PART 1:

THE ARRIVAL

"Oh boy. Fresh meat," Helga sneered as Mr. Simmons introduced the new student to the class.

"Class, this is Gwendolyn Pierce. Her family just moved here last week and I want you all to be nice to her and make her feel welcome," he said. The class said their 'hello's' and Mr. Simmons gave Gwen the seat next to Phoebe.

Helga studied the new girl. She was about as tall as Sheena, but not as skinny. She wasn't fat, just bigger. She looked to be about the size of Big Patty. Helga wasn't sure she liked that. She had a funny feeling about this girl.

Class was about to continue when Principal Wartz came to the door.

"Mr. Simmons, may I have a word with you?"

"Of course, Principal Wartz." He turned to his students. "Class, I'm just going to be outside in the hall. You can talk among yourselves but please keep it down." He then stepped out into the hall and closed the door.

As soon as the door closed, the kids turned and talked to their friends. Arnold, of course, called over to the new girl.

"So, where are you from?" he asked.

"A city about 50 miles from here. My parents just split and my mom decided it would be better if we started fresh in a new place," Gwen answered.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. My folks were always fighting. At least this way, I'll get some peace and quiet."

"Yeah, yeah. That's all well and good, but let's get down to business, shall we?" Helga interrupted. She turned to Gwen. "Now then, just so you know, us girls run things around here. More specifically, I run things around here. If you're lucky, I'll let you hang around with me and Phoebe."

At the mention of her name, Phoebe smiled and waved shyly. Gwen glanced at her, then turned back to Helga. She grinned slyly. Helga didn't care for it much.

"Is that so?" Gwen asked in a low voice. "Well, we'll just see about that, won't we? We'll just see."

Helga and Phoebe exchanged a worried glance. The whole class heard what Gwen had said and Arnold turned to Gerald.

"What do you think she meant by that?" he asked his friend.

"I don't know. But did you see the look on Helga's face?" Gerald laughed.

"I don't like this, Gerald."

"Oh, come on, Arnold! Helga deserves to get bullied for a change. Then maybe she'll see how the rest of us feel when SHE does it."

"I don't know, Gerald. No one deserves to be picked on. Not even Helga."

Gerald would have loved to argue about this, but at that moment Mr. Simmons returned.

"I'm sorry for that little interruption, class. Now where were we?" he asked, going back to the chalkboard. That's when the trouble started.

Gwen leaned over to Phoebe.

"Hey, four eyes, got a pencil?" she whispered. Phoebe was shocked. She didn't know what to say.

". . . I . . . . uh . . ." she stammered.

"Nevermind. I'll just take this one!" Gwen said and snatched the pencil from Phoebe's hand. Helga was furious.

"You give that back to her right now and I might decide to let you live!" she said through clenched teeth. Gwen glanced over at her and smiled evilly.

"Anything you say, Pinkie," she said sweetly and broke the pencil in two. She then placed the pieces on Phoebe's desk.

"Thanks for the loan, four eyes!" she laughed.

Phoebe was near tears. No one had ever done anything like that to her in her entire life. Helga was fuming. She was about to say (or do) something to Gwen when the lunch bell rang. As the kids stood to leave, Gwen reached over and knocked Phoebe's books to the floor.

"Hey!" Phoebe exclaimed and bent over to retrieve her things.

"You're such a klutz, four eyes!" Gwen said, laughing. Helga had had enough. She stepped forward and shoved Gwen into the wall.

"Leave her alone!" she yelled.

"You gonna make me, Pinkie?" Gwen asked, raising her fists. Just as Helga raised hers, Mr. Simmons stepped between them.

"Girls! I'm surprised at both of you! I'm afraid I'm going to have to give you both detention after school today for fighting," he said sternly.

The two girls glared at each other for a moment, then turned away. Gwen left for the cafeteria and Helga turned to help Phoebe.

"You okay, Phoebs?" she asked as she helped her friend collect her things. Phoebe looked up and Helga noticed some tears had leaked from her eyes. This made Helga mad all over again.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks, Helga. Why was she being so mean?" she asked, standing. Helga shrugged.

"Beat's me. Maybe she's just a jerk." Helga grabbed her own books and the two headed out the door.

Phoebe had just cleared the doorway and Helga was about to walk through when a foot appeared, tripping her. She hit the floor hard, and her books scattered. She looked up and saw such a look of fear on Phoebe's face, that she knew who had tripped her. She turned her head to the right and confirmed her suspicions.

"Sister, you are getting off on the wrong foot with me," Helga growled at Gwen. She was just getting up when Gwen grabbed her by the collar and yanked her to her feet.

"I think you're as big a klutz as your geeky little friend, there," she sneered into Helga's surprised face. She then turned and slammed Helga into the lockers. "Things are gonna change around here, Pinkie. No one messes with me. NO ONE!" Gwen slammed Helga into the lockers once more and released her collar. At that moment, Mr. Simmons poked his head through the door.

"What's going on out here?" he asked. Gwen immediately looked innocent and turned to him.

"Nothing, Mr. Simmons. I was just helping Helga up. She tripped."

"Is this true, Helga?" he asked, looking at her. Helga was about to answer when Gwen turned and shot a look at her. Tell him anything and you'll live to regret it, it said. Helga swallowed, hard. She nodded.

"Yeah, I tripped. The floor must be uneven or something," she said nervously. Gwen smiled approvingly. Mr. Simmons looked concerned.

"I've never noticed the floor being uneven, Helga. Are you sure?"

"Oh, well, maybe my feet are uneven! Or maybe I'm just hungry, I'll go and take care of that right now!" Helga said as she gathered her books. Then she took off like a shot toward her locker, followed closely by Phoebe.

"That is so odd," Mr. Simmons commented. "Helga had never acted like that before."

"Don't worry, Mr. Simmons. I'll keep an eye on her," Gwen offered sweetly. Mr. Simmons looked at her. There was a look on his face she didn't like, but then he smiled.

"Thank you, Gwen. Let me know if she does anything else out of the ordinary," he said.

"Oh, I will," she said, nodding. Mr. Simmons seemed satisfied and walked back into the classroom. Gwen turned and looked down the hall, after the other girls. She smiled meanly.

I think I'm gonna like it here, she thought. I'm gonna like it just fine.

She started walking down the hall, towards Helga and Phoebe as they stood at Helga's locker.

~End of Part 1~