Cheryl Blossom had a 4.0 — had always had a 4.0 until this year, when a certain twin brother of hers washed up dead in the river and took with him the very glue that held Cheryl together — now she was sitting on a 3.9 that life had given her a chance to raise before grades posted, in the form of an extra-credit Chem project.
She smiled lightly at the words (kind of the bomb at chem) luck and good fortune behold. Cheryl slid the piece of paper across the table and raised her eyebrows lightly. ❝ Writing the chemical compositions for all of these. It’s a lot but it’s math with letters which is… look, I’m not stupid. I just can’t process it like a math problem if there are no numbers, and I feel like there’s got to be an easier way to do it, right? ❞ She tapped her pen on the paper and then withdrew to let the blonde girl look over it. A pause, and then: ❝ What’s your name? I’m Cheryl — devil incarnate, depending on who you ask. ❞
a smile ADORNED parted lips -- painted only by chapstick , bare , honest and amused. needy was more than familia with the red - haired threat of a girl seated opposite her , with her charming smile and glamorous facade , she FELT herself being drawn in and withdrew physically -- eyes fixated on the paper , bolt - upright in her chair as though her spine had been shifted to led. ❝ yeah , i’ve heard of you. ❞ who hadn’t ? jason’s brother , the FLAME - haired leader of the vixens , riverdale’s own resident queen of mean. ❝ and , i know you’re far from stupid. you always get killer grades. ❞ a sucker for a 4 . 0 , grades to match her own perfect rate , needy had paid careful , subtle attention to the BLOSSOM girl’s results. ❝ you’re not the devil incarnate ; maybe it’s just the hair. ❞ they both knew those words were BIRTHED from falsehood but anita flashed the gentlest of grins at the other girl , wary of her well - documented wrath in response. ❝ yeah , i mean , these are tough questions. if you work better with numbers , it’s probably easier to think of them that way , like an EQUATION . work out the worth of each substance numerically ; then you can write out the same question in far simpler terms. after that , it’s simply a matter of balancing. ❞ tapping her own pen absent - mindedly against the page , the girl’s final question making her pause. ❝ oh , well , of course YOU don’t know. i’m ani -- well , i’m anita lesnicki , but most people just know me as needy. ❞ CHRISTENED with a cruel nickname from the sharpest of tongues , some burdens were difficult to shake.
