"Gerald and Helga Rendevue." This one is a request done for retro mania who wanted something done inspired by the Lois Lane comic "Black Like Me" and fanart where Helga is colored. It's so experimental I'm not going to add it to my story season list for some time. Instead, I'm going to use the poll feature to make a poll for you all to take if you'd be so kind letting me know about it. Things like, are parts of it offensive? Is it too angering to solid ArnoldxHelga fans that Gerald and Helga have an almost romantic lunch together? Also, it would have to take place when Arnold and Helga are already pretty tight. Instead of focusing on poor race relations, I took on the themes of good race relations and friendship, but also mistrust and romantic intrique. And of course I tried to have the lady of the story get pushy romantically. But as the characters are definitely not Superman and Lois Lane, the tale I discovered as I wrote was quite a different one, and like I said, highly experimental. I would like opinion as to whether or not to keep this one around. All the best, Inudaughter.
Arnold Shortman sat on a picnic bench outside of P.S. 118. It was a bright sunny day and things were great. He and Helga were getting along fabulously these days, Ludwig hadn't been seen for weeks, they had finished tests last week, and best of all, he was seated across from Gerald Johansson, his most favorite, if strikingly different, brother. Someone who accepted him no matter how football-shaped his head. Someone who always had his back. Someone who understood him and kept him from doing crazy stuff from time to time, or conversely, helped him do it.
"Hey, Gerald!" Arnold greeted his best friend with their favorite thumbshake. "How's it going?"
"Great except they're serving lemon pudding today," said Gerald making a face. "I gave mine to Stinky."
"Want half of my candy bar instead?" asked Arnold holding up a Mr. Nutty bar. He snapped it in half and dropped the wrapped part across the table. Gerald took it up with a grin, sunk his teeth into it and just…. relaxed, looking up at the puffy clouds in a bright blue sky.
"Ah, man this is the life!" Gerald said. "Relaxation with a capital R! After school, we're going down to the arcade for a bit, right?"
"Yeah," said Arnold rummaging through his pockets. "But I gotta be careful. My allowance is running low."
"That's cause you're not king of the games like I am, man!" said Gerald pointing a thumb backwards towards himself. He held up two fingers. "On TWO quarters, I can play for a whole half hour! Maybe one sometimes!"
"Yeah, that's because you don't run through all three lives in five minutes," said Arnold said not quite as cheerful as before. He unwrapped a sandwich and took a bite out of it. "Still, it's great to watch you play. It's almost... inspiring. Too, bad I can't play like that!"
"Well," said Gerald polishing his fingernails against his chest in pride. "Not all of us can have the skills! Otherwise, that arcade, it'd be plum run out of business!"
"I guess you're right about that," said Arnold finishing off his sandwich. "What are you doing the day after tomorrow?"
"Well, about that," said Gerald rolling his eyes from side to side in awkwardness. "I've got to go to a concert my mom and her friends are all doing. It's a choir thing."
"Choir?" Arnold asked. He leaned forward in sympathy. "You mean with an organ and no bass drums or guitar or anything? They aren't bad… but they aren't that fun to watch."
"Well, they are goin' to be doin' a contest for the blues so it's not so bad. Sometimes it's jammin' Um, um!" said Gerald snapping his fingers before he took on a serious look again. "But it is a little backwards to go see my mother perform on stage instead of me."
"Maybe that's where you get it from. You love being in the spotlight!" Arnold speculated as he tore open his milk. But it stuck terrribly. "Ugh! I think they put too much glue on this!" said Arnold holding the offending carton up.
"Try opening the other side!" Gerald said using his hands to pretend to open a a milk carton in the air. Arnold copied Gerald by opening the real one on the its second side so that the entire carton had unfolded into a square.
"Well, here goes!" said Arnold. He lifted the carton up and promptly got his nose splattered with milk.
"I hate it when that happens!" Gerald stated blandly. He leaned across the table with mellow eyes and handed his best friend a napkin to dry his face with. Gerald's face grew a lot less mellow and more annoyed as Helga G. Pataki stomped over next to Arnold at the lunch table. She dropped her lunch tray next to Arnold's with a clatter and sat down next to the blond-haired boy with enough force to make the table shake. Phoebe Hyerdayl, meanwhile, seated herself next to Gerald so quietly you could hear the leaves shake over the noise she made. With elegance, she dug the tip of her tiny fork into a plate full of spaghetti and meatballs and began to eat.
"You are looking beautiful today, Phoebe!" said Gerald laying a hand on top of one of the slim hands of the girl he had a sweetness for. Across the table, Helga made a horrible face.
"Oh, lay off, Geraldo!" Helga spat as she tore open her sandwich wrapper with a loud rip. "Some off us are trying to eat here! You're gonna make me sick!"
"Oh yeah?" said Gerald, ruffled by her words and that Phoebe looked downcast. "I think the one who's making people sick here is you!" Arnold rolled his eyes like saying, "not again!"
"Gerald! Helga! Please, just drop it okay!" said Arnold hoping for a peaceful lunch. "Please!" the boy pleaded. Arnold pressed the tips of his fingers softly against the back of Helga's shoulder and instinctively, her angry bulldog manner softened. Her attention turned back toward Arnold instead.
"Fine!" she muttered tearing into her sandwich as if it was all that mattered at this table. The lunch hour passed by in relative peace thanks to Arnold's efforts. Phoebe and Helga went back inside with their textbooks soon, Helga muttering all the while.
"I mean, come on Phoebe!" Helga grumbled as she spun her locker to its correct combination. "Gerald's a player! I wouldn't get too cozy up to him if I were you... if you don't want your heart to be broken!" Phoebe twiddled her fingers.
"Um. Well, I appreciate your concern, Helga, but I am taking my time with Gerald to make sure his intentions are sincere. You have nothing to worry about!"
"Yeah? Well, don't come crying to me if you see him with another girl! Well, actually, Phoebe," said Helga softening up, her gaze rapidly becoming tender. "You can! That's what I'm worried about. I don't want to see…. BOYS make you cry." Helga removed a few books from her locker and slammed it shut.
"Oh, Helga!" said Phoebe with delight. She looked up through her round oval frames. "That's, well, really, very sweet of you!" Helga smiled wanely.
"What are best friends for, Phoebes?" asked Helga leading her best friend toward the classroom. Arnold and Gerald meanwhile busied themselves next to their lockers.
"I really wish you two could get along," said Arnold crossing his feet together as he leaned up against the locker walls. "It seems like you two get into an argument every day lately."
"It's because Helga is a mean-hearted bully, Arnold, and that ain't ever gonna change!" Gerald complained. "She can't stand to see someone taking away Phoebe's attention from her."
"Nah, I thinking she's just being defensive, or in this case, really over-protective," said Arnold who knew the girl far better than he. "Trust me! When Helga gets all wild like that, it's because she's nervous."
"And how do you know all this?" asked Gerald twitching his eyebrows as she studied Arnold for answers.
"It's because I pressed her too far a few times," said Arnold. "She snapped and confessed things. I've seen her cry more than a few times, too, like on the subway. And the fainting!" said Arnold rolling his eyes. "She's done that a few times, too."
"That girl is really high-strung, huh?" asked Gerald shutting his locker fast.
"Yeah, sorta," said Arnold. "But at least since you and Helga don't get along so great, I know that there's no chance you'd get sweet on her. That's a good thing, right?"
"Arnold!" Gerald reproved his best friend wrapping an arm round his shoulder. "We're like brothers, my man! And brothers NEVER steal their brother's girl! That's just wrong!"
"Well, thanks," said Arnold. "I mean that, thanks. I mean, I don't think I'd win a competition with you."
"Arnold!" Gerald reproved him even more loudly. "Trust me! I promise you, brother, I'd NEVER steal a girl from you! Your crush is safe from me. You have my word on it! Now come on, I hear the last bell ringing. We don't want to be more than fashionably late," Gerald declared while strolling into their classroom. He and Arnold took their places in their seats in the nick of time.
A few days later, on the same day when Gerald followed his mother to the blues concert, Helga Pataki was lounging in on her bedcovers reading a comic book. Her older sister, Olga, pranced to the entrance of her room.
"Helga!" she called into the room's interior. "Mummy and Daddy are out so I am going to take you to a concert! Get dressed, baby sister!" Helga frowned. She covered her head with a comic book.
"I don't wanna go!" she wailed although she knew it was in vain. In a moment, Olga dragged her out from the comic book by catching the heel of her foot. Helga emerged from beneath the comic book, arms folded and face stoic of her unavoidable fate. Soon, she sat beside Olga in the front of her pink convertible. Olga turned the key.
"Here we go!" the older Pataki sister said with delight. But they did not stop at a concert immediately. First, Olga drove them to an apartment building outside their usual neighborhood. Olga rang the doorbell and a plump-waited college girl with deep colored skin and a sports jersey answered.
"Oh, hello!" the girl squealed. "Look at you! You're just as pretty as ever!" Olga batted her long, mascaraed eyelashes.
"And just look at you 'baby sister'! This must be the 'Helga' you told me so much about!" Helga glowered as she was examined.
"It's a cute dress, sweetie!" Olga's friend, Shannon, cooed.
"It is isn't it?" said Olga pulling on the edge of Helga's hair bow just to annoy her. "She's been wearing it for just forever! Ever since she outgrew her little pink shorts, Helga's worn her dress each and every day!"
"Ohh!" Olga's friend squealed. "You know what that means? Makeover!"
"Great idea!" said Olga leaning over Helga as well. She shivered in the shadow of the two, crazed-grinned college graduate girls.
"Mak-a-whoz-its?" Helga gulped and stuttered as the two laid hands on her and dragged her off to a makeup table. An hour later, Helga gawked at the green sandals she wore on her feet and a pink wrap around skirt. They had stolen her trademark white t-shirt for a green-leaf patterned blouse. Olga's friend had provided Helga with a set of earrings, too These were jade rings made of translucent plastic to look like the real stone from a distance. Helga looked in the mirror at herself, shoulders stiff and teeth gritted. She was horrified to be out of her usual clothes. But her horror was just about to begin because Shannon began to run her fingers through one of her pigtails, too.
"Hm," said Shannon. "We can switch up the hair, too! Girl, we are gonna make ya look glamorous!"
"I don't know about that," Helga began. But Olga was just as enthusiastic of the project.
"I'll go get some shampoo!" she cried with delight.
With the barbarism of too much zeal, Olga and Shannon put dye in Helga's hair to make it chestnut with blonde highlights. Then they poofed it up on either side so that her pigtails were bobs on either side of her head. A wave of curled bangs disguised her unibrow. They hung beads in her hair to hold the pigtails up, instead of her trademark hair ribbon, then stepped back to admire their handiwork.
"Aw, look at you!" Shannon coed again. "A five hundred dollar makeover if I do say so myself!" Helga bit her nails when she looked in the mirror.
"I'm wearing… green! I hate it!" she lamented of her accessories and shirt. In truth, they did not look bad on her, but Helga was appalled to be without her pink. She reached out and snatched her discarded hair ribbon from the dressing table as Olga caught her hand.
"Now come on, ya big silly!" said Olga. "If we don't leave now, we'll be later for the concert!"
Shannon grabbed her purse and followed them to Olga's convertible. Helga rode in he back, glowering, as they drove to a large church with the biggest stained glass windows she had ever seen. Helga admired the reds and blues and yellows and oranges in the tapestry of glass by craning her head, but she kept on walking.
Seated in the building was a large, gathering crowd. But they walked to the rear of the building where singers were getting dressed in their choir robes. Shannon spoke in an excited voice.
"I can't wait for the concert to begin! I've been practicing night and day!" she cawed before, with a cough, she pointed her throat. Shannon tried to speak but no words came out. Olga gasped.
"Oh, no! Have you lost your voice?!" Shannon nodded sadly. Olga got her a glass of water from a table nearby. But it didn't help.
"Would you like me to take your place in the contest?" offered Olga. "I'm not a pretty good singer, but I can read sheet music!" Shannon nodded her head and waved Olga in the direction of her nearby choir group. Olga took up a blue singing robe.
"Helga! You stay with Shannon, sweetie!" said Helga. "I'll be back for you when the concert is over so don't wander off, now! Shannon, take good care of my baby sister!" Olga said. The young woman gave her a sad thumbs up. But Helga was unenthused about the whole project to begin with. She kept her arms folded against her chest and continued to look as sour as possible.
On the upside of things, Shannon and Helga left the busy backstage area for the pews to find some seats. Helga had just seated herself down when she saw someone she knew walking towards her. It was Gerald. Helga gasped, because the last thing she wanted was anyone to see was her unwished-for makeover into white, green, and pink. As Gerald drew nearer, she snatched up a pair of sunglasses that were lying folded on a seat and put them on. Much to her horror, the entire Johansson family except their mother sat down next to her and Gerald was squished into the seat directly by her side. The boy had been looking bored, but his suave, lady-hunting look came out onto his face when he saw that he had seated next to a lady about his age.
"Hel-lo!" Gerald said with much enthusiasm. "Hi there, my name is Gerald Johansson. Do you live around here? You look awfully familiar." He squinted.
Helga tensed. If she spoke out loud, Gerald would probably recognize her in these clothes. But she had to say something, so she raised her voice in a falsely cute, falsely sweet way.
"Why no, I don't believe we've ever met!" lied Helga. "I just came with my sister, here!" said Helga jerking a thumb backwards towards Shannon.
"Huh. Your sister is a lot darker than you," Gerald observed with rude curiosity.
"I'm an albino," Helga fibbed.
"Hm. That explains why you'd be wearing sunglasses indoors!" said Gerald with perfect innocence as the concert began.
It was a long concert. At first intermission, Helga ran out the front of the church building and stood on its front steps to get some air. But Gerald appeared abruptly on steps behind her.
"A bit stuffy in there, huh?" said Gerald. He held up two cups.
"I got some punch from the table. Do you wanna sit down and chat?"
"Um, no," said Helga snatching the cup from his hand and gulping it down in one shot. Gerald stood back and laughed.
"You know, you really do remind me of this one girl from school! Helga is her name. Only she's a natural blond."
"No, I don't know any Helgas," Helga said crinkling up her paper dixie cup. "I go to a different school."
"How do you like it there?" Gerald asked, trying to make conversation.
"Oh, well it's okay," said Helga in a falsely high voice. "There are lot of people who annoy me. But I do have friends. Especially my best friend who's smart and my other best friend who's, well, a really sweet boy. It's too bad that his best friend is always arguing with me, lately," Helga said secretly speaking of Gerald.
"Yeah, well I've got a problem like that, too!" Gerald said with a forced laugh. "It's like whenever I speak to her best friend, she snaps at me." He brushed an imaginary piece of lint off his tuxedo and fell silent. Both had grown awkward with the conversation, Helga especially since she knew who she was talking to.
"Well, intermission is probably over," said Helga. "I'd better be getting inside."
"Yeah," said Gerald opening the door for her and admiring disguised Helga as she walked inside. After all, she did look good in her clothes.
Soon, the concert was over and people clapped. Helga spotted Olga laughing and walking towards her and Shannon. She gulped. If Gerald saw Olga, he's know for sure it was her! Helga! The thought embarassed her. Helga snatched up Gerald's hand.
"Shannon!" she declared. "Gerald and I are going out for a hamburger!" She then dragged Gerald down the side aisle towards its left rear door and through it. She slammed it shut and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Wow!" said Gerald grinning. "If you liked me so much, all you had to do was ask!"
"It's not you!" Helga fluffed with anger. "I was just hungry!" said Helga digging deeper into her lie. "There's gotta be a restaurant on this street!"
"After you, beautiful!" said Gerald bowing. Helga ignored him. She stomped towards a restaurant across the street instead.
"Allow me!" said Gerald pulling out his wallet and paying for two hamburger meals. They took them to the fast-food table.
"You're mighty generous," Helga observed before taking a bite out of her hamburger. Gerald leaned against the table.
"Well, how can I say no to a pretty thing like you?" Helga stopped drinking her soda.
"Actually, you can!" said Helga. "I really like you, Gerald. You know, I know a lot about you from.. friends. But not like that. You remind of of this… other friend of mine. From the same school as me. He's always well-dressed, pragmatic… he speaks the truth but sometimes his feelings can be dishonest so he minces words. Worst of all, he likes strawberry ice-cream."
"Woah, woah, woah!" said Gerald holding up a hand. "Now, most of those things can be considered good characteristics!"
"Usually!" said Helga dropping her half-eaten burger on her plate. "But the kind of boy I want is someone who dresses sloppy, a dreamer, someone who lies but whose heart is honest, and most importantly they always eat chocolate or vanilla, never strawberry!"
"Wow, you really got your heart set on this kid!" Gerald observed taking a tranquil bite out of his hamburger before moving onto the fries. "You know, with that kind of set of qualifications, you're gonna be in for some hard times if you don't land the right one the first time. You know that, don't you?"
"I know," Helga lamented. But she leaned forward dreamily anyway, her hand supporting her cheek. In disguise, away from Arnold and Phoebe, the air between her and Gerald was oddly peaceful. They did share much in common after all. They were street-smart, practical people.
"So, miss?" asked Gerald holding up a fry before popping it into his mouth. "I don't believe I caught your name?"
"It's…" said Helga caught up in her lie. She tensed, casting her gaze all around her for a diversion. What she found instead was a genuine distraction.
"Oh, wow!" said Helga standing up to lean against a plastic window. "Gerald, they have new kids toys from the show, Yo Arnest! I don't need toys but I like that show," said Helga scratching her chin and examining the wall display. Gerald, meanwhile, had begun choking on a french-fry. Instead of replying, he gestured wildly towards his throat but Helga was so distracted she ignored him until he passed out on the floor.
"Gerald? Gerald!" she asked. Lifting the boy up, she did the Heimlich maneuver and slapped his back to make sure all the French fry was out, but he had choked for too long that he was starved for air.
"Er, er!" Helga bit her nails before whipping off the sunglasses. She leaned down and pressed her mouth against Gerald's to blow in some air. With the French Fry removed and a little fresh air, Gerald came to quickly. Helga backed away immediately and began to gargle with her soda.
"I'm in love!" Gerald sang happily. "What's your name, sweetness?"
"Gerald," Helga complained with the sunglasses still removed. "It's me, Helga."
"Helga?!" Gerald gasped. "THE Helga? Why did you pretend to be someone else?!"
"I dunno!" Helga complained picking up the shades she had dropped. "My sister and her friend put me in this dumb outfit and I was embarrassed!"
"It looks pretty hot on the right girl," said Gerald. "But yeah, I guess it does look pretty weird on you." Gerald accepted the pair of shades as they were handed to him. He put them on and grinned.
"We'd better return these to whoever they belong to. I borrowed them at the church."
"Well, I should have known something was up," said Gerald. "Real albinos are afraid of the sun! Too much sunburn."
"Yeah? Well, next time, try to drink soda when you eat fries. Or at least use some ketchup. Moron!" Gerald lifted his eyes in an expression of deep suffering.
"I can't believe lips so sweet can hurl such such harsh insults so quickly!"
"I'll give you more than insults," said Helga making a fist, "if you ever mention this to anyone! Ever!"
"As you wish, fair lady!" said Gerald bowing Helga out the front door. They walked back across the street.
"Oh! Helga! There you are, baby sister!" said Olga rushing forward to give Helga a big hug. She then shook a finger at the girl. "Now didn't I tell you not to wander off!"
"It's only been a few minutes!" Helga complained before falling silent. But Gerald surprised Helga by speaking up.
"Mom, Dad?" he asked. "I'd like to introduce you to a dear friend of mine! Miss Helga Geraldine Pataki!" said Gerald with a fond wink. His father Martin reached down and shook Helga's hand.
"Good to meet you, miss!" said Martin said with a cheerful smile. "I'm glad you kids get along so well!"
"We try," said Gerald, his hands on his hips as he gave a satisfied smile, "and something tells me, after today we'll get along a whole lot better."
It was only just noon when Olga's convertible pulled up to the Pataki residence. Helga's mother had returned and was snoring on the kitchen table beside a cup of coffee. Olga looked around the kitchen cupboards, then strode back over towards Helga and pinched her cheek.
"Oopsie! Looks like I'm going to have to do a bit of grocery shopping! You stay here with mummy, okay Helga?" Helga rubbed her cheek as Olga departed once more. She listened to her mother's snoring. After a minute, she heard the doorbell ringing.
"What, Olga?" Helga said ripping the door open. But when she stared down the steps, it was to see Gerald standing there with a cassette tape in his hands. With a forced grin, Gerald silently handed it over. Helga blinked at the audio tape cassette in her hand, reading the title.
"Wow!" said Helga. "I've been wanting this one forever!"
"I know," said Gerald with a shrug. "You've only been talking about it at lunch for the last three months!"
"Wow!" said Helga continuing to grin with glee. "Come on up, Gerald! We can listen to this in my room! I've got a tape player in there!" Gerald followed Helga up the staircase, looking around since he'd never been there before.
"But I don't get it," said Helga as she looked down at the unopened box. "Why the gift?" She and Gerald paused right before her bedroom door.
"I just wanted to thank you, my angel!" said Gerald giving Helga a light hug. But the door swung open then and Arnold stood in the doorway with eyes full of disbelief and hurt.
"Arnold?!" yelped Helga. "What are you doing here?!"
"I brought you the tape you wanted," said Arnold sheepishly. "Your mother said I should wait here. But, but..." His eyes scooted onto the cassette tape Helga held in her hand now. It was the same one he had brought.
"Gerald?" Arnold asked, astonished. Helga noted a small cassette tape cradled in Arnold's hand which he pulled back as if suddenly ashamed of it. The cassette tape slipped out of Arnold's hand as he continued to stare at the strange sight before him. Helga and Gerald caught moments after an embrace. "Helga? But I thought…I thought you hated each other! But..." An angry expression gathered across the boy's face and his hands knotted into fists. Arnold spun on his heel and began to march down the hall towards the stairs at a rapid pace.
"Gerald, stop him!" cried Helga. With the exact same thinking, Gerald sprang forward and caught hold of his friend by the arm. But Arnold only grew even angrier.
"Step off, Gerald!" Arnold uttered breaking out into a tearful shout and shaking him off. "After promising you'd never hit on my girl… I still can't believe you'd go behind my back and… And..."
"Arnold, it isn't like that!" Helga pleaded as she caught up to them. "I swear!"
"Yeah, man!" said Gerald too loudly for Arnold to completely ignore even if he pretended to. "Helga here saved my life! I was choking on a french fry earlier today and the old girl slapped it out of me! I was just thanking her for savin' me is all!"
"Oh," said Arnold calming a little bit. "I guess that makes sense. I overheard and well, I just assumed, you know? I was worried. You are taller than I am, Gerald, and make better speeches…" Arnold mumbled off into an awkward silence.
"That's okay, my brother!" said Gerald smiling in relief a his old time friend. "Now come on over here and give me one of our old friendship shakes!" said Gerald lifting up his thumb. "Like I said, I would never steal your girl from you! Not knowingly!" Arnold and Gerald did their special friendship handshake, although Arnold was reluctant.
"I'm sorry. I guess I just don't handle jealousy well."
"For the record, you're kinda cute when you're jealous," said Helga stepping nearer to Arnold to take up the space directly in front of him instead of Gerald. The other boy bowed and stepped back so that Helga could stand eye to eye with Arnold, looking deeply into his honest eyes.
"I dunno. I just.. Just don't want to see you embracing Gerald or anyone else! Not ever!" growled Arnold, still a little worked up. Helga grinned.
"No one, else, eh?" Helga asked. "What about Phoebe?"
"Phoebe's alright," Arnold muttered. Helga pressed her point more.
"How about Olga?"
"Well, I guess that's alright, too," said Arnold, his voices till a little hoarse with emotion.
"And what about my parents? Is giving them a hug, alright?"
"Well, of course it is!" Arnold declared. But Helga continued.
"And what if you and I grow up and get married some day? Would it be okay for me to hug our kids?" Arnold paused. Helga was afraid she wouldn't get a reply out of him, but then he choked.
"If that happened, then I'd be really, really glad," Arnold almost whispered. Helga pressed her index finger against his large, round button nose.
"See, there ya go!" she said playfully. "You should think a bit before asking for things!" Helga clasped her hands with his. But Arnold flushed bright red. He pulled his hands away to hide them around his back.
"Can we just forget what I said, now?" Arnold pleaded, his hands folded snuggly behind his back.
"Sure thing, Arnoldo." said Helga with a smile. "Whatever ya want." Helga held up the audio cassette in her hand and handed it back to Gerald.
"Here, you go, Gerald!" she said. "Thanks, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to return this!"
"That's all right!" said Gerald with a soft, dismissal wave and mild smile. "I've got the receipt in my pocket! And who knows! Maybe Phoebe would like this!"
"Maybe," replied Helga.
"Well, if that's all," said Gerald. "I'll just let myself out."
"No, you don't have to go, Gerald!" admonished Helga. "We're all friends, here. I was just about to put on this cassette tape Arnold bought me!" she said retrieving the one he had dropped on the floor. "Would you all like some hot chocolate? How about you, Arnold?" said Helga leaning forward and looking into his eyes.
"Hot chocolate? What kind?" Arnold asked with perked interest. After all, hot chocolate was probably his favorite drink.
"All kinds!" said Helga who was prepared for such things. "Marshmallow, milk chocolate, dark bitter-sweet, toffee, and chocolate-mint!"
"Chocolate-mint?" asked Arnold who had never heard of such a thing. "That sounds really good! Yeah, I'll have a cup."
"Great!" said Helga. "Now you two wait down in the living room!" she ordered before hurrying off into the kitchen. She returned with three cups balanced on an over-sized plate. Soon, Gerald sat back down on a large armchair, feet crossed, and enjoying his steaming hot cup of cocoa as he watched Helga and Arnold on the other side of the living room. Helga slid the audio cassette tape into the boom box she had brought down and pressed play. Then she grabbed hold of Arnold's fingers for a casual dance. The tension on Arnold's face eased into a loving smile. Yep, things were alright! Gerald gave the two lovebirds a hooded look. He was proud and mighty glad for his two friends and mighty glad to be here with them. Content, Gerald took another slug of his cocoa. The end.