Archie would have felt cheated by Veronica. There was no doubt about it.
The so-called world tour that he claimed he would've gone if it weren't for the brunette's illness merely consisted of a three-day stay in merry old England, a day-long stopover at Paris, yet another day-long stopover at Hong Kong, two days in Singapore, one last day-long stopover in Sydney, and a final three-day stay in Melbourne.
I'm guessing that Veronica boasted about a world tour to throw off my lovely blonde friend. Betty is indeed the anti-blonde by doing her own research. Just don't ask me how she did it.
After checking with the Coopers, I'm guessing my redhead pal was the only one in the triangle who's left out of the loop. Betty-01, Veronica-01, Archie-00
----------------------------------
So, here I was at Heathrow Airport, just outside of London, about twenty-four hours after Archie showed up on my doorstep.
Getting a taxi out in the outer suburbs can be a bit of a chore, so I had decided to travel by the Tube. Sure, people have been edgy about using London's equivalent of the subway ever since the incident back in 2005 but, in a country that's known for ridiculously high prices, it sure beats the hell out of successfully hailing a London Cab. Besides, I was not carrying much with me anyway.
London was still the same as the last time I visited during the class trip earlier in the school year. I could still remember the look on Midge's face when Moose told her that he was serious about passing the assignment on his own accord. Moose might indeed be a trap short of a mousetrap, but he could actually do well if he just applied himself; I think he might've gotten a B- for it.
I got off at Covent Garden. While it was a somewhat more run-down area in the posh part of London north of the Thames, there were a few good places to eat around the area. It was also close to Chinatown at Picadilly Circus, so I was guaranteed to find some good grub.
Of course, travelling on a budget is somewhat tricky for a person with my appetite. I was tempted to go for a meal at the nearby Anglo-Japanese restaurant, but the prices on the menu forced me to settle on a brisk walk to Chinatown. Unlike the majority of the Chinese take-out places back home in Riverdale, you can still get plenty of bang for the pound in a Chinese restaurant in London's Chinatown.
Unfortunately, London's alleyways are also known for its flyers, regardless of whether they're put up on walls and posts, or strewn on the ground. This time, though, it was a boon to me. Taking the flyer that had randomly floated onto my face would prove to be another one of those life-changing moments. Making a mental note to see this "Download Festival" before I fly off to Paris in case Betty might be there, I continued my way to Chinatown, taking extra care to avoid all the teenage prostitutes who were starting to come out of the woodwork.
----------------------------------------
If the Chinese have their own way of spelling Anglicised oriental terms, it shows. I swear they meant to call the restaurant "ZEN", not "JEN". Before I could go on with my internal debate as to what to call the restaurant, my stomach grumbled.
The menu left me spoiled for choice. I was really hungry, but my wallet was telling me to go easy if I did not want to starve to death in Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia.
"Not too sure on what to eat, mate?"
While only the English and the Australians (really not too sure about the Kiwis) would use the word 'mate' in an attempt to start a conversation, I could tell by the laid-back drawl that the guy sitting on the table next to mine was Australian himself.
"Any recommendations from this menu?"
"Tough luck with that one, mate. That one's good only when you're with a crowd. Judging from that camping bag, you're by yourself, right?" Duh. "Take the smaller menu and choose a default dish from there."
My wallet could breathe easy, but I was still spoilt for choice.
"What would you suggest?"
"The roast duck rice is mighty good but, judging from your stomach, I'd say you should go for the braised pork belly with rice."
One free bowl of soup and one large single-plate meal later, I was content. "How do you know about this place anyway," I asked while chowing down the complimentary post-meal oranges. "Besides, you're from Australia, right?"
"Well, mate, I'm half Canadian and half English, but I spent most of my life in Melbourne," the stranger drawled. "Finished high school a year and a half ago, and taking a break from my studies to catch up with my English roots. I'm also here to play cricket." In a weird way, it made sense. "My friend, Tanner, mentioned that he's lived in London before, so I asked him for any good restaurants for me to check out if I ever visited the city."
"Right." I looked at my watch. If I wanted to check out a bit more of London before taking the bus to Donnington for the Download Festival, I had to bail out now. The bill was already paid, and my brain was telling the rest of my body to wake up. "Listen, I've got to head off now. I'm looking for a..." I did not know what to say, so I had to say the one thing that you'd never expect me to say. "I'm looking for my girlfriend, who's flown off from the States after one of my friends insulted her. I really care for her, and I would not be able to forgive myself, let alone my friend, if something happened to her."
"Right. I won't keep you back then." The Australian got up to shake my hand. "The name's Matt, but my friends call me Shima. All the best to you, mate."
"Cheers to you, Matt." I shook his hand. "Call me Jughead." The guy who just called his best female friend his girlfriend, I wanted to add.
Note from the author
G'day, it's Zach T. This is an attempt by me to write a credible Jughead/Betty fanfiction from Jughead's point of view. While I'll try to remain true to the characters of the Archie characters (I know, that was lame), there will be some OOC-ness within.
This story is somewhat influenced by Stephen Clarke, known for the Paul West triology (A Year In The Merde, Merde Actually, and Merde Happens). For those who don't know what "merde" means, it's the French word for 'crap'.
I'll be drawing on my own experiences as a basis for this story. I'll also have a self-insert towards the end of the story, and will reveal a bit about my occupation as well.
As for when I'll update this story, I'm working on it alongside "Bye Bye Beautiful". I'm aiming to have an update at least once every two weeks.
Now that that's out of the way, it's time for the disclaimer, which will be used throughout the story. I do not own the Archies; they are owned by Archie Comics Publications. The stories here will be rated for themes, innuendo, and the occasional language. While the innuendo will be slightly sexual in nature, there is no explicit hanky-panky going on in this story.
Hope you guys will enjoy this story.
This story is somewhat influenced by Stephen Clarke, known for the Paul West triology (A Year In The Merde, Merde Actually, and Merde Happens). For those who don't know what "merde" means, it's the French word for 'crap'.
I'll be drawing on my own experiences as a basis for this story. I'll also have a self-insert towards the end of the story, and will reveal a bit about my occupation as well.
As for when I'll update this story, I'm working on it alongside "Bye Bye Beautiful". I'm aiming to have an update at least once every two weeks.
Now that that's out of the way, it's time for the disclaimer, which will be used throughout the story. I do not own the Archies; they are owned by Archie Comics Publications. The stories here will be rated for themes, innuendo, and the occasional language. While the innuendo will be slightly sexual in nature, there is no explicit hanky-panky going on in this story.
Hope you guys will enjoy this story.
Reeeeelaaaax...
Everyone knows that summer is meant for a high school kid to sit back, relax, and unwind from school, homework, examinations, and just about almost anything to do with school. Except for food, if you're me, that is.
Summer is simply not meant for school. Period. Forget summer vacation and holiday classes. You do them at the start of the break, you'll forget whatever you've learnt by the time the next academic year starts. You do them towards the start of the school year, you'll end up receiving a verbal lashing out from your teachers, and the verbal lashings will be more than enough to make you twitch at any loud sounds, courtesy of THAT particular theory that Dilton used me to demonstrate during science class a few months back.
Oh, and what about girls? You've already seen 'em all at school. You can find all kinds of reasons to hang out with them during spring, fall, and winter. They should just leave us alone for the summer, and allow us to enjoy our summer in peace. No disturbances whatsoever. No distractions. An opportunity to enjoy barbeques, ice-cold lemonades, sleeping-in, a good day at the beach... No, scratch that, plenty of girls there. More sleeping-in, a nice cone of ice cream...
Of course, if you can play your cards right, you can mooch off food from some girls. Both Ethel Muggs and the lovely Elizabeth Cooper can cook like there is no tomorrow; each and every single dish they make tastes oh so divine.
Then again, you'd have to be careful not to get sucked in. I'm still trying to get over the time when Ethel got part-time jobs at two food chains to get me to fall for her - I believe I'm still in for another few months of nightmares of what might've been.
Hmmm? You were really expecting me to badmouth Betty? Oh, no. This is the story of how I fell in love with Elizabeth Cooper for who she was, and not what she can cook.
-------------------------------
It's one of those days where you feel something will come up that will change your life forever. You can't describe it, but you just feel it.
I was not surprised when my good pal, Arch, showed up at my doorstep with a letter in his hand. After all, he could've received a love letter from any one of the female population of Riverdale High. Those witches are still falling for that Photoshopped picture of himself left, right, and centre.
What surprised me, though, was that the look on his face was not one of joy, but one of someone who just received not just one, not two, but three kicks to the 'nads. OK, I was exaggerating on that, but you get what I mean.
"Jug, you've got to help me." Was that desperation that I heard in there? "Betty's gonna kill me when she founds out that I sent her on a wild goose chase!"
It took me a lot of energy to keep myself from yawning. "What did you do this time?" After so many times I've said it, there was no possible way to ask that question in a non-bored manner. I wouldn't be surprised if Archie is already used to that.
"I, eh..." Arch was at loss for words. "I kinda promised Betty that I'd spent summer backpacking around the world." Well, no surprise there. "Then Ronnie asked me if I'd like to spend summer going to even more exotic areas than what Betty suggested, and I agreed." Should I bother being surprised? "I got an email warning from Betty saying that she will track me down regardless of where I am, and..." Yeesh, that's a new one. "Ron had to cancel the trip in the end because she's down with a nasty flu, and I need someone to bring Betty back so that I can apologise to her."
Apologise? I really do pity Archie, y'know? Besides, given the unspoken threat, you'd have to wonder whether Betty's really a blonde or a redhead who's dyed her hair blonde. I can think of many guys who'd like to check if I'd ask them if Betty's a real blonde, but... I digress.
"Tell me, Arch, who do YOU really care for?" I had to ask the question. I mean, everyone I know of has yet to receive a clear answer on that topic. "Do you like Veronica for her cash and beauty, or do you like Betty for her practicality, her food, her helping you out with your schoolwork, and her beauty?" Even I can recognise female beauty. "Or perhaps you just like feeling bad for one of them to get brownie points?"
Before my redheaded friend could respond, a brilliant idea hit me.
"Pal, fortunately for you, I have been working quite a fair bit when school was in session, and was able to save some cash. Using my cash, I'll travel to some of these exotic places on a student budget thingy, and will look for Betty." He doesn't need to know that I'll also be sampling the cuisines in those countries as well.
So, after seeing Arch off, all I needed to do was to call the Coopers to found out where Betty would be heading to, convince my parents that it'd be an educational experience for me, get all my cash out, and book a few flights. How simple could it be?
Not very. Guess I probably gave the title the worst possible name.
Summer is simply not meant for school. Period. Forget summer vacation and holiday classes. You do them at the start of the break, you'll forget whatever you've learnt by the time the next academic year starts. You do them towards the start of the school year, you'll end up receiving a verbal lashing out from your teachers, and the verbal lashings will be more than enough to make you twitch at any loud sounds, courtesy of THAT particular theory that Dilton used me to demonstrate during science class a few months back.
Oh, and what about girls? You've already seen 'em all at school. You can find all kinds of reasons to hang out with them during spring, fall, and winter. They should just leave us alone for the summer, and allow us to enjoy our summer in peace. No disturbances whatsoever. No distractions. An opportunity to enjoy barbeques, ice-cold lemonades, sleeping-in, a good day at the beach... No, scratch that, plenty of girls there. More sleeping-in, a nice cone of ice cream...
Of course, if you can play your cards right, you can mooch off food from some girls. Both Ethel Muggs and the lovely Elizabeth Cooper can cook like there is no tomorrow; each and every single dish they make tastes oh so divine.
Then again, you'd have to be careful not to get sucked in. I'm still trying to get over the time when Ethel got part-time jobs at two food chains to get me to fall for her - I believe I'm still in for another few months of nightmares of what might've been.
Hmmm? You were really expecting me to badmouth Betty? Oh, no. This is the story of how I fell in love with Elizabeth Cooper for who she was, and not what she can cook.
-------------------------------
It's one of those days where you feel something will come up that will change your life forever. You can't describe it, but you just feel it.
I was not surprised when my good pal, Arch, showed up at my doorstep with a letter in his hand. After all, he could've received a love letter from any one of the female population of Riverdale High. Those witches are still falling for that Photoshopped picture of himself left, right, and centre.
What surprised me, though, was that the look on his face was not one of joy, but one of someone who just received not just one, not two, but three kicks to the 'nads. OK, I was exaggerating on that, but you get what I mean.
"Jug, you've got to help me." Was that desperation that I heard in there? "Betty's gonna kill me when she founds out that I sent her on a wild goose chase!"
It took me a lot of energy to keep myself from yawning. "What did you do this time?" After so many times I've said it, there was no possible way to ask that question in a non-bored manner. I wouldn't be surprised if Archie is already used to that.
"I, eh..." Arch was at loss for words. "I kinda promised Betty that I'd spent summer backpacking around the world." Well, no surprise there. "Then Ronnie asked me if I'd like to spend summer going to even more exotic areas than what Betty suggested, and I agreed." Should I bother being surprised? "I got an email warning from Betty saying that she will track me down regardless of where I am, and..." Yeesh, that's a new one. "Ron had to cancel the trip in the end because she's down with a nasty flu, and I need someone to bring Betty back so that I can apologise to her."
Apologise? I really do pity Archie, y'know? Besides, given the unspoken threat, you'd have to wonder whether Betty's really a blonde or a redhead who's dyed her hair blonde. I can think of many guys who'd like to check if I'd ask them if Betty's a real blonde, but... I digress.
"Tell me, Arch, who do YOU really care for?" I had to ask the question. I mean, everyone I know of has yet to receive a clear answer on that topic. "Do you like Veronica for her cash and beauty, or do you like Betty for her practicality, her food, her helping you out with your schoolwork, and her beauty?" Even I can recognise female beauty. "Or perhaps you just like feeling bad for one of them to get brownie points?"
Before my redheaded friend could respond, a brilliant idea hit me.
"Pal, fortunately for you, I have been working quite a fair bit when school was in session, and was able to save some cash. Using my cash, I'll travel to some of these exotic places on a student budget thingy, and will look for Betty." He doesn't need to know that I'll also be sampling the cuisines in those countries as well.
So, after seeing Arch off, all I needed to do was to call the Coopers to found out where Betty would be heading to, convince my parents that it'd be an educational experience for me, get all my cash out, and book a few flights. How simple could it be?
Not very. Guess I probably gave the title the worst possible name.
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