Hillwood High
Chapter 1
"The Return"
It was a normal morning in Hillwood. The little town was waking up as its citizens headed off to their jobs, or in the case of Gerald Johanssen, to see his girlfriend.
Gerald was a tall, African-American teenager, with a flat-top hair style that made him look even taller. He wore a middle school letterman's jacket with the number thirty three on the back, black jeans, and basketball shoes. As always he had his headphones in his ears as he was walking, listening to a groovy James Brown CD he had been given for his birthday.
He was on his way to visit his girlfriend of three years, Phoebe Heyerdahl. They had a romantic day planned before their first day of high school and Gerald was ready to go.
About a block from Phoebe's house, Gerald felt his cell phone ringing and pulled out his headphones. He looked at the front of the phone and saw that it was the boarding house calling him.
"I wonder what Grandpa Phil needs now, hope he's not stuck on the toilet again," Gerald chuckled.
He flipped the phone open and said, "Hey Grandpa Phil, what's shakin'?"
The voice that Gerald heard on the other end however, did not belong to Phil Shortman.
"Gerald? Boy is it great to hear your voice again."
Gerald stopped dead in his tracks at the bottom of Phoebe's stoop.
"My God… Arnold? Is it really you?"
"Hi Gerald how've you been?"
Gerald dropped his phone without answering and ran off in the other direction, he could apologize to Phoebe later; there was something much more important he had to do.
"Gerald? Hey Gerald, you still there? Hello?"
In another part of the neighborhood, a girl was standing under a tree. She was tall and skinny with a grey stocking cap on her head and a pink hooded sweatshirt. She had two large pigtails jutting out on either side of her head and one very prominent eyebrow.
Helga G. Pataki stood slumped against the tree, close to tears. She was usually the toughest girl in school but whenever she was alone her true colors came out, and she was a very sensitive girl, but even more so since the love of her life had left almost four years ago.
In her hands she held a small locket; the inscription on the outside read My Love. Helga opened the locket and stared longingly at the picture.
"Arnold, my love."
Had she still been an elementary school student she would have burst into a heartfelt soliloquy about how much she yearned for Arnold to come back to her, but no more. She contented herself to just sighing and sitting down, the locket clutched tightly to her chest. She watched as Gerald went running by.
"I miss you…"
Gerald ran up the street, he could see the red brick building coming up fast. He skidded to a halt and ran up the stoop, and then right as he was about to knock on the door, it opened revealing, to Gerald's delight, his best friend in the whole world, Arnold Shortman.
Arnold was about a foot shorter than Gerald, his football shaped head still very prominent. He had his blue baseball cap turned sideways on his head and his hair fell down behind him. He wore a short sleeved, plaid over shirt and a sea green undershirt.
Arnold's smile was as wide as ever as he opened his arms and hugged his best friend. Gerald hugged him right back, even picking him up off the ground.
"Arnold, man what are you doing here? I thought you were with your parents on some kind of freaky around the world thing?"
"I was Gerald but, I decided that I needed to come home, they understand. I realized that this is where I belong."
Gerald smiled and held out his hand, one thumb sticking up.
"We still best friends?"
Arnold performed the same gesture, and they wiggled their thumbs together.
"Always."
Phoebe walked outside onto her stoop. A short half Japanese girl, she had raven black hair pulled up on her head. She had a pair of green rimmed glasses that made her eyes seem much bigger than they actually were. She was wearing a white t-shirt and a white and blue plaid skirt. Her little black shoed feet were tapping frantically away on the cement.
She was growing impatient waiting for Gerald in her room so she had come out to look for him. At the bottom of the stairs she saw a cell phone.
"Oh my, that appears to be Gerald's cellular device."
She walked down and picked it up, looking at the screen, she saw that the last call had been from the Sunset Arms Boarding House.
"I wonder what called him away. I suppose I'll have to go and see."
She pocketed the phone and began walking to the boarding house. As she was walking past the community lot, she saw Helga sitting underneath a tree and walked over to her.
"Helga are you feeling okay?"
Helga looked up at her best friend.
"Oh, hey Pheebs. Yeah I guess I'm okay, I've just been... ya know thinking about stuff"
"Like Arnold?"
Helga stood up quickly.
"Criminy! Can't a girl be sad once in her life! Sheesh Phoebe, give me a break!"
"Giving! But Helga really, if you need to talk to someone, I'm always here for you, and so is Gerald."
Helga settled down and sighed.
"I know Phoebe; it just gets hard sometimes to know that I'll probably never see him again. Oh and if you're looking for tall-hair-boy, he ran past about a half hour ago.
Phoebe watched her friend walk toward her house, head hung low and shoulders sagging.
"I must find a way to help her out of this slump." Phoebe said to herself as she walked down the street towards the boarding house.
When she got to Sunset Arms she walked up the steps and rang the doorbell.
She heard muffled steps and the door was opened by Ernie Potts, a long time boarder and also a friend of Phoebe's.
"Hello Mr. Potts, is Gerald here?"
"Hey Phoebe, oh yeah sure he's here, up in the attic." Ernie grinned and gave Phoebe a wink.
"I think you should go up and see him"
Phoebe walked up the stairs into the second floor hallway and saw the staircase coming out of the ceiling that led to the attic room where Arnold had slept. She knew Gerald often went there to reminisce about his and Arnold's childhood adventures but she didn't know why he would be there now.
Phoebe walked up the steps of the staircase and when she got to the door at the top, she could hear jazz music coming from inside. Thinking that only Gerald would be inside she opened the door and walked right in.
"Phoebe! What are you doing here?" Gerald asked when he saw her standing in the doorway.
"I've been waiting for you for eons Gerald. We had a day long date all planned out, calculated to the last millisecond and I find you here listening to Arnold's Jazz records?"
Gerald slapped his forehead, "Aww man, I forgot to tell you, sorry babe but I just got caught up."
"Caught up? Caught up with what? Did Mr. Shortman need something?" Phoebe asked.
"No but he did," Gerald said with a wink, pointing behind Phoebe and smiling.
Phoebe turned around and saw to her amazement, Arnold there in the flesh. He smiled at her and gave a wink of his own.
"Hi Phoebe, hows it been?"
Without a word Phoebe ran to Arnold and gave him a big hug. Being slightly shorter than Arnold she stood on her tip toes and gave him a small kiss on the cheek
"It is wonderful to see you Arnold!"
Arnold blushed and looked at Gerald sheepishly. Gerald attempted to act outraged that his girlfriend had kissed his best friend but the whole situation was so funny he doubled up with laughter.
"You should see your face dude, hahaha, priceless."
The three friends laughed together and all united in a big hug. After a few seconds, Phoebe pulled away and started for the stairs.
"Yo Phoebe? Where are you going girl?" Gerald asked.
"I must get Helga!" Phoebe shouted back.
"Helga?" Gerald said.
"Helga." Arnold said with a note of excitement in his voice.
Phoebe ran up the steps and burst into the Pataki house.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Pataki," she cried as she ran past the living room.
"Oh hello Penelope…" Miriam said.
"The girls name is Phoebe Miriam," said Big Bob.
"Oh right… Hello Phoebe."
When she arrived at Helga's door she burst into the room and found Helga lying in bed.
"Helga you simply must come with me! Gerald and I have something to show you!"
Helga looked up, "I appreciate your enthusiasm Pheebs but I really don't need to see a different way that Gerald can pick you up"
"No no no! It's something much better! Please Helga come with me!"
"Alright, alright, criminy," Helga said as she got out of bed and put her pants on, but this had better be good Phoebe."
Phoebe pulled Helga down the stairs, barely giving her enough time to say, "I'm going out!"
"Ok Olga, be back before dark," said Big Bob.
"That's Helga dear," said Miriam.
"Whatever…"
Phoebe ran down the street so fast that Helga could barely keep up with her.
"Sheesh Phoebe what is so important."
"You'll find out," Phoebe said as she pulled Helga into the boarding house.
"Phoebe, I don't know if you knew this, but I really don't like being around stuff that reminds me of Arnold," Helga said impatiently.
Phoebe didn't answer her and led her to the open door into the attic.
Helga looked around and saw Gerald lounging on what had been Arnold's bed.
"Alright, what's so important bucko?" she asked Gerald sharply.
Gerald just smiled and pointed to the other side of the room by the computer.
"Hi Helga," a voice said from behind her.
Helga froze, she knew that voice, it was one she had always admired, one of calm collected thought, and true emotion. She turned around slowly and saw exactly what she knew she would. Arnold smiling at her with his arms open ready for an embrace.
"Arnold…" she said quietly, and then ran into his awaiting arms. She hugged him harder than she had ever hugged someone before, and then she looked him right in the face and kissed him passionately on the lips.
"Don't you ever, ever leave again football head," she said laying her head on his shoulder.
Arnold smiled, "I don't plan to." He winked at Gerald and motioned to him and Phoebe. Both of them joined into the group hug. Arnold Phillip Shortman was home, and he was never going to leave again.