The New Tenant

"Hey Grandpa," yawned a football headed teenager as he walked down onto the main floor. He saw an elderly man with suspenders, moving boxes from the opened front door to an empty room on the 3rd. He saw multitudes of boxes and a few suitcases near the stoop. "Do we have a new tenant?" he asked curiously. They hadn't had a new tenant in a few years now, not since some college student who had rented the room for a couple of months.

"Sure do, short man!" said Phil as he hoisted another box onto the box under his arm. "Get that, will ya?"

Arnold moved to grab a large box. This one didn't have a lid to it and to assuage his curiosity, he peered in but saw mostly books – 'Catcher in the Rye', 'The Summer of my German Soldier', 'Wuthering Heights'. This person is well read thought Arnold as he followed his grandpa to the rooms at the back of the boarding house. He looked down again curious to see what else the unnamed tenant enjoyed reading and noticed a small pink journal wedged between 'The Poetry of Walt Whitman' and 'The Lord of the Flies'. Arnold was tempted to look into it but then shook his head, knowing full well that an invasion into a stranger's property was not an appropriate thing to do, especially since that stranger would be a new tenant in his grandparents' boarding house.

"Uh so who is the new tenant, grandpa?" asked Arnold as he set the boxes of the books down into the floor, next to the bed.

"You'll see her when you see her, short man," said Phil as he made his way back to the front of the house.

"A girl?" asked Arnold from behind him.

"Sure is! At least, I think she is. Never know now-a-days," he chuckled to himself. He eyed the rest of the boxes.

"Where is she?" he asked just noticing that the tenant wasn't the one moving in her things.

"Oh she'll be along soon. She's just helping her parents with their move."

Something in that sentence sounded familiar to Arnold. He had assumed the new tenant was an adult. "I don't understand, grandpa. Are you saying she's moving out of her house somewhere in Hillwood?"

"That's right, short man!" Phil heaved as he lifted a particularly large box. Arnold jumped in and took it from him.

A large grumbling sound suddenly filled the room as his grandpa clutched his stomach. He started making his way to the bathroom as he called back behind him, "Be a good man and finish moving those boxes. Oh my stomach, why'd I eat that raspberry custard Pookie made?"

Nonplussed by the common routine of his grandpa's bathroom habits, Arnold continued to move the boxes into the room. Who could she be? he thought. The situation, though it could be applied to anyone, had sounded oddly familiar and a memory itched at the back of his head.

"You sure you want to do this, Helga?" They stood on the street next to an empty Brownstone that had been Helga's home for the past 17 years.

Helga rolled her eyes. "For the umpteenth time, Bob, yeah I'm sure!"

Big Bob Pataki looked down at his youngest daughter. She had grown quite a bit in the past few years, she was looking a lot more like Olga but he wasn't fooled. He knew what she was made of. He nodded but his gaze was just a touch softer, "Well, you call us if anything happens."

An awkward silence fell between them. Helga looked up. He was a neglectful jerk but he was allowing her to finish school with her friends and when it all came down to it, he was still her father. She rubbed the back of her neck. "Uh thanks, dad. I will."

"Alright, Helga," said a voice behind them. A woman in glasses appeared in front of Helga and hugged her tight, "I'm going to miss you, honey. You will call us every night, okay?"

Helga let out a small laugh, "sure, Miriam, I mean… mom."

They both got in the car, Bob in the driver's seat and Miram next to him. Miram looked back and waved as he put the car on drive. "Every night, okay honey?" she called out again as the car started on the road.

Helga rolled her eyes.

Bob's voice boomed, "You heard your mother, every night!"

And she felt oddly lonely as Helga watched her parents drive away.

...

Having moved all the boxes and luggage into the room, Arnold had hoped to stick around to see a glimpse of the mysterious new comer when he suddenly remembered that he had plans. He rushed back to this room for a change of clothes and ran toward the front door, saying as he did, "Heading out, grandma! Will be back after dinner."

"Alright, young grasshopper, make sure avoid the hungry alligators on Meat Street." Her laughed sounded almost like a cackle.

"Uh sure thing, grandma." He shut the door on the way out.

It was only about a 10 minute drive to the theatres and as Arnold parked the Packard, he saw a familiar face waiting near the entrance.

"Hey man, you made it. You were cutting it close there, my brother." Gerald grinned as they greeted each other with their handshake. He nodded at Sid and Stinky.

"Sorry. There's a new tenant coming."

"Another monster?"

They had had awful tenants in the past. Arnold shook his head. "I don't know yet. I haven't seen her."

"Her? A girl? Just her?"

"Yeah, apparently she's moving in by herself."

Gerald grinned, "You think it could be a college girl? You gonna ask her out if it is?"

Arnold chuckled, "We're still in high school, Gerald."

"So? Older chicks dig young hot dudes like us."

"Gee willikers, Arnold. A college girlfriend," sighed Stinky.

"Yeah Arnold, I wouldn't have thought you had it in you," chimed Sid, slapping him on the back.

"Guys, I don't even know if she's a college student yet. And even if she is, what kind of landlord's grandson asks out a tenant?"

They purchased their tickets to 'The Bloodletting II' and headed into the theatres as Gerald replied with a delayed response.

"Mm mm mm! Arnold Shortman, ever the gentleman."

Helga made her way back to Sunset Arms but was surprised to see that her stuff was no longer on the sidewalk right outside the boarding house. Confused, she walked up the stoop and knocked.

Arnold's grandmother opened the door; she was wearing a scuba suit with snorkel fins and a mask. "Eleanor dear! Won't you come in! I was just about to go diving to the depths to find the gigantic narwal." She smiled at Helga, "do you care to join me?"

She recognized the reference to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. "Uh…"

"Pookie, who is that?" came a voice from the kitchen and Phil stuck his head out. "Oh, Arnold's little friend!"

"Uh yeah, hi. Did you see my stuff, by any chance?" she asked him from the door way.

"Oh Arnold and I moved all your stuff to your room," said Phil as Gertie made her way into the kitchen.

"O-oh. Thanks," said Helga awkwardly. "Uh, where is Arnold? I'd like to thank him too."

Phil shrugged. "I don't know. Pookie, do you know?" he asked his wife as she filled the empty sink with water.

"Kimba is out with the alligators." She hadn't looked up.

"Uh, okay." Helga took that to mean that he was out.

"That crazy coot," said Phil. "Oh that's right," he fished into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. "These are for you. This key here is the one to the front door and this one is the one to your room. Bathroom for all tenants is on the second floor but the private bathroom your parents paid for is right next to your room." He smiled at her, "Oh and don't you worry, I didn't tell short man there that you were moving in."

"Oh uh thanks," Helga stammered, a little confused. "I'm going to head to my room." Taking the keys from him, she walked out of the kitchen and as she turned the corner she heard from behind her the strong female voice of Gertie "I ask no more than to live a hundred years longer, that I may have more time to dwell the longer in your memory!"

Then came a loud splash followed by Phil's voice "Oh pookie! How many times do I have to tell you not to jump into the sink with those flippers on!"

"Hey grandpa, I'm home."

"That you, short man?" came a voice from the kitchen.

Arnold walked into the kitchen, "yeah." He turned to the older lady in a karate suit, her palms together in front of her face and her eyes closed. "Hey grandma." He walked pass her without even a blink and opened the fridge door.

"Where'd you go, short man?" his grandpa asked having gone back to reading that day's paper.

Arnold pulled out a Chinese container and placed it on the table as he searched for a fork in the cupboard. "I went to the movies with Gerald and a few other friends." He sat down and started eating the chicken lo mein.

Phil's brow rose, "Didn't eat dinner?"

Arnold blushed a light pink. "Uh, no we did. I was just hungry again."

Phil chuckled and nodded. "When I was your age, I ate my family out of house and home."

Arnold let out a light chuckle, "Sure, grandpa."

A large plate of raspberry custard was placed on the table in front of him. "He needs lots of food if young kimba here is going to out into the wild on his own to complete his vision quest," said Gertie.

Arnold eyed the custard, having remembered his grandpa's trip to the bathroom earlier that day. "Uh no thanks, grandma."

"Oh that's right." Phil folded his paper and laid it down on the table. "The new tenant is here."

Arnold looked up, a little excited. "She is?"

"Yup, she's in that room of hers. Hasn't come out since Pookie over here nearly drowned me in the sink."

Arnold ate another forkful of noodles. "Are you going to tell me who she is?"

"No can do, short man. You'll see her soon enough." Phil stood up, stretching and looked at the clock. It was almost 10:30. "Well look at the time! Gotta hit the hay, Pookie." He patted Arnold on the shoulder as he walked out of the kitchen toward their bedroom.

Gertie smiled at Arnold as she gave him a light kiss on the forehead, "goodnight, kimba," and followed her husband out into the hall.

Arnold, like most of his 17 year old peers, was constantly hungry. Standing at almost 6 feet, he had shot up several inches in the past year alone. His body was working overtime to compensate for the shortness that had plagued him most of his life. And that was the reason why at 2:45 AM, his stomach growled like a terrible monster, and subsequently prevented Arnold from getting any sleep.

He groaned and rolled off the bed. This was becoming a near constant thing now, his stomach's need to wake him up in the middle of the night but it didn't mean he was getting used to it. Thank god, it was still the summer break otherwise; he'd be falling asleep in his classes and any consequences that came with it.

He rubbed his eyes as he made his way down stairs. He had slept for only about an hour after having texted with his friends and spent a few hours on his computer but his stomach had woken him. He thought had had enough food before he had headed to his room earlier that night but apparently his body had not agreed.

Arnold made his way down toward the kitchen but when he turned the corner, he stopped. The light was on, sending a warm glow into the hallway where he stood. In all the years he had gone down to get a snack in the middle of the night, no one had ever been there except perhaps the time, his grandpa had thought the British were coming in his sleep and had barricaded the dining room door with watermelons. He then noticed soft humming coming from the room.

Tentatively Arnold stuck his head through the door way that led into the kitchen and froze. A young woman's back was facing him, medium length blond hair hung in waves behind her back. From what he could see, she wore a white shirt that stopped at her hip and a pair of dark navy shorts. She was slim but shapely. Her legs were long and Arnold couldn't help but draw his gaze through the length of them. He felt his face heat up in a terrible blush and turned his attention instead to see what she was doing.

She looked as though she was making a sandwich, an open bag of bread sat on the counter next to her as well as the container of ham and cheese and an open tub of mayonnaise. She shifted slightly and Arnold almost panicked but instead of turning toward him, she reached for the mustard on the counter. It was then that he saw the side of her face…

"Helga!" he almost yelled, startled out of his wits.

The girl in the kitchen jumped nearly a foot and turned quickly around. Her hand was placed over her heart and his eyes were drawn momentarily to a rather womanly part of her. "Christ, football head!" Her whisper was sharp as her heart beat wildly in her chest. "Give a little warning next time."

Arnold's eyes were still wide, still unbelieving. "What are you doing here?"

She cocked her head and a brow rose. "What do you mean what am I doing here? I live here."

"Y-you what?"

"I live here," she repeated.

And then it hit him. "You're the new tenant."

"Doi. Are you just going to stand there and whispered loudly at me across the room?"

"Huh?" Arnold realized he was still in the hall. He walked into the kitchen. "I don't understand, Helga. How are you the new tenant?"

Helga looked down at his lower half as he stopped only a few feet away from her and her brow rose again. "Nice look." Arnold looked down quickly and felt another blush stain his cheeks. He was in his boxers. He sat down quickly at the table to hide it from her view.

He heard her snigger as she turned back to her sandwich. "Want one?" she asked over her shoulder.

Arnold didn't respond right away, still trying to get over what remained of his shock. A plate was placed in front of him and he saw that Helga had made him a sandwich. That was strange. Arnold looked up.

"I'm surprised your grandparents didn't tell you I was here," said Helga as she sat herself across from him, immediately biting into her sandwich.

Arnold looked back down to his plate. "My grandpa wouldn't tell me who the new tenant was." He saw her brows knot in question. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked her, taking a tentative bite of his sandwich. It was good.

Helga rolled her eyes. "Well we're not exactly friends, football head. And we're on break," she shrugged, "I didn't have your phone number."

He shot her a look, "you could have told me while we were in school."

She shrugged, "I didn't know this was gonna to happen." When Arnold met that with silence, she continued. "Sheesh football head, alright I'll tell ya. Big Bob invested in cell phones a while back as you probably won't remember and because he got into the market early, he was given the opportunity to sell these things called smart phones." She looked at him and waved her hand, "I don't really know what they are, didn't ask. Anyways, he heading over to California right now to sign the deal and part of the deal was that his first store had to be opened in California. So as of this moment, he and Miriam are on their way to the Golden State."

Arnold had actually vaguely remembered someone telling him that Bob had gotten a huge offer and that they were moving but he supposed that it hadn't registered then. He had Helga had barely spoken to each other in the past few years partly due to the fact that their schedules rarely coincided and because well, she was still Helga. "But why are you here, Helga?"

Helga took another bite and swallowed. "I'm getting to that. Sheesh! Hold your horses. Them moving meant I would have had to move but its senior year next year and I'm already going to college in New York so it didn't make much sense." She felt her eyes suddenly avoid his gaze, "Plus, it's not like I can leave Pheobe behind during this crucial period of her life. You know with college and Gerald finally making his move, the poor girl is about to have a meltdown."

Arnold had stopped eating a while ago. Helga noticed he had finished his sandwich; she looked down at her own. She still had half of it left. "So you decided to stay here?" he asked her.

She shrugged again, "Not many other places I could stay being under aged and all. Plus, my parents know your grandparents so there really wasn't much of a choice." Was he that unhappy to see her?

"Huh." Arnold was quiet for a moment but then he stood, moving to place his empty dish in the sink. He turned back to her and there was that kind, wide smile she had grown accustomed to seeing when they were kids and had desperately missed when they had started high school. "Well I'm glad, Helga. I hope you like it here." She nodded.

"Well uh, thanks for the sandwich," he said awkwardly as he made his way to the hallway.

"Yeah no problem, football head," she replied but he had already left the room.

...

Writer's Notes: Hello! This was my first "Hey Arnold" piece. I don't own "Hey Arnold!" but I've loved it since I first saw it in the 90s. A child myself, I grew up with these characters. This story is just my telling of how Arnold and Helga finally get together. I will be as true as possible to the characters we know and love.