#radiantly wrong

RADIANTLY WRONG chapter update

It was the next day, and I was totally exhausted. After my three-hour long discussion with Archie, I collapsed onto my bed and stayed there until morning. When I woke up, my head pounded, and my eyes stung. I sighed, trying to convince myself to get up and take a shower. While I was in the bathroom, taking a shower, I must've nodded off a million times. But when my foot slipped, and jammed into the side of the tub, I was awake for the remainder of the shower.

The entirety of that morning, until I got to school, I had spent avoiding Archie. It wasn't like our talk went bad or anything. I just didn't know what to say to him after what I said to him last night. All the way to school, I must've replayed our conversation a dozen times in my head.

"What did you do?" he asked, curious. That is the question, isn't it? What I did? I had been trying to reason with myself, to tell him I was a serpent ever since I got off the phone with him. I sighed, fidgeting with my fingers in my lap.

"I…" I trailed off, picking at the dry skin on the side of my fingernail. "A few weeks before our thirteenth birthday, I…I spent a lot of time on the Southside," I said, slowly, trying to figure out how to say it.

"Yeah, you were tutoring Jughead."

RADIANTLY WRONG chapter update;

It always felt invigorating to ride my bike. It still does. But last night, when I wore my serpent jacket, I felt…alive. Like I could hear my heart for the first time. But now, riding home, not feeling the slight stiffness of the patch, the distant smell of alcohol and cigarettes—not from me, by the way—it felt…different. Wrong. I missed it so badly that when I had it, I didn't want to let it go. But now that it's gone…I'm not the same without it.

As I drove to Marybeth's house, I felt my phone ring in my pocket. But I was already late, so I ignored it, and kept driving. It rang again when I pulled up at the curb. I sighed, and then answered it as I made my way to the porch. "Hey, Arch, what's up?"

"Hey, Jughead, Dad, FP, and I are going to have dinner at Pop's tonight. Wanna come?" he asked, hopeful, but doubtful.

"No thanks, Arch. I'm actually going to study with some friends tonight. But maybe next time?" I asked, as I stepped up to the door. He sighed, clearly disappointed. I could tell he was perturbed by it, and the uncomfortable silence to ensue was deafening. "What?" I asked, confused.

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RADIANTLY WRONG chapter update;

"Alright, here you go, Vegas." Dad tossed our ten year old golden retriever a piece of bacon, and I chuckled at how the dog was so much happier after. I sat at the kitchen island, eating a pancake, and listening to my iPod. A few minutes later, Archie came down the stairs and into the kitchen. My ear buds were on a clearance rack when I got them, and now I know why. They seem to let in more noise from the outside, than actually let me listen to the music on the inside. So I would have to crank up the volume to astronomical numbers to be able to hear anything. But by then, everyone around me would be able to hear it better than me.

So I gave up on it a few minutes later, and started rinsing off my dish. After I finished, I sighed, and said, "Uh, I'm going to head to school. I'll catch up with you guys tonight, ok?"

"Wait a moment, there Alex. I need to talk to you," Dad called from behind. I instantly started to think of all the things I'd done in the last week that he didn't know about, which was a lot.

"What's up?"

"I just want to make sure you're going to be okay today."

"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked, not sure what he meant.

"Well, with your bike and all, and, and I just want you to be cautious on that thing."

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RADIANTLY WRONG chapter update;

It was the last day of regionals. I pulled my hair into a tight pony tail and put on my blazer and tie. We all had to wear the school's uniform: plaid skirts for girls, khaki pants for boys, and white dress shirts and plaid ties along with black blazers. We all sat at the table with the rest of the teams, when I saw the judge come up on stage. She called the start, and the first equation was set up on screen. I almost instantly rang the buzzer, and a few people in the team to our right, Centerville, threw up their hands or angrily cursed.

"Riverdale, what is your answer?" the judge asked, surprised we rang the buzzer so early.

"9.5," I had called, nervously. The judges nodded their answer and I jumped in excitement in my chair. The next few we got right, shooting our team right into top spot on the leader board. But Greendale and Seaside got a few after that, sending us down to second. Skyler huffed, but Marybeth reassured him we could win, and he seemed to calm down. I smirked at them and kept answering questions.

It was the last round of regionals, and the leader board was taken down so no one could see what their tallies were except the judges. The judge put the last question up, and Greendale instantly reached for their buzzer, but I saw them, and slammed my fist into our buzzer first. A teammate on the Greendale team glared at me, but I merely stuck my tongue out before Marybeth gave the judges the answer.

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RADIANTLY WRONG chapter update;

I was studying for the 'algebraic championship', as Doug explained it, when I heard Archie across the hall, boxing. I sighed, walked to his room, and flung open the door. I didn't say anything until he looked at me, but when he did, he raised an eyebrow.

"Dude," I said, emphasizing the D's. "Did the power go off or something?"

"No…?" he asked, confused.

"Well, in that case, do you see what time it is?" I asked, pointing to his clock to the right of him. He chuckled at me, and punched a few more times.

"Ah, sorry, Al. Just trying to get back in fighting shape for the field," he said, as he continued to do the thing he was sorry for. Figures.

"So, this is all for football? The staying up late, the extra working out, the abs…not practicing music anymore…?" I asked, hesitantly.

"Coach Clayton's about to set the starting lineup, name a new captain. It's like Dad said, football gets me a scholarship, which gets me to college where I can study music. Captains get scholarships. " He said every word with another punch, and it drove me crazy.

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RADIANTLY WRONG chapter update;

After school, I went into the lounge and saw a few of the students from my math class studying. I walked to the vending machine, and as I punched in the combination, I heard one of them saying, "Ugh! I will never figure this out."

"Just keep trying, Doug; I'm sure you'll get it." I heard a feminine voice behind me reassure a dark-haired boy about something on the couch.

"I know the answer," I said, as I walked over to them and leaned down to look at their books.

"What is it?"

"922." I pointed to the different steps, and Doug sighed with relief.

"Thank you, you are a goddess."

I laughed and said, "No problem. I love math."

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SERPENT'S BITE chapter update;

I couldn't sleep all night, so I gave up around five and went to school. I know that's probably the last place any teenager would go willingly, but that's the only place I could go and work on my archery. I was practicing for about two hours when I needed to go to the bathroom. But this place didn't have one, so I went across the football field, and into the school. One of the janitors knows I like to come here sometimes, so he leaves a side door unlocked.

I walked in, and went to the girls' locker room. When I was done, I was going to go back to the archery ring, but then I heard water running in the boys' locker room. I slowly went into the room, my hand-held cross bow in hand, and I slowly walked through the small hall until I got to the showers.

A dark-haired teenager in a towel walked out from the showers and to the sinks. He had a calm sense to him, like he had done this a thousand times before. I sighed, and flicked out my wrist, causing the bow to flick out to its full length of three feet. The bow made a thwack! As it extended, the guy jolted into the air. He whipped around, grabbing at the towel so it wouldn't come undone.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" he rushed out, holding his hands out in defense. My eyes squinted at the guy's face, and I sighed.

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RADIANTLY WRONG chapter update;

I sat in a chair next to Veronica, watching the auditions for the Riverdale High Variety Show in the auditorium. Kevin was sitting in front of us, being the director, when he called out Archie's name for the second time. Archie was a nervous wreck. I could tell. He started to shake, getting his guitar ready as Kevin asked, "And what will you be auditioning with?"

"Uh, an original song, that I wrote, called I'll try."

Then Reggie, in the back with the rest of the football team, yelled, "Try harder!"

"Take your time, Archie, but we do have people waiting," Kevin reminded. I could tell, even from way back here, that he was shaking.

"Oh my gosh, what's happening?" Veronica asked, confused.

I leaned over, and said, "He's choking."

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