i just want you to know who i am

Chapter 2

"Are you kidding?" Cheryl held the bulky camera in her pale fingers, looking at Betty like she was crazy.

"Please, Cheryl?" the blonde rushed around the empty newspaper classroom, "Archie would do it, but he can't do both story and photography."

"Can't I do the story instead?"

"Sorry, but I don't really trust Archie with an expensive camera," Betty winced a little just as the only other redhead in the school came through the door, struggling to carry his school books against his sweater vest. Betty went over to help him out, taking the books from his hands before he tripped over his own feet.

"Thanks, Betty," he looked up at her through his thick glasses. Archie and Betty had been friends pretty much since birth. They were next door neighbors, born just days apart. Cheryl only knew them both from church, and they had pretty much been her only friends since she started public school.

With a sigh, Cheryl looked down at the camera in her hands again. It seemed easy enough, but she knew that she couldn't just take pictures from the sidelines of the homecoming game all night. She would have to get in people's way to get good photos. And Betty needed good photos for the paper. She would have to get pictures of everything. The crowd, the football players...the cheerleaders. Toni Topaz.

"Okay guys, I know there's only three of us, but we'll just have to work extra hard until we can get some new recruits. Tonight is the homecoming game and the homecoming dance. I can do coverage on the dance, but since I'm also helping set up the gym, I need the both of you to cover the game," Betty spoke to them in the same way she always did about things she was passionate about, "Archie, keep notes on the game. Make sure to write about who's playing, the score, any potential exciting events that happen. You're my sports writer until I can find someone more...invested in athletics."

Cheryl just snorted a light laugh under her breath. She was almost positive that Archie Andrews had never even seen a football field in real life.

"And Cheryl. Photography is crucial. Some of the Neanderthals in this school only look at the paper for the pictures. So find a way to tell the story of the game and the halftime show."

She swallowed hard at the thought. Why would Betty do this to her, knowing how much she was hated by all the popular kids? It was like she was throwing her into the lion's den. She could just imagine it now. Sweet Pea would find a way to hit her with the football, or Toni would accuse her of trying to get up-skirt pictures of her. Either way, she was almost positive that she was going to be returning a broken camera to Betty tonight.

"Just do the best you can, okay guys? Principal Weatherbee already isn't confident that we can get the paper up and running again and I'd like to prove him wrong," the blonde sighed, leaning against one of the metal desks by the chalkboard.

Cheryl glanced over at Archie who shrugged his lanky shoulders with a smile, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"I won't let you down, Betty," he smiled nervously at her. Betty was pretty much the only one in the whole town who had no idea about Archie's crush on her. No matter how many times Cheryl brought it up, she denied the possibility.

"I guess I can give it a try," she sighed, nodding in agreement, "But you've seriously gotta get some more qualified people in here."

xxx

B-U-L-L
D-O-G-S
Go, Bulldogs, go!

Cheryl had heard the chant for the tenth time and the game had only just started. Toni's voice rang the loudest of them all, distracting the redhead as she walked around with the camera. She wanted Archie to stay with her, but he insisted on sitting on the bleachers so he could see everything on the field. So Cheryl was left alone, wandering around the sidelines, trying not to stand in anyone's way. She'd gotten a few shots of kickoff, but she'd been trying to work up the courage to take some shots of the cheerleading squad for the past half hour. Every time she got the slightest bit of courage, the fear of being called a pervert by one of the girls on the squad made her put the camera back down right away.