Prologue
'It's been a long time since I've last seen this whole dump!' thought Helga as she stepped out of the yellow cab and entered the world of her youth. Yes. Helga Geraldine Pataki was back. Back to the decaying town of Hillwood where she had spent her years being the bully that she was and reminiscing the good old days when good Old Betsy was still the reason why most of the kids that resided in Hillwood had cowered in fear of being knocked out. But now Old Betsy's gone… well… not really. But she rarely gets to be used (only for defense and in case of emergencies).
Yep! That's right! Helga Pataki is no longer the hard-core, all-through-out-tough, and big, bad bully that she used to be in elementary. No. Not anymore! In fact, she's not the grumpy, ugly looking girl with a uni-brow, pink dress and a large pink bow that held her golden pig tails, either. But if truth be told, she'd actually outgrown all that crap. Now she's a sophisticated lass who was just fresh from her senior year at Oxford University. Unbelievable, but true!
Throughout Junior High, she had been the same old bully going around beating the hell out of every person that crosses her. But on the last day of school she realized that she was growing terribly bored and tired of how most people treat her. So she decided to transfer to another school, far from the prying jerks that surrounded her all the time. She had a lot to choose from and with Olga's enticing recommendations, Mirium's worried, yet hesitant, suggestions, and Big Bob's ever willing account to get rid of her, she chose Oxford as it was one of the most unique, endearing, and enigmatic places in the world. And also the fact that it was in Great Britain, and just far enough to rid her of the anxieties of her piteous, God-forsaken young life, was all she needed to know. And so she went, with only her best friend knowing the real and honest truth. Nobody missed her except her best friend and, sometimes, her number one target for spit balls. But she was happy and she got what she wanted. Forgetting the horrible past, and her useless family. Getting rid of the horrors, pain, humiliation and the ever-watchful critiques of her supposed to be demented high school life. And to her great relief, it really did her good! She dropped the whole act and started a new life where she discovered that there are a lot more things than just feeling sorry for yourself and shutting everybody out of your life. She learned a lot but being away for four whole years without coming back for the holidays and summer did take its toll. And she terribly missed being around with Phoebe, her only true friend who understood the real her and also missed the old gang.
Yeah, she did. And now she's here standing in front of the blue stucco
building that she used to call home but never did feel like it. But with
revived ties and pardoned excuses, she now felt like the whole place held
a more welcoming aura than it ever did before. And with the new found courage
and strength evident in her radiant features, she steps up the stoop, up
to the front door and with a tiny hint of hesitation, turned the knob and
entered the place that she once called home…