awful.” Wembley
said.
“It was.” Jughead
said. “I mean, it was bad enough not having any friends in Riverdale when
I was a kid. To have kids in the place you moved to bully you and tease
you because you were the new kid made me even more homesick.”
“But, you're like one of the
more popular guys in Riverdale High now.” Wembley said. “How did
you get over it?”
Jughead sighed. “Well,
when we first moved in, we couldn't take all of our stuff right away, so it
took a couple of weeks for it all to arrive at our new house. Once it
arrived, we were moving in all of our stuff, and I noticed this kid walking up the
street. He introduced himself to my parents and he saw me and asked me
how I was. My parents insisted that I go with this kid while he showed me
around town, and while I wasn't up to it at first, things got better.”
Archie listened intently, as
Wembley asked. “What happened?”
“Well, this kid insisted on
trying to cheer me up, and he kept calling me Forsythe, because that's how my
parents introduced me to him. And, I insisted – quite rudely too – that
the only way he would ever be my friend is if he called me by my nickname back
in my old town.”
Wembley cracked a tiny
smile. “Jughead...”
“We had so much fun that
day.” Jughead said. “We caught frogs around Pickins Park. We
swam in the old pond. We went fishing along Carson's
Creek...unfortunately that perilous pike remained elusive, but we had fun
trying to catch him. Oh, what else...oh, we met little Betty Cooper who
baked me a pie, and in the end, my family invited him over for dinner. It
was truly the best day of my whole life, and it was the first page to a
wonderful friendship.”
“So, who was this kid?”
Wembley asked. “Is he still in town?”
Jughead then turned towards
Archie, who was smiling broadly as he collected three lime fizzes from Pop
Tate. “Well, of course he is. In fact, I can introduce him to you
right now. Archie, introduce yourself.”
Archie smiled. “Hi!”
Wembley looked stunned.
“You and Archie have been friends that long? I don't even know if I've
had a friendship last ten months, let alone ten years!”
“Eleven years.” Jughead
corrected. “But, ever since Archie and I became friends, I found that the
bullying I went through didn't hurt me as much. Instead of wasting time
being upset and sad, I focused my feelings on my friendship with Archie.
Eventually, I started to make more friends, and by third grade, I felt like I
could finally call Riverdale my home.”
“Well, that is a very inspiring
story, but the damage is still done.” Wembley said. “Truth is, I
don't know if I can get over this.”
“You can.” Jughead said.
“But, Jughead, don't you get
it?” Wembley said. “Clay and Johnny took everything away!
They destroyed my mom's jewelry box, and they made me afraid to go to school!”
“But, don't you see?”
Jughead said. “They didn't take everything away!”
Wembley began to shed a
tear. “What do you mean?”
Jughead took a deep
breath. “Wembley, you still have friends. Archie.
Betty. Veronica. Even Reggie stood up for you.”
“He's right.” Archie said.
“And, most importantly, you have
me.” Jughead said. “You want to know something? Part of the
reason why I started to feel better about this town and myself was because
someone cared enough about me to want to be my friend. Archie showed me
that he wanted to be my friend, and that helped me a lot in dealing with
things. Wembley, you are smart, you're caring, you're...cool. And,
you're my friend.”
Wembley smiled. “I am?”
“Of course.” Jughead
said. “Now, I can't promise you that everything will be one hundred per cent
better if...no, wait...WHEN you go back to Riverdale High. What I can
promise you is that you will have friends who you can go to whenever you
want. What I can promise you is that your friends will never let anyone
else hurt you again. What I can promise you is that the teachers of
Riverdale High won't let anyone else bully you again. And, I promise you
that you can trust everything I say to be the truth. The choice is yours
whether you want to stay at Riverdale High or not, but if you decide to stay,
we'll all do our best to make sure that you're welcomed the right way the
second time around. Just please give all of us a second chance to make
this up to you.”
Wembley looked touched by
Jughead's words. “Thank you...Jughead...Archie...”
At that moment, a middle-aged
woman entered Pop's. “Wembley!!!”
Wembley immediately recognized
the woman. “Aunt Glynis!”
Wembley ran towards the woman
and hugged her tightly. “What in the world happened?”
“How did you know where I
was?” Wembley asked.
“You can thank these two boys
over there.” Glynis said, looking at Jughead and Archie. “You certainly
have made some wonderful friends.”
Jughead and Archie smiled at
each other as Wembley began to cry. “Mom's jewelry box...it's gone!
Some kids broke it...I'm...I'm so sorry!”
“Shhhhh.” Glynis said,
comforting Wembley. “It's all okay. It's going to be okay.
Mr. Weatherbee called me up earlier. I'll fill you in on what happened
when we get home.”
“So, you aren't mad that I left
school early?” Wembley asked.
“Of course not.” Glynis
said. “I understand. Why don't we talk about this at home?”
“Okay.” Wembley said.
Glynis looked up at Archie and
Jughead. “Thank you boys...for everything.”
As Glynis and Wembley left
Pop's, Jughead sat down, visibly exhausted. “I sure hope that I got
through to him.”
“Well, whether or not you did is
yet to be seen.” Archie said. “But, what you said really got to
me. I had no idea you were bullied when you first moved to town. I
mean, I know we had our scuffles as kids with the Southside Serpents, and Fangs
Fogarty...but we faced them together. I had no idea you had to go through
that alone.”
“Now you see why Wembley really
struck a chord with me.” Jughead said. “I really had to help
him. I wanted to make him see that while it may take time, as long as he
has someone to confide in, it would make him feel better about himself.
After all...you did the same for me all those years ago. You're my best
friend, Arch.”
Archie shook Jughead's
hand. “Right back at you, Archie.”
“So...” Jughead
said. “...should we drink these lime fizzes?”
Archie laughed. “Why don't
I buy you a burger?”
“Even better!” Jughead
said, laughing.
“I'll be right back.”
Archie said, as he headed back to the counter.
Jughead leaned back in the
booth, and sighed. “Wembley, I have a feeling that things are going to be
better for you...you just have to let us in...”
Some time passed, and it was now just a few minutes before Miss
Grundy's history class was about to begin, and Wembley Morris was ready for
it. He had just completed his oral report for tomorrow's class, and armed
with his mother's jewelry box and his oral report scribbled in his notebook, he
was ready to give off a great report. He was thinking that he would get a
B+ at least, or maybe even an A. He was really proud of it, and he had
hoped that his report would have made his parents proud as well.
He turned the corner and saw
that Miss Grundy's classroom was open, and that nobody else was inside, so he
figured that he would head on inside and wait for class to start. He
walked inside the classroom, and started to head towards the desk as the warning
bell began to ring, informing people to hurry ahead to class. He was more
than excited to hand in his project early and be done with it.
But, as Wembley walked inside
the empty classroom, he heard a door slam behind him. When Wembley turned
around, he was shocked to find Clay and Johnny standing in the doorway.
“We need to have a talk.”
Clay said.
“You need to stay away from
me.” Wembley said. “The principal said.”
“Well, he's not here...is
he?” Johnny said, walking slowly towards Wembley.
“I don't like what you said
about us to Weatherbee.” Clay said. “Thanks to you, we can't play
in the homecoming game.”
“And, we don't like that.”
Johnny said.
“So, we're going to make you
pay.” Clay said.
Wembley looked scared.
“Wh...what are you going to do?”
Clay smiled. “Wouldn't you
like to know?”
Johnny then noticed the stuff
that Wembley was carrying. “Get a load of the stuff he's carrying.”
Clay grabbed the notebook out of
Wembley's hands. “What's this? Your homework?”
“Give it back!” Wembley
yelled.
“I just want to see it!”
Clay said, flipping through the pages of the notebook.
But, Clay was purposely turning
the pages forcefully, causing the pages to rip out completely.
“Oops!” Clay said.
“I seem to have ripped the book. What will I do?”
Johnny laughed. “Let's
party!”
Clay sneered as he threw the
pieces of paper up in the air. “Happy New Year!”
Wembley looked like he was about
to cry. “You won't get away with this!”
Just then, Reggie walked into
the classroom and saw Clay, Johnny, and Wembley inside the classroom.
“Clay? Johnny? What are you doing here? You aren't in this
class!”
As Wembley continued to look
nervous, Clay turned towards Reggie and smiled. “Ah, Reggie! Just
in time!”
“We're about to play a
game!” Johnny said.
Reggie looked concerned.
“What are you doing to that kid?”
“Oh, don't worry, dude.”
Clay said. “Wembley here is just having fun.”
“Funny.” Reggie
said. “He doesn't look like he's enjoying himself at all.”
“Oh, but he is.” Johnny
said. “Trust us.”
Clay was eyeing the red box that
Wembley was carrying. “What's in there?”
Wembley looked scared.
“You...you can't have it?”
Johnny smiled. “You know
something? Tomorrow happens to be my birthday...and it looks like Wembley
bought me a present. Isn't that thoughtful of him?”
“Sure is.” Clay
said. “What do you say, Wembley? Give Johnny his present.”
“No.” Wembley said.
Clay got angrier. “I said,
give Johnny his present.”
Reggie looked
uncomfortable. “Clay, Johnny, you're taking this a bit too far.”
“Be quiet, Mantle.” Clay
snapped.
Johnny then grabbed the box out
of Wembley's hands. “Let's see what you bought me.”
Wembley was visibly
agitated. “Please! No! Give that back!”
Clay stood in front of Wembley
as Johnny tore open the red box. “What the heck is this? It looks
like a blue wooden box.”
“No way!” Clay
exclaimed. “That's a jewelry box! The wimpy kid has a jewelry box.”
“You need to give that
back!” Wembley pleaded.
Clay scoffed. “What kind
of dorky man has a jewelry box anyway?”
“I don't know, but it's nothing
that I can use.” Johnny said in disgust.
“I WANT IT BACK!” Wembley
shouted. “Please!”
“Guys, this has gone on far
enough.” Reggie said. “Give it back to him.”
“You want it back, Whiny
Wembley?” Clay asked.
Wembley nodded.
“You REALLY want it back?”
Johnny asked.
“YES!” Wembley yelled.
“Fine.” Clay said.
“We'll give it back.”
Clay walked over to where a
frightened Wembley was and started to hand over the jewelry box to him.
But, just before Wembley could lay a hand on the box, Clay yanked it back,
winked at Johnny and yelled “CATCH!”
Wembley could only look on in
horror as Clay threw the jewelry box up in the air to Johnny who was on the
other side of the classroom.
Johnny caught the jewelry box
and laughed. “Wow...great throw. I can see why Coach made you
quarterback.”
STOP IT!” Wembley
screamed. “Please!”
“Guys, this is crazy.”
Reggie yelled. “You have got to stop this!”
“Why?” Johnny said,
tossing the jewelry box back to Clay. “We're having too much fun.”
As Clay caught the box, Wembley
was visibly upset, and for the first time, Reggie could see that Archie and
Betty were telling the truth about Clay and Johnny bullying Wembley. And,
he knew that he was the only one who could make things right.
As Clay threw the box back over
to Johnny, Reggie quickly intercepted the box.
Clay was visibly upset.
“What did you do that for?”
“Because this is wrong.”
Reggie said. “Look at what you're doing to this kid!”
“Why are you defending this
weirdo?” Clay yelled. “He doesn't speak in class, he doesn't say
anything to anybody. He just doesn't do anything! He's the weirdest
person in the whole school!”
“I don't care!” Reggie
said. “This is wrong. It's one thing to crack jokes to people, or
good-naturedly rib our new team members. This is bullying, and I think
you two need to stop. Wembley is getting his jewelry box back.”
“No he's not.” Johnny
said, grabbing on the box that Reggie was holding.
Reggie tried to get the box out
of Johnny's grip. “What are you doing?” he screamed.
“Wembley got us thrown out of
the game.” Johnny said. “He needs to pay!”
“Guys, stop it!” Wembley
screamed. “You're gonna wreck it!”
But Reggie and Johnny wouldn't
stop. Reggie was trying to get the box out of Johnny's hands so he could
give it back to Wembley, but Johnny wasn't letting go. Suddenly, both
Reggie and Johnny tripped over a chair and both of them let go of the
box. Wembley could only watch in horror as the wooden jewelry box landed
on the floor, breaking into several pieces all over Miss Grundy's classroom floor.
“NOOOOOOOO!” Wembley cried
out!
Wembley immediately ran to the
broken jewelry box and upon seeing the damaged box, broke down into tears.
Reggie looked really
uncomfortable, while Clay and Johnny were chuckling to themselves.
Reggie was furious. “Are
the two of you happy now?”
Just then, the rest of the class
started to pile into the classroom, and immediately came upon the sight of a
sobbing Wembley, and Clay, Johnny, and Reggie standing in the middle of the
classroom.
Jughead noticed the broken box
on the floor, and then fixed his gaze on Clay and Johnny. “WHAT DID YOU
DO TO HIM?”
Clay and Johnny glanced at each
other.
“We didn't do anything.”
Clay said.
“Yeah, it was an
accident.” Johnny said. “Right, Reggie?”
Reggie looked like he was
punched in the stomach.
“You two aren't even supposed to
BE in this class!” Betty snapped.
“Get out of here now.”
Veronica said. “Haven't you done enough to this poor boy?”
Archie just stared at
Reggie. “I really hope YOU had nothing to do with this Reggie.”
Jughead tried to kneel down
beside Wembley. He reached his hand out to him. “Wembley?”
“Just leave me alone!”
Wembley sobbed.
Just then, Miss Grundy walked
inside the classroom. “Good afternoon class, I...”
Miss Grundy then looked
around. “My classroom! What happened to my classroom? Why is
Wembley Morris crying? I want to know what is going on, and I want to
know what is going on right now!”
“I'd like an explanation
myself.” Mr. Weatherbee said as he too entered the classroom.
“Miss Grundy invited me down to speak to the class
for a few minutes, and I see that there is obvious disorder here. I want
to know what is going on. NOW.”
Wembley wiped his eyes and
approached Mr. Weatherbee. “I'll tell you what's happening. I'm
leaving Riverdale High. I want to transfer to Central High. I
can't...I can't be here...”
Wembley ran out of the room as
Jughead tried to go after him. “Wembley...Wembley, wait!”
“Hold it, son.” Mr.
Weatherbee said, holding Jughead back. “Nobody is leaving this room.”
“But, sir, Wembley...:”
Jughead said.
“I understand that you're
concerned about him.” Mr. Weatherbee said. “That's why I need to
know what exactly happened in this classroom.”
Jughead angrily turned and
glared at Clay and Johnny. “Why don't you ask these two?”
“Jones, what are you talking
about?” Clay said.
“AS IF YOU DON'T KNOW!”
Jughead yelled. “You two have been hounding Wembley for weeks!
You've been bullying him, making his time in school miserable...and now you
broke his jewelry box!”
“You have no proof!”
Johnny said.
“Do you have any idea how much
that box meant to him?” Jughead yelled. “That box was one of the
only things he has left to remember his parents who died in a fire when Wembley
was little! It was all he had, and you two just destroyed it! How
cruel can you be?”
“Look, I'm sorry his jewelry box
got broken, but you can't blame us.” Clay said. “It was an
accident!”
“Yeah, it accidentally fell.”
“It was NO accident, and both of
you know it!” Reggie yelled.
Clay and Johnny glared at Reggie.
“Reggie, you don't know what
you're talking about.” Clay said.
“Great, now you've turned
against us too.” Johnny said. “I guess nobody cares about whether
we win the homecoming game, not even Reggie.”
“I'd rather lose every game than
let you hurt Wembley any longer.” Reggie said.
Jughead walked towards
Reggie. “Reggie, what happened?”
“I'd like to know what happened
too.” Mr. Weatherbee said.
Reggie sighed. “Clay and
Johnny cornered Wembley in this classroom, and they were harassing him when I
walked in.”
“He's lying!” Clay said.
“Oh, be quiet, you boor.”
Veronica snapped. “I can't believe I ever thought you were cute.”
“Reggie, go on.” Mr.
Weatherbee said.
Reggie breathed deeply.
“When I came in, Johnny grabbed the jewelry box out of Wembley's hands, and
started to play catch with it. He and Clay threw it back and forth just
to hurt Wembley. I tried to step in and get the box back once I saw that
Wembley was really upset about it, and in the struggle, the box got broken.”
Jughead angrily glared at Clay
and Johnny, who were looking more and more guilty with every word that Reggie
was saying.
“Sir, you have to believe
me.” Reggie said, his voice cracking. “I wasn't aware that any of
this was going on with Wembley until I saw it. I am so sorry that
Wembley's box got broken, and I swear to you that I didn't have anything to do
with Wembley's bullying. Please believe me.”
Reggie then walked over to
Archie, Betty, and Jughead. “Guys, please forgive me.”
Betty sighed. “You really
tried to stop it?”
Reggie nodded. “Yes.
I did.”
Archie smiled a tiny
smile. “Maybe there's hope for you yet, Reg.”
“Sir.” Reggie said to Mr.
Weatherbee. “I really am sorry.”
Mr. Weatherbee sighed.
“Reggie...I can't say that I'm all that pleased to hear what happened
here...but at the same time, I admire your courage. In the end, I really
do believe that you tried to make things right. That does take courage,
and I respect that.”
Reggie nodded sadly.
“Thank you, sir.”
Mr. Weatherbee's attention then
turned towards Clay and Johnny. “I am however incredibly disappointed in
the two of you. What were you thinking?”
“The kid is weird.” Clay
said. “We wanted to get him to open up.”
“By destroying his history
project?” Miss Grundy exclaimed. “In all my years of teaching, I
have NEVER seen people treat each other so cruelly.”
Mr. Weatherbee shook his
head. “You two have disappointed me, Miss Grundy, the football team, the
school...and especially poor Wembley. I want to see both of you in my
office.”
“But, sir.” Clay said.
“NOW.” Mr. Weatherbee
bellowed. “You two are in some serious, SERIOUS trouble. Come with
me.”
Mr. Weatherbee left the
classroom, with a dejected looking Clay and Johnny following behind him.
Jughead looked like he was about
ready to be sick. “I can't believe those two would do something like
this. What person would do this? What HUMAN BEING would do this?”
“Guys, you have got to believe
me.” Reggie said. “I am so sorry for what happened to
Wembley. I tried to get them to stop and give the box back.”
“Reggie, I believe you.”
Archie said.
“Yeah...” Jughead
said. “...you at least feel something about what happened, which is more
than I can say for those two.”
“Poor Wembley.” Veronica
said.
Jughead walked over towards Miss
Grundy. “Miss Grundy, we have got to find Wembley. He's hurt and
upset. He really needs a friend. May I be excused from class to go
and find him and talk to him?”
“Normally, I would say
no.” Miss Grundy said. “But, in this case, I will make an
exception. Go on. Find him.”
“Thank you, Miss Grundy.”
Jughead said.
“And, I'm going with you.”
Archie said.
“Archie, I appreciate this, but
I don't know if you'd be any help.” Jughead said.
“Jughead, you and I have been
friends for how many years now?” Archie asked. “I'm not letting you
deal with this alone. I want to help you find, Wembley, okay?”
Jughead nodded. “Come
on. We'll use your car, okay?”
“All right.” Archie
said. “Let's go.”
“Good luck, guys.” Betty
said.
“You find him, all right?”
Reggie said.
Archie and Jughead left Miss
Grundy's classroom, and headed towards the front door of the school.
“Would you have any idea where
Wembley might have gone?” Archie asked Jughead.
“I can only think of one
place.” Jughead said. “I just hope that I'm right. In the
meantime, you'd better call Wembley's aunt and uncle to let them know what
happened. I have the phone number.”
“I just hope we can find
him.” Archie said.
“Me too.” Jughead said.
Back inside the classroom,
Reggie kept staring at the broken pieces of Wembley's jewelry box as Miss
Grundy attempted to get class back in session.
“This is so unfair.”
Veronica said. “I mean, we helped Wembley try to get the bullying to
stop, and in the end, he still ended up getting hurt.”
“I still think that we did the
right thing.” Betty said. “I mean, none of us saw this coming, but
we had to say something.”
“Betty's absolutely
right.” Miss Grundy said. “If someone was being bullied or made fun
of in this classroom, I would want to know about it so I could find a way to
try and get it stopped. I don't believe that anybody should have to go
through any sort of harassment in this school.”
“I can't help but feel so bad
about this.” Ethel Muggs said.
“This is one horrible
situation.” Dilton Doiley added.
“Moose, were you aware that any
of this was going on?” Midge asked.
“D-uh...not at all.” Moose
said.
“You couldn't have
anyway.” Reggie said. “I didn't even know that this had been
happening until I saw it with my own eyes. Clay and Johnny did all their
picking on Wembley out of sight of anyone. It explains why they were
always late for football practice. Why didn't I see it earlier?”
“I think part of it could have
been that maybe you were afraid that by speaking out, you could have been
teased too.” Betty said.
“A lot of teenagers don't report
bullying to school officials.” Miss Grundy said. “Some people are
afraid to go to a higher authority for fear of repercussions, or they may feel
that they may lose friendships, or they simply feel that they can deal with it
themselves. But, the truth is that there is power in speaking out against
school bullying, and I promise you that we will do our best to make sure that
we never have a situation like this happen again.”
“But, how does this help Wembley
now?” Reggie exclaimed.
“Reggie, we're doing it right
now by talking about this.” Veronica said.
“Exactly.” Chuck
said. “The more awareness we bring to this issue, the better chance we
have to stop it once and for all.”
“I just feel so horrible about
this.” Reggie said. “I mean, I was calling Wembley names, and I was
making jokes at his expense, not knowing what Clay and Johnny were doing.
I just feel so incredibly horrible. I mean, I know I have the reputation
of being a jerk, but I'm not heartless.”
“Reggie, of course we know
that.” Miss Grundy said. “I think you're being a little bit hard on
yourself.”
“Yeah, I mean, it's not like you
were throwing Wembley's backpack in the trash.” Veronica said.
“And, you certainly didn't
intend to break Wembley's jewelry box.” Betty said. “You tried to
get it back from those two.”
“It's still broken
though.” Reggie said. “And, now that I know how much it meant to
Wembley, it doesn't make me feel any better.”
“I know.” Miss Grundy
said. “But, the best thing you can do for Wembley now is top be his
friend now. The best thing every single one of you can do is show Wembley
just how much he is appreciated here.”
“That all depends on whether
Jughead and Archie can find him.” Nancy Woods said.
“I have faith in them.”
Betty said. “We have to believe that Jughead and Archie will be able to
be there for him through this.”
“For now, this class will be a
free period.” Miss Grundy said. “You may choose to work on your
assignments if you wish, or if you want to just reflect on what has happened
today, you can do so if you wish. I will be here for any of you if you
need me.”
The class began to work on their
assignments in silence.
Reggie Mantle continued to stare
at the broken jewelry box. “I don't care what people say. This
jewelry box would have never been broken if I had acted sooner. I've got
to find a way to make it up to that kid. I just have to...”
Just
a little reminder, everyone. Tomorrow
morning at 2:00 am, set your clocks ONE HOUR AHEAD. Your cell phones and computers should do this automatically. Despite what Cher says, you do NOT turn back
time. Think like Kenny Chesney instead
and live life in fast forward...at least for one hour.
And
now, part 6 of "A History Of Friendship".
In the school
gymnasium, Reggie had just run inside, knowing that he was late for football
practice, hoping that Coach Kleats would keep his cool. He immediately
saw Moose and ran towards him. “Yes,
I know I'm late.” Reggie told Moose. “I know that I'll have to do
more laps around the gym.” “Don't
worry.” Moose said. “Coach ain't here.” “Oh,
thank goodness.” Reggie said, relieved. “Clay
and Johnny are late too.” Moose explained. “What?”
Reggie asked. “That's odd. Clay and Johnny were late for Friday's
practice session as well. I wonder what's going on with those two?” Just
as Reggie pondered this, Clay and Johnny quickly entered the gym. “Good.”
Clay said. “It looks like Coach Kleats isn't here.” “All
right.” Johnny said. “No extra laps for us.” “And,
just what was it you two were doing that was more important than football
practice?” Reggie asked. “Oh...we
were just hanging out with someone.” Clay said with a smirk. “Yeah.”
Johnny said. “We had something to tell him.” Reggie
looked at them suspiciously. “Really...” “Yeah,
really.” Johnny said. “And,
who are you? Coach's spy?” Clay asked. “No,
of course not.” Reggie said. “If anything, I was late myself.
But, the Riverdale vs. Central homecoming game is coming up soon, and Coach
Kleats really wants us to win it. We have to try and make it to practice
on time.” “You're
right, Mantle.” Clay said. “We're sorry.” Just
then, Coach Kleats entered the gym. “All right, team. We have just
a few days until the homecoming game, so we need to make sure that we are
ready. I want all of you to start by running ten laps around the gym.” “Yes,
Coach.” the team said. “Oh...um...one
more thing.” Coach Kleats said. “Since Mantle, Brock, and Sangria
were late for practice, they will do an additional fifteen laps.” “What?”
Johnny exclaimed. “That's
not fair!” Clay whined. “How
did you know?” Reggie sighed. “I
may have been born at night, but it wasn't last night.” Coach Kleats said
with a smile. “Get running, boys.” Reggie
nodded his head. “You heard the coach.” As
Reggie joined the rest of the football team doing laps, Johnny approached
Clay. “I told you we were gonna be late!” “Relax.”
Clay said. “Picking on that Wembley geek was worth the extra laps.” “HEY!”
Coach Kleats said. “Brock and Sangria, you better start doing laps now.” Johnny
started to run. “Picking on Wembley certainly is fun...but what if
someone finds out?” “Relax.”
Clay said. “We're doing this without anyone knowing, and we have Wembley
so scared, he's not going to say anything. Who's gonna know?”
Meanwhile,
in the school library, Archie, Jughead, and Betty were seated at one of the
tables. Jughead kept checking his watch, looking impatient. “I
wonder where Wembley is?” Jughead said. “He said he'd meet us here
to work on our projects with us.” “Maybe
he's running late?” Archie suggested. “No.”
Jughead said. “I can't put my finger on it, but something's not right.” “You
think that something happened, didn't you?” Archie asked. “Archie,
I heard Reggie and Moose talking about another football practice.”
Jughead said. “A practice that is going on right now. It's just too
much of a coincidence.” “Juggie.”
Betty said. “Archie kind of filled me in on what's been happening.
I just can't believe that Wembley has had to go through so much.” “Nobody
knows.” Jughead said. “I
think for whatever reason, Wembley has a lot of trouble opening up to
people.” Archie said. “Can
you blame him?” Jughead said. “I mean, he had to deal with the loss
of his parents, moving to another country, and now he has to deal with people making
fun of him.” “We
don't know that for certain.” Archie said. “I
just think he's had too much happen to him.” Jughead said. “All he
needs is to have some really good friends to confide in. To make him feel
like he's not completely helpless in this.” “You're
doing a good job right now.” Betty said. “Yeah,
you've gone above and beyond for this kid.” Archie said. “Let's
just say that I know what he's going through.” Jughead said. “Yeah,
about that.” Archie said. “You keep saying that you can relate to
Wembley and you know what he's talking about, but I'm not sure exactly what you
mean.” “Oh...that...”
Jughead said. “Well, you see...” But
before Jughead could answer, Veronica entered the library. “Oh,
good! I'm so glad all of you are here.” Archie
looked shocked. “Oh...um...er...hi, Veronica. Yeah, I know what
you're going to say. You're still...upset over Saturday. I
know. I promise you that I will make this up to you. I'll buy you
flowers, I'll give you chocolates, whatever it is, I will make this up to you,
just please don't be mad at me.” Betty
and Jughead looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Veronica
looked annoyed. “Archie, stop talking, please. This doesn't even
have anything to do with you.” “Then
what is it?” Archie asked. As
Archie asked that question, Wembley happened to approach the table in the
library that Betty and Jughead were still sitting at. He looked visibly
shaken. “Wembley!”
Jughead said. “You're here!” “Something
wrong?” Betty asked. “I'm...not
feeling good.” Wembley said. “I know that I promised that I was
going to meet you here in the library to work on our projects, but I'm not
feeling well. I'm gonna go home early.” “You
sure?” Jughead asked. “You sure it's not anything else?” “Yeah,
it kind of looks like more than you just being sick.” Archie said. “No,
I really am sick.” Wembley said. “I'm sorry.” Wembley
started to leave, but Veronica turned towards him and said “Why don't you tell
them the REAL reason.” Wembley
turned towards Veronica. “That is the real reason.” “Oh,
really.” Veronica said. “It wouldn't have anything to do with the
'talk' you had with Clay and Johnny, did it?” “What?”
Betty exclaimed. Jughead
sighed. “I knew it.” Wembley
looked angry. “Veronica, you don't know what you're talking about.
I really need to go.” “Wembley,
I saw everything.” Veronica said. “I saw Clay and Johnny take your
backpack and shove it in a garbage can.” “What?”
Archie said. “Wembley.”
Jughead said. “Is this true?” Wembley
stared down at his shoes. “Wembley,
talk to us here.” Jughead said. “We're your friends,
remember? You can tell us everything.” Wembley
sighed. “You have any idea how hard it is to be the new kid? How
hard it is to make friends?” “I
know all too well, Wembley, but guys like Johnny and Clay aren't your
friends.” Jughead said. “Not
after what I saw.” Veronica said. “It was really horrible, and I'm
sorry that you had to go through that.” “Wembley,
how long has this been going on?” Betty asked. Wembley
remained silent. “Has
this been going on a long time?” Archie asked. Jughead
sighed. “This has been happening since you started at Riverdale High
hasn't it?” Wembley
nodded. “I didn't know what to do. I figured that if I just sat
back and did nothing, that it would eventually stop, like it did at my old
school.” “But,
it hasn't...has it?” Betty said. Wembley
looked like he was about to cry. “No.” “Wait
a minute.” Jughead said. “You mean to tell me that this has
happened before at other schools?” “Jughead,
you have to understand.” Wembley said. “When I was younger, after
my parents died, I moved around a lot. I was lucky if I only had to attend
four schools a year. It wasn't easy to make new friends, so I basically
just kept quiet. When my uncle and aunt finally decided to settle in
Riverdale a year ago, I thought that I could finally start to open up to
people, but at Hadley High, the kids used to make fun of me there, so I just
closed up. It's been like that since I transferred to Riverdale High.” “I'm
guessing you transferred to this school from Hadley because of the
bullying.” Betty said. “Yeah.”
Wembley said. “I thought that this school would be better than Hadley
High, but those guys from the football team did all the same things that the
kids at Hadley did to me.” “Is
it the whole football team doing this?” Jughead asked. “Yeah,
our friends Reggie and Moose are on the team, and I can't see them doing
anything that horrible.” Archie said. “Well,
Reggie calls me names.” Wembley admitted. “But, it's mostly Clay
and Johnny doing the worst. I don't think the other members of the team
even know that they're doing it.” “I
knew Clay was bad news.” Veronica said. “I once went on a date with
him. It was the worst date that I had ever had. He was so rude, and
boorish. I'll never make that mistake again. Looks like Johnny's
following in his footsteps.” “Wembley,
this is serious.” Jughead said. “You have to tell someone about
this.” “No,
it's fine.” Wembley said. “It's nothing.” “Dude,
someone taking your backpack and throwing it in the garbage isn't
nothing.” Jughead said. “I'm guessing that Clay and Johnny were
bugging you when I first met you, didn't they?” “I
don't want to talk about this.” Wembley said. “Wembley,
you have got to tell Coach Kleats.” Archie said. “Or, Miss Grundy,
or Mr. Weatherbee.” “We'll
all go with you.” Betty said. “Absolutely.”
Veronica said. “I
tried going to the teachers at Hadley High, and they didn't do anything.”
Wembley said. “In fact, it just got worse.” “That
was Hadley High.” Jughead said. “This is Riverdale High. The
teachers really care about the students here, and I know that if you gave them
a chance to help you, they would.” “I
don't know.” Wembley said. “Wembley.”
Jughead said. “What Clay and Johnny are doing is wrong. They don't
have the right to make anyone feel bad. And, they certainly don't have
the right to pick on you. You have the power to change this. Let us
help you.” Wembley
looked around at Jughead, Betty, Archie, and Veronica and realized that maybe,
just maybe, they knew what they were talking about. “Would
you all come with me?” Wembley said. “To Mr. Weatherbee's
office? It might be easier for me to talk about it if I had you guys with
me.” “You
got it.” Jughead said. “You're
doing the right thing, Wembley.” Veronica said. Wembley
sighed. “I hope so.”
A
few days passed. It was now early Thursday morning. The day before
Miss Grundy's history assignment was due. And over by their lockers,
Veronica was showing off her project to a very surprised Betty. “And,
this credit card is from Fjordstorm's, and this one from Lacey's, and this
one...this one is from Beeman Barkus!” Veronica exclaimed in glee. Betty
was shaking her head. “Veronica, you're doing your history project on
credit cards? It's supposed to be something from the twentieth century
that is meaningful.” “Well,
Betty, credit cards were invented in the twentieth century, and since I got my
first one, I've never had so much joy and meaning come into my life. You
were right, Betty, this project was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to see the
joy in everyone's faces when I show off this project.” “The
only 'C' is see is the one that Miss Grundy will give you as a grade.”
Betty said, with a chuckle. Veronica
just rolled her eyes. Just
then, Archie and Reggie approached Betty and Veronica. “Hey,
girls.” Archie said. “Archie,
Reggie.” Veronica said. “Good. I need your honest
opinion. I'm going to do my history project on my credit cards, but Betty
doesn't seem to think that my project idea is a good one. What do you
think?” “Well...um...”
Archie said. “...that all depends on how well you're doing in history
class.” “If
you're coasting, you may need to hold on for dear life with a project like
that.” Reggie snapped. Veronica
grew angry. “Oh, you people are so critical!” And
as Veronica stormed off, Betty chuckled. “I do believe she'll be pulling
an all-nighter tonight.” Just
then, Clay and Johnny approached the group. Both of them looked
incredibly upset. “How
could Coach Kleats do this to us” Johnny yelled. “This
is so unfair.” Clay whined. “What
happened?” Reggie asked. “We're
benched from the homecoming game!” Clay yelled. “Really?”
Reggie exclaimed. “I
wanna know who the heck told the coach lies about us.” Johnny said. “Yeah,
getting pulled off the team for harassment!” Clay said. “What proof
do they have?” Archie
and Betty exchanged a look as Reggie tried to calm them down. “Okay,
Clay, Johnny, what happened? From the beginning.” “I
don't know.” Johnny said. “All I know is that yesterday we were
called into Weatherbee's office, and in the office was Coach Kleats.” “And,
it was there that they accused us of bullying a student, which we denied, of
course.” Clay said. “And,
before you know it, Coach pulls us from the game.” Johnny said. “I
don't understand it.” Clay said. “This is the biggest game of the
whole season, and we have to miss it. Why does Weatherbee and the rest of
the school seem intent to sabotage our football team?” “We're
going to lose the game now thanks to this.” Johnny said. “Look.”
Reggie said. “Did you want me to talk to the coach about this?” “Do
what you want, Mantle.” Clay fumed. “All
I know is that whoever went to the principal will hear about it from both of
us.” Johnny shouted. As
Clay and Johnny stormed off, Reggie looked like he was angry himself. “I
don't believe this! Clay and Johnny are benched from the team just days
before the homecoming game! How could Weatherbee do this?” “Sorry
to burst your bubble, Reggie, but those jerks had it coming.” Betty said. Reggie
turned towards Betty. “You say this as if you know what's going on.
Like you know who ratted those two out.” Archie
and Betty stared in silence at each other. “You
do...don't you?” Reggie exclaimed. “Do you have any idea what this
does? To have two of our best players benched because of some
gossip? We could lose the game and the season because of this!” “Clay
and Johnny brought this on themselves.” Betty said. “Why
do you keep saying this?” Reggie asked. “Because
we're the ones who went to Weatherbee about Clay and Johnny.” Archie said. “Why
would you two do that to them?” Reggie exclaimed. “What did they
ever do to you?” “Reggie,
are you really that blind?” Archie exclaimed. “You know what
they've been doing to Wembley Morris?” “They
have been teasing him and picking on him ever since he got here.” Betty
said. “I
don't know what you're talking about.” Reggie said. “Give
me a break.” Archie said. “Just
ask Veronica.” Betty said. “She saw them take Wembley's backpack
and shove it into a garbage can.” “They're
bullying Wembley, and eventually, it was going to catch up with them.”
Archie said. “Look,
I'm not defending what they're doing to that Wembley kid, but don't you get
it?” Reggie exclaimed. “You went to the principal and totally blew
a little innocent teasing out of proportion and now we're going to lose the
homecoming game.” “I'd
rather have the rest of the football season be cancelled if it means that
Wembley won't have to endure any more bullying from anyone.” Betty said. “I
can't believe you'd stand here and make us look like the bad guys here.”
Archie said. “I
don't mean to.” Reggie said. “But, again, what they're doing is
harmless.” “Oh,
really?” Archie exclaimed. “If it's really that harmless, why is
Wembley afraid to talk to anybody except Jughead and I?” “Reggie,
you may see bullying as physical injuries, but emotional bullying is just as
horrible and there is no excuse for it.” Betty said. “Why can't you
see that what Johnny and Clay did was wrong?” Reggie
shook his head as he started to leave. “I need some air...” As
Reggie left, Archie was trying not to blow up. “How can he stand there
and defend those two bullies?” “Archie,
don't let this stress you out.” Betty said. “Maybe Reggie's just
blinded by the whole idea of team unity that he can't see things for the way
they are.” “It
just makes me so frustrated.” Archie said. “I never thought
anything like this happened at Riverdale High. Now that I've seen it
first hand, I hope I never see anything like this again.” “Well,
Mr. Weatherbee obviously punished Clay and Johnny for this.” Betty
said. “Hopefully, they've learned from it.” “I
don't know...you saw how angry those guys were.” Archie said. “I'm
kind of glad that we told Reggie that we ended up reporting them.” “That
was a smart move.” Betty said. “Because if those two ever found out
that it was Wembley who really reported them, it's going to make things much
worse.”
At
the same time, Jughead was being thrown out of the school cafeteria by Ms. Beazly. “Jughead
Jones, for the last time, the cafeteria does not open for breakfast!” Ms.
Beazly said. “Can't
you make an exception just this once?” Jughead said. “Can't I have
a muffin? A banana? A stick of gum?” “Out,
Jughead.” Ms. Beazly said, closing the door behind him. As
Jughead tried to get back into the cafeteria, Wembley happened to sneak up
behind him. “Jughead, if you really want food, I can give you a dollar
for the vending machine outside.” “Hey,
Wembley!” Jughead said. “How have you been doing? “A
little better.” Wembley said. “Good.”
Jughead said. “So...were we right about Mr. Weatherbee or what?” “Yeah,
you were.” Wembley said. “I'm glad I talked to him about what Clay
and Johnny were doing. It seemed to help, and he was very kind.” “I
told you.” Jughead said. “You had nothing to worry about.” “I
don't know about that.” Wembley said. “I told him everything.
I named names and everything. I'm just worried that they might try
something else.” “They
wouldn't dare.” Jughead said. “Word is that they've been benched
from the homecoming game because of what they did to you, and I'm pretty sure
that if they try anything else, they'll get thrown off the football team
entirely. I wouldn't worry.” “I
just really wanted to thank you for all of this, Jughead.” Wembley said. “You
have nothing to thank me for.” Jughead said. “No,
really.” Wembley said. “You, Archie, Betty, Veronica...you've all
been great, and if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have had the courage to do
anything about it.” “Well,
hey.” Jughead said. “Don't mention it, really.” Jughead
then noticed that Wembley was carrying a red box in his hand. “Is
that...?” Wembley
nodded. “Yeah...it's my project for Miss Grundy's class.” “You
brought in the jewelry box.” Jughead said. “I
did, I did.” Wembley said. “I know the project isn't due until
tomorrow, but I decided to bring it in today so I could work on it during study
hall.” “Yeah,
I brought my project in early too.” Jughead said. Miss Grundy said
that she would lock them in her classroom overnight if we wanted to. I am
kind of surprised you chose to bring something that has such value to you.” “Well,
that was what the assignment was about.” Wembley said. “And, this
is my most prized possession.” “I'm
sure the class will enjoy it.” Jughead said. “And I bet you're
going to get an A.” Wembley
smiled. “I hope so.” “So,
do you need any help working on the project?” “No,
not really.” Wembley said. “My study hall is in the same classroom
as Miss Grundy's...I have a full period to work on the oral report. I'll
just head there and work on it.” “Okay,
then, I'll catch you later.” Jughead said. “Bye,
Jughead.” Wembley said, as the two of them went their separate ways. However,
Wembley was unaware of the fact that he had just made a big mistake. He
walked towards his locker, unaware that Johnny Sangria had overheard the
conversation between himself and Jughead. “So,
it was that whiny Wembley who ratted us out.” Johnny said. “I
should let Clay know this...he made a big mistake...”