The One With Peapod Kid, Part One
By: Francesca Masters
Rated: PG-13
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters, settings and situations from the television show: Hey Arnold, created by Craig Bartlett, owned by Nickelodeon. I own nothing except for the story line and Roger Kline. Quotes from the television show, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, written by Joss Whedon were used periodically through out the story. Much of the conversation and dramatic irony was stolen from my life.
Summary: The gang is in High School now. Unrequited loves, secret romances, death, sorrow, pain and teenage hormones.
~*~*~*~*~
"You were never that good to me Today is tasting the honey
Today's the strike of a match
Today is the time for forgiving
Today I wish I could."
~*~*~*~*~
The gun was heavy in his hands. The metal was cold and lethal against his fingers. The gun clicked loudly as he opened the bullet chamber and loaded it. He had planned it out, carefully working out every detail; psychotically, diligently working every day until it was ready, and it was finally ready. He had a map of the high school laid out before him, and the memories of loneliness plagued his thoughts.
After this weekend, they'll all know my name.
~*~*~*~*~
"Hey Arnold?" Grandpa Phil said. "Can you help me here?"
Grandpa Phil was carrying a huge box of cleaning supplies up the stairs. Things such as Windex and dusters kept falling out.
"Sure." Arnold said, grabbing the box. "What is this for?"
"New people moving in. Under your room actually." Grandpa Phil replied.
"Really? That room's been vacant for five years." Arnold said, as he opened the door to the room. It was dusty and the window was covered, with nothing but a single thin beam of light escaping through.
"Yup. It's a woman, and her son. The Klines, or the Clemens." Grandpa Phil replied, covering his mouth, as the dust made him cough. "The son is your age actually, sixteen."
"I thought you said no kids allowed." Arnold said setting the box down.
"Well, he'll be an adult in two years so, I figure why not. Besides, they said they couldn't afford any where else."
"Oh." Arnold said, removing the blinds and seeing the room flood with sunlight. He blinked, as his eyes adjusted to the light.
Arnold and his Grandpa set to work and cleaned up the musty room for a couple of hours. Dusting shelves, polishing the one piece of furniture, vacuuming the ragged drapery, and shining the dirty windows. After an hour the old wood flooring became visible and the old bathroom pipes were cleaned to perfection. The old oak doors were polished and the closet swept. At four o'clock, Arnold glanced at his watch and realized he had to go to school. He was working on the Sophomore Homecoming Float with the rest of the float members.
"Hey, I've got to go, Grandpa." Arnold said. "Remember, I have to work on the float?"
"Okay, you have fun." Grandpa Phil said. "I'll finish up here."
Arnold ran up to his room, grabbed his old, midnight navy jacket and ran a brush through his fine, golden blonde hair. He walked out of The Sunset Arms and debated whether he'd walk or take the bus. He opted to walk. The cement was old, and chipping, with ten-year-old gum smashed into it, but he loved it. It was a nice day; blue skies, some fluffy cumulus clouds, and a slight fall breeze. Fifteen minutes later the school came into view. It was located two blocks from PS 118. The school was red brick and green, with a proud American flag swinging in the wind.
"Hey Arnold." Said a familiar voice. It was Gerald. Gerald was tall now, with his hair in cornrows. He was star point guard now, and still the urban legend guru.
"Hey Gerald." Arnold replied. "How's it going?"
"About as good as it can be when we're going to school for two extra hours." He replied.
They walked together up to the gym. School was deserted, as always, on a Friday evening. When they got there, they saw Helga, Phoebe, Lila, Rhonda, and Sid. Gerald was dating Phoebe now. Phoebe was still the ultimate bookworm, but had shed her glasses. Arnold thought she was actually really pretty now, with her glossy black hair and bright, honey brown eyes.
"Hey." Gerald said, hugging Phoebe. They kissed, and held each other, as the teacher walked out of the room. Mrs. White was their health teacher and the main adult supervision for the float meetings.
"Hi Arnold." Lila said. Her long red hair fell in loose curls around her face, and her blue eyes sparkled under frosted eye shadow.
"Hey Lila." He said sitting down next to her. She was slowly and meticulously gluing small pieces of crepe paper onto the float. He grabbed some of them and helped her. Their hands brushed as they both went for the same glue bottle.
"Sorry." Arnold said handing it to her. She smiled, blushed slightly, and took it. When she turned her head, Arnold could smell her flowery scent; his breathe caught in his throat.
Helga watched Arnold from across the room. She and Sid were painting a banner that said "Class of 2005". She hadn't "liked" Arnold since Middle School, when her long running obsession over him ended.
Football head. She thought, although he wasn't at all football headed now. Wow, haven't thought of those words in a long time. He's still that painfully good, dangerously honest, hopelessly optimistic guy.
"Helga, watch it." Sid said. She had written the "A", "R", and "N" of Arnold's name in the "O" of "of" in the banner. Sid was standing right beside her, she could see his scraggly black hair covering his face. He had grown to be tall, dark and one of her best friends. Sid was the classic rebel, he and Helga were only members of the float committee because it was part of their "giving back to the community" supplemented by the vice principal.
"Sorry." She replied, pushing the sleeves of her gray LSU sweatshirt, and then, using the back of her hand, flicked strands of long, straight, yellow- blonde hair away. Sid watched her, wanting to touch her. He had somehow fallen for her, although he didn't know how. He loved the way she smelled (Like cherries), the way she talked (like a drunken sailor), and the way she loved his favorite music (Old School Stuff).
"Okay, you guys." Ms. White said, holding rolls of crepe paper. "This float is coming along great. But we need to finish it by today. Principal Gelt said it must be finished by Monday. Can we finish it today?"
"I don't think so." Lila said. The float was still mostly cardboard, with barely any color. It was only half finished.
"Oh." Ms. White said. Pulling a pen and notebook from her Brooklyn High jacket. "Um, I won't be able to work on Monday. So, can any of you come in tomorrow? Say around noon or so?"
"I can." Arnold said.
"Me too." Phoebe replied.
"Okay, good. Who ever can come, please come tomorrow at noon then." Ms. White said. "But I have an engagement I must get to in an hour, so we'll adjourn for today."
"What kind of engagement?" Gerald said, winking, with Phoebe in his arms.
"If you must be so nosy, Mr. Johanssen. I have a date." Mrs. White replied.
"Ooooo." Chorused the group.
"Mature before tomorrow, please?" Ms. White said.
"Whose the date with?" Lila asked.
"A man I met at a teaching conference in Denver. Really quite dashing, if you ask me." Ms. White replied. This, she received, another round of "Ooooo's". "Have an nice evening, Mr. Richards will supervise you guys. Behave yourselves."
"Okay, class, back to work, let's attempt to get as much completed as possible." Mr. Richards said. Mr. Richards was the Sophomore/Junior Advanced English Teacher. He was stodgy, and it was a well-known fact he had a big crush on Ms. White.
"Wonder if he's jealous?" Helga said to Sid.
"I'm not jealous." He replied quickly, looking at Arnold look at Helga.
"I know you're not.I was talking about Mr. Richards, you know, his liking Ms. White, and her dating Colorado scholars." Helga said slowly.
"Oh, hell yea, I'd be crazy jealous if the girl I liked was into other people." Sid said. Or into good-hearted blonde guys who live with their grandparents. He added in his thoughts.
"Hey Helga! Can you help me?" Arnold said. He was carrying a gigantic box that was six feet long with plywood in it.
"Sure." Helga said, dropping her paintbrush into Sid's hands. She ran over to him and grabbed the other end. Helga didn't even see Sid's heart drop to the floor as she walked away.
"So, how's it been lately Helga? Haven't really talked in a while." Arnold said as they walked with the box.
"It's good, if really needed to know." Helga said harshly.
"So, how's the family?" Arnold asked politely.
"Olga's met a man. This time they've dated for more than three weeks. My mom's doing okay, and my dad's-" Helga stopped. Jesus Christ, I almost told him about dad's cancer.
"Your dad's.what?" Arnold said, curiously.
"My dad's fine, football head." Helga said rudely; quickly changing the subject.
"Helga, grow up." Arnold said.
"Whatever." Helga muttered. "So.so, um, how's your family? And Sunset Arms? Sorry to hear about your Grandma."
"Thanks." Arnold said, a sort of dark shadow fell over his face and Helga instantly wished she hadn't said anything.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Helga said, realizing she shouldn't have said that, as they set the box down by the float. She stood up and put her hands in her pocket. "So."
"Arnold, come help me?" Lila interrupted, hanging on his arm. "I can't get this hatch to open, I need someone strong to open it for me."
"Okay." He replied. "I guess I'll see you Helga."
"Yea, see you Helga." Lila said tauntingly, her green eyes piercing into hers in a superior sort of way.
"Yea, okay." Helga said. "Bitch." She added behind her back as they walked away.
Time rolled on, and when the clock finally got to 6:30, the group adjourned. Arnold walked out with Lila on his elbow. He was carrying her Geometry book and book bag for her, as her house was on the way to his. Phoebe and Gerald walked with them, casually kissing and holding each other as they walked. Across the street, Helga watched them, as Sid came up behind her.
Look at them. Perfect and Happy. Helga thought, thinking she wasn't good enough to be in their little group of friends. She could never be with Arnold.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Sid said, knowing full well what she was doing.
"Nothing, let's go see a movie." Helga said as she walked straight into Rhonda.
"Watch it!" Rhonda said, wearing a short red skirt and low white shirt with matching high heels. "You scuffed my new shoes!"
"Bite me." Helga said, as she pushed past Rhonda, purposely bumping her shoulder.
"Loser." Rhonda said, as Sid gave her the finger.
~*~*~*~*~
"Arnold?" Grandpa Phil said, from the kitchen, as Arnold walked in.
"Yea." He said, walking in and smelling the scent of homemade cornbread.
"This is Jackie Kline, and her son, Roger Kline." He said.
"Hello Arnold." Jackie said. She was small woman, with short black hair that flipped out, and striking blue eyes. She wore a cheap, but professional, pin stripe suit with black pumps.
"Hi." Arnold replied shaking her hand.
"And I'm Roger." Roger said shaking Arnold's hand. Roger's voice was rather low to high and monotonous. He had a slim build and looked nothing like his mother, with his green hazel eyes. A black sweatband was on his wrist and a thick watch on the other. He wore a black shirt that said "This is my anti-humanity, I don't give a f*@k if you stare at me, scare soccer moms into having seizures shirt." He was your average-every day punk boy.
"Nice to meet you." Arnold said. "I have a big project I have to work on for the Homecoming Float, actually. So, I'll see you two around."
"Bye." Roger said. Arnold felt a little guilty for running out so quickly but Roger gave Arnold an odd feeling of resentment.
Arnold slowly dragged himself upstairs. He threw his jacket in the corner and his wallet on the desk. He quickly stripped down and pulled on his made for bedtime boxers with the different types of sushi on them. He pulled out one of his favorite books, A Moveable Feast, and began reading. He read until 10:30, when he finally felt his eyelids droop. He took his little remote controller and turned off the lights. It was hot that night, so he kicked the blankets off. The stars were barely visible, and a thick layer of smog was visible, but the sky still looked beautiful.
~*~*~*~*~
Helga asked, eating the last of her Lemonheads. "What?"
"Let's just say I think the length of a film should be directly related to endurance of the human bladder." Sid said uncomfortably, as he walked to the bathroom.
"Okay, have fun." Helga said, as she sat down on a bench.
"Patacki." Came a smooth, deep voice from behind her.
"What?" She said whipping around, expecting Sid, but instead saw Curly. "Curly!"
"Hey Patacki." He said, as she hugged him. He had a sun kissed tan and was a couple inches taller than she remembered. He had gone to Mexico in August and just got back in time for October's Homecoming. "How's it been?"
"Great, I haven't seen you in months." She replied. "How was Cancun?"
"Hot." He said. "Not my kind of weather. But I bought you a slinky that sings the 'cucaracha' song."
"Oh, so are you going to be back at school on Monday?" Helga asked.
"Yea." He replied. "Unfortunately."
"Curly?" Came the familiar deep voice of Sid.
"Sid!" He said, turning around and hugging him too.
"When did you get back?" Sid said.
"Today. Flight came in at noon."
"Why didn't you call?" Helga asked as they walked out of the theater.
"Busy." He replied.
They walked home together, Curly telling them about the ocean, sun and lounging around. At Helga's house, the three parted and said their good byes. Helga opened the front door to see her dad asleep with the remote in hand, she assumed her mom was asleep upstairs. She tip toed to the staircase and went to her bedroom. She changed into a giant "I Heart DEVO." shirt and pulled down her blue flannel sheets. She opened the window, and felt the cool night air wash over her, as she lay down. She looked up and out of the window, and saw a giant factory pouring tons of pollution into the air. It fogged up her view of the moon, but the sky still looked beautiful.
~*~*~*~*~
The next morning Arnold woke up, to a semi-cloudy day. He quickly dressed in loose khakis and a charcoal shirt. He checked the time, and it said 6:30, no one was awake this early on a Saturday. He went to the bathroom, and quickly showered, brushed his teeth and combed his hair.
Knock. Knock.
"Yea?" Arnold shouted through the door, his toothbrush still sticking out of his mouth.
"Sorry." The voice replied.
"Roger?" Arnold said, recognizing the low-high voice from the night previous. Arnold wiped his face off and opened the door. "You're up early."
"Yea, I was going to take a very early walk around Brooklyn." Roger said. Arnold noticed his face was a little rough and unshaven. Arnold didn't need to shave yet, his hair was so pale of a blonde it blended with his skin.
"Oh. Well, I'll see you around."
"Yea, see you." Roger said.
Arnold walked down the stairs to the kitchen. He grabbed a bag of nacho flavored Doritos, and a glass of milk. He sat down on the old, flower printed couch and turned on the television. He watched early morning cartoons, such as Rocko's Modern Life on Nickelodeon. During the television marathon he saw Roger leave out the back door, wearing a leather jacket and black boots.
At nine, the other boarders began waking up. So, Arnold left, to avoid the hassle. He walked down to the corner café. He grabbed a coffee, gray, and set off to the library. Arnold liked the library and spent a few hours a week there.
The grand library double doors loomed over him. He walked in and scanned the aisles, finally settling on two thick ones. He was about to sit down with intellectually stimulating books and good coffee when he saw Helga. Helga, not being forced to read by Phoebe, but she was reading on her own, in fact reading the same book Arnold had. Her pale, yellow blonde hair, shining even under the crappy library light, fell, straight as a bone, to just above her shoulder. She looked a lot like Olga at that moment.
Temptation held him watching her, contemplating whether he should go talk to her. He licked his chapped lips and drank his coffee. He decided to go read on the outside balcony. As he turned, Helga turned at that same moment and saw him walk out.
At eleven thirty, Arnold got up from his book and walked to Gerald's house. Gerald was outside already when he got there, playing basketball with Timberly, his little sister.
"Hey Gerald, hey Timberly." Arnold said.
"Hey Arnold." Gerald said, lifting his sister up, so she could put the basketball in the hoop. Timberly was ten now and looking a lot like her mother.
"We'd better get going, Gerald. Float, remember?" Arnold said.
"Oh right." Gerald said. "Timberly, go back inside, Mom has cookies."
"Bye." She said as she hugged him.
Arnold and Gerald walked up the tattered streets, the dirty litter spread in the gutters, until once again familiar sight of their humble school building came into view. Little did they know, today was going to serve them with the worst luck they'll ever have.
"Hey Arnold." Came a voice behind them.
Arnold turned to see Roger. Roger still made Arnold uneasy, but deep down Arnold knew why. Roger was the kind of guy Helga liked, the rebel, something Arnold wasn't. Something she was also and longed for.
"Hey Roger." Arnold said. "This is Gerald Johanssen, Gerald this is Roger Kline."
"Hey man." Gerald said, extending his hand. Roger took it, and shook it formally.
Once inside the Gymnasium again, they set to work on the float. Everyone was already there and working. Helga, Sid, Curly and Phoebe were laughing in a corner, shredding boxes of crepe paper. Rhonda was talking to Lila and Ms. White.
"Ms. White, this is Roger Kline, he's a new student here, and is it okay if he tags along?" Arnold asked.
"Oh, of course, we could always use some help. Nice to meet you, I'm Ms. White." She said.
"Hi." Roger said.
"Here, let me introduce you around." Gerald offered, somehow knowing how perturbed Roger made Arnold feel.
"Okay." Roger said.
"This is Sid, Curly." Gerald said pointing at each of them. "And this is Helga. Guys this is Roger."
"Hey, nice to meet you, Roger." Helga said, extending her hand. Roger looked at her, and took her hand. His heartbeat speed up, and he knew that this girl would entrance him for a very long time.
"Yea, same here." He said, as a tall, dark-haired girl knocked into his side. "What the hell.Watch it."
"Excuse me?" Rhonda said, swiveling around to face him, as she put her hand on her hips.
"What?" Roger said, exasperated.
"Did you say something to me?" She said as if the mere thought would be devastating.
"Why would I say something to you?" Roger asked.
"God, how long did it take you to perfect that 'I'm a loser' pose?" Rhonda said.
"How long did it take you to perfect that 'I'm a Barbie" pose?" Roger asked.
"Do you want me to answer that or just glare?" Rhonda said.
"Glare, your voice is worse than Cher's." Roger replied.
"Obviously you've underestimated the power of icy glare." Rhonda said. "You're new so I won't completely chew you out. I'm popular and pretty, you are going to be somewhere near freaks. But that doesn't necessarily have to be, if you are nice to me. See how that works. So it's your job to not talk back to the rich and pretty unless you want instant social death."
"You can just suck my-." Roger said, not moving.
"Don't finish that sentence." Rhonda said superiorly. "Now get out of my way."
"I'm thinking no." Roger said, planting his feet.
"Get the hell out of my way." Rhonda said, pushing past him and tripping on a snag in the rug. She fell face down. "Oh, you just killed any chance at being considered cool in this school." She added as she got up and walked away.
"And the bitch of the year award goes to." Roger said to the group of people.
"Rhonda." Helga said. "Good ole' Rhonda Lloyd. Don't worry, I hate her too."
"Phoebe?" Lila asked, walking up to them. "Can you and Gerald come and help me?"
"Sure, Lila." Phoebe said, taking Gerald's hand. "We'll be back later."
Phoebe and Gerald followed Lila over to Arnold who was painting. Arnold was staring at Helga in a weird way.
"Yo, Arnold, snap to." Gerald said, snapping his fingers in front of his face.
"Oh." Arnold said, as Lila snuggled up to his side. He tried to pry her loose.
"So, Rhonda how's it going with Kyle?" Lila asked.
"Kyle is so last month. I mean that whole 'I'm a football all star' thing is so over." Rhonda said.
Arnold was still watching Helga and Roger talk. They were laughing and having fun.
"Arnold." Phoebe said.
"What?" Arnold said.
"Are you okay?" Phoebe asked. "You're staring off a lot."
"No, I'm fine." Arnold said.
"Hello?" Rhonda said. "Was about to tell you guys about Tyler."
"Sorry." Phoebe said. "Anyway, so Tyler?"
"Yea, he's this really hot lead singer for Key Real." Rhonda said, but her voice droned and faded away in Arnold's ears as he turned to see Roger, Curly, Sid and Helga reading a giant children's book on Elephants. Once again, they were laughing.
"Arnold." Gerald whispered to Arnold, seeing him watching again. "Is there something I should know?"
"No." Arnold said, watching Roger and Helga laugh. "Nothing."
~*~*~*~*~
"Hey, look a box of children's books." Curly said. "Oh look, this one teaches the offspring about el-ee-phaunts."
"El-EE-PHAUNTS?" Helga asked, laughing. "What the hell kind of pronunciation is that?"
"It's my kind Helga." Curly said.
"Helga? Curly? Can you help Mr. Richards on this wheel." Ms. White asked.
"Sure." Curly said, as they went over to Mr. Richards, leaving Sid and Roger. Sid looked Roger over, the punk shirt and wristbands stood out.
"What?" Roger said to Sid.
"Oh please, it's so painfully obvious you have a thing for Helga." Sid said.
"Oh." Roger said, surprised by the spontaneity, but managed to keep his monotone cool. "Then denying is pointless?"
"Yea, but you better be careful, she already has someone." Sid said.
"Who?" Roger said. "You?"
I wish. Sid thought.
"No, someone else." Sid said.
"Damn, that sucks." Roger said.
You have no idea. Sid thought.
"Now who is it that she has?" Roger asked.
"Arnold. You know, blonde kid, lives above of you with his grandparents, likes jazz and doing good deeds for the less fortunate." Sid said.
"Oh, well he's a good guy." Roger said, swallowing a lump in his throat.
"Yea." Sid said. A painfully good guy.
~*~*~*~*~
"You know, two hours into this project and I'm bored to tears." Curly said, pulling out the singing slinky. "Here's the slinky, toss it a little and it'll start to sing."
"Cool." Said Sid.
"Thanks." Helga said, as the slinky began singing:
A CUCARACHA, A CUCARACHA.
"Still bored." Sid said, a few minutes later.
"Me too." Curly said.
"I'm so bored, can't something interesting happen-" Helga asked.
Bam. The heavy double doors of the gym opened, allowing a huge burst of air to blow into the room. The shitty fluorescent light illuminated the silhouette of a tall, thin boy. He walked into the more brilliant light, allowing his face to be shown. He had black hair, slicked back with gel and small, circular shades covering his eyes.
"Who are you?" Mrs. White said, looking up from her notebook.
"They call me Peapod Kid." He said. His round glasses slid down his nose a little as he spoke, the red shirt tattered and a pistol, shiny and lethal, was in his right hand.
"Is that a line from some comic strip or something?" Helga said, not seeing the gun.
"Oh shit, he has a gun, you guys." Roger said.
"That's right, I do have a gun." He turned around to see Lila and Rhonda running to the door. He aimed the gun and fired. It went right between Lila and Rhonda, landing square in the forehead of a cartoon bunny on the wall. Lila started crying, mascara rolling down her cheeks with the tears.
"Okay, calm down. What's you're name?" Mr. Richards said, taking charge.
"My name? I wonder if any of you fuckers can tell me what my name is. They all called me Peapod Kid since I was nine. No one knows me, well now, once I've killed all of you, everyone will know my fucking name!!" He shouted.
"What is his name?" Sid whispered to Helga.
"Um.Peapod Kid?" She whispered back.
"This is just great. I'm going to be in therapy until I'm thirty." Rhonda said.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!" He said, pointing the gun at her forehead. She screamed quietly and backed away. "YOU WERE ALWAYS ONE OF THE WORST. Your whole 'I'm Queen of the Whole Fucking Universe, I deserve a shrine, oh wait that shrine has been up my ass since I was eight' attitude towards everyone you think is lower than you on the dumb shit pyramid of school popularity."
"Took the words right out of my mouth." Sid said.
"Shut up Sid, or I'll be taking your spinal cord out of your mouth." Peapod Kid said.
"Hard to do with a gun." Helga muttered.
"What did you say?"
"You heard me." Helga said.
"Better watch your step Patacki." Peapod Kid said waving the gun around.
"What is his childhood trauma? I mean here he comes all trying to a leader with his stupid gun." Rhonda said to Lila, form the floor.
"Shhh." Lila said.
"Hey, I know he must like being the voice of the common wuss..." Rhonda said.
"Rhonda, your mouth is open and sound is coming from it. This is never a good thing." Helga said quietly to her.
"I don't think any of us would mind if you shot Rhonda right now." Sid murmured.
"Hey, I just want out of here!" Rhonda said. "Why don't you point that gun to your own head? I mean, come on, Peapod Kid, who gave you permission to exist?"
"That's not my name, bitch." He said, pointing the gun at Rhonda's heart. Everyone ducked, but she stood frozen in her stilettos. Roger looked over at her and pushed her out of the way. The gun fired and the bullet hit him. His body flew went back at an odd angle and he collapsed with a sickening thud to the ground. Everyone ran to him, as he slowly sat up. A bloody hole was in his left bicep.
"I got shot. Wow. It's odd." Roger said, his hand over the hole in his arm. "And painful." He added, wincing.
"Oh my god. Are you okay? Does it hurt?" Rhonda said.
"Yea, you know getting shot, it stung a little at first, but that all went away when the searing pain cut in." Roger said sarcastically.
"Someone get the first aid!" Helga said, ripping off the sleeve on his shirt.
"Oh God, it could've been me." Rhonda said, spastically jumping up and down.
"We can only hope." Roger said, blood spurting from the bloody gunshot wound in his left arm. Phoebe, well trained in medical aid, instructed Helga on where to put the pressure, so that the blood would clot.
"We need to get him to a doctor." Mr. Richards said to Peapod Kid.
"No one leaves here, I will kill him anyway, and a small bullet wound won't matter much." Peapod Kid said.
"Phoebe knows how to perform remedial surgery, she can do it." Helga said to Mr. Richards.
"Can you?" Ms. White said.
"I can try. All I have to do really is remove the bullet, tie the main arteries and close the wound. But I'll need some stuff." Phoebe said.
"Okay, we'll find them then." Arnold said. "What do you need?"
"Something like gauze or cotton balls, matches, needle nose pliers, tape, tweezers, and if you can find some, get some anesthetic."
"Okay. Arnold, Sid, Helga, Curly, Gerald and I will go." Mr. Richards said.
"Hey, you guys, where's Peapod Kid." Roger said, color draining from his face because of the pain. They all looked around and couldn't find him.
"Maybe we can escape-" But before the words finished out of Helga's mouth, the PA system turned on with a loud scratch.
"ATTENTION HOSTAGES. THIS IS YOUR CAPTOR SPEAKING. I'M IN THE SECURITY ROOM, I CAN SEE ALL OF YOU AT ONCE. GO, TRY TO HELP ROGER, BUT IT WON'T MATTER; YOU'LL ALL DIE ANYWAY. NO GAMES. I CAN SEE ALL OF YOU." Then the system faded out.
"Fuck." Helga cursed.
"Go you guys." Phoebe said. "He's losing a lot of blood."
~*~*~*~*~
Mr. Richards, Sid, Arnold, Curly, Gerald and Helga left the gymnasium and made their way through the halls.
"Okay, Arnold, Sid, and Helga go look on the third and fifth floor science or chemistry rooms. Gerald, Curly and I will search first and second." Mr. Richards instructed.
"Okay, see you soon." Arnold said, as they took off.
"We'll go fifth first." Helga said, as the climbed the stairs.
"Room E7, that's where they teach bio, down the hall, I know they have pliers and tweezers in that storage locker." Sid said. They ran over to the door and Arnold pulled on the handle.
"It's locked." Arnold said, looking around. He walked over to a red glass box encasing an axe used when there's a fire.
"What are you doing?" Sid said, alarmed. Arnold walked over to the door and swung hard at the glass, it blew right through, shattering glass on the laboratory tables. Arnold leaned forward and opened the door. "Oh, that's what he was doing."
"Okay, look around." Arnold said. They fished through boxes and opened the storage closets. Them came up with two tweezers, a dissecting scalpel, medical tape and small, dead woodland creatures preserved in jars. Which as Sid put explained a lot about the teacher.
"Good, let's go down to third, there's a Chem. Lab in Room C12, maybe we could find anesthetic." Helga said.
Once again, they ran down the stairs and into the next room. They rummaged through more boxes, and drawers.
"Find anything?" Arnold asked.
"A broken pencil, pre-chewed Juicy Fruit Gum, and what appears to be molding orthodontic wax." Sid said.
"Okay, let's go down, Roger needs what we have." Helga said.
~*~*~*~*~
Phoebe was about to operate. Mr. Richards had a bottle of Bacardi in the teacher lounge. Roger downed enough to make him numb, as Phoebe set out the tweezers, and tape. Rhonda and Lila sat on the floor. Ms. White and Mr. Richards were talking in hushed tones in a corner. Arnold and Gerald were also talking. Helga, Sid and Curly sat next to Roger, helping him take off the bloodied bandages.
"Okay, ready, Roger?" Phoebe said.
"Yea." He said, a little tipsy, still holding the open bottle of alcohol.
"Get on the table please, and take off your shirt." Phoebe said. "I'm going to go wash my hands."
"Yea, okay." Roger said, sitting on the table. Roger set down the half empty bottle of Bacardi and took his shirt off.
Wow. Thought Rhonda, looking at the shirtless Roger. That boy's in shape.
Twenty minutes later, Roger lay, shirtless and drunk, on a lunch table. He was mumbling about centipedes ice-skating while Phoebe prepared. She spent the next half an hour, carefully pulling out the bullet and checking for broken bones.
"Good news." Phoebe said. "No broken bones, looks like the bullet missed. Just went in enough to bust some veins open."
"Good." Mr. Richards said.
~*~*~*~*~
Two hours later, at 8 PM, Roger finally came to.
"Roger?" Helga said.
"My head feels big." Roger said.
"No it's head size, I promise." Sid said.
Roger sat up, and looked around.
"It's dark out." Roger said.
"Yes it is generally dark at 8 PM at night, unless you live in Alaska during the midnight sun." Curly said, playing with the slinky, as it sang "A Cucaracha, a cucaracha."
"You know you scared the shit out of us, getting shot and all." Helga asked. "So, how do you feel?"
"Fine." Roger said, putting his shirt back on. "Is there anything to eat?"
"Yea, here take some money, machines are behind that door." Helga said, giving him a dollar's worth of quarters. She noticed his demeanor was so blank that it was hard to tell what he was feeling.
"Thanks." He said, walking over to the machines. His wound still hurt and he felt a little dizzy from the alcohol. He rounded the corner and saw the machines. Rhonda was there putting in money for a diet soda, but the machine wouldn't give her her soda.
"Here." Roger said, hitting the machine, making the soda come out.
"Impressive." Rhonda said, taking it. She was about to walk away when she turned around and said, "You know, thanks."
"Your welcome." Roger said. "It was just a soda."
"No, I mean, about saving my life." Rhonda said, almost timidly.
"Oh, that, no problem." Roger said.
"No, it was so.brave and.something else.I'm not good at compliments." Rhonda said.
"No shit?" Roger said sarcastically.
"Hey, I'm trying to be nice here." Rhonda interjected. "I'm really grateful, I do owe my life to you."
"Okay, great." Roger said walking away. "See you then."
"You know." Rhonda said stopping him. "You're too busy brooding over your beloved Helga G. Patacki. Little Miss Freakzoid Girl." Rhonda said. "You'd never die for me."
"No, I might die from you. Does that get me any points?" Roger said, curious as to how she knew he liked Helga.
"I hate you!" Rhonda said.
"And besides that's not entirely true, I took a bullet for you. So, technically I did almost die of you." Roger said in a singsong voice.
"I'd rather be a shooting target for Peapod Kid than look at your pathetic face." Rhonda said.
"Then go. I'm not stopping you." Roger said.
"I bet you wouldn't. I bet you'd let a girl go off to doom all by herself." Rhonda said.
"Not just any girl. You're special." Roger said, sarcastically.
"I hate you!" Rhonda said again.
"You already said that." Roger said.
"No, see this time it's with an enraged passion, where I hope your penis falls off." Rhonda said.
"You wish of my castration?" Roger said.
"Yes. My hatred stems to there." Rhonda said.
"Why don't you go away? Or why don't you go away and shop? What's you're favorite store? Sluts-R-US?" Roger said.
"Oh, you asshole." Rhonda said.
"Skank."
"Moron of Morons."
"You have the brain span of an avocado." Roger said.
"Oh, how dare you, Dorkbutt!" Rhonda screamed.
"Dorkbutt? You slash me with your words!" Roger said.
"Eat shit and die, Roger." Rhonda said.
"Drop dead!" Roger said.
"Kiss me and I will!" Rhonda screamed.
It happened quickly. Rhonda and Roger leaped toward each other and kissed passionately. Roger could taste her kiwi-lime lipstick and feel her smooth, peaches and cream complexion. Rhonda ran her fingers through his silky deep chestnut brown hair and stared into his green eyes, seeing the golden flecks littered over them.
"You're the most idiotic loser I've ever.I've ever." Rhonda said, pulling away, and gasping.
".Kissed?" Roger asked.
"Yea," Rhonda said, regaining composure. "Which is why you'll tell no one of this."
"As if I would." He said smoothly, but inside he was confused and now on the defensive. "Wouldn't want people to think I was into Barbies."
"Good then." Rhonda said, and hesitating slightly walked away, leaving her diet soda behind.
~*~*~*~*~
"Hey Arnold." Helga said, walking up to him. Don't be rude, don't drive him away.
"What Helga?" He said, with his sexy, deep voice.
"Um, I'm sorry, before, you know, about bring up your grandmother." Helga said.
"Oh, I'm okay, I'm fine." Arnold said, but the look in his eyes told her otherwise.
"No your not." Helga said, before she could stop herself. He looked up at her from where he sat and a tear rolled down his face.
"I'm sorry Helga." He said quietly. "You're right, I'm not okay."
With that, he got up and walked away, leaving Helga alone.
He walked to the restroom, and all his emotions were built up in him, overwhelming him as he vomited into one of the toilets. He flushed the toilet and walked over to the sink. He turned the cold water tap on and splashed his face and mouth. He looked up and remembered the day she died:
It was the previous summer when it happened. He had just turned fifteen and it was a painfully hot day. Small children were out in the streets cracking eggs to see if they would sizzle. All his friends were outside in their bathing suits and splashing each other with water. His grandparents had set up fans in all of the rooms. He was about to go out with Gerald when he heard a large crash in the kitchen.
Arnold ran to the kitchen and saw his grandmother lying on the ground, blood seeping from her head. She had hit her head on the countertop. Arnold ran to her and felt for a pulse. He found a pulse, faint and dull.
"Arnold?" She whispered.
"Grandma!" Arnold said, holding her hand. "I'll call 911."
"No, it's my time to go." She said. "I love you. Tell your grandpa I'll miss him, and that I'll be waiting for him."
"NO!" Arnold said, as she died silently in his arms.
She had died of a stroke and head trauma. Arnold remembered her funeral. Everyone kept coming up to him and saying how sorry they were for his lose. Arnold cried a lot during this time. He'd never see her practice karate in the living room or see her dress up according to what she was cooking. But what was worse was that was the third person he's lost in his short life.
~*~*~*~*~
"What's wrong Helga?" Curly asked, eating Fun Dip.
"Nothing." Helga lied.
"You are such a terrible liar when it comes to me." Curly said, smiling. "Seriously, what's wrong?"
"You know how I feel about Arnold, right?" Helga said, wishing she could take that back. ".I mean at least how I felt about him in Middle School?"
"Yes, I remember the Arnold obsession." Curly said smiling.
"Well, I don't know. I guess I've started to feel it again." She replied.
"I noticed." Curly said blatantly.
"How do you do that?" Helga asked.
"Do what?"
"How do know what I feel and think without me having to tell you? I mean, sometimes you know what I feel before I do." She said.
"It's a gift." He said cockily, "Actually, it's because we're best friends. That's why you knew I liked Rhonda Lloyd and thus were able to stop my insanity before it went any further."
"That's true." Helga mumbled.
"So, what's you problem with Arnold?" Curly asked.
"I tried talking to him-"
"Were you rude?" Curly asked.
"I'm not always rude. Am I always rude? I'm not ALWAYS rude." Helga asked.
"All that's important is you believe that." Curly said sarcastically.
"Shut up Curly." Helga said. "Anyway, I kind of brought up his grandma's death, and he went wiggy on me."
"Wouldn't you?" Curly said. "I mean, like say your Dad died of some disease, how would you feel?"
Helga looked down and thought of her dad's cancer liquefying his brain. She hadn't told Curly about her dad's condition.
"You're right Curly." Helga said.
"I know. I'm a certifiable genius." Curly said. "Kind of like the Unibomber."
~*~*~*~*~
"They'll know my name.they'll know my name." Peapod Kid said over and over in his head as he sat in the security room. A dozen tiny televisions were in front of him. He watched them sit in silence and worry. He thrived on the fear he was getting from them.
"I'll kill you all." He murmured.
~*~*~*~*~
Ms. White walked into the teacher's lounge, a small room, located off of the gymnasium. She heard glass breaking and went to inspect.
"Kevin?" Ms. White said walking in. The light illuminated her short, auburn hair and blue eyes. "What's wrong?"
He looked at her.
"Gillian, I'm 34 years old, and I'm probably go die here." He said, it was clear he was very drunk. "I haven't spoken to my parents in thirteen years."
"Oh god." She said. "I know what you mean. Kevin, I don't want to die either. I have a life to live. I want to get married and have children."
"But we'll probably going to die and there's nothing we can do." He said.
"No there must be a way. We'll all get out of here, I promise." She said, looking into his soft, brown eyes. "And when we do, we'll go on a date. How does that sound?"
"Pretty good." He said. "Motivates me to find a way out."
~*~*~*~*~
It was 4:45 AM. Helga was to sleep on the pull out couch that was on the auditorium stage, next to Phoebe, Rhonda and Lila. Phoebe was staring at the ceiling. Lila and Rhonda had whimpered themselves to sleep.
"You know, Pheebs, this is like one of those MTV really crappy reality television shows." Helga said. "See, you throw in a hand full of guys and girls who hate each other with a fiery passion, a stodgy English teacher, a health teacher, plus a psychotic gunmen holding them hostage in the gymnasium of a high school in Brooklyn and you got yourself a brainless hit. I can imagine the teasers now: 'what will happen? Tune in to find out.'"
"That's not funny Helga." Phoebe said, she was worried, and it showed.
"Sorry. Just trying to lighten this rather un-light situation we're in." Helga said.
"I know, Helga. You're intentions are good." Phoebe said. They both went silent for a moment.
"You know, we never talk anymore." Helga said, breaking the silence.
"I know. I'm sorry." Phoebe said.
"Me too." Helga said. "When we get out of here-"
"If." Phoebe said, being logically. "If we get out here."
"No, it's WHEN we get out of here, and WHEN we do, we're going to be hanging out more often. Okay?" Helga said.
"Okay." Phoebe said.
Across the room, the boys were to sleep on the carpeted portion of the floor with some old blankets.
"Curly." Sid whispered. "Are you awake?"
"Of course you idiot. You think I'd be able to sleep when there is someone more psychotic than I am with a deadly weapon?"
"Cut the sarcasm." Sid said. "I think we should try to escape."
"Escape? What shit are you on?" Curly said. "Do the letters G-U-N no process in your brain?"
"I'm not on anything, we should get out through the ventilation ducts and go get help." Sid said.
"Please. Are you trying to get us killed?" Curly asked. "I don't know what the fuck kind of power trip you're on, but there is no way in hell we'd get out of that system of pipes alive. There are hundreds of them."
"I know them well." Sid explained. "I've used them numerous times to get out of Saturday school."
"You're a fucking dumb shit, Sid." Curly said. "You know, getting your head blown off or starving to death because you got lost in the ventilation system will not impress Helga."
"What are talking about.how do you know about Helga?" Sid said.
"Oh giving me a fucking break. It's so god damn clear that you love her." Curly said. "Don't take me for some fucking idiot you just met off the street, I'm one of your best friends. I would be the first to know, without you even hinting it at me. I know you love her."
Sid stood silent.
"I'm not doing this to impress Helga." Sid said. "I'm doing this save everyone. If you don't believe, than you go."
Curly looked at Sid and recognized the truth in his eyes, the same look he got in seventh grade when "it" happened.
"Okay fine. I'll go." Curly said. "How do I get through?"
"Go into the south duct, and climb the little ladder up until you hit a dead end." Sid said. "It'll be awhile, it's a long climb. Then turn left and take the first right. Then climb up again and push the duct open. You'll be in the roof's storage closet. From there just climb down the drainpipe and go to the police. Take your time and be quiet, we'll be fine. The system of pipes echoes really loudly, so if you knock on one of the pipes, we'll hear you, and he'll hear you. So, be careful and don't think you're lost, because it will take you a couple hours to get out."
"Okay, got it." Curly said as he stood up. Sid followed him to the duct and helped him open it.
"See you later, Sid." Curly said, not bothering to hide the fear he felt for what he was leaving behind.
"See you." Sid said being as brave as he could, as he watched Curly climb in and disappear. Sid was sure Curly was gone until he heard footsteps, and turned around, thinking it was Helga. Instead, he saw Peapod Kid with the gun raised high and then violently bring it down on his head. All Sid saw next was the dark of unconsciousness.
To Be Continued.
~*~*~*~*~
"Today's the crosses we carry
Today's the strength that we need
Today's the hand of an angel
You were not the kind to believe." ~ Our Lady Peace
By: Francesca Masters
Rated: PG-13
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters, settings and situations from the television show: Hey Arnold, created by Craig Bartlett, owned by Nickelodeon. I own nothing except for the story line and Roger Kline. Quotes from the television show, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, written by Joss Whedon were used periodically through out the story. Much of the conversation and dramatic irony was stolen from my life.
Summary: The gang is in High School now. Unrequited loves, secret romances, death, sorrow, pain and teenage hormones.
~*~*~*~*~
"You were never that good to me Today is tasting the honey
Today's the strike of a match
Today is the time for forgiving
Today I wish I could."
~*~*~*~*~
The gun was heavy in his hands. The metal was cold and lethal against his fingers. The gun clicked loudly as he opened the bullet chamber and loaded it. He had planned it out, carefully working out every detail; psychotically, diligently working every day until it was ready, and it was finally ready. He had a map of the high school laid out before him, and the memories of loneliness plagued his thoughts.
After this weekend, they'll all know my name.
~*~*~*~*~
"Hey Arnold?" Grandpa Phil said. "Can you help me here?"
Grandpa Phil was carrying a huge box of cleaning supplies up the stairs. Things such as Windex and dusters kept falling out.
"Sure." Arnold said, grabbing the box. "What is this for?"
"New people moving in. Under your room actually." Grandpa Phil replied.
"Really? That room's been vacant for five years." Arnold said, as he opened the door to the room. It was dusty and the window was covered, with nothing but a single thin beam of light escaping through.
"Yup. It's a woman, and her son. The Klines, or the Clemens." Grandpa Phil replied, covering his mouth, as the dust made him cough. "The son is your age actually, sixteen."
"I thought you said no kids allowed." Arnold said setting the box down.
"Well, he'll be an adult in two years so, I figure why not. Besides, they said they couldn't afford any where else."
"Oh." Arnold said, removing the blinds and seeing the room flood with sunlight. He blinked, as his eyes adjusted to the light.
Arnold and his Grandpa set to work and cleaned up the musty room for a couple of hours. Dusting shelves, polishing the one piece of furniture, vacuuming the ragged drapery, and shining the dirty windows. After an hour the old wood flooring became visible and the old bathroom pipes were cleaned to perfection. The old oak doors were polished and the closet swept. At four o'clock, Arnold glanced at his watch and realized he had to go to school. He was working on the Sophomore Homecoming Float with the rest of the float members.
"Hey, I've got to go, Grandpa." Arnold said. "Remember, I have to work on the float?"
"Okay, you have fun." Grandpa Phil said. "I'll finish up here."
Arnold ran up to his room, grabbed his old, midnight navy jacket and ran a brush through his fine, golden blonde hair. He walked out of The Sunset Arms and debated whether he'd walk or take the bus. He opted to walk. The cement was old, and chipping, with ten-year-old gum smashed into it, but he loved it. It was a nice day; blue skies, some fluffy cumulus clouds, and a slight fall breeze. Fifteen minutes later the school came into view. It was located two blocks from PS 118. The school was red brick and green, with a proud American flag swinging in the wind.
"Hey Arnold." Said a familiar voice. It was Gerald. Gerald was tall now, with his hair in cornrows. He was star point guard now, and still the urban legend guru.
"Hey Gerald." Arnold replied. "How's it going?"
"About as good as it can be when we're going to school for two extra hours." He replied.
They walked together up to the gym. School was deserted, as always, on a Friday evening. When they got there, they saw Helga, Phoebe, Lila, Rhonda, and Sid. Gerald was dating Phoebe now. Phoebe was still the ultimate bookworm, but had shed her glasses. Arnold thought she was actually really pretty now, with her glossy black hair and bright, honey brown eyes.
"Hey." Gerald said, hugging Phoebe. They kissed, and held each other, as the teacher walked out of the room. Mrs. White was their health teacher and the main adult supervision for the float meetings.
"Hi Arnold." Lila said. Her long red hair fell in loose curls around her face, and her blue eyes sparkled under frosted eye shadow.
"Hey Lila." He said sitting down next to her. She was slowly and meticulously gluing small pieces of crepe paper onto the float. He grabbed some of them and helped her. Their hands brushed as they both went for the same glue bottle.
"Sorry." Arnold said handing it to her. She smiled, blushed slightly, and took it. When she turned her head, Arnold could smell her flowery scent; his breathe caught in his throat.
Helga watched Arnold from across the room. She and Sid were painting a banner that said "Class of 2005". She hadn't "liked" Arnold since Middle School, when her long running obsession over him ended.
Football head. She thought, although he wasn't at all football headed now. Wow, haven't thought of those words in a long time. He's still that painfully good, dangerously honest, hopelessly optimistic guy.
"Helga, watch it." Sid said. She had written the "A", "R", and "N" of Arnold's name in the "O" of "of" in the banner. Sid was standing right beside her, she could see his scraggly black hair covering his face. He had grown to be tall, dark and one of her best friends. Sid was the classic rebel, he and Helga were only members of the float committee because it was part of their "giving back to the community" supplemented by the vice principal.
"Sorry." She replied, pushing the sleeves of her gray LSU sweatshirt, and then, using the back of her hand, flicked strands of long, straight, yellow- blonde hair away. Sid watched her, wanting to touch her. He had somehow fallen for her, although he didn't know how. He loved the way she smelled (Like cherries), the way she talked (like a drunken sailor), and the way she loved his favorite music (Old School Stuff).
"Okay, you guys." Ms. White said, holding rolls of crepe paper. "This float is coming along great. But we need to finish it by today. Principal Gelt said it must be finished by Monday. Can we finish it today?"
"I don't think so." Lila said. The float was still mostly cardboard, with barely any color. It was only half finished.
"Oh." Ms. White said. Pulling a pen and notebook from her Brooklyn High jacket. "Um, I won't be able to work on Monday. So, can any of you come in tomorrow? Say around noon or so?"
"I can." Arnold said.
"Me too." Phoebe replied.
"Okay, good. Who ever can come, please come tomorrow at noon then." Ms. White said. "But I have an engagement I must get to in an hour, so we'll adjourn for today."
"What kind of engagement?" Gerald said, winking, with Phoebe in his arms.
"If you must be so nosy, Mr. Johanssen. I have a date." Mrs. White replied.
"Ooooo." Chorused the group.
"Mature before tomorrow, please?" Ms. White said.
"Whose the date with?" Lila asked.
"A man I met at a teaching conference in Denver. Really quite dashing, if you ask me." Ms. White replied. This, she received, another round of "Ooooo's". "Have an nice evening, Mr. Richards will supervise you guys. Behave yourselves."
"Okay, class, back to work, let's attempt to get as much completed as possible." Mr. Richards said. Mr. Richards was the Sophomore/Junior Advanced English Teacher. He was stodgy, and it was a well-known fact he had a big crush on Ms. White.
"Wonder if he's jealous?" Helga said to Sid.
"I'm not jealous." He replied quickly, looking at Arnold look at Helga.
"I know you're not.I was talking about Mr. Richards, you know, his liking Ms. White, and her dating Colorado scholars." Helga said slowly.
"Oh, hell yea, I'd be crazy jealous if the girl I liked was into other people." Sid said. Or into good-hearted blonde guys who live with their grandparents. He added in his thoughts.
"Hey Helga! Can you help me?" Arnold said. He was carrying a gigantic box that was six feet long with plywood in it.
"Sure." Helga said, dropping her paintbrush into Sid's hands. She ran over to him and grabbed the other end. Helga didn't even see Sid's heart drop to the floor as she walked away.
"So, how's it been lately Helga? Haven't really talked in a while." Arnold said as they walked with the box.
"It's good, if really needed to know." Helga said harshly.
"So, how's the family?" Arnold asked politely.
"Olga's met a man. This time they've dated for more than three weeks. My mom's doing okay, and my dad's-" Helga stopped. Jesus Christ, I almost told him about dad's cancer.
"Your dad's.what?" Arnold said, curiously.
"My dad's fine, football head." Helga said rudely; quickly changing the subject.
"Helga, grow up." Arnold said.
"Whatever." Helga muttered. "So.so, um, how's your family? And Sunset Arms? Sorry to hear about your Grandma."
"Thanks." Arnold said, a sort of dark shadow fell over his face and Helga instantly wished she hadn't said anything.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Helga said, realizing she shouldn't have said that, as they set the box down by the float. She stood up and put her hands in her pocket. "So."
"Arnold, come help me?" Lila interrupted, hanging on his arm. "I can't get this hatch to open, I need someone strong to open it for me."
"Okay." He replied. "I guess I'll see you Helga."
"Yea, see you Helga." Lila said tauntingly, her green eyes piercing into hers in a superior sort of way.
"Yea, okay." Helga said. "Bitch." She added behind her back as they walked away.
Time rolled on, and when the clock finally got to 6:30, the group adjourned. Arnold walked out with Lila on his elbow. He was carrying her Geometry book and book bag for her, as her house was on the way to his. Phoebe and Gerald walked with them, casually kissing and holding each other as they walked. Across the street, Helga watched them, as Sid came up behind her.
Look at them. Perfect and Happy. Helga thought, thinking she wasn't good enough to be in their little group of friends. She could never be with Arnold.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Sid said, knowing full well what she was doing.
"Nothing, let's go see a movie." Helga said as she walked straight into Rhonda.
"Watch it!" Rhonda said, wearing a short red skirt and low white shirt with matching high heels. "You scuffed my new shoes!"
"Bite me." Helga said, as she pushed past Rhonda, purposely bumping her shoulder.
"Loser." Rhonda said, as Sid gave her the finger.
~*~*~*~*~
"Arnold?" Grandpa Phil said, from the kitchen, as Arnold walked in.
"Yea." He said, walking in and smelling the scent of homemade cornbread.
"This is Jackie Kline, and her son, Roger Kline." He said.
"Hello Arnold." Jackie said. She was small woman, with short black hair that flipped out, and striking blue eyes. She wore a cheap, but professional, pin stripe suit with black pumps.
"Hi." Arnold replied shaking her hand.
"And I'm Roger." Roger said shaking Arnold's hand. Roger's voice was rather low to high and monotonous. He had a slim build and looked nothing like his mother, with his green hazel eyes. A black sweatband was on his wrist and a thick watch on the other. He wore a black shirt that said "This is my anti-humanity, I don't give a f*@k if you stare at me, scare soccer moms into having seizures shirt." He was your average-every day punk boy.
"Nice to meet you." Arnold said. "I have a big project I have to work on for the Homecoming Float, actually. So, I'll see you two around."
"Bye." Roger said. Arnold felt a little guilty for running out so quickly but Roger gave Arnold an odd feeling of resentment.
Arnold slowly dragged himself upstairs. He threw his jacket in the corner and his wallet on the desk. He quickly stripped down and pulled on his made for bedtime boxers with the different types of sushi on them. He pulled out one of his favorite books, A Moveable Feast, and began reading. He read until 10:30, when he finally felt his eyelids droop. He took his little remote controller and turned off the lights. It was hot that night, so he kicked the blankets off. The stars were barely visible, and a thick layer of smog was visible, but the sky still looked beautiful.
~*~*~*~*~
Helga asked, eating the last of her Lemonheads. "What?"
"Let's just say I think the length of a film should be directly related to endurance of the human bladder." Sid said uncomfortably, as he walked to the bathroom.
"Okay, have fun." Helga said, as she sat down on a bench.
"Patacki." Came a smooth, deep voice from behind her.
"What?" She said whipping around, expecting Sid, but instead saw Curly. "Curly!"
"Hey Patacki." He said, as she hugged him. He had a sun kissed tan and was a couple inches taller than she remembered. He had gone to Mexico in August and just got back in time for October's Homecoming. "How's it been?"
"Great, I haven't seen you in months." She replied. "How was Cancun?"
"Hot." He said. "Not my kind of weather. But I bought you a slinky that sings the 'cucaracha' song."
"Oh, so are you going to be back at school on Monday?" Helga asked.
"Yea." He replied. "Unfortunately."
"Curly?" Came the familiar deep voice of Sid.
"Sid!" He said, turning around and hugging him too.
"When did you get back?" Sid said.
"Today. Flight came in at noon."
"Why didn't you call?" Helga asked as they walked out of the theater.
"Busy." He replied.
They walked home together, Curly telling them about the ocean, sun and lounging around. At Helga's house, the three parted and said their good byes. Helga opened the front door to see her dad asleep with the remote in hand, she assumed her mom was asleep upstairs. She tip toed to the staircase and went to her bedroom. She changed into a giant "I Heart DEVO." shirt and pulled down her blue flannel sheets. She opened the window, and felt the cool night air wash over her, as she lay down. She looked up and out of the window, and saw a giant factory pouring tons of pollution into the air. It fogged up her view of the moon, but the sky still looked beautiful.
~*~*~*~*~
The next morning Arnold woke up, to a semi-cloudy day. He quickly dressed in loose khakis and a charcoal shirt. He checked the time, and it said 6:30, no one was awake this early on a Saturday. He went to the bathroom, and quickly showered, brushed his teeth and combed his hair.
Knock. Knock.
"Yea?" Arnold shouted through the door, his toothbrush still sticking out of his mouth.
"Sorry." The voice replied.
"Roger?" Arnold said, recognizing the low-high voice from the night previous. Arnold wiped his face off and opened the door. "You're up early."
"Yea, I was going to take a very early walk around Brooklyn." Roger said. Arnold noticed his face was a little rough and unshaven. Arnold didn't need to shave yet, his hair was so pale of a blonde it blended with his skin.
"Oh. Well, I'll see you around."
"Yea, see you." Roger said.
Arnold walked down the stairs to the kitchen. He grabbed a bag of nacho flavored Doritos, and a glass of milk. He sat down on the old, flower printed couch and turned on the television. He watched early morning cartoons, such as Rocko's Modern Life on Nickelodeon. During the television marathon he saw Roger leave out the back door, wearing a leather jacket and black boots.
At nine, the other boarders began waking up. So, Arnold left, to avoid the hassle. He walked down to the corner café. He grabbed a coffee, gray, and set off to the library. Arnold liked the library and spent a few hours a week there.
The grand library double doors loomed over him. He walked in and scanned the aisles, finally settling on two thick ones. He was about to sit down with intellectually stimulating books and good coffee when he saw Helga. Helga, not being forced to read by Phoebe, but she was reading on her own, in fact reading the same book Arnold had. Her pale, yellow blonde hair, shining even under the crappy library light, fell, straight as a bone, to just above her shoulder. She looked a lot like Olga at that moment.
Temptation held him watching her, contemplating whether he should go talk to her. He licked his chapped lips and drank his coffee. He decided to go read on the outside balcony. As he turned, Helga turned at that same moment and saw him walk out.
At eleven thirty, Arnold got up from his book and walked to Gerald's house. Gerald was outside already when he got there, playing basketball with Timberly, his little sister.
"Hey Gerald, hey Timberly." Arnold said.
"Hey Arnold." Gerald said, lifting his sister up, so she could put the basketball in the hoop. Timberly was ten now and looking a lot like her mother.
"We'd better get going, Gerald. Float, remember?" Arnold said.
"Oh right." Gerald said. "Timberly, go back inside, Mom has cookies."
"Bye." She said as she hugged him.
Arnold and Gerald walked up the tattered streets, the dirty litter spread in the gutters, until once again familiar sight of their humble school building came into view. Little did they know, today was going to serve them with the worst luck they'll ever have.
"Hey Arnold." Came a voice behind them.
Arnold turned to see Roger. Roger still made Arnold uneasy, but deep down Arnold knew why. Roger was the kind of guy Helga liked, the rebel, something Arnold wasn't. Something she was also and longed for.
"Hey Roger." Arnold said. "This is Gerald Johanssen, Gerald this is Roger Kline."
"Hey man." Gerald said, extending his hand. Roger took it, and shook it formally.
Once inside the Gymnasium again, they set to work on the float. Everyone was already there and working. Helga, Sid, Curly and Phoebe were laughing in a corner, shredding boxes of crepe paper. Rhonda was talking to Lila and Ms. White.
"Ms. White, this is Roger Kline, he's a new student here, and is it okay if he tags along?" Arnold asked.
"Oh, of course, we could always use some help. Nice to meet you, I'm Ms. White." She said.
"Hi." Roger said.
"Here, let me introduce you around." Gerald offered, somehow knowing how perturbed Roger made Arnold feel.
"Okay." Roger said.
"This is Sid, Curly." Gerald said pointing at each of them. "And this is Helga. Guys this is Roger."
"Hey, nice to meet you, Roger." Helga said, extending her hand. Roger looked at her, and took her hand. His heartbeat speed up, and he knew that this girl would entrance him for a very long time.
"Yea, same here." He said, as a tall, dark-haired girl knocked into his side. "What the hell.Watch it."
"Excuse me?" Rhonda said, swiveling around to face him, as she put her hand on her hips.
"What?" Roger said, exasperated.
"Did you say something to me?" She said as if the mere thought would be devastating.
"Why would I say something to you?" Roger asked.
"God, how long did it take you to perfect that 'I'm a loser' pose?" Rhonda said.
"How long did it take you to perfect that 'I'm a Barbie" pose?" Roger asked.
"Do you want me to answer that or just glare?" Rhonda said.
"Glare, your voice is worse than Cher's." Roger replied.
"Obviously you've underestimated the power of icy glare." Rhonda said. "You're new so I won't completely chew you out. I'm popular and pretty, you are going to be somewhere near freaks. But that doesn't necessarily have to be, if you are nice to me. See how that works. So it's your job to not talk back to the rich and pretty unless you want instant social death."
"You can just suck my-." Roger said, not moving.
"Don't finish that sentence." Rhonda said superiorly. "Now get out of my way."
"I'm thinking no." Roger said, planting his feet.
"Get the hell out of my way." Rhonda said, pushing past him and tripping on a snag in the rug. She fell face down. "Oh, you just killed any chance at being considered cool in this school." She added as she got up and walked away.
"And the bitch of the year award goes to." Roger said to the group of people.
"Rhonda." Helga said. "Good ole' Rhonda Lloyd. Don't worry, I hate her too."
"Phoebe?" Lila asked, walking up to them. "Can you and Gerald come and help me?"
"Sure, Lila." Phoebe said, taking Gerald's hand. "We'll be back later."
Phoebe and Gerald followed Lila over to Arnold who was painting. Arnold was staring at Helga in a weird way.
"Yo, Arnold, snap to." Gerald said, snapping his fingers in front of his face.
"Oh." Arnold said, as Lila snuggled up to his side. He tried to pry her loose.
"So, Rhonda how's it going with Kyle?" Lila asked.
"Kyle is so last month. I mean that whole 'I'm a football all star' thing is so over." Rhonda said.
Arnold was still watching Helga and Roger talk. They were laughing and having fun.
"Arnold." Phoebe said.
"What?" Arnold said.
"Are you okay?" Phoebe asked. "You're staring off a lot."
"No, I'm fine." Arnold said.
"Hello?" Rhonda said. "Was about to tell you guys about Tyler."
"Sorry." Phoebe said. "Anyway, so Tyler?"
"Yea, he's this really hot lead singer for Key Real." Rhonda said, but her voice droned and faded away in Arnold's ears as he turned to see Roger, Curly, Sid and Helga reading a giant children's book on Elephants. Once again, they were laughing.
"Arnold." Gerald whispered to Arnold, seeing him watching again. "Is there something I should know?"
"No." Arnold said, watching Roger and Helga laugh. "Nothing."
~*~*~*~*~
"Hey, look a box of children's books." Curly said. "Oh look, this one teaches the offspring about el-ee-phaunts."
"El-EE-PHAUNTS?" Helga asked, laughing. "What the hell kind of pronunciation is that?"
"It's my kind Helga." Curly said.
"Helga? Curly? Can you help Mr. Richards on this wheel." Ms. White asked.
"Sure." Curly said, as they went over to Mr. Richards, leaving Sid and Roger. Sid looked Roger over, the punk shirt and wristbands stood out.
"What?" Roger said to Sid.
"Oh please, it's so painfully obvious you have a thing for Helga." Sid said.
"Oh." Roger said, surprised by the spontaneity, but managed to keep his monotone cool. "Then denying is pointless?"
"Yea, but you better be careful, she already has someone." Sid said.
"Who?" Roger said. "You?"
I wish. Sid thought.
"No, someone else." Sid said.
"Damn, that sucks." Roger said.
You have no idea. Sid thought.
"Now who is it that she has?" Roger asked.
"Arnold. You know, blonde kid, lives above of you with his grandparents, likes jazz and doing good deeds for the less fortunate." Sid said.
"Oh, well he's a good guy." Roger said, swallowing a lump in his throat.
"Yea." Sid said. A painfully good guy.
~*~*~*~*~
"You know, two hours into this project and I'm bored to tears." Curly said, pulling out the singing slinky. "Here's the slinky, toss it a little and it'll start to sing."
"Cool." Said Sid.
"Thanks." Helga said, as the slinky began singing:
A CUCARACHA, A CUCARACHA.
"Still bored." Sid said, a few minutes later.
"Me too." Curly said.
"I'm so bored, can't something interesting happen-" Helga asked.
Bam. The heavy double doors of the gym opened, allowing a huge burst of air to blow into the room. The shitty fluorescent light illuminated the silhouette of a tall, thin boy. He walked into the more brilliant light, allowing his face to be shown. He had black hair, slicked back with gel and small, circular shades covering his eyes.
"Who are you?" Mrs. White said, looking up from her notebook.
"They call me Peapod Kid." He said. His round glasses slid down his nose a little as he spoke, the red shirt tattered and a pistol, shiny and lethal, was in his right hand.
"Is that a line from some comic strip or something?" Helga said, not seeing the gun.
"Oh shit, he has a gun, you guys." Roger said.
"That's right, I do have a gun." He turned around to see Lila and Rhonda running to the door. He aimed the gun and fired. It went right between Lila and Rhonda, landing square in the forehead of a cartoon bunny on the wall. Lila started crying, mascara rolling down her cheeks with the tears.
"Okay, calm down. What's you're name?" Mr. Richards said, taking charge.
"My name? I wonder if any of you fuckers can tell me what my name is. They all called me Peapod Kid since I was nine. No one knows me, well now, once I've killed all of you, everyone will know my fucking name!!" He shouted.
"What is his name?" Sid whispered to Helga.
"Um.Peapod Kid?" She whispered back.
"This is just great. I'm going to be in therapy until I'm thirty." Rhonda said.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!" He said, pointing the gun at her forehead. She screamed quietly and backed away. "YOU WERE ALWAYS ONE OF THE WORST. Your whole 'I'm Queen of the Whole Fucking Universe, I deserve a shrine, oh wait that shrine has been up my ass since I was eight' attitude towards everyone you think is lower than you on the dumb shit pyramid of school popularity."
"Took the words right out of my mouth." Sid said.
"Shut up Sid, or I'll be taking your spinal cord out of your mouth." Peapod Kid said.
"Hard to do with a gun." Helga muttered.
"What did you say?"
"You heard me." Helga said.
"Better watch your step Patacki." Peapod Kid said waving the gun around.
"What is his childhood trauma? I mean here he comes all trying to a leader with his stupid gun." Rhonda said to Lila, form the floor.
"Shhh." Lila said.
"Hey, I know he must like being the voice of the common wuss..." Rhonda said.
"Rhonda, your mouth is open and sound is coming from it. This is never a good thing." Helga said quietly to her.
"I don't think any of us would mind if you shot Rhonda right now." Sid murmured.
"Hey, I just want out of here!" Rhonda said. "Why don't you point that gun to your own head? I mean, come on, Peapod Kid, who gave you permission to exist?"
"That's not my name, bitch." He said, pointing the gun at Rhonda's heart. Everyone ducked, but she stood frozen in her stilettos. Roger looked over at her and pushed her out of the way. The gun fired and the bullet hit him. His body flew went back at an odd angle and he collapsed with a sickening thud to the ground. Everyone ran to him, as he slowly sat up. A bloody hole was in his left bicep.
"I got shot. Wow. It's odd." Roger said, his hand over the hole in his arm. "And painful." He added, wincing.
"Oh my god. Are you okay? Does it hurt?" Rhonda said.
"Yea, you know getting shot, it stung a little at first, but that all went away when the searing pain cut in." Roger said sarcastically.
"Someone get the first aid!" Helga said, ripping off the sleeve on his shirt.
"Oh God, it could've been me." Rhonda said, spastically jumping up and down.
"We can only hope." Roger said, blood spurting from the bloody gunshot wound in his left arm. Phoebe, well trained in medical aid, instructed Helga on where to put the pressure, so that the blood would clot.
"We need to get him to a doctor." Mr. Richards said to Peapod Kid.
"No one leaves here, I will kill him anyway, and a small bullet wound won't matter much." Peapod Kid said.
"Phoebe knows how to perform remedial surgery, she can do it." Helga said to Mr. Richards.
"Can you?" Ms. White said.
"I can try. All I have to do really is remove the bullet, tie the main arteries and close the wound. But I'll need some stuff." Phoebe said.
"Okay, we'll find them then." Arnold said. "What do you need?"
"Something like gauze or cotton balls, matches, needle nose pliers, tape, tweezers, and if you can find some, get some anesthetic."
"Okay. Arnold, Sid, Helga, Curly, Gerald and I will go." Mr. Richards said.
"Hey, you guys, where's Peapod Kid." Roger said, color draining from his face because of the pain. They all looked around and couldn't find him.
"Maybe we can escape-" But before the words finished out of Helga's mouth, the PA system turned on with a loud scratch.
"ATTENTION HOSTAGES. THIS IS YOUR CAPTOR SPEAKING. I'M IN THE SECURITY ROOM, I CAN SEE ALL OF YOU AT ONCE. GO, TRY TO HELP ROGER, BUT IT WON'T MATTER; YOU'LL ALL DIE ANYWAY. NO GAMES. I CAN SEE ALL OF YOU." Then the system faded out.
"Fuck." Helga cursed.
"Go you guys." Phoebe said. "He's losing a lot of blood."
~*~*~*~*~
Mr. Richards, Sid, Arnold, Curly, Gerald and Helga left the gymnasium and made their way through the halls.
"Okay, Arnold, Sid, and Helga go look on the third and fifth floor science or chemistry rooms. Gerald, Curly and I will search first and second." Mr. Richards instructed.
"Okay, see you soon." Arnold said, as they took off.
"We'll go fifth first." Helga said, as the climbed the stairs.
"Room E7, that's where they teach bio, down the hall, I know they have pliers and tweezers in that storage locker." Sid said. They ran over to the door and Arnold pulled on the handle.
"It's locked." Arnold said, looking around. He walked over to a red glass box encasing an axe used when there's a fire.
"What are you doing?" Sid said, alarmed. Arnold walked over to the door and swung hard at the glass, it blew right through, shattering glass on the laboratory tables. Arnold leaned forward and opened the door. "Oh, that's what he was doing."
"Okay, look around." Arnold said. They fished through boxes and opened the storage closets. Them came up with two tweezers, a dissecting scalpel, medical tape and small, dead woodland creatures preserved in jars. Which as Sid put explained a lot about the teacher.
"Good, let's go down to third, there's a Chem. Lab in Room C12, maybe we could find anesthetic." Helga said.
Once again, they ran down the stairs and into the next room. They rummaged through more boxes, and drawers.
"Find anything?" Arnold asked.
"A broken pencil, pre-chewed Juicy Fruit Gum, and what appears to be molding orthodontic wax." Sid said.
"Okay, let's go down, Roger needs what we have." Helga said.
~*~*~*~*~
Phoebe was about to operate. Mr. Richards had a bottle of Bacardi in the teacher lounge. Roger downed enough to make him numb, as Phoebe set out the tweezers, and tape. Rhonda and Lila sat on the floor. Ms. White and Mr. Richards were talking in hushed tones in a corner. Arnold and Gerald were also talking. Helga, Sid and Curly sat next to Roger, helping him take off the bloodied bandages.
"Okay, ready, Roger?" Phoebe said.
"Yea." He said, a little tipsy, still holding the open bottle of alcohol.
"Get on the table please, and take off your shirt." Phoebe said. "I'm going to go wash my hands."
"Yea, okay." Roger said, sitting on the table. Roger set down the half empty bottle of Bacardi and took his shirt off.
Wow. Thought Rhonda, looking at the shirtless Roger. That boy's in shape.
Twenty minutes later, Roger lay, shirtless and drunk, on a lunch table. He was mumbling about centipedes ice-skating while Phoebe prepared. She spent the next half an hour, carefully pulling out the bullet and checking for broken bones.
"Good news." Phoebe said. "No broken bones, looks like the bullet missed. Just went in enough to bust some veins open."
"Good." Mr. Richards said.
~*~*~*~*~
Two hours later, at 8 PM, Roger finally came to.
"Roger?" Helga said.
"My head feels big." Roger said.
"No it's head size, I promise." Sid said.
Roger sat up, and looked around.
"It's dark out." Roger said.
"Yes it is generally dark at 8 PM at night, unless you live in Alaska during the midnight sun." Curly said, playing with the slinky, as it sang "A Cucaracha, a cucaracha."
"You know you scared the shit out of us, getting shot and all." Helga asked. "So, how do you feel?"
"Fine." Roger said, putting his shirt back on. "Is there anything to eat?"
"Yea, here take some money, machines are behind that door." Helga said, giving him a dollar's worth of quarters. She noticed his demeanor was so blank that it was hard to tell what he was feeling.
"Thanks." He said, walking over to the machines. His wound still hurt and he felt a little dizzy from the alcohol. He rounded the corner and saw the machines. Rhonda was there putting in money for a diet soda, but the machine wouldn't give her her soda.
"Here." Roger said, hitting the machine, making the soda come out.
"Impressive." Rhonda said, taking it. She was about to walk away when she turned around and said, "You know, thanks."
"Your welcome." Roger said. "It was just a soda."
"No, I mean, about saving my life." Rhonda said, almost timidly.
"Oh, that, no problem." Roger said.
"No, it was so.brave and.something else.I'm not good at compliments." Rhonda said.
"No shit?" Roger said sarcastically.
"Hey, I'm trying to be nice here." Rhonda interjected. "I'm really grateful, I do owe my life to you."
"Okay, great." Roger said walking away. "See you then."
"You know." Rhonda said stopping him. "You're too busy brooding over your beloved Helga G. Patacki. Little Miss Freakzoid Girl." Rhonda said. "You'd never die for me."
"No, I might die from you. Does that get me any points?" Roger said, curious as to how she knew he liked Helga.
"I hate you!" Rhonda said.
"And besides that's not entirely true, I took a bullet for you. So, technically I did almost die of you." Roger said in a singsong voice.
"I'd rather be a shooting target for Peapod Kid than look at your pathetic face." Rhonda said.
"Then go. I'm not stopping you." Roger said.
"I bet you wouldn't. I bet you'd let a girl go off to doom all by herself." Rhonda said.
"Not just any girl. You're special." Roger said, sarcastically.
"I hate you!" Rhonda said again.
"You already said that." Roger said.
"No, see this time it's with an enraged passion, where I hope your penis falls off." Rhonda said.
"You wish of my castration?" Roger said.
"Yes. My hatred stems to there." Rhonda said.
"Why don't you go away? Or why don't you go away and shop? What's you're favorite store? Sluts-R-US?" Roger said.
"Oh, you asshole." Rhonda said.
"Skank."
"Moron of Morons."
"You have the brain span of an avocado." Roger said.
"Oh, how dare you, Dorkbutt!" Rhonda screamed.
"Dorkbutt? You slash me with your words!" Roger said.
"Eat shit and die, Roger." Rhonda said.
"Drop dead!" Roger said.
"Kiss me and I will!" Rhonda screamed.
It happened quickly. Rhonda and Roger leaped toward each other and kissed passionately. Roger could taste her kiwi-lime lipstick and feel her smooth, peaches and cream complexion. Rhonda ran her fingers through his silky deep chestnut brown hair and stared into his green eyes, seeing the golden flecks littered over them.
"You're the most idiotic loser I've ever.I've ever." Rhonda said, pulling away, and gasping.
".Kissed?" Roger asked.
"Yea," Rhonda said, regaining composure. "Which is why you'll tell no one of this."
"As if I would." He said smoothly, but inside he was confused and now on the defensive. "Wouldn't want people to think I was into Barbies."
"Good then." Rhonda said, and hesitating slightly walked away, leaving her diet soda behind.
~*~*~*~*~
"Hey Arnold." Helga said, walking up to him. Don't be rude, don't drive him away.
"What Helga?" He said, with his sexy, deep voice.
"Um, I'm sorry, before, you know, about bring up your grandmother." Helga said.
"Oh, I'm okay, I'm fine." Arnold said, but the look in his eyes told her otherwise.
"No your not." Helga said, before she could stop herself. He looked up at her from where he sat and a tear rolled down his face.
"I'm sorry Helga." He said quietly. "You're right, I'm not okay."
With that, he got up and walked away, leaving Helga alone.
He walked to the restroom, and all his emotions were built up in him, overwhelming him as he vomited into one of the toilets. He flushed the toilet and walked over to the sink. He turned the cold water tap on and splashed his face and mouth. He looked up and remembered the day she died:
It was the previous summer when it happened. He had just turned fifteen and it was a painfully hot day. Small children were out in the streets cracking eggs to see if they would sizzle. All his friends were outside in their bathing suits and splashing each other with water. His grandparents had set up fans in all of the rooms. He was about to go out with Gerald when he heard a large crash in the kitchen.
Arnold ran to the kitchen and saw his grandmother lying on the ground, blood seeping from her head. She had hit her head on the countertop. Arnold ran to her and felt for a pulse. He found a pulse, faint and dull.
"Arnold?" She whispered.
"Grandma!" Arnold said, holding her hand. "I'll call 911."
"No, it's my time to go." She said. "I love you. Tell your grandpa I'll miss him, and that I'll be waiting for him."
"NO!" Arnold said, as she died silently in his arms.
She had died of a stroke and head trauma. Arnold remembered her funeral. Everyone kept coming up to him and saying how sorry they were for his lose. Arnold cried a lot during this time. He'd never see her practice karate in the living room or see her dress up according to what she was cooking. But what was worse was that was the third person he's lost in his short life.
~*~*~*~*~
"What's wrong Helga?" Curly asked, eating Fun Dip.
"Nothing." Helga lied.
"You are such a terrible liar when it comes to me." Curly said, smiling. "Seriously, what's wrong?"
"You know how I feel about Arnold, right?" Helga said, wishing she could take that back. ".I mean at least how I felt about him in Middle School?"
"Yes, I remember the Arnold obsession." Curly said smiling.
"Well, I don't know. I guess I've started to feel it again." She replied.
"I noticed." Curly said blatantly.
"How do you do that?" Helga asked.
"Do what?"
"How do know what I feel and think without me having to tell you? I mean, sometimes you know what I feel before I do." She said.
"It's a gift." He said cockily, "Actually, it's because we're best friends. That's why you knew I liked Rhonda Lloyd and thus were able to stop my insanity before it went any further."
"That's true." Helga mumbled.
"So, what's you problem with Arnold?" Curly asked.
"I tried talking to him-"
"Were you rude?" Curly asked.
"I'm not always rude. Am I always rude? I'm not ALWAYS rude." Helga asked.
"All that's important is you believe that." Curly said sarcastically.
"Shut up Curly." Helga said. "Anyway, I kind of brought up his grandma's death, and he went wiggy on me."
"Wouldn't you?" Curly said. "I mean, like say your Dad died of some disease, how would you feel?"
Helga looked down and thought of her dad's cancer liquefying his brain. She hadn't told Curly about her dad's condition.
"You're right Curly." Helga said.
"I know. I'm a certifiable genius." Curly said. "Kind of like the Unibomber."
~*~*~*~*~
"They'll know my name.they'll know my name." Peapod Kid said over and over in his head as he sat in the security room. A dozen tiny televisions were in front of him. He watched them sit in silence and worry. He thrived on the fear he was getting from them.
"I'll kill you all." He murmured.
~*~*~*~*~
Ms. White walked into the teacher's lounge, a small room, located off of the gymnasium. She heard glass breaking and went to inspect.
"Kevin?" Ms. White said walking in. The light illuminated her short, auburn hair and blue eyes. "What's wrong?"
He looked at her.
"Gillian, I'm 34 years old, and I'm probably go die here." He said, it was clear he was very drunk. "I haven't spoken to my parents in thirteen years."
"Oh god." She said. "I know what you mean. Kevin, I don't want to die either. I have a life to live. I want to get married and have children."
"But we'll probably going to die and there's nothing we can do." He said.
"No there must be a way. We'll all get out of here, I promise." She said, looking into his soft, brown eyes. "And when we do, we'll go on a date. How does that sound?"
"Pretty good." He said. "Motivates me to find a way out."
~*~*~*~*~
It was 4:45 AM. Helga was to sleep on the pull out couch that was on the auditorium stage, next to Phoebe, Rhonda and Lila. Phoebe was staring at the ceiling. Lila and Rhonda had whimpered themselves to sleep.
"You know, Pheebs, this is like one of those MTV really crappy reality television shows." Helga said. "See, you throw in a hand full of guys and girls who hate each other with a fiery passion, a stodgy English teacher, a health teacher, plus a psychotic gunmen holding them hostage in the gymnasium of a high school in Brooklyn and you got yourself a brainless hit. I can imagine the teasers now: 'what will happen? Tune in to find out.'"
"That's not funny Helga." Phoebe said, she was worried, and it showed.
"Sorry. Just trying to lighten this rather un-light situation we're in." Helga said.
"I know, Helga. You're intentions are good." Phoebe said. They both went silent for a moment.
"You know, we never talk anymore." Helga said, breaking the silence.
"I know. I'm sorry." Phoebe said.
"Me too." Helga said. "When we get out of here-"
"If." Phoebe said, being logically. "If we get out here."
"No, it's WHEN we get out of here, and WHEN we do, we're going to be hanging out more often. Okay?" Helga said.
"Okay." Phoebe said.
Across the room, the boys were to sleep on the carpeted portion of the floor with some old blankets.
"Curly." Sid whispered. "Are you awake?"
"Of course you idiot. You think I'd be able to sleep when there is someone more psychotic than I am with a deadly weapon?"
"Cut the sarcasm." Sid said. "I think we should try to escape."
"Escape? What shit are you on?" Curly said. "Do the letters G-U-N no process in your brain?"
"I'm not on anything, we should get out through the ventilation ducts and go get help." Sid said.
"Please. Are you trying to get us killed?" Curly asked. "I don't know what the fuck kind of power trip you're on, but there is no way in hell we'd get out of that system of pipes alive. There are hundreds of them."
"I know them well." Sid explained. "I've used them numerous times to get out of Saturday school."
"You're a fucking dumb shit, Sid." Curly said. "You know, getting your head blown off or starving to death because you got lost in the ventilation system will not impress Helga."
"What are talking about.how do you know about Helga?" Sid said.
"Oh giving me a fucking break. It's so god damn clear that you love her." Curly said. "Don't take me for some fucking idiot you just met off the street, I'm one of your best friends. I would be the first to know, without you even hinting it at me. I know you love her."
Sid stood silent.
"I'm not doing this to impress Helga." Sid said. "I'm doing this save everyone. If you don't believe, than you go."
Curly looked at Sid and recognized the truth in his eyes, the same look he got in seventh grade when "it" happened.
"Okay fine. I'll go." Curly said. "How do I get through?"
"Go into the south duct, and climb the little ladder up until you hit a dead end." Sid said. "It'll be awhile, it's a long climb. Then turn left and take the first right. Then climb up again and push the duct open. You'll be in the roof's storage closet. From there just climb down the drainpipe and go to the police. Take your time and be quiet, we'll be fine. The system of pipes echoes really loudly, so if you knock on one of the pipes, we'll hear you, and he'll hear you. So, be careful and don't think you're lost, because it will take you a couple hours to get out."
"Okay, got it." Curly said as he stood up. Sid followed him to the duct and helped him open it.
"See you later, Sid." Curly said, not bothering to hide the fear he felt for what he was leaving behind.
"See you." Sid said being as brave as he could, as he watched Curly climb in and disappear. Sid was sure Curly was gone until he heard footsteps, and turned around, thinking it was Helga. Instead, he saw Peapod Kid with the gun raised high and then violently bring it down on his head. All Sid saw next was the dark of unconsciousness.
To Be Continued.
~*~*~*~*~
"Today's the crosses we carry
Today's the strength that we need
Today's the hand of an angel
You were not the kind to believe." ~ Our Lady Peace