We All Go A Little Mad

Riverdale

Riverdale. The perfect place to start over. Or so I thought. I was recently out of college with a degree and license to let me teach high school history. Or, more preferably, work in a museum. Neither of which was panning out at the moment. Which was why I was in Riverdale. The school needed teachers and there was a museum I had heard needed workers. But I hadn't gotten calls back quite yet. So here I was, moving in to a house on the Southside with no real car of my own or really any furniture and no job to go to the next morning. I looked up at the small house on the outskirts of a trailer park and sighed. It was better than nothing and if I had to I would have taken one of the trailers if it meant I would have a roof over my head. I moved everything in fairly quickly considering I didn't have much to take from the moving truck and put in the house. I decided to shower quickly and change before going out and walking around the town. I figured I would try to get a temporary job so I could make a little bit of money before I found an actual job either at the high school or at a museum. Pulling on my leather jacket, I grabbed my house keys and started out into the town to find my way around.

It was about six at night when I wandered into a little diner called Pop's. I had stopped at almost every business between the Southside and this diner and had been turned down at every one. Either they weren't hiring at the moment or I didn't have the qualifications to do the job. I entered the diner dejected and ready to throw in the towel for the day. I was fully prepared to start walking back to my new home on the other side of town when I spotted the man behind the counter. My eyebrow went up in curiosity.

He was easily forty or so but I'd be damned if he actually looked it. His brown hair was slicked back and his brown eyes had looked up quickly when he heard the bell above the door. He nodded to me in greeting and went back to taking someone's order. I walked up to the counter and took a seat, knowing he would get to me when he could. I looked over the menu but I kept stealing glances at him out of the corner of my eye. He was tall, not much taller than me. He was skinny. The way the uniform hung on him showed that much but I could also tell there was muscle there. And he was one of the few people I knew that could pull an all white, 50s looking diner uniform off. I noticed he was coming over to me to get my order so I quickly decided on a burger and fries with a chocolate milkshake. But I was going to ask about a job first. Because dammit I needed one and if this handsome waiter could give me one I would be set for the rest of my time in Riverdale.

"Hi. What can I get you?" He asked when he reached me. I looked up with a nervous smile.

"I was actually wondering about the job the window is advertising." I said, pointing behind me at the 'help wanted' sign in the window, one of the few I had seen all day.

"Of course. Let me get Pop." The man quickly dropped his pen and pad and almost ran back into the kitchen. I heard his muffled voice and then another voice. The man came back with a smile on his face. "He'll just be a minute. He's finishing up someone's order." I nodded and started to get nervous again. I started to crack my knuckles, a nervous habit I had developed in college. "I'm FP by the way." The man held out his hand.

"(Y/N)." I said as I shook his hand, hoping my hand wasn't shaking too much on its own. FP smiled at me again.

"I haven't seen you around here before. And I've seen almost everyone in this town." FP said. I nodded. "So are you new to Riverdale or just new to Pop's?" He asked as he leaned on the counter. I chuckled at his attempt at a joke.

"New to Riverdale. Just moved in this morning." I said, moving my hands onto the counter so I would stop picking at my jeans. "I've been walking around all day trying to get a job but no one would even take an application." I shrugged and FP looked shocked but I couldn't tell by what. "I figured this was my last shot for today and I would try again tomorrow. Maybe even head over to Greendale."