Disclaimer: I own nothing, all characters belong the Craig Bartlett! Happy Reading!

A Day in the Life

Surrounded by a field beautiful wildflowers, Arnold came toward her with open, loving arms; Helga gave him a look of pure joy. He had heard her confession and he hadn't been alarmed, angry, disgusted, or anything! He'd been happy about it! It was the most Helga could ever ask for. She had finally given her confession and he had heard it all, and there were no consequences! Strangely enough, it seemed that Helga felt like she didn't care if the rest of the school found out she was a softie. All that mattered was Arnold…

He continued to come closer to her, almost as if in slow motion with his wide football headed hair bouncing in a breeze that randomly seemed to appear. He was like a god of beauty, thought Helga as she stared into his shining green eyes. Her little love god was finally embracing her!

Just as Arnold was inches away from her and she could hardly contain herself anymore, he opened his mouth to speak. Helga felt certain that he would recite her poetry. After all she had written him so much poetry that she filled volumes full of them!

"Yes my little love god?" Helga called dreamily.

Arnold smiled at her and then spoke, "Helga it's time to get up for school," called Miriam's voice from Arnold's lips.

Helga stared at her beloved in shock. Miriam? Why was Miriam speaking to her? Just then Helga saw Arnold reach forward to tap her on the shoulder, as she looked down her eyes snapped open. There she lay in her bed, not in a field of wildflowers, and in front of her bed touching her shoulder wasn't Arnold, but Miriam. Guess I was dreaming again, Helga thought as she sat up in bed and shot Miriam and angry scowl.

"Criminy Miriam! I was having a good dream," Helga huffed from her bed. She glanced at the clock and saw that she had only about fifteen minutes to get ready for school. Typical, Miriam was late waking her up again. At least this time though, Miriam had actually remembered to wake her up.

Miriam stared back at Helga, not fully comprehending her daughter's hostility. She scratched her head and said, "Well Helga, if you're awake now I'll go make a smoothie." Miriam turned and left.

Helga looked after her for only a moment and then rose from her pink sheets and stretched, working out the morning sleepies. She walked over to the full length mirror in the corner of her room and gazed at her reflection briefly. Messy hair and a furrowed unibrow greeted her. Helga shrugged and trudged her way over to her closet to pick out her usual attire of pink dress, white shirt, and pink bow.

As Helga shrugged into her shirt and dress she called out to Miriam, "Did you make my lunch Miriam?" Helga pointed an ear in the direction of downstairs to see if she heard a response. Only the sound of the blender could be heard. "Sheesh. Is it that hard to make a lunch once in a while?" Helga murmured to herself as she threw on her clothing and quickly redid her hair into pigtails.

Helga trotted downstairs to see Miriam in the kitchen blending a smoothie. Typical, Miriam's more concerned about making one of her 'smoothies' than feeding her own child. I bet if I was Olga she wouldn't forget, Helga angrily thought to herself as she began shuffling around the kitchen trying to locate her lunch.

"Miriam where is my lunch? Don't tell me you lost it again," Helga shot in her mother's direction as she recalled the last time Miriam had lost her lunch. Helga had looked for it for two hours before she found it, in the garbage of all places. Apparently Miriam had been in one of her smoothie fogs and had mistook Helga's lunch for a pile of trash and tossed it in the trash.

Miriam turned around from her smoothie and gave an absent minded chuckle. "Well Helga I'm sure it's around here somewhere. Did you check if your father knows where it is?" Helga just stared at her mother.

"Big Bob would've left an hour ago for work, Miriam," Helga growled in exasperation. She watched as Miriam smiled at this and snapped her fingers as if she actually remembered something important.

"Oh I remember Helga! I put it in the cupboard with my tabasco sauce to help me remember to put stuff in it for you," Miriam smiled and turned to the cabinet that held her tabasco sauce. "See…oh well I guess I forgot," Miriam mused carelessly as she pulled out and opened Helga's empty lunchbox. Helga frowned and face palmed herself. Miriam was a lost cause.

"Fine, Miriam. I'll just get lunch some other way," she said with irritation. She turned from her mother who was still looking at the empty lunchbox like it might magically fill with food.

"Oh but Helga," Miriam called but Helga was already out the door with her book bag before Miriam could finish that thought.

As soon as the door was shut behind her, Helga flew into a rant. "Perfect. Just perfect. I'm in the middle of the best dream ever and Miriam ruins it by waking me up. Then she can't even remember to make my lunch," Helga sighed, looking out at the sidewalk ahead. She was fairly certain most of the other kids were at or nearly at school; she still had a five to ten minute walk ahead of her.

Kicking a pebble with her foot, Helga thought back to her dream. Oh it had been so lovely! She'd confessed everything to him and he had been so delighted to hear it all, even going so far to say he felt the same way. Helga smiled goofily as she thought of it. He'd looked so lovely in the dream and she had been so full of joy, until Miriam had woken her up, that is.

"Oh Arnold, why must I hide what I truly feel for you? What is it inside of me that stops me from speaking my true feelings? Oh Arnold," she paused and ducked behind a trashcan at the end of the sidewalk and pulled out her Arnold locket. Helga gazed at it lovingly and brought it to her lips to whisper quietly to it.

"May we be together my love, my precious little love god. Soon the sun will shine on both of us and we will be together always…" Helga let a little one of her romantic sighs slip out. She smiled down at her locket until she heard heavy, wheezy breathing behind her. A scowl rose to her face. Without even looking behind her she whipped her fist backwards and made contact with what she knew to be Brainy's face. What was he even doing out here this late? Probably just waiting for her to slip into monologue. Somehow he always seemed to know…

When Helga finally made it to school she was only a few minutes late and Mr. Simmons really didn't seem to notice or mind that she came in late. Helga took her seat and first took notice of Brainy calmly sitting near her and she distantly wondered how he had gotten there before her since she'd decked him just a short while ago.

Throughout the class Helga was her usual self; she fired spitballs at Arnold, watched him glare at her angrily, slid down in her chair in embarrassment as Simmons read one of her 'anonymous' poems, and gazed idly at her mini shrine to Arnold in her math book. Lunchtime seemed to come quicker than normal and Helga felt her stomach growl.

"Great, lunchtime and I have nothing to eat," she whispered to herself and rose from her chair. Phoebe followed instep behind her.

"How are you today, Helga? I noticed you arrived two minutes late today," Phoebe mused with a friendly smile on her face.

"Yeah Pheebs, just another spectacular day in the Pataki household," Helga sighed. She watched as Arnold shuffled out of the classroom with Gerald at his side. How she wished she could be at her beloved's side. Her stomach growled then and Helga held her stomach, remembering that she hadn't eaten any breakfast and had no lunch. She looked imploringly at Phoebe.

"Pheebs can you spare some quarters so I can buy a Mr. Fudgie bar. Miriam didn't pack me lunch again," Helga stated in frustration.

"Oh dear Helga. I'm sorry, let me just run to my locker for a moment to verify that I have some change to give to you," Phoebe replied with a reassuring smile and left Helga in the hall.

Helga waited in the hallway, wondering how long the Mr. Fudgie bar would hold her. Lost in her thoughts, Helga didn't realize that she had stopped right at the corner of the hall and didn't hear the footsteps coming up behind her. Something thudded into her knocking her to the ground.

"Ow!" Helga yelled as she sat up and rubbed her elbow, which had taken the majority of the blow. She looked up and saw none other than Arnold sitting across from her. Of course it had to be Arnold who ran into her.

Before Helga could shake her dreaminess at having come in contact with her beloved, Arnold asked, "Helga, are you okay?"

"Arnold," Helga said in a dreamy tone. Oh! He's so kind and caring. Running into me and checking to see if I'm alright even though I've been shooting spitballs at him all morning and take every opportunity to say mean things to him…so sweet and sensitive, so wonderful…Helga shook her head trying to push away her inner monologue that was desperate to get out.

"Criminy football head! Why don't you look where you're going?" Helga scowled angrily (though inwardly she hated that harsh voice she used on her beloved).

Arnold rolled his eyes at her but still held out his hand to help her up. Helga eyed it briefly, unsure if she should take it, but sorely tempted to do so. Slowly she took his hand and with his help was on her feet. The second she was up however, she shoved him away.

"Watch where you're going next time head boy," Helga threatened.

"Whatever Hel—" Arnold was cut off as Helga's stomach angrily growled. Arnold looked down at her midsection and then back at her. "Helga…where's your lunch?"

So intuitive you are my love, Helga thought before her harsher nature took control. "Don't have one today, football head. Miriam didn't pack me one, doi," Helga crossed her arms and looked at him sternly.

Arnold was quiet for a moment, apparently thinking something over. Helga observed him with a scowl on her face, but secretly admired his thoughtful expression and intelligent eyes. Always thinking…caring about others, Helga mused to herself and then decided it was time to remove Arnold from his thoughts. Just as Helga was about to say something snide, however, Arnold finally spoke.

"You can have half of my sandwich if you want Helga," Arnold said with an uncertain smile.

Initially Helga wanted to say something biting, but Arnold's utter selflessness stripped her of anything bad she'd been planning on saying. She simply stared at him, dumbfounded by his kindness. She could feel that inner hopeless romantic push against her tough façade. The tiniest of smiles came to Helga's lips as she watched Arnold. She had no words.

"Helga...?" Arnold asked again looking concerned about her. It was unlike the frightening bully Helga G. Pataki to be at a loss for words.

Shaking her head, Helga managed to push the inner romantic a little farther away from the forefront of her mind, but not enough to regain her tough exterior completely. "Okay Arnold…I'd like that," and with that she smiled at Arnold who smiled back at her, having briefly glimpsed a Helga Pataki that wasn't all fire and brimstone.

Down the hall, Phoebe watched with a knowing look on her face. She watched as Arnold walked with Helga in the direction of the cafeteria. There was no doubt in her mind that Helga would very shortly revert back to her normal hostility, but for now Helga got to be with her favorite thing, ice cream.

"Guess she won't be needing this after all," Phoebe said with a smile while looking down at the change in her hand.

Meanwhile, Helga walked to the cafeteria with Arnold. She knew that this wouldn't last long, probably long enough for her to get half of Arnold's sandwich and then it'd be over. But this was good enough for her. She cautiously shot Arnold a timid glance; he had his usual football head expression.

Oh Arnold, my love, Helga thought and smiled. Perhaps her life wasn't so depressing after all, even if Miriam had forgotten to make her a lunch and woken her from her Arnold dream. Who needed those things when the real Arnold was standing right by her side!

The End.