Hey there! This is my first shot at a Hey Arnold fanfic, so I apologize if it doesn't come out well. Haha. But being a big fan and reading all your guys' great fics, I decided to try actually writing my own. So here it goes!
(A/N: this story is based off my own experiences during my science camp in 5th grade. Minus the Arnold and Helga thing. Haha. And sorry if it sounds a little bland, I'm trying to make this an episode-like style. )
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"I can't believe I actually agreed to go on this stupid science camp trip," Helga groaned as she softly banged her forehead on to the side window of the bus, arms folded and cranky expression on her face, "And to think that I could have just stayed home and watched some wrestling instead of running around in the stinking wilderness for five days."
It was one early Monday and the 5th grade students of P.S. 118 were on a school bus on their way to Walden West for the 5th grader's Science Camp trip. It was set for five days and four nights and it was not something Helga G. Pataki eagerly looked forward to. She'd actually rather stay home and put up with Bob's and Miriam's nonsense at home than participate in this.
"Oh Helga," Phoebe chimed with a smile from beside her, "I really think that this trip would be fun and very beneficial! The fresh air, the night hikes, and not to mention learning about the fascinating features of the forest and the organisms that inhabit it." Helga merely scoffed.
"Oh brother," she muttered under her breath.
"Yeah Helga," Arnold butted in from his seat next to Gerald across from the girls, "Phoebe's right. This does seem like it's going to be a lot of fun. It's nice once in a while to get out of the city. And come to think of it, other kids from other schools are gonna be there; aren't you excited to make new friends?"
"Yeah! And aren't you excited about seeing and studying all about the classifications of bugs that are out there?" Nadine popped up from the seat in front of Helga and Phoebe, "I mean, there should be thousands of them just waiting to be discovered!"
"And I hear them things called poison ivy be thriving out there, too," Stinky said from behind them, leaning up from his own seat, "I reckon someone's bound to get in a bad wrap with that." He and Sid, who was sitting beside him laughed.
"Yeah, that oughta be a show," Sid said, holding his stomach, "We should totally pull a prank with that!"
"I, for one, actually agree with Helga this time," Rhonda peered over from her seat beside Nadine to the aisle to face her peers behind her, "I mean, the WILDERNESS? For five days and four nights? I'm surprisingly shocked that my parents actually made me go on this trip to heck and back!"
"Can it, Rhonda," Harold piped up from behind Gerald and Arnold, "We all know that you're just scared of being away from muuuuummy and daaaaaaaddy AH HA HA HA." Harold taunted as cackled.
"But she, of course, has me!" Curly yelled 'heroically' as he pounced onto Rhonda's lap. Rhonda shrieked in disgust and pushed him off her and into the isle.
Helga banged her head on the window again, sighed and muttered, "Great. I'm surrounded by idiots for five days and four nights. Things couldn't get any worse."
"Alright class," Mr. Simmons announced as loud as he could from the front of the still moving bus, "Hey! Settle down, please! CURLY! Please go back to your seat and Eugene; keep that window closed, please. Harold, keep your hands to yourself!" After the rowdy crowd of 5th graders settled down and with at least one ear each listening, Mr. Simmons's clapped his hands together.
"Okay, class," he began, while taking out a clipboard from his bag, "we're almost to our destination which is, as you all know, Walden West: an educational science camp. Now, I will give you your assigned cabins. Which, by the way, will be located on the far left side of the camp. Listen up! Okay Sheena, Nadine, Rhonda, Helga, Phoebe and Lila in Cabin 1…"
Helga zoned herself out after hearing her cabin assignment, not caring for the others. The only real reason she agreed to go was because back before they had gotten on the bus, Mr. Simmons had assigned them their eight-man group teams. And she, surprisingly, luckily and fatefully had ended up in a group with Arnold.
Ever since the FTi incident, Helga had been somewhat distant from him, although continuing the name calling, constant bullying and the teasing. But she was more distant none the less. She yearned for more contact with him, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity; she could use the fact that she was in the same group as him as an excuse to be near him.
The bus finally rolled into a stop a few moments later after what seemed like hours. Helga peered through the glass window and met the view of the front of the Walden West camp along with the sight of a few hundred other 5th grade students filing out of the buses with their things and crowding around the front.
"Yay! We're finally here! I'm ever so excited," Lila clasped her hands together happily from the seat in front of Arnold and Gerald.
"Man, look at all those other kids," Gerald said, standing with one knee on his seat, peering over Arnold's head so he could see through Helga's window, "Mm mm mm, this is gonna be one fun trip, I'll tell you that."
"Okay class, gather your things and file out of the bus in an orderly fashion," Mr. Simmons said as he threw his own bag over his shoulder and gestured to the exit, "And just follow me and don't get lost in the crowd of other schools' students, understood?"
"Yes, Mr. Simmons," the class droned as they gathered their things, Rhonda struggling to carry her three fairly large carry on bags. The yuppie would not leave without her precious rich-girl things (all crammed into her three bags) that she thought would keep her sane on the trip.
"Rhonda, do you need any help?" Arnold asked kindly as he tried to keep Rhonda balanced while she tried to carry her bags in her arms.
"Oh yes please, Arnold," she said sighing in relief when Arnold slung one of her parcels on his other shoulder. "Thank so much. I might give you a little something later as a token of my gratitude," she Rhonda said haughtily.
"Sure," Arnold smiled.
Helga watched them as they walked to the front of the bus with Gerald right behind them, everyone else piling out in a line.
'Oh Arnold, your undying spirit always looking out for a sorry soul crying out for help is enough to make me melt into a serene pool of love that exists only for you,' she thought dreamily as she sighed, leaning onto the seat in front of her.
"Helga. Helga? Helga!" Phoebe said as she lightly shook Helga's shoulder.
"Wha- What?" Helga shook her head vigorously as she snapped out of her thoughts. She then scowled at her friend, "WHAT, Pheebs?"
"We need to get off the bus now, Helga," Phoebe said calmly as she was patiently making her way to the front. The two were last still on board, Helga zoning out and with Phoebe loyally waiting for her.
"Yeah, yeah," Helga said, annoyed while throwing her pink duffel bag over her shoulder, "Don't get your knickers in a twist, Pheebs. Let's get this freak show over with."
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It was fairly loud in the amphitheatre where the students of PS 118, along with other schools', were being gathered together. Most were chattering away was they took their seats on the wooden rows placed into the earth. At the base of the amphitheatre stood a makeshift stage that had speakers and a microphone stand sitting atop of it. The amphitheatre was also surrounded by tiki-like torches that were lit up to provide some light in the dimness of the day.
"Hello there kids!" a cheerful young man in his late teens walked up the stairs to the stage while talking into his microphone, "Welcome to Walden West, the most fun and educational science camp around! My name is Brian but you can call me Rabbit because here at Walden West, we all have our own special nature names! So the first thing on our agenda today is to come up with your own personal nature name which could be like Robin, or Wolf, or anything! Just as long as it is relevant to nature."
"Blue jay sounds perfect for me!" Phoebe exclaimed excitedly as she turned to her friend sitting beside her, "Helga, what's yours going to be?"
"Honestly, Phoebe, I couldn't care less about what my stupid nature name's going to be," Helga said crossing her legs and arms while the other children excitedly discussed on their own nature names.
"I'd like to be… Red Northern Cardinal," Rhonda said confidently from behind the girls, "Since my favorite color happens to be red and the cardinal's graceful and gentle manner perfectly matches my own physique." Helga rolled her eyes.
'Graceful and gentle manner,' she thought bitterly, 'Yeah that's a laugh.'
"I'd want my nature name to be Cadelle, for the cadelle beetle," Nadine pitched in, "Even though it's a common pest in our society, it's one of the longest living-"
"Yeah, whatever Nadine," Sid cut in, "Mine's gonna be Great White cause those are the baddest sharks out there, ripping other of those wimpy sea creatures to shreds and-"
"Shut up, Sid!" Harold said, "There's no way your shark is badder than my T-rex!"
"That's a dinosaur you frickin' idiot," Helga yelled, even more irritated hearing Harold's annoying voice ringing in her ears.
"Oh Arnold," Lila said as she pondered on her own name, "I really don't know what my name should be. Do you have any ideas for me?" Arnold slightly blushed as Lila asked him her question. Lila Sawyer actually asking him for his idea?
"Well Lila," Arnold began, "I don't know but a swan would probably suit you; beautiful and graceful. Even though swans aren't really known for their good attitude, but besides that I think it'd be great for you!"
"Oh, thanks ever so much Arnold!" Lila smiled joyfully, "Swan is perfect!"
"You're welcome Lila," Arnold smiled back and then turned to his other side where Gerald was sitting, "What's yours gonna be, Gerald?"
"Huh? Oh, I don't know man," Gerald shrugged, "I guess I'll go with Jaguar or Puma or somethin'. You know, one of those prowlin' cool cats."
"Alright kiddies! Have you all gotten your own nature names?" Rabbit said over the chattering 5th graders, "Okay? Good! Now, onto our 2nd item on our agenda." He took out a piece of paper from his back pocket, "Okay, so I understand that your teachers have already given you your groups teams and cabin assignments… now, I'm just going to tell you what Walden West is all about! Everyday for the next five days, all of you will be exploring these woods and studying more about the life and biology of this place. Doesn't that sound like fun? Showers will always be held at 6 pm and each of you will be limited to two minutes each to conserve water."
"WHAT? Two minute showers? No, you canNOT be seirous!" Rhonda shrieked.
"Breakfast will be served promptly at 7:30 am, lunch will be at noon and dinner will be at 7 pm. And after dinner, we will always have some form of night entertainment for you kids until bed time at 9. Any questions? No? Allllright! Now get your things and head off into your respective cabins to get settled in. Dinner will be in half and hour so meet up in the cafeteria, which is to the left of the amphitheatre. Now of you go!"
Helga grunted as she hauled her duffel bag onto her shoulder again and followed the girls to the cabin Mr. Simmons assigned them to. Sheena and Nadine excitedly reached it first, skipping and twisting around through the crowd of 5th graders also trying to find their own respective cabins.
When they all reached the front door, Phoebe voluntarily opened the door and they all peered in to see a neatly organized bedroom with another door at the end. Six beds were set a few feet apart and in between them were bedside tables with individual, cheap looking lamps.
When each girl decided which bed was theirs and while they settled in their things, the door suddenly flew open to reveal a blonde, beautiful young woman around Rabbit's age. She was clad in khaki shorts (that seemed too short for any modest girl to wear) and a t-shirt that said 'Walden West' in yellow letters with a cartoon banana slug below it.
"Good evening my fellow new campers!" her overly sweet voice chimed. Helga raised one side of her eye brow while she leaned on the wooden post of her bed. The young woman reminded Helga too much of Olga; she sounded and even looked like her too, despite the fact that this girl's shiny, blonde hair went down to her waist.
"My name is Hilga, but you can call me by my nature name: Blossom! I'm excited to meet and get to know each and everyone of you!" Hilga said enthusiastically, "For your whole time here spent at Walden West, I, Blossom, will be your cabin leader. So if you need anything, just come to me for help. My sleeping quarter is just through that door there. Now, I've introduced myself. So how about you guys? What are your girls' names and nature names?" Hilga first turned to Phoebe, whose bed was right where the door was.
"Hello, I'm Phoebe Heyerdahl but my nature name is Blue Jay," she smiled at her.
"I'm Miss Rhonda Wellington Lloyd. Red Cardinal."
"Sheena the Cheetah!"
"I'm Nadine, but please call me Cadelle."
"My name is Lila Sawyer, call me Swan."
"Helga."
All heads turned to Helga's direction. "You haven't thought of a nature name yet, Helga?" Phoebe inquired. Hilga approached Helga's bed where Helga was still standing and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Oh surely you have at least one nature name you'd like to have, Helga," Hilga said optimistically, "There are so many wondrous animals out there! Now, let's just start off with something simple. Maybe something that starts of with an 'H' like your name, maybe?"
Helga crossed her arms after she wretched her shoulder out from under Hilga's touch and scowled at her, "Look, Blossom or Hilga or whatever the heck your name is, I don't really care about this stupid nature name thing. It's stupid and not to mention NOT cute." Meanwhile Hilga went on as if she didn't her Helga's last comment.
"If you can't come up with something, then maybe I'll just choose for you! How about Heron? Hamster? Hen? Hornet? Hummingbird? Hippo?" she continued to ponder, tapping her chin.
"Hippo? Are you actually serious? Who would want that to be-' Helga protested, balling up her hands into fists at her sides.
"Hippo? Alrighty! Hippo it is!" Hilga clapped her hands together and ignored Helga's other protests. Hilga then glanced at her watch on her wrist, "Alright girls, its dinner time! Cabin groups sit together with other cabin groups so you guys can meet some new friends. So just follow me and I'll tell you where your table is. Let's go!"
As the girls all followed Hilga out of the cabin, Helga fumed about not only her new, ridiculous nature name but Hilga as well.
"Who does she think she is? Helga is my only name and not some stupid, idiotic nature name like Hippo. Ugh, and I thought I couldn't hate this place any more than I already do," she muttered angrily. Realizing she was still inside the cabin and alone, Helga glanced outside to see her group walking towards the cafeteria along with other cabin groups a few feet away. She quickly grabbed her locket from inside her shirt and spun around in a circle, holding the locket outstretched in her hands.
"Oh Arnold! The only reason why I came to this lame excuse for a camp is for you, you my love! May this trip be blessed with fateful events that will fortunately alter our paths and intertwine them into an eternal one, one that will be filled with love and-"
"Hey Hippo!" she heard Rhonda's voice call to her from outside, "Get out of there and let's go! We're waiting on you!"
"Oh alright just can it Princess! I'm coming!" Helga yelled back as she put her locket into a pocket of her duffel bag.
"Yeesh," she muttered. She made her way out of the cabin and roughly closed the door behind her. She stomped her way towards her waiting cabin group and growled.
"This place better have some good food."
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Sorry if this first chapter didn't really come out well, I'm just trying things out. But in the next chapter there will be some Arnold and Helga, I promise! Review? Comments, suggestions and concerns are welcome!