Oh goody, another story with Arnold as a teenager! How original! Well,
maybe you'll like this story. Hopefully. And if not? Oh well. I've tried to
stay as loyal as possible to the show so forgive me if I contradict it at
anytime. I don't know what goes on in the movie yet, besides Helga's
confession, so let's just pretend that it never happened for now. It's just
a story so calm down.
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Craig Bartlett and Co. and anything else belongs to fucking Dickelodeon, the bastards.
The Search: chapter 1
The last day of high school. For four long years, they had put up with so much. Helga was on the edge of her seat as the teacher handed out the last of the graded papers. Only two more minutes, she told herself.
"Well, this is it," the teacher said. "I hope all of you have a wonderful summer before college starts. Each of you will go your own separate ways, but always remember that you will bring your memories and experiences with you through life. Whether it was your first love, your first taste of the real world, or even-" he was cut off by the bell.
"Thank god..." Helga sighed and eagerly gathered her things. "It's over..."
"What? high school... or his speech?" Gerald asked from behind her.
"Both," she smiled as she made her way to the door. Out in the halls, there was a mad rush of lockers slamming, kids celebrating, and a lot of running. Mainly towards the exit...
"Helga," she heard Phoebe say from behind her. "Where are you going?"
"Home," Helga replied flatly. "I'm going home."
"Why? The gang is going to go out tonight, you're not coming?"
"I don't know..."
"But Helga!"
"I know I know, last night to be together, yada yada yada..." she said and turned around. And bumped straight into Arnold. "Jeez, Arnoldo, you think after all these years of walking you'd get it right. I guess you find something new to screw up everyday," Helga said rubbing her head.
"That's great Helga," he sighed, "are you coming with us tonight or what."
"I think I'm going to be busy-"
"Please Helga. It would mean a lot to me if you came."
"Really?"
"Well sure, everybody's going to be there and you need to be too. So, meet you at the movie theater at 8:00? And then to the party at my place?" he said hopefully.
Helga hesitated for a moment but then said, "Yeah yeah, whatever football head. I'll be there but not because you want me to, but because... Olga's in town and I don't want to be around her for the rest of the night. Got it?"
"Great. Thanks Helga," he said and walked away towards Gerald.
"What a schmuck... Arnold, the pathetic dreamer. Wanting to have a cliche 'one last night of best buddies' crap," smirked Helga as she opened her locker. She began gently tearing down the pictures lining the metal walls and putting them in a little pink notebook. "What a complete idiot..."
"So... Phoebe is going to be there?" Gerald asked.
"Yeah, and I just talked to Rhonda and Eugene, they're coming too."
"But Phoebe is going, right??" he asked Arnold again.
"Yeah... is there a problem?"
"Of course there's a problem! Hello, can't stand her, remember?!"
"Gerald," Arnold said sincerely, "can't you just let it go? Just because you two had a falling out three years ago doesn't mean you can't get along for one last night. I know you can handle that, right?"
"Yeah... I guess so..."
"Hey Arnold!" Harold shouted from down the hall. "Party at 10 o'clock, right!? At the Sunset Arms boarding house on-"
"Yes... Harold!" Arnold sighed as everyone around them stopped and looked at him.
"Party? I'm there," everyone in the halls were mumbling. "Yeah, I'm there."
"Anyway," Arnold continued, "see you at eight."
Helga paced around in her bedroom and looked at the clothes thrown all over the bed. "Criminy, why do I care what I'm wearing to the party anyway." She picked up a pink spaghetti strap dress and held it up next to her. "Why is everything I own pink!?" she shouted angrily and threw it back on her bed. "And this dumb hair..." Helga sighed as she ran her fingers through her straight hair. For a second, she almost pulled it up into a pigtail, but she stopped herself. She decided that she would wear that old dress anyway. And she left her hair alone. "Why would I care what anybody thinks of me."
Helga stepped into the dress and pulled it up around her, but was having some trouble. "When's the last time I wore this, fourth grade??" she said sarcastically. Helga gritted her teeth and pulled, only to hear a loud rip. With age comes the body, the fuller hips, the bigger bust, and everything else. She was still tall and skinny, but now all the boys had caught up to her and she usually found herself looking up at some of the gang... except for Arnold. He was still about three inches shorter than she was.
The door to Olga's room opened slowly and Helga stuck her head in. Of course Olga wasn't really in town like Helga had told Arnold. She just needed an excuse to be around him. Because, yes, she was still in love with him. Maybe not as bad when she was younger, but that same feeling still welled up inside of her whenever she could catch a glimpse of that oddly shaped head. He was still her idol. Her safety net when life got too hard. Etcetera. After middle school, the obsession had calmed. She rarely visited the shrine that was still in the depths of her closet, but the poems and the love letters were piled in boxes and notebooks that almost touched the ceiling. And they kept coming.
Helga opened her absent sister's wardrobe and looked around nervously to make sure that no one was watching. "Too ugly... too old... too frilly," she said as she picked through the hanging clothes. "Too girly... too flashy... too short." Then she came upon a black cotton dress that tied around the neck and didn't show too much skin like the other dresses. "Too perfect." she smiled as she admired herself in the mirror after she had slipped it on. She checked the length of the bottom and was satisfied to see that it was right above the knee. Any further and the dress would have been torn off and plunged back with the rest. Helga picked up a pair of black strapped shoes with a wide heel and shrugged. "As long as they're not pumps..."
And with that, she was done. No makeup, no special hair, just Helga in a simple black dress. That's how she liked it. Unibrow still intact.
"I thought you said that you were leaving..." Eric said as he leaned closer to Nancy.
"I... changed my mind. I love you Eric!" she said and began sobbing unrealistically.
"What a load of-" Helga said angrily, but was shushed mid-sentenced by Rhonda.
"This is the good part!" she whispered and then fixed herself back on the movie screen.
Helga sighed and slouched in her seat. She boredly watched as the two main characters shared a long, romantic, passionate kiss. And then they were both killed by a robot/alien/evil twin with a laser gun. This sucks, she said to herself. Helga's eyes wandered around the dark movie theater. Beside her was Phoebe and next to Phoebe was Rhonda and Lila. On Helga's other side was Sid and Stinky. In front of her was Harold, Curly, Eugene, Gerald, and most importantly, Arnold right in front of her. She smiled and kicked his seat as hard as she could.
"Hey!" Arnold said as he dropped the bucket of popcorn that he was holding in his lap. He looked over his shoulder only to see Helga staring at the screen.
"Down in front, football head, I can't see over your hair," she whispered bitterly.
Arnold sighed heavily and turn back around. "And I invited her..."
After the movie let out, they all started the walk to the boarding house. "Well that was two hours of my life I'll never get back," Gerald said.
"Don't forget the four dollars and fifty cents too," Helga added.
"Oh come on guys, that wasn't so bad," Eugene said cheerfully. "Personally, I thought it was great. And the special effects were spectacular."
"Well I liked the relationship between Eric and Nancy," Lila said.
"Oh my god..." Arnold said slowly and stopped in his tracks.
"Wow, looks like somebody is having a big party tonight," Harold said as he looked up on top of a building and saw lots of people and lights. "Say... isn't that-"
"Yes Harold. That's the boarding house..." Gerald said.
Arnold burst through the front door and his jaw dropped. "Hey shortman, welcome home," his grandpa shouted over the loud music and the seemingly millions of people swarming the hallway.
"Grandpa! Who are all these people?!"
"Your little friends... I assume. They all showed up for the party and I just figured that you invited all of them."
"I don't even know them!"
"Oh... boy, isn't this embarrassing!" he cackled, but then stopped when he saw Arnold's expression.
"It's okay Arnold," Lila said putting a hand on his shoulder, "the more the merrier."
"Now this is a party!" Curly shouted and ran inside, disappearing in the crowd of people.
"This is so wrong..." Arnold sighed as everyone went inside.
"Hey Harold, thank for telling us about the party," some guy said. "This is great."
There were even more people up on the roof. Almost all of the food that his grandma had prepared had been eaten but the bright strings of lights and most of the decorations were still there. Though the afternoon skies had been clear, dark clouds were beginning to cloud over the neighborhood, blocking out the moon. There was a light sound of thunder in the distance.
"Come on Sid, hurry up!" Stinky said.
"Okay, just hold on a minute."
"Shouldn't we ask Arnold first you guys-"
"No Curly, are you crazy?!" Harold said.
"Well yeah, usually..." he replied.
"If we tell Arnold about this, he'll get really mad," Sid said as he poured a bottle of Vodka into the big bowl of punch. "There we go..."
"Okay everybody, who wants to play pin the tail on the monkey!" Grandma called.
"I think we're a little too old and sophisticated for those types of games, Grandma," Arnold smiled.
"OOO! Me! I do!" Harold yelled eagerly and left the punch bowl.
"Nice party ya got going on here, football head," Helga grinned. "I especially love that couple making out in your room."
"You gotta be kidding me," he sighed.
"Nope. It's getting pretty hot and heavy down there too. Hey, maybe you could watch and learn a thing or two," she said, heading towards the direction of the punch bowl that suprisingly had a large group of people around it. Arnold sighed again and watched her walk away.
"You okay Arnold?" Gerald asked from behind him.
"Yeah, just peachy. Where have you been?"
"Avoiding Phoebe."
"Oh Gerald, come on! I thought we agreed that you would let this thing go."
"I know man, but everytime I see her... I just get nervous and I can't take it. And she tried talking to me, but I couldn't find anything to say..."
"Arnold, I don't mean to interrupt but this punch tastes very parculiar..." Lila said.
"Hey, are you Arnold?" somebody asked. "Well, someone broke your stereo and someone else broke your bed, but I don't know who so I'm gonna leave now."
"Arnold, come play a game with us!" he heard his grandma say.
He walked away from all of them, trying to let go of his frustration. "Poor me a cup, would ya Helga."
"Sure thing," she grinned. "Rough time?"
"Yeah, I got problems out the ass. Lila was right, this does taste a little weird."
"Well, if your grandma made it..."
"I guess you're right," he said. Thunder rumbled in the sky again.
Later that night or early the next morning, after a couple cups of punch, the gang finally managed to find each other and sit in one big group in a corner of the roof. Some others had joined, such as Iggy, Brainy, Sheena, and Big Patty that hadn't been able to go to the movie.
"Yeah, I remember that," Helga laughed loudly after hearing another story told by Gerald. They all started laughing too.
"What time is it?"
"Dang, it must be two o'clock in the mornin'," Stinky answered. "Almost everybody else has done left."
"Maybe we should be going," Lila suggested. "I'm ever so sleepy."
"Are you kiddin', I could do this all night!" Helga said.
"Yeah I'm having a great time. And I think it's time that I gave a little speech," Arnold said, stumbling a little as he stood up.
"Oh yes, it's definitely time to leave," Rhonda said.
"What has it been now, fourteen years? Fifteen? And now everything's all over between us. Well I don't think it is. Phoebe, you're going off to some big college. Gerald, I know you've got that sports scholarship and Helga, you've got so many colleges after you. Well, I'm not sure what I'm doing. I haven't made up my mind yet. But I know that we'll meet up somewhere along the way. When we're all rich adults in a business meeting. Or maybe even as old people in a retirement home. But you guys, we have something here. And I don't think that we'll ever lose it. We haven't lost it yet and we're not gonna."
"You're right Arnold," Helga said standing up too. "I can't make much sense of what you're saying because I think somebody put a little something in the punch, but yeah I'm with ya pal."
After everybody had left and said their good-byes, Helga stayed behind with Arnold on the roof talking for another hour.
"You.. you are such a liar!" Helga laughed. "I never did that."
"Oh yes you did," Arnold said, draining the last of the punch from his cup. "You beat the crap out of him that one time."
"Well, he was always around me breathing in that... annoying way. I couldn't stand it," she sighed. "And he was in love with me for the longest time, but I was in love with someone else." There was a flash of lightening and another crack of thunder, but this time it brought rain. Laughing, they ran to Arnold's window that led to his room.
Arnold climbed down the ladder built into the wall and collapsed on the bed. Helga was next, but when she hit, the bed made a loud cracking sound. "Somebody broke your bed," she snickered. "Anyway, what was I saying?"
"Something about liking someone else?"
"Oh yeah. Well, not so much liking, but obsession comes to mind."
"Well, who was it?"
Helga squeezed the water out of her hair and snickered again. "Well, Arnold, I've been meaning to tell you something for... about fifteen years. And whenever I tried to, I kept seeing everyone making fun of me. 'They're all going to laugh at you!' you know, that sort of thing. But all these years of me tormenting you... me calling you names and bossing you around, well in reality you were the one who I loved."
"You're kidding," he said, starting to chuckle. "No way, it can't be."
"It's pretty damn funny, ain't it," she asked. "But yes, it's the sad truth."
"You know, we need to go on a road trip," he said randomly. "I've always... wanted to go travel around the world. Search for my parents."
"That... is a great idea," she said. "You know, we're probably not going to remember any of this in the morning."
"We should really write some of this stuff down," Arnold said, getting off the bed to get a pencil and paper. He stumbled back onto the bed and started to write.
Things to remember:
-Go on road trip to search for parents with Helga and friends
"Okay, what else?" he asked. "Oh yeah."
-Helga loves you
-a whole lot
"You promise you'll go with me?" Arnold asked.
"For you Arnold? Anything. I give you my word."
"Good," he said and added 'Helga promises'.
Helga's eyes twitched open as she felt the sun's bright rays streak across her face. Her eyes adjusted to the light and she looked at her surroundings to figure out where she was. She didn't recognize anything and the blinding headache didn't help. At all. But she did recognize the person under her. That distinctly shaped head...
"Oh.. please no..."she whispered. What the hell happened, she asked herself, very afraid of the answer. "Come on Helga... remember... remember..."
Arnold moved under her and wrapped his arms around her. Something dropped on the floor. Helga, trying to gain control of herself, peeked over the edge of the bed. She realized it was the pencil and the paper from last night, but it was face down so she couldn't read what it said. Gently and slowly, she reached down and picked it up, gritting her teeth as she did so. Please don't let him wake up...
He moved again, but this time he sighed happily. "Lila..."
Lila!?!? her mind screamed. Not now, Helga, she told herself. There are more important things to deal with right now... like why you are in Arnold's bed. She read the scribbled writing and almost screamed. I.. TOLD HIM!?!? Helga almost died. She needed so badly to get away from him. Maybe he won't remember, she pleaded. Just as slowly as she had picked up the paper, she slid out of his arms and onto the floor. Thank you, thank you, free at last. She madly erased the part about loving him and made sure that there was not a trace of the writing. She then left everything like it had been and opened the door to his room quietly.
"Oskar, did you eat my sandwich? Again?!" she heard somebody shout angrily. "Answer me! Okay fine, I'm just not gonna leave your door until you come out and face me like a man!"
"That could take forever," she heard Grandpa say.
"So be it!"
"Great," Helga sighed, "I can't let them see me." The only other way was through the skylight. She stepped on the bed again and cringed when she heard a loud crack. Oh yeah, forgot about that. Wait, did we break the bed? Oh god, what have I done...
She climbed out of the window and breathed the morning air happily. She gently closed the window and sighed with relief. Helga hesitated in leaving though. She couldn't help but stare at the sleeping figure down below, wishing silently that she could have stayed in his arms. "Oh Arnold," she whispered. "If only I could tell you the truth and not run away from you. I'm nineteen, I'm too old to be acting like this."
After Helga returned to her own room, she immediately phoned Phoebe. "Phebes, I left at the party with you last night, got it?"
"But Helga, didn't you stay with Arnold after I left?"
"No. I left... with YOU. Understand?"
"Ooh, I see. So... what happened?" she asked smiling.
"I'm not really sure... but I told him about my obsession... with icecream."
Helga heard Phoebe gasp and then ask, "What did he say??"
"Well, I think he laughed."
"Laughed?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure Harold or one of our boys put something in the punch last night. Probably Vodka. I don't remember much of anything and I all know is that I woke up in ... a big bowl of icecream. So I got the hell outta there as quickly as possible. But if anybody asks... especially that icecream... I left with you and I stayed at your house last night."
"Sure Helga. But... are you going to tell him the truth next time you see him?"
"Are you INSANE?? Of course not Phoebe, so just drop it. I'll call you later, okay? Bye." She slammed the phone down and relaxed on her bed. "What have I gotten myself into," Helga asked as she rubbed her aching head.
Arnold sat up in his bed and looked around. He was confused for a second, not remembering where he was or who he was with. But nobody was in his room, except for Abner sleeping on the floor by his bed. Arnold smiled and tried to pick him up, but Abner had gained too much weight and he couldn't. Something else caught his eye. "Things to remember?"
The phone rang at Helga's house. Figuring it was Phoebe, she picked it up and answered, "Any other questions we need to go over Phoebe?"
"Helga, it's Arnold."
"ARNOLD? I ... uh yeah, how ya doin' hair boy?"
"Not so good, I have the worst headache and I feel kinda sick. But I called to ask you something..."
"Yeah?" she gulped. "Well, hurry it up, I don't got all day!"
"I found a piece of paper on the floor... and I don't remember writing it. And you must have helped write it, because you name's on here."
"My... name??" she asked, her voice wavering. I know I erased everything! she told herself. What if I didn't... what if he can still read it??
"Yeah... it says 'Things to do' and then it says 'Go on road trip to search for parents with Helga and friends'."
"Oh pssh, THAT. I remember that... " she laughed nervously.
"You do??"
"Sure! We wrote that... right before I LEFT. WITH PHEOBE. But we weren't thinking straight, Arnoldo, it's no big deal. It's just a stupid list."
"I know... but there's something else here."
"T-there is?" she stammered.
"Yeah, it also says that you promise. You promised that you'd go with me."
"Oh... that," she said slowly. I knew I left something, she sighed to herself.
"And... I was just calling to ask you that... if there was someway I could get Gerald and maybe even Phoebe or some others to go with me... would you go?"
"To search for your parents??"
"Yeah, it sounds like a really good idea, although I don't remember writing it down. But it's in my handwriting."
"It's a good idea sure, but we don't have a lot of money to fund this little field trip, understand?"
"But... if I could get the money... would you go?"
"Why would I wanna go ANYWHERE with you football head?!"
"Because apparently, you promised. And I know that when Helga G. Pataki gives her word, she means it."
"Arnold..."
"Yeah?"
"It's not going to work. You couldn't possibly raise enough money to travel around the world. And we don't even know where your parents are! They could be dea-... they could be lost in the jungles of god knows where and we would never be able to find them! It would be a waste of good money for college and I know we're gonna need it." After Arnold's end was silent for a moment, Helga added, "I'm sorry Arnold, it just couldn't possibly work."
"Oh... okay Helga..." he said softly, she could hear the hurt in his voice.
"But," she sighed, "If you could, and I mean IF you could get enough money AND a good start AND some good information about your parents... then I..."
"What?"
"Then I promiseIwillgo,"she said quickly.
"You really mean it Helga??"
"Yeah whatever, now leave me alone and don't call me again unless you have a really good reason to, GOT IT?!"
"Thanks Helga," he said, but she had already hung up.
Arnold stood outside the bathroom door, waiting for his turn for the shower. Ernie stepped out, wrapped in a towel, and said, "It's all yours kid."
He wiped the mirror off with a towel and looked closely at his reflection. He felt like he had been hit with a ton of bricks. Arnold took off his clothes that he had been wearing since last night and stepped into the shower. There was a cold blast of water and he welcomed the feeling. As he relaxed in the shower, he tried desperately to remember what had happened. He could have sworn that someone had been with him. Immediately, he hoped that it had been Lila, but he knew that she would never be caught dead in a boy's room at night without a chaperone. And after all, she still didn't have any feelings for him.
He stepped out of the shower and pulled a towel around his waist. Maybe Rhonda? No, she was too preoccupied with Harold. Only Arnold knew about their secret relationship. If word got out, then Rhonda's life would be over, as she so delicately stated. Sheena? No. Phoebe? No, she had left with Helga. Arnold stepped up to the mirror again and combed his hair down so that it laid back on the left side and bangs hung above his eyes on the right side. "Well, I know one thing," he said as he wrung his little blue hat out and placed it on his head backwards. "It sure wasn't Helga."
Questions? Comments? Email me at retardofdoom@yahoo.com. I hope you like the story so far... it's gonna get better.
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Craig Bartlett and Co. and anything else belongs to fucking Dickelodeon, the bastards.
The Search: chapter 1
The last day of high school. For four long years, they had put up with so much. Helga was on the edge of her seat as the teacher handed out the last of the graded papers. Only two more minutes, she told herself.
"Well, this is it," the teacher said. "I hope all of you have a wonderful summer before college starts. Each of you will go your own separate ways, but always remember that you will bring your memories and experiences with you through life. Whether it was your first love, your first taste of the real world, or even-" he was cut off by the bell.
"Thank god..." Helga sighed and eagerly gathered her things. "It's over..."
"What? high school... or his speech?" Gerald asked from behind her.
"Both," she smiled as she made her way to the door. Out in the halls, there was a mad rush of lockers slamming, kids celebrating, and a lot of running. Mainly towards the exit...
"Helga," she heard Phoebe say from behind her. "Where are you going?"
"Home," Helga replied flatly. "I'm going home."
"Why? The gang is going to go out tonight, you're not coming?"
"I don't know..."
"But Helga!"
"I know I know, last night to be together, yada yada yada..." she said and turned around. And bumped straight into Arnold. "Jeez, Arnoldo, you think after all these years of walking you'd get it right. I guess you find something new to screw up everyday," Helga said rubbing her head.
"That's great Helga," he sighed, "are you coming with us tonight or what."
"I think I'm going to be busy-"
"Please Helga. It would mean a lot to me if you came."
"Really?"
"Well sure, everybody's going to be there and you need to be too. So, meet you at the movie theater at 8:00? And then to the party at my place?" he said hopefully.
Helga hesitated for a moment but then said, "Yeah yeah, whatever football head. I'll be there but not because you want me to, but because... Olga's in town and I don't want to be around her for the rest of the night. Got it?"
"Great. Thanks Helga," he said and walked away towards Gerald.
"What a schmuck... Arnold, the pathetic dreamer. Wanting to have a cliche 'one last night of best buddies' crap," smirked Helga as she opened her locker. She began gently tearing down the pictures lining the metal walls and putting them in a little pink notebook. "What a complete idiot..."
"So... Phoebe is going to be there?" Gerald asked.
"Yeah, and I just talked to Rhonda and Eugene, they're coming too."
"But Phoebe is going, right??" he asked Arnold again.
"Yeah... is there a problem?"
"Of course there's a problem! Hello, can't stand her, remember?!"
"Gerald," Arnold said sincerely, "can't you just let it go? Just because you two had a falling out three years ago doesn't mean you can't get along for one last night. I know you can handle that, right?"
"Yeah... I guess so..."
"Hey Arnold!" Harold shouted from down the hall. "Party at 10 o'clock, right!? At the Sunset Arms boarding house on-"
"Yes... Harold!" Arnold sighed as everyone around them stopped and looked at him.
"Party? I'm there," everyone in the halls were mumbling. "Yeah, I'm there."
"Anyway," Arnold continued, "see you at eight."
Helga paced around in her bedroom and looked at the clothes thrown all over the bed. "Criminy, why do I care what I'm wearing to the party anyway." She picked up a pink spaghetti strap dress and held it up next to her. "Why is everything I own pink!?" she shouted angrily and threw it back on her bed. "And this dumb hair..." Helga sighed as she ran her fingers through her straight hair. For a second, she almost pulled it up into a pigtail, but she stopped herself. She decided that she would wear that old dress anyway. And she left her hair alone. "Why would I care what anybody thinks of me."
Helga stepped into the dress and pulled it up around her, but was having some trouble. "When's the last time I wore this, fourth grade??" she said sarcastically. Helga gritted her teeth and pulled, only to hear a loud rip. With age comes the body, the fuller hips, the bigger bust, and everything else. She was still tall and skinny, but now all the boys had caught up to her and she usually found herself looking up at some of the gang... except for Arnold. He was still about three inches shorter than she was.
The door to Olga's room opened slowly and Helga stuck her head in. Of course Olga wasn't really in town like Helga had told Arnold. She just needed an excuse to be around him. Because, yes, she was still in love with him. Maybe not as bad when she was younger, but that same feeling still welled up inside of her whenever she could catch a glimpse of that oddly shaped head. He was still her idol. Her safety net when life got too hard. Etcetera. After middle school, the obsession had calmed. She rarely visited the shrine that was still in the depths of her closet, but the poems and the love letters were piled in boxes and notebooks that almost touched the ceiling. And they kept coming.
Helga opened her absent sister's wardrobe and looked around nervously to make sure that no one was watching. "Too ugly... too old... too frilly," she said as she picked through the hanging clothes. "Too girly... too flashy... too short." Then she came upon a black cotton dress that tied around the neck and didn't show too much skin like the other dresses. "Too perfect." she smiled as she admired herself in the mirror after she had slipped it on. She checked the length of the bottom and was satisfied to see that it was right above the knee. Any further and the dress would have been torn off and plunged back with the rest. Helga picked up a pair of black strapped shoes with a wide heel and shrugged. "As long as they're not pumps..."
And with that, she was done. No makeup, no special hair, just Helga in a simple black dress. That's how she liked it. Unibrow still intact.
"I thought you said that you were leaving..." Eric said as he leaned closer to Nancy.
"I... changed my mind. I love you Eric!" she said and began sobbing unrealistically.
"What a load of-" Helga said angrily, but was shushed mid-sentenced by Rhonda.
"This is the good part!" she whispered and then fixed herself back on the movie screen.
Helga sighed and slouched in her seat. She boredly watched as the two main characters shared a long, romantic, passionate kiss. And then they were both killed by a robot/alien/evil twin with a laser gun. This sucks, she said to herself. Helga's eyes wandered around the dark movie theater. Beside her was Phoebe and next to Phoebe was Rhonda and Lila. On Helga's other side was Sid and Stinky. In front of her was Harold, Curly, Eugene, Gerald, and most importantly, Arnold right in front of her. She smiled and kicked his seat as hard as she could.
"Hey!" Arnold said as he dropped the bucket of popcorn that he was holding in his lap. He looked over his shoulder only to see Helga staring at the screen.
"Down in front, football head, I can't see over your hair," she whispered bitterly.
Arnold sighed heavily and turn back around. "And I invited her..."
After the movie let out, they all started the walk to the boarding house. "Well that was two hours of my life I'll never get back," Gerald said.
"Don't forget the four dollars and fifty cents too," Helga added.
"Oh come on guys, that wasn't so bad," Eugene said cheerfully. "Personally, I thought it was great. And the special effects were spectacular."
"Well I liked the relationship between Eric and Nancy," Lila said.
"Oh my god..." Arnold said slowly and stopped in his tracks.
"Wow, looks like somebody is having a big party tonight," Harold said as he looked up on top of a building and saw lots of people and lights. "Say... isn't that-"
"Yes Harold. That's the boarding house..." Gerald said.
Arnold burst through the front door and his jaw dropped. "Hey shortman, welcome home," his grandpa shouted over the loud music and the seemingly millions of people swarming the hallway.
"Grandpa! Who are all these people?!"
"Your little friends... I assume. They all showed up for the party and I just figured that you invited all of them."
"I don't even know them!"
"Oh... boy, isn't this embarrassing!" he cackled, but then stopped when he saw Arnold's expression.
"It's okay Arnold," Lila said putting a hand on his shoulder, "the more the merrier."
"Now this is a party!" Curly shouted and ran inside, disappearing in the crowd of people.
"This is so wrong..." Arnold sighed as everyone went inside.
"Hey Harold, thank for telling us about the party," some guy said. "This is great."
There were even more people up on the roof. Almost all of the food that his grandma had prepared had been eaten but the bright strings of lights and most of the decorations were still there. Though the afternoon skies had been clear, dark clouds were beginning to cloud over the neighborhood, blocking out the moon. There was a light sound of thunder in the distance.
"Come on Sid, hurry up!" Stinky said.
"Okay, just hold on a minute."
"Shouldn't we ask Arnold first you guys-"
"No Curly, are you crazy?!" Harold said.
"Well yeah, usually..." he replied.
"If we tell Arnold about this, he'll get really mad," Sid said as he poured a bottle of Vodka into the big bowl of punch. "There we go..."
"Okay everybody, who wants to play pin the tail on the monkey!" Grandma called.
"I think we're a little too old and sophisticated for those types of games, Grandma," Arnold smiled.
"OOO! Me! I do!" Harold yelled eagerly and left the punch bowl.
"Nice party ya got going on here, football head," Helga grinned. "I especially love that couple making out in your room."
"You gotta be kidding me," he sighed.
"Nope. It's getting pretty hot and heavy down there too. Hey, maybe you could watch and learn a thing or two," she said, heading towards the direction of the punch bowl that suprisingly had a large group of people around it. Arnold sighed again and watched her walk away.
"You okay Arnold?" Gerald asked from behind him.
"Yeah, just peachy. Where have you been?"
"Avoiding Phoebe."
"Oh Gerald, come on! I thought we agreed that you would let this thing go."
"I know man, but everytime I see her... I just get nervous and I can't take it. And she tried talking to me, but I couldn't find anything to say..."
"Arnold, I don't mean to interrupt but this punch tastes very parculiar..." Lila said.
"Hey, are you Arnold?" somebody asked. "Well, someone broke your stereo and someone else broke your bed, but I don't know who so I'm gonna leave now."
"Arnold, come play a game with us!" he heard his grandma say.
He walked away from all of them, trying to let go of his frustration. "Poor me a cup, would ya Helga."
"Sure thing," she grinned. "Rough time?"
"Yeah, I got problems out the ass. Lila was right, this does taste a little weird."
"Well, if your grandma made it..."
"I guess you're right," he said. Thunder rumbled in the sky again.
Later that night or early the next morning, after a couple cups of punch, the gang finally managed to find each other and sit in one big group in a corner of the roof. Some others had joined, such as Iggy, Brainy, Sheena, and Big Patty that hadn't been able to go to the movie.
"Yeah, I remember that," Helga laughed loudly after hearing another story told by Gerald. They all started laughing too.
"What time is it?"
"Dang, it must be two o'clock in the mornin'," Stinky answered. "Almost everybody else has done left."
"Maybe we should be going," Lila suggested. "I'm ever so sleepy."
"Are you kiddin', I could do this all night!" Helga said.
"Yeah I'm having a great time. And I think it's time that I gave a little speech," Arnold said, stumbling a little as he stood up.
"Oh yes, it's definitely time to leave," Rhonda said.
"What has it been now, fourteen years? Fifteen? And now everything's all over between us. Well I don't think it is. Phoebe, you're going off to some big college. Gerald, I know you've got that sports scholarship and Helga, you've got so many colleges after you. Well, I'm not sure what I'm doing. I haven't made up my mind yet. But I know that we'll meet up somewhere along the way. When we're all rich adults in a business meeting. Or maybe even as old people in a retirement home. But you guys, we have something here. And I don't think that we'll ever lose it. We haven't lost it yet and we're not gonna."
"You're right Arnold," Helga said standing up too. "I can't make much sense of what you're saying because I think somebody put a little something in the punch, but yeah I'm with ya pal."
After everybody had left and said their good-byes, Helga stayed behind with Arnold on the roof talking for another hour.
"You.. you are such a liar!" Helga laughed. "I never did that."
"Oh yes you did," Arnold said, draining the last of the punch from his cup. "You beat the crap out of him that one time."
"Well, he was always around me breathing in that... annoying way. I couldn't stand it," she sighed. "And he was in love with me for the longest time, but I was in love with someone else." There was a flash of lightening and another crack of thunder, but this time it brought rain. Laughing, they ran to Arnold's window that led to his room.
Arnold climbed down the ladder built into the wall and collapsed on the bed. Helga was next, but when she hit, the bed made a loud cracking sound. "Somebody broke your bed," she snickered. "Anyway, what was I saying?"
"Something about liking someone else?"
"Oh yeah. Well, not so much liking, but obsession comes to mind."
"Well, who was it?"
Helga squeezed the water out of her hair and snickered again. "Well, Arnold, I've been meaning to tell you something for... about fifteen years. And whenever I tried to, I kept seeing everyone making fun of me. 'They're all going to laugh at you!' you know, that sort of thing. But all these years of me tormenting you... me calling you names and bossing you around, well in reality you were the one who I loved."
"You're kidding," he said, starting to chuckle. "No way, it can't be."
"It's pretty damn funny, ain't it," she asked. "But yes, it's the sad truth."
"You know, we need to go on a road trip," he said randomly. "I've always... wanted to go travel around the world. Search for my parents."
"That... is a great idea," she said. "You know, we're probably not going to remember any of this in the morning."
"We should really write some of this stuff down," Arnold said, getting off the bed to get a pencil and paper. He stumbled back onto the bed and started to write.
Things to remember:
-Go on road trip to search for parents with Helga and friends
"Okay, what else?" he asked. "Oh yeah."
-Helga loves you
-a whole lot
"You promise you'll go with me?" Arnold asked.
"For you Arnold? Anything. I give you my word."
"Good," he said and added 'Helga promises'.
Helga's eyes twitched open as she felt the sun's bright rays streak across her face. Her eyes adjusted to the light and she looked at her surroundings to figure out where she was. She didn't recognize anything and the blinding headache didn't help. At all. But she did recognize the person under her. That distinctly shaped head...
"Oh.. please no..."she whispered. What the hell happened, she asked herself, very afraid of the answer. "Come on Helga... remember... remember..."
Arnold moved under her and wrapped his arms around her. Something dropped on the floor. Helga, trying to gain control of herself, peeked over the edge of the bed. She realized it was the pencil and the paper from last night, but it was face down so she couldn't read what it said. Gently and slowly, she reached down and picked it up, gritting her teeth as she did so. Please don't let him wake up...
He moved again, but this time he sighed happily. "Lila..."
Lila!?!? her mind screamed. Not now, Helga, she told herself. There are more important things to deal with right now... like why you are in Arnold's bed. She read the scribbled writing and almost screamed. I.. TOLD HIM!?!? Helga almost died. She needed so badly to get away from him. Maybe he won't remember, she pleaded. Just as slowly as she had picked up the paper, she slid out of his arms and onto the floor. Thank you, thank you, free at last. She madly erased the part about loving him and made sure that there was not a trace of the writing. She then left everything like it had been and opened the door to his room quietly.
"Oskar, did you eat my sandwich? Again?!" she heard somebody shout angrily. "Answer me! Okay fine, I'm just not gonna leave your door until you come out and face me like a man!"
"That could take forever," she heard Grandpa say.
"So be it!"
"Great," Helga sighed, "I can't let them see me." The only other way was through the skylight. She stepped on the bed again and cringed when she heard a loud crack. Oh yeah, forgot about that. Wait, did we break the bed? Oh god, what have I done...
She climbed out of the window and breathed the morning air happily. She gently closed the window and sighed with relief. Helga hesitated in leaving though. She couldn't help but stare at the sleeping figure down below, wishing silently that she could have stayed in his arms. "Oh Arnold," she whispered. "If only I could tell you the truth and not run away from you. I'm nineteen, I'm too old to be acting like this."
After Helga returned to her own room, she immediately phoned Phoebe. "Phebes, I left at the party with you last night, got it?"
"But Helga, didn't you stay with Arnold after I left?"
"No. I left... with YOU. Understand?"
"Ooh, I see. So... what happened?" she asked smiling.
"I'm not really sure... but I told him about my obsession... with icecream."
Helga heard Phoebe gasp and then ask, "What did he say??"
"Well, I think he laughed."
"Laughed?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure Harold or one of our boys put something in the punch last night. Probably Vodka. I don't remember much of anything and I all know is that I woke up in ... a big bowl of icecream. So I got the hell outta there as quickly as possible. But if anybody asks... especially that icecream... I left with you and I stayed at your house last night."
"Sure Helga. But... are you going to tell him the truth next time you see him?"
"Are you INSANE?? Of course not Phoebe, so just drop it. I'll call you later, okay? Bye." She slammed the phone down and relaxed on her bed. "What have I gotten myself into," Helga asked as she rubbed her aching head.
Arnold sat up in his bed and looked around. He was confused for a second, not remembering where he was or who he was with. But nobody was in his room, except for Abner sleeping on the floor by his bed. Arnold smiled and tried to pick him up, but Abner had gained too much weight and he couldn't. Something else caught his eye. "Things to remember?"
The phone rang at Helga's house. Figuring it was Phoebe, she picked it up and answered, "Any other questions we need to go over Phoebe?"
"Helga, it's Arnold."
"ARNOLD? I ... uh yeah, how ya doin' hair boy?"
"Not so good, I have the worst headache and I feel kinda sick. But I called to ask you something..."
"Yeah?" she gulped. "Well, hurry it up, I don't got all day!"
"I found a piece of paper on the floor... and I don't remember writing it. And you must have helped write it, because you name's on here."
"My... name??" she asked, her voice wavering. I know I erased everything! she told herself. What if I didn't... what if he can still read it??
"Yeah... it says 'Things to do' and then it says 'Go on road trip to search for parents with Helga and friends'."
"Oh pssh, THAT. I remember that... " she laughed nervously.
"You do??"
"Sure! We wrote that... right before I LEFT. WITH PHEOBE. But we weren't thinking straight, Arnoldo, it's no big deal. It's just a stupid list."
"I know... but there's something else here."
"T-there is?" she stammered.
"Yeah, it also says that you promise. You promised that you'd go with me."
"Oh... that," she said slowly. I knew I left something, she sighed to herself.
"And... I was just calling to ask you that... if there was someway I could get Gerald and maybe even Phoebe or some others to go with me... would you go?"
"To search for your parents??"
"Yeah, it sounds like a really good idea, although I don't remember writing it down. But it's in my handwriting."
"It's a good idea sure, but we don't have a lot of money to fund this little field trip, understand?"
"But... if I could get the money... would you go?"
"Why would I wanna go ANYWHERE with you football head?!"
"Because apparently, you promised. And I know that when Helga G. Pataki gives her word, she means it."
"Arnold..."
"Yeah?"
"It's not going to work. You couldn't possibly raise enough money to travel around the world. And we don't even know where your parents are! They could be dea-... they could be lost in the jungles of god knows where and we would never be able to find them! It would be a waste of good money for college and I know we're gonna need it." After Arnold's end was silent for a moment, Helga added, "I'm sorry Arnold, it just couldn't possibly work."
"Oh... okay Helga..." he said softly, she could hear the hurt in his voice.
"But," she sighed, "If you could, and I mean IF you could get enough money AND a good start AND some good information about your parents... then I..."
"What?"
"Then I promiseIwillgo,"she said quickly.
"You really mean it Helga??"
"Yeah whatever, now leave me alone and don't call me again unless you have a really good reason to, GOT IT?!"
"Thanks Helga," he said, but she had already hung up.
Arnold stood outside the bathroom door, waiting for his turn for the shower. Ernie stepped out, wrapped in a towel, and said, "It's all yours kid."
He wiped the mirror off with a towel and looked closely at his reflection. He felt like he had been hit with a ton of bricks. Arnold took off his clothes that he had been wearing since last night and stepped into the shower. There was a cold blast of water and he welcomed the feeling. As he relaxed in the shower, he tried desperately to remember what had happened. He could have sworn that someone had been with him. Immediately, he hoped that it had been Lila, but he knew that she would never be caught dead in a boy's room at night without a chaperone. And after all, she still didn't have any feelings for him.
He stepped out of the shower and pulled a towel around his waist. Maybe Rhonda? No, she was too preoccupied with Harold. Only Arnold knew about their secret relationship. If word got out, then Rhonda's life would be over, as she so delicately stated. Sheena? No. Phoebe? No, she had left with Helga. Arnold stepped up to the mirror again and combed his hair down so that it laid back on the left side and bangs hung above his eyes on the right side. "Well, I know one thing," he said as he wrung his little blue hat out and placed it on his head backwards. "It sure wasn't Helga."
Questions? Comments? Email me at retardofdoom@yahoo.com. I hope you like the story so far... it's gonna get better.