"Tomorrow is April fool's Day, I bet you've already prepared for some pranks to play on?" Phoebe said, with a huge amount of certainty that Helga would say 'of course' or 'yes' or at least a nod.
"Not really, I'm planning to skip tomorrow instead. Kids go bonkers on April Fool's Day."
" And you usually take a big part in it."
"I'm not into it anymore," Helga said as she stepped up into the bus. She took a seat near the window so she could stare at the cloud, her new favorite thing to do.
" What's the matter Helga?"
"Nothing, I guess everything is different now," she lowered her voice and continued, "everything is different without..." she sighed, couldn't finished her sentence.
"Arnold?"
Helga responded it with a moment of silence and Phoebe took that as 'yes'.
"If only his parents chose to go back to Hillwood instead of staying in San Lorenzo, he would be here with us. It's been a year, Helga."
"Well, He must have wonderful time there with his lovely parents. That's why he doesn't need anyone else to think about or miss." Helga crossed her arms, her eyes staring out the window.
" Oh come on Helga, you deserve having a good time too. I think tomorrow night we're gonna have April Fool's Dance at the gym as usual. Why don't you come and have fun, I think you need a distraction."
"A distraction? by going to April Fool's Dance? What a great idea!" she said with the expression that means the opposite.
"Oh I'm sorry Helga."
The bus stopped Helga and Phoebe got off the bus.
"See you tomorrow Pheebs, I mean tomorrow after tomorrow haha."
oOo
Helga was lying on her bed while playing that Mozart's requiem in D minor-Lacrimosa from a tape she took from Olga's room. She opened her notebook and began writing, began talking to herself.
"I miss you so bad. I wonder if you miss me too. I guess you're busy spending a good time with your parents. You have no time to think about me, huh?"
She took a breath deeply, her hand was still moving as well as her lips.
"…and don't you know how hard it is to get up every morning with the bitter realization that I won't have a chance to see you. Seriously, what's the point of going to school if I can't see your funny head and throw a spitball at it? What's the point of playing April fool prank if it's not on you? What's the point of going to that stupid April fool dance if it's not with you? …oh brother!
She kept writing. She kept talking to herself.
"..how I never stop wishing you to magically appear in front of my house and..."
"Helgaa"
Her mother burst in her room.
"Honey, your friend with a football–shaped head are looking for you, he's waiting outside."
Helga's eyes grew wide as she heard a word 'football'.
"What? Football–shaped head? Are you sure Miriam?"
"Yeah, His name is Arr ..arr"
"O my gosh!" Helga jumped off her bed and went down right away without waiting her mother to finish her sentence.
O my gosh o my gosh o my gosh..
Her hand was shaking as she opened the door. There, the football-shaved head boy was sitting on the stoop. She stood silent for a moment, staring at that football-shaved head from behind; her mouth could barely say a word.
" Ar ar ar.."
That football-shaped head turned round...
" Hai," he snorted.
Helga felt like falling down from the highest building and then got hit by ten trucks in a row.
"Ar ar nie?"
" What- the- heck- are-you-doing here? did I tell you that I don't like you like I just.. hey I don't even like you, see?"
"I know," he snored.
"I just came here to give you this," he showed a box.
Helga knitted her mono brow, "What's that?"
"It's from Arnold," He snorted.
"Arnold? oh? what?"
"I visited him last month, he asked me to keep it and give it to you right on your birthday. But I forgot. Sorry," He said with flat intonation and no emotion whatsoever.
Helga grabbed the box. She felt like flying so high, touching the sky and dancing around with the stars.
"O gosh, Arnold remembered my birthday and gave me a present." She held the box close to her heart. "Oh joy oh rapture."
Arnie snorted and then blew out a bubble gum out of his mouth.
"Thank you Arnie. Now, if you don't have anything to do here, you'd better just leave, OKAY?"
"Okay."
Arnie was just about to turn round.
"Hei wait a second!" Helga took something out of her pocket and handed it over to Arnie. A pack of bubble gums.
He smiled.
oOo
Helga went straight to her room and opened the box. There was a necklace with a green stone pendant. "Oh gosh, so beautiful oh gosh!." And there was a letter. She read it.
Dear, Helga.. Happy birthday or happy belated birthday in case Arnie doesn't give this to you on time haha. Wish you a beautiful day. And I hope you like the gift I made it myself. Well, I wrote this letter because I got a lot of things to say. I guess I just got the courage say it now. Okay, let's begin.. Helga, I know that you have a special feeling for me all this time. I mean you pick on me in particular, throwing spitball at my head, yelling and scowling at me almost every day. I know all that stuff are mean but if I really think about it, well, that's a lot of attention to pay for someone even it's a negative. Yeah, sometime I am sick of it but I never get mad at you because I know you're acting mean and nasty to everyone especially me to cover lots of insecurities in yourself. In reality, you're just a sweet little girl. It's obvious if people really pay attention, I mean look at your locker and your room decoration, they're full of heart-shaped and look at how you always dress, full of pink. And look at how good you are at writing poems. Even though you always signs as anonymous for poem assignments, I know they're all yours. I always caught phoebe smiled at you every time Mr. Simmons read those anonymous poems. See, I get why you're hiding how you feel about me because basically you're hiding lots of things to the world. That's okay. That's okay because you're not alone. You're not alone in this thing. You're not alone with this funny feeling that made our stomach sick. I guess it must be hard for you to believe it but you've been always special for me too positively or negatively (since you really bugged me sometime). The thing is I really like you, I like the way you always try to impress me like what you did in Chez Pierre. It made me smile inside. I like the way you always try to fake everything so you can get close to me like when you faked blindness and Amnesia. Haha I am not stupid Helga. I like they way you always try to find a chance to kiss me. That's sweet. But of all the amazing things you've done to me, what touched my heart most when you sacrificed your Nancy Spumoni's boots to find Mr. Hyun's Daughter. Yeah, Helga Mr. Bailey told me everything when I met him again to find a lost document to save our neighborhood. You convinced Mr. Bailey to go back to his office when he was about to leave. He said you made him change his mind. You even spent all night in his office to help him when you were supposed to enjoy a Christmas eve with your family. What you did, well, that's beyond amazing. Yeah, you're really amazing person. You even had to go undercover to help me save the neighborhood. If I can borrow your word all I can say you're pretty boss. That's why when you confessed your feeling to me; I had no idea how to respond it. I couldn't find the best way to respond it. I'm sorry that we had to make a deal like that moment never happened. I just tried to give you time because I was afraid that I was not really the one you're looking for. However, after what happened between us in the jungle I have a kind of funny feeling that we're meant for each other. And it's not fair if I know how you feel about me while you don't so I just want to say that Helga, you really have a special place in my heart and I really care about you. Well, I can't talk about love here because I think we need to grow to fully understand it. Until then, let's move on with our life, we still have such a long road to take, we got plenty things to learn, we got lots of things to go through. We got so much to achieve. We're kids after all so let's play a lot haha. The last, I miss everyone there especially you. I promise you're the first person I will see if I come over there.
Sincerely, Football head
oOo
The bell rang. A girl with a big pink bow on her head walked in the building. Another girl wearing a blue sweater came over her.
"Wow Helga I thought you'd skip today"
"What are you talking about Pheebs! It's April Fool's Day, how can I skip when I have lots of pranks to play on those losers in our class."
"But yesterday you said—"
" Ah just forget what I said yesterday Pheebs, we got plenty things to do, and boy do I have a huge- whipping- super prank to pull at the dance tonight?" She laughed like a witch.
A girl wearing a blue sweater smiled in relief.
" Nice necklace Helga."
" Oh thanks Pheebs."
-THE END-