The day was September 3rd, 2024—Riverdale’s first day back. The campus beamed as students sauntered into the cafeteria. However, Oliver’s face turned to a frown after realizing Andre’s famous BECs were nowhere to be seen. He wasn’t going to let this minor setback drag him down. He was coming off his best summer yet and was ready to start the year in full stride. So, after reuniting with his friends, he made his way to his first class.

Leaving the cafeteria, Oliver plugged in his headphones, getting the last lick out of his summer playlist. Now he was back in the perfect mood, the lack of breakfast no longer bothering him. But his world of music was interrupted.

“Hand it over,” a mysterious voice appeared behind him. Still unsure of what was said, Oliver took one of his earbuds out and turned around. “Hand it over, I’m not going to ask again!” 

“Hand over what?” Oliver responded in confusion. The teacher, now bubbling with rage, snatched the phone from his hands, yanking the wire that connected him to his music. Oliver stood there, traumatized, with his headphone wire dangling in the abyss. 

Walking down the 9/10 steps, Oliver was frazzled. He couldn’t remember the last time he had gotten in trouble at school. He didn’t even know what he did wrong, not aware of the plethora of emails in his inbox about the new “Heads-Up Policy.” He fell into his chair in Math class, trying to not let this get his mood down.

After the introductions, the teacher gave everyone one last chance to scan and submit the summer homewok, since they already should have. Everyone around him didn’t budge, all clearly having the homework submitted. But Oliver had not submitted his homework. 

It was fine; he would just scan and submit now, and his day would stay on track. He reached into his pocket, looking for the familiar weight of his phone, but he only found a few spare coins and a gum wrapper. He completely forgot that his phone was gone. Oliver was discouraged but optimistic, afterall he still had a whole day ahead of him. 

Pouting through four more periods, he finally made it to lunch. He was hangry, but remembered the numerous reminders his mom gave him that morning about having PAL during lunch. Thankfully, he could just text his friends to pick up something from Riverdeli; he knew they planned to go. Before he even reached into his pocket, he realized what was still missing: his beloved phone.

Oliver sat sadly through two more periods, but was excited for his second-to-last period free. At this point, he would do anything for food. He wasn’t going to the cafeteria after math class, he was going to Riverdeli. Nothing could stop him.

He couldn’t call an Uber; again, he had no phone—he was aware of that by now. He was going to walk. His voracious appetite put him in a haze on his walk, but as he came back to reality, he no longer recognized his surroundings. Oliver was lost and desperately hungry. He took a seat and embraced his unknown surroundings. Just as he gave up all hope, Rosemarie’s famous car pulled in. He realized where he was: the place where student drivers take their three-point turn in a dead-end. Rosemarie saved his life, and, knowing him from past lessons, she drove him to the promised land, Riverdeli. 

If he didn’t get his food quickly, he would be late to his next class. He ordered his classic, a BEACH (Bacon, Egg, Avocado, Cheese, Hashbrown) on a roll. He watched in awe as the person at the grill whipped up his sandwich. It was beautiful. But he suddenly realized he didn’t have a form of payment. He only had Apple Pay, but his phone was so far gone. He needed the BEACH. He decided he would do what no Riverdale student would even consider doing. Oliver was going to turn to a life of crime and run away with his BEACH.

The chef placed his beautifully aluminum-foil-wrapped sandwich on the counter, and Oliver snatched it, accelerating to a sprint and escaping his beloved deli. He looked behind him and realized the chef was chasing him. Why was the chef so fast? Regretting all of the decisions he made, he was tackled, caught in the act, a true criminal.

As he sat in the police station, Oliver reflected on everything that had happened. If only his phone wasn’t taken. If his phone wasn’t taken, he would’ve submitted his homework. If his phone wasn’t taken, he wouldn’t have found himself hopeless in a dead-end. If his phone wasn’t taken, he would’ve paid for his sandwich and wouldn’t have turned to a life of crime and wouldn’t be sitting in a police station. If his phone wasn’t taken, he could have called his mom from the police station. So now he would sit here indefinitely. At least he had his head up though.