Dorothy Gale; 1 | [RIVERDALE] UNDER CONSTRUCTION

nr. 0 - prologue

Dot let her hand glide over her poster of Jennifer Tilly in Chucky's Bride, the last of her horror collection finally adorning the wall of her new room. She let out a relieved sigh as she carefully stepped off the little stool she'd used to reach the highest part of the wall.

"Nice work, Dot," she said to herself.

"Indeed."

Dot's hand shot up to her heart as she whipped around lightning-fast, a gasp escaping her throat. It quickly turned into a relieved laugh when she spotted her mother leaning on the doorframe, an impressed look on her face.

"I like what you've done with the place," Octavia added with a nod as she looked around the room, arms crossed over her chest.

Dot placed her hands on her lower back and smiled. "Thank you."

The two fell into a moment of silence as the rain outside began to pick up, hitting Dot's window in a way that could soothe her right to sleep after two days on the road. That is if she weren't so hungry.

"Things will be different here, Mom. I promise."

Octavia nodded. "I sure hope so. This town has a close-knit community, and they don't like things disturbing the peace. I would know."

Dot shuddered, thinking about the news she and her mom had received from her aunt Tina on the way to Riverdale. Jason Blossom, heir apparent to the Blossom Maple Syrup Industry, had been shot dead on the 4th of July and found just the day before by the Sheriff's son.

The Cahill women got delayed with the final journey away from Kansas and back to the town that Octavia had grown up in and Dot was born in. A lost deed to the new house, a car that broke down halfway to the finish line, and a storm later, and they finally arrived the night of the big Back to School dance that Riverdale High had put on. Dot had already missed the first week of her sophomore year, but she started thinking that may have been for the best.

"You hungry, baby?"

Dot snapped out of her thoughts, looking back at her mother, who was now wearing a questioning expression on her face.

"Mmmh?"

"I asked if you're hungry. I haven't gotten around to getting groceries, so you could maybe drive down to Pop's and get us some burgers."

Dot nodded. She was starving, and she was well aware that she wouldn't be able to sleep on an empty stomach.

"Sure, I can do that," she said, grabbing her jacket off the backrest of her desk chair and draping it over the shoulders. "I can't believe that place is still open. It's been so long since we left."

"Well, eight years isn't an eternity. And besides, I don't think Pop Tate is ever going to give that Diner up, at least not without a fight."

Dot laughed, grabbing her car and house keys off her desk as she headed for the door.

Octavia moved out of her way, following her daughter down the hall and then down the stairs and to the front door.

"Just be careful on the road, in case it's slippery. And no detours anywhere, not when there's a killer on the loose."

"Oh, where am I gonna go, Mom? None of my old friends are going to remember me, and I'm pretty sure Kippi moved years ago."

"Still. To Pop's and straight home. You have your official first day at Riverdale High tomorrow. You're already a week late, you don't need to show up late to class as well, okay?"

"Yes, mother," Dot told her in a playfully annoyed tone.

Octavia rolled her eyes, a smile forming on her face as she grabbed Dot's head with her hands and kissed her on the forehead.

"See you later!" Dot shouted over the rain as she walked out of the door.

"To Pop's and straight home again!"

"Yes!"

Dot pulled her hood over her head quickly, though it was no real use. By the time she reached the passenger side of her used Toyota Corolla, she was already drenched.

Huffing out in annoyance, she pulled the door to the car shut and shook her hands, trying to get some of the water off.

Elm Street was quiet, only the lights of some kitchens, and some TVs in living rooms illuminating the area, as was expected at nine p.m. on a Sunday evening.

Dot's eyes wandered around the neighborhood. Betty Cooper's house was right across hers, and Archie Andrews' was next to that one. Dot hadn't seen either of them in years, and she had been too preoccupied with other happenings back home to check their social media before she got back. She was going into this whole thing blind, and it scared her a little bit. People can change a lot in eight years, lord knows she did, so the Betty and Archie that Dot knew when she was eight could be entirely different.

She turned her car keys in the ignition and put her foot on the gas lightly as she pulled away from the curb. There was no more time to ponder or be scared of tomorrow. She was already here and she would have to make the best of it.