Helga moves in
Helga was in bed, still asleep, unaware that she was 15 minutes behind her normal schedule. Helga's mom opened the door to her room, just enough to peek in. She saw Helga still asleep. She poked her head into Helga's room and yelled at high volume.
"Helga deeeeaaar! Time to get up for school!"
Helga opened her eyes and glared at her irritating mother. She looked at her clock, which now proved that she was 20 minutes late behind schedule.
"Oh great Miriam! You got me up late again!"
Helga jumped out of bed, took her mom by the arm and guided her out of the room. After closing the door behind her mom, she threw her white shirt with pink dress on. Then she put her hair in her trademark pigtails with pink bow.
Helga ran down to the kitchen to get her lunch.
"Miriam! Where's my lunch?!" Helga yelled, while frantically searching for it.
"Oh, now let me see… I know I put it around here somewhere!" Miriam said, putting one hand on her cheek.
"Oh yeah, now I remember…" she said walking over to the dishwasher. She opened it and pulled out Helga's lunch box.
"Crimeny!" Helga snatched the lunch away from her mom and rolled her eyes. Within 10 seconds Miriam was out of the kitchen and into the living room, on the couch.
"I'm going to school now." Helga said, receiving no response from either parent.
With all of her frantically rushing about, she got to the bus stop right on time. She was a little out of breath, and her hair was messy. Arnold, Gerald, Phoebe, Sid and Stinky were looking at her strangely. Helga stopped breathing for a second and stood silently, glaring back at them.
"Why don't you guys take a picture! It'll last longer!" She snapped.
Meanwhile, back at the Pataki's house…
The phone rang three times and big Bob answered, because Miriam was deep asleep on the couch again.
"Yes, this is Bob Pataki, who's this?" He said in his deep, grumpy voice.
He stood silently and listened to the caller.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll pay 'em as soon as I get my money!" He stammered as he slammed the phone down. A few moments later the phone rang again. He picked it up; assuming it was another bill collector.
"I'll get you the money as soon as I can OK?!" he said before knowing who it was. It was an employee from Big Bob's Beepers.
"Bob, sir, the Beeper Empire is hitting rock bottom. We haven't sold a thing in two weeks. The other company across the street is attracting everyone. Some businessmen are coming in this afternoon to look the place over, and if they like it, they'll buy us out. We know that we're going to get shut down for sure though." They employer talked fast and shakily.
"What?! What am I gonna do?! I'm gonna be kicked out of my house if I don't pay my bills within a week!" He said, putting his hand on his head.
"I'm sorry sir, there's nothing we can do!"
"I gotta go. I have some things to think about." He hung the phone up slowly, staring straight ahead, without so much as a blink of an eye.
Back at school, Helga and Phoebe were turning a corner on their way to the bus. Arnold and Gerald were about to turn it in the opposite direction, when the four collided. They all fell to the ground.
"Excuse me Gerald, Arnold." Phoebe said.
"Well if it isn't tall hair boy and football head! Why don't you two ever watch where your going!" Helga yelled.
"Sorry Helga." Arnold said as he helped her up.
"Yeah, sorry Phoebe." Gerald said, helping her up as well.
As the four split up, Gerald and Arnold were talking about Helga.
"Man, how annoying can one girl get?" Said Gerald.
"Yeah, I know, she could at least say sorry every once in a while. I mean, it's not my fault all the time!"
"Yeah, Phoebe's such a nice, quiet girl. Sometimes I don't get how those two are compatible." Gerald said.
"I know, me neither."
When Helga got home, her parents were sitting in the living room.
"Hmm… I wonder why they look so upset? Maybe Olga can't visit for another year…" Helga thought.
"What's wrong with you two?" Helga said, though she really didn't care what their response was.
"Oh, hi Olga. I have some bad news… in two days we're moving out of the house…" Big Bob paused for a moment. "And moving into that boarding house with that old man and orphan boy." He said at almost a whisper.
"What? Why?!" Helga yelled.
"Because that's the only place that had a boarding room open in such short notice!" Bob snapped back.
"No! I mean, why do we have to move out?!" Helga shouted, flailing her arms about.
Miriam interrupted.
"Well dear, Dad's business went under, and we're already behind in our bills." Helga's mom said, not looking her in the eye.
"Ha ha ha… you guys sure know how to kid around! Helga said, play punching her dad in the shoulder, although she knew they weren't kidding at all.
"Helga, we're not kidding!" her dad said.
"Helga hung her head down and made her way up to her room.
"Come on Helga! It's not bad at all! You actually get to move into the same house as Arnold, you're beloved!" she said, looking into Arnolds' eyes in her locket.
"I wonder if he already knows?" She thought.
"Well if he does, he's probably called up Gerald to tell him how terrible its gonna be, living with me and my psychotic family." She mumbled.
Meanwhile, at the boarding house, Gerald and Arnold were in Arnolds' room, listening to a new jazz CD and reading their newest Purdy Boys mystery series, when the sound of five knocks on the door chimed into the room.
"Who is it?" Arnold called, while turning the music down.
"It's Grandpa, Shortman! Can I come in?"
"Sure."
Grandpa walked in and stood before Arnold and Gerald, who were on Arnolds bed. Arnold looked up from his book and at Grandpa.
"So what is it you want to talk to me about Grandpa?"
"Well, we'll be getting a new boarder… or, should I say three new boarders in two days."
"That's great Grandpa! Do I know any of them?"
"Great?! It's my worst nightmare Shortman! You should know 'em by now, it's that Pataki character, ya know, the one with the daughter who has one eyebrow."
"Helga?!" Gerald shouted, his eyes went from mid point to full size.
""You're kidding Grandpa, why would they move here?" Arnold said.
"Well, seems Big bob lost his company, and they were already behind in their bills."
"That's horrible!" Gerald said.
"I know, I feel bad for her."
"Who, Helga? I meant that's horrible that your gonna have to live under the same roof as the PATAKI'S man!"
"Gerald!" Arnold said, narrowing his eyes and his hands on his hips.
"You have to at least feel a little bad for her."
"Yeah, I guess I do feel a little bad, but not too bad."
The next day at school, Helga came in during lunchtime. She avoided Arnold the whole day, not calling him names, nor shooting spitballs. Arnold knew exactly why she was ignoring him. He didn't know if he should talk to her, and if he did, he didn't know what to say.
When the dismissal bell rang, all the kids had jetted out of the room, all except two. Helga was slowly on her way out, when Arnold asked her to wait up.
"What do you want football head?"
"Well, you've been avoiding me all day."
"Yeah, so what's it to you?"
"Look Helga, I know that you're going to be moving into my Grandpa's boarding house."
"Oh…" She said, fixating her eyes towards the ground.
"Yeah, it won't be that bad, Helga."
"Not that bad?" Helga's eyes shot up to Arnolds.
"It was just a normal day, I was late for school, getting ignored like always, not suspecting anything different. Big Bob tells me that we have to move out in two days! How is that 'not that bad' Arnold?"
"Well, if it makes it any better for you, you could come over and I could show you around." Arnold said, with a small smile.
" Yeah. I guess."
"Ok, so when do you want to come over? You can now if you want."
"Sure." Helga said, lowering her eyes back to the ground.
They walked out of the classroom, out the school and onto the bus.