Brainy's Story
There she goes again, mooning over Arnold. Writing in her silly pink book, sighing, and then throwing spit balls at her very object of desire. I can't help but smile as Helga does this; it's undeniably cute.
Of course Arnold, the naive dolt, doesn't find it as cute because he misses all the actual swooning.
Truthfully, Helga is fairly naive too, that's why they would be so perfect together. Arnold is naive when it comes to reality (either that, or incredibly optimistic with a side effect of stupidity), and Helga is naive when it comes to people.
Then, as fate would have it, I, the quiet (minus my breathing) one, knows everything that goes on behind closed doors.
Yes, folks, I think you know who I am now. That is, if the title didn't give it away. I'm known as Brainy. Whether or not that's my real name, I refuse to tell; It's far more interesting this way.
I could continue to tell you about all the students, flaws or otherwise. I could even continue on my love for Helga, but I'm sure you all know about it.
Wait, perhaps you don't.
Sigh. Well, then I suppose it's my turn to tell you why I fell in love with her. Then I'll continue on to the real story.
You all know Helga fell in love with Arnold because he was the first to ever notice her or be nice to her. Me, well, I just took one look and was in love. She walked around seemingly a tad mopey whenever she wasn't sighing over Arnold or bossing the others around. Sad and alone...a few things I understood. Seriously, look at me! I wear glasses, I have pretty bad asthma that make me breathe like this, and my hair color matches my skin: pale. Not many notice my existence, but whenever she hears me, she pops me in the face. I've gotten so used to it, I can't go a day without it. Unless I get something better like that day she patted me on the cheek, or when she kissed my forehead. Sigh…
But even way back in pre-school I knew she wasn't meant for me. I tried to deny it many times, but after a while I decided that as long as she was happy, so was I. As long as I got to see her from time to time, I was happy.
Get the idea now, everyone?
Oh, I know I sound a little older from how I'm writing this, but when you're in a class with Phoebe, Arnold, Helga, Gerald, etc. you can't help but seem a tad older. From all the adventures and how smart they are, it rubs off.
Now, on to the real story. Yes, there's a point to this, beside my own form of swooning. Helga may prance about with her poems, hand them into class, and keep them so they can be found, but I keep everything to myself. Safer that way. So I guess this is fairly rare.
From my earliest comments, I suppose you realize that I'm in class, Simmons's prattling at the front. Everything happened yesterday, and I'm sure you don't want to hear about Helga throwing spitballs. They're really gooey too, from the looks of it.
Oh, sorry.
Today's a Wednesday, so I suppose it all started Sunday.
Sunday it was pouring buckets, just rain, rain, and more rain. Raining cats and dogs, raining pennies!
Pennies? What an odd saying.
The rain was nearly as bad as it had been when the school had flooded earlier this year. This time, nobody was in the building and only the basement and storage rooms flooded. A few of the upper halls needed mopping, but were fine otherwise. (What still gets me is the fact that we had Mrs. Slovak for Valentine's Day...yet Mr. Simmons for Thanksgiving and Mrs. Slovak was first...I guess where my class is, is a little odd.)
Anyway. The weather was by far the fairest on Monday, but they were still pumping out the water, so we couldn't go back in. Tuesday, they were still drying it out. We couldn't very well walk down soaking hallways, eat lunch in a soggy room with ovens that no longer worked, go to a building where some of the wiring was shot.
Since the main power box had been in the basement, fair amounts of the building would need rewiring. They'd be doing it on and off for months after, but they still needed a day to dry the place out and try for the main power. P.S. 119 and P.S. 124 both were flooded as well; P.S. 124 was the worst, two whole floors. P.S. 117 had been saved by the fact it was on high ground. There were no other elementary schools in the immediate area.
Good thing that the wiring was being taken care of, it could've started sparking and caused a fire! Probably would have started in the cafeteria...it always starts in kitchens and stuffs during movies and in stories.
Of course the cheese festival was going on again. It was around nearly every holiday, and sometimes for no reason. My city isn't always the most creative bunch. Also as usual, a fair amount of my class was there, with Arnold and Gerald hanging out together, Arnold following Lila, Helga following Arnold with Phoebe at her side (no doubt thinking of Gerald), and I, following Helga.
Wonderful little group we are, huh?
Lila was mostly ignoring the fact Arnold even existed, but of course allowed him to play games and win stuff for her, losing money. Even though Lila was allergic to most of the prizes. (Plush or whatever it was.) Helga was trying to ruin everything, as usual, and Phoebe and Gerald had run off together.
Every 'catastrophe' had been either rectified by Arnold, or just not happened at all. Helga, after all that happened, would pull out her locket and confess to it.
My cue would come; I'd step up, and get hit in the face. Ah, the good life.
Little did either of us know, but one of those phony fortune tellers (not that all are, but this one was), was listening in. As soon as she could, she reeled Helga into her tent for a reading.
You wouldn't believe what she told her! (I was listening through the canvas.) She said that Helga had a deep dark secret (as in Helga's words...DOI!) and that something...no, someone! A boy would tell her secret! That secret she always wanted to hide!
"None of the boys know my secret," Helga had scoffed, sitting back in her chair and crossing her arms.
The fortune teller had wagged her finger at Helga. "Ah yes, one does know. A boy who wears glasses...his hair the same shade as his skin..." and when she realized Helga still didn't have a clue, "he breathes funny."
Well, we all know what conclusion Helga came to.
Sure enough, Helga believed the wacko...but maybe for a second because she burst out laughing.
"Brainy? No way!" And with that, she left without a bill on the table. Pushing open the flap and finding me didn't help, apparently. I remember that I could see the fake's words flash in her mind by her eyes.
I had grinned and wiggled my fingers. "Uh...hi." Just as I always did. Then, with the usual luck that strikes my friends and me...
Arnold decided that then had been a good time to appear. He seemed a bit tired, probably emotionally drained from Lila's naiveté and Helga's meddling. Poor guy, only in fourth grade and mixed up. Course, then again, what right do I have to say anything?
"Hi, Helga, Brainy," he smiled at us wearily.
"It's just an oh so wonderful day, don't both of you think?" Lila's arms were clasped almost possessively around the arm of the boy she only liked, not liked-liked.
"Yeah, dandy," Helga scoffed.
Arnold looked back and forth between her and I. "Are you two here together?" I couldn't help but muse over the idea.
Helga blew her top. "Of course not FOOTBALL HEAD! Why would I be here with BRAINY? He's just always...there," Arnold, Helga, and Lila all gave me an odd look.
I love it when they do that. It's funny but it kind of jabs at your heart, though, to know they think you're psychotic.
Arnold turned to me, "What's going on?"
"Uh..."
"NOTHING! Absolutely nothing!"
Lila and Arnold had exchanged glances. "Why are you nervous Helga?" Lila asked.
"I'm not nervous."
"I'm quite certain you are...is something going on, Helga?"
I tried to say something, but she had clamped a hand over my mouth. Of course she does it during one of the rare times I open my mouth… I remember that I had sat stock still...she was touching me! Touching my mouth!
"Helga, are you hiding something?" Arnold peered around the both of us.
"No, no, nothing!" She tried to grin innocently. Arnold and Lila both raised an eyebrow, but Arnold turned to leave. Lila tugged at his arm, peering at Helga up and down.
"Are you oh so sure you're all right, Helga?" she asked.
"I'm fine," she snarled through gritted teeth. In the meantime I had been turning purple. Finally they walked away and I was allowed to breathe, I remember how it burned to suck down those giant gasps and end up coughing.
I looked up, she glared down.
I knew to run. She actually thought I was going to tell Arnold? Right there? I would never! I'd been around her for years, yet she actually believed that after 6 years I'd finally tattle? Why would I wait so long to tell? For more blackmail? Sigh; no matter how I love her, I'll never fully understand her.
Well, the chase had begun. I dodged cheese stands, cheese sticks, hid in a trash can (always a favorite), but she kept finding me. Eventually, I ran into the house of mirrors. I always hated those things, you always get confused, you don't know where to go, and there's far too many of me.
Upon running into another mirror and hearing Helga somewhere nearby, as I looked down, I learned a trick.
Watch my feet. Walk against the wall. Theoretically, if you keep one hand on a wall, you'll eventually reach the exit. I had tried it, anything to keep from getting caught. Helga was one person who you didn't want on your back.
I remember what happened to the parrot.
Oddly, now I realize that's what was going on, I was that parrot.
Finally, I made the exit, running out and looking for a spot to hide in case she came out soon after. Once again, as my luck went, I ran right into Harold, bouncing off of him. Harold, Sid, and Stinky all looked down at me.
"Brainy?"
"What're you runnin' from so gal darn fast?"
"You made me drop my ice cream!" Harold wailed.
I looked at the ground to see 2 and a half scoops lying there as they began to melt. He'd only managed half a scoop so far? Must've just bought it.
Harold loomed over me, intimidating with his weight...Stinky with his height, and Sid was just plain scary. Three heads forming one great shadow over me.
Two hands reached out and shoved me. "You ought to watch where you go!" Sid cackled. Stinky laughed as well, walking over to lean and create another shadow. He picked me up and hauled me behind a wall where no one could see. Harold strolled over as well, cracking his knuckles.
"I think we should teach him a lesson..."
Fear struck, pure panic. Was this worse than what Helga could do?
Well…Helga could smack me up and down, I'd hate the pain but love that she knew I was there, that she touched me.
This I'd enjoy no aspect of.
True, Sid, Stinky, and Harold weren't always like this. Most of the time they were pretty nice. But there were days...when they were like this...true troublemakers. I feared the day they grew older.
But that day I feared I wouldn't grow older.
Harold's fist snapped back, Stinky and Sid pinning me to that barn-like wall that held the house of mirrors. Everything began to move slowly, I could see those pudgy fingers mesh together, the muscle behind them tensing. I heard the cheers and screams even louder...but they sounded so far away. I watched a balloon slowly escape to the sky in the corner of my eye.
It was red, why were they always red? You know, the ones in stories just like this one.
Floating up, it kissed the clouds.
But something flew up and popped it, motion coming back insanely fast, as if the sound disrupted time. Four knuckles came into view, the bones clearly showing from under their protective skin cover, stretching to show how pink it was.
A hand clamped over those death knuckles. A smaller hand, one that I knew so well from this view. A hand that could be gentle, a hand that could be far more cruel than that of a normal bully, a hand that could follow the arts just as could Robert Frost.
Harold's arm moved down and Helga came into view. Her face angry - as it usually was - but she wasn't scowling, just glaring. Then I realized it was Helga's hand forcing Harold's down as he stared at her. Stinky and Sid dropped me in shock.
"Hi, Helga," Sid said, plastering on a grin.
Stinky wiggled his fingers. "Howdy."
Harold and Helga continued their stare down until Helga said something. "What are you doing?"
"He made me drop my ice cream." Harold pouted.
"You're going to hit him for that?"
"...Wait! I know this! You want me to wait 24 hours and make him think about it?"
She smacked him. "No, you idiot!" She put her hands on her hips to give me a dirty look. A ride must have just started another round; the roar on a tiny roller coaster passed over us as she gave me that look, the screams making it seem like a horror film shot. "He's mine."
Sid and Stinky curled their lips into 'o's, "OOoooooo..."
Harold looked confused - is that something new? -, "You mean."
She grinned and cracked her knuckles; I swallowed. One of her hands snapped out, gripping the front of my shirt and slammed me against the house of mirrors, again.
My poor back.
With that, Harold, Sid, and Stinky got the idea, chuckling as they left.
As soon as the last goon disappeared, she turned back and dropped me. Wiping off her hands, Helga looked at me again.
Both of us just stared for a few moments, I adjusted my crooked glasses. My breathing wasn't interrupting any silence; there was too much hollering and giggling from the festival.
The coaster went by again.
"You-"
"Uh," wheeze, "no."
We had fallen silent for a second time.
"I saw that," a voice broke the air. Helga spun, and I peeked around her. Arnold stood there, smiling with his arms crossed. Strolling into the little alley, he kept smiling at Helga.
Sigh, I suppose I lose her again.
After that, the two walked off, Lila had probably ditched him. He had offered to walk home with her, she said yes in her Helga-like way. - "Whatever gives you kicks." - Him babbling about her being nice, her grunting in answer.
Neither of them could see it, but I could.
They were perfect.
Now I bet you're wondering why I bothered with this tale. I never write, I don't dance about and confess my love to a picture of Helga in a heart locket. It's adorable when she does that.
No, this isn't really to tell you how much I love her.
The point was that I wanted you readers to help me remember one of the best days of my life.
The day Helga truly realized I was there.
The day I realized how much she trusted me.
Brainy sighed and sat back in his seat, glancing over the story he'd just written. Rubbing his hand, he watched as one of the men working on the wiring walked down the hall, twisting through a bundle of wires and his different tools clicking in his belt.
Turning, he watched Helga again, smiling. Prepping ideas for lunch, most likely.
Tucking the papers away in a notebook, he frowned as a memory came to him. Should he have mentioned that?
A boy sat by himself at the Tiny Tots center, stacking blocks while the other kids played with paints on the other side of the room.
Slowly a boy made his way towards the smaller one. His belly stuck out and he seemed a couple years or so older than the rest. Brainy had seen that boy take crackers from that pretty blonde earlier.
What does he want?
At first he only stacked some blocks as well, Brainy watching in fear of what may come.
But nothing did.
So he began to play with the blocks again.
The whole tower suddenly came crashing down on him. Sniffling and trying to hold back the tears, Brainy pulled away from the mess and watched the chubby boy laugh, watched as he picked up another block to throw at him.
Then a fist came into view and smacked the chubby boy.
"I told you to cut it out! Now you'll have to answer to Old Besty!"
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!"
The caretaker eventually had to separate the two, giving the chubby boy an extreme fear of the blonde girl.
But Brainy never forgot it.
She never gave him a second glance, never stopped to ask if he was okay.
But he never forgot.