Greyhound Bus
By: blondegirlshavefun
Disclaimer: Yes, I own Hey Arnold- I am also the queen of England, the wife of a wonderfully famous actor, and I have brown hair… (Rolls eyes) Oh, I also own the song "Backseat of a Greyhound bus" sung by Sara Evans… (And if you believe all of that, you're a nutcase… like ME!)
"Oh my god. Have you seen her?"
"No, why?"
"You have to see her- she's so fat it's not even funny! I mean it's almost grotesque."
"Really? She's fat? Pity- she used to be so thin… It almost made up for that scowl of hers!"
"Well, at least she waited to bubble out until after graduation… Now at least she's not spoiling the yearbook with all the bloat."
"Well, you know what I heard?"
"What?"
"Come on; don't hold out on us now!"
"Well, I heard she's-" the girl looked around and whispered a single word.
"NO! Really? Can you believe it, Rhonda?"
"I can, Lila. But what I can't believe is who would actually… you know, with her."
"Well, I heard it was Brainy, but he refuses to comment. This just goes to show that he's probably the one after all…"
"Yes, but do you know? Like for sure?"
"I don't have to know 'for sure' Lila. She's a frigging tramp… What more is there to say?"
"I for one am glad. This means she'll go away, and leave us alone."
She wore a dress with cherries on it
Going somewhere where'd she be wanted-
A town this small, all they do is talk.
Helga slipped out of bed silently with well practiced air. Throwing the window open, she stole a glance at the alarm clock on her bedside table, its glowing green numbers reading 3:45. Slipping a length of rope from the tree beside her window, she retreated back into her room and grabbed a small knapsack from underneath the depths of her bed. Clothes, flashlight, pen… she thought silently, mentally checking off the items in her bag. She looked around for a few, last minute items. Deodorant, ID card, hair-brush, tooth brush, mon--… She frowned, remembering that her last bit of cash had been hush money.
"Well, then," she whispered, "Looks like I'll have to borrow from dear ol' dad."
Creeping silently down the hall, she paused at her parents' door, listening at the threshold. The deep snores from Bob told her that she'd need the whole bock to come over and yell in his ear to wake him. All the same, it was best to keep quiet. Pushing the door slowly open, she stopped and looked at the bed with disgust.
"Another 'business' meeting, dad?" she mouthed at the two figures tangled together on the bed, long black hair peaking out of the sheet that, thankfully, covered their bodies. Tiptoeing past them, Helga pulled at a painting of a ship on the opposite side of the room. The door creaked open, a safe revealing itself from behind the wall. Turning the lock slowly, she waited for the clicks- 3, 18, 41, 32. Easing the door open, she grabbed the box inside and cracked the lid ajar. Rifling through, she grabbed a stack from near the bottom of the pile and shoved the bills into the front of her sleep-shirt. Placing the box back into its metal house, she noticed it was quiet… Too quiet.
Turning her head slightly, she saw Bob get up, feet thudding against the floor, stretch and stumble into the bathroom. Quickly shutting the safe into it's hidey-hole as loudly as she dared; she was halfway across the room when Bob's new 'intern' sat up rubbing her eyes. Sinking down, Helga crawled in shadows to the half open closet on her right.
"Bobby-bear? Is that you?"
Helga glanced around the inside of the closet. There… Stepping on a shelf in the back, she tapped a ceiling tile up and over.
"Bobby-bear?" the lady friend was walking over to the closet groggily, the sheet wrapped around her anorexic body.
Praying the shelf would hold her weight, Helga pulled herself up into the darkness of the attic, slipping the tile back into place as the girl below threw open the door. Crawling across the attic, she found the door that lead into her own room, opened it and slid down into her own closet. She quickly changed her clothes in the dark silence of the closet, slipping on her sneakers without untying them. Walking out into the dim lighting of her bedroom, she noticed the dress she was wearing was not her usual, don't-notice-me-(but if you, I might pound you) dress. Rather, she was wearing a dress that she had been goaded into buying months ago by her mother, white with cherries on it, with a crisp, white peter pan collar and short sleeves.
Looking at the digital clock once again, she realized she had no time to change. Sighing, she looked around her room one last time, lowered her knapsack to the ground, and climbed out the window gingerly, grasping the tree tightly. Swinging down to the ground, she picked up her bag and walked away.
No wedding ring, chipped fingernail polish,
She always wished she could go to college.
But some dreams fade, they just slip away.
She walked down the sidewalk in the pre-dawn light, heading west to the bus station. Not many people were out this early in the morning, and, those who were kept to themselves. Not like last time… Helga sat down on the bench, clenching her hands into fists. Her nails dug into her palms, the purple polish on them chipped and ragged. She put her ring-less hands on her chin, barely stopping herself from crying. This wasn't how she had planned it. She had wanted to have her degree, be married with the man that she loved…
"My dreams have slipped away like beads on a silken thread…" she said, "how poetical."
She started to show a few months ago,
And she had to go.
That's how she wound up…
Helga watched the bus come rolling slowly into view on the eastern horizon. As she checked her watch, she rubbed her tiny, yet noticeable, belly. In all honesty, she hadn't gotten that much bigger- went up a pant size, maybe two, and had gotten a little fat on her cheeks, making her face more pleasant and pretty. But if Bob and Miriam had found out, she would have been in big trouble, and of course would have had to have an abortion. She shook her head and rubbed her stomach again. She may not have wanted this, and she may not like it, but Helga Pataki swore to take care of this baby as well as she could.
With the bus a few yards away, Helga pulled an envelope out with a letter and a ticket inside, fishing out the latter. The doors swung open haltingly, and she climbed inside, handing the driver her ticket.
On the back seat of a Greyhound bus,
Head hung down with the windows up.
Staring at the rest of her life.
She never thought this would be the place,
Where she would find her saving grace.
But she fell in love, she fell in love,
On the backseat of a Greyhound bus.
Feeling eyes on her, she silently made her way to the back of the bus, hiding in the shadowy-ness of the corner. She sat the remainder of the day that way, her hair down over her face, hiding in the rear end of the bus. Lights flickered on at about seven o'clock. Helga pulled the envelope out and read the letter once more, a warm pleasant blush creeping over her face.
Dear Helga,
I must say, I was shocked upon receiving your last letter, but I'm proud of your choice. Raising this child, whether it is a boy or a girl, will be a hard task, but I think that you, Helga G. Pataki, can accomplish this task rather well. As for what Big Bob will say when he finds out, well… I can't tell you what to do to handle this, he is your father, but I'm honored that you asked me for advice. And although I don't really condone lying, in this case, I think it just may be you best option, esp. if you think he will make you get an abortion. Try to hold out until graduation- I wish I could come, be your knight in shining armor and take you away… But even I have my limits. And when it comes to rescuing people, you've done your fair share. Lots of times my rescuing attempts only succeeded because of you (not that I'm complaining, I really appreciated the help!)
Honestly Helga, you probably do not know, and never will know, how much your friendship means to me, even if I did not gain it while we were in the same state… The correspondence between us has helped me a lot (wow, I was helped by H.G. Pataki? Who'd of thunk it?)And I believe that it has helped you too, though you'll never admit it to my face. But that may be a good thing, you'll keep me humble. As you always did…
Helga, I've just had the greatest plan! Really, you'll explode when who see it... Well, you might have already, but that's not the point… Helga, come down here to live with me! I'll help you get on you feet after the baby, and who knows, I may just help out with the baby itself! –Little picture of Helga and baby drawn here-
No, don't shake you head at me! I know you too well! And, as you very well know, I have an extra bedroom, and plenty of room to spare. You don't know how you can hide your baby and keep it safe from Bob, so I'll help you! Helga, at least consider it. You know I wouldn't offer unless I wanted you down here, and I do! Helga really. Look, I'm enclosing the ticket, all you have to do is come. Call me as soon as you decide, though, I'll be waiting for your call… (515)-555-0924 (Just as a reminder…)
Love,
Ar--- Helga winced in pain as her stomach cramped up. She clutched her tummy with a gasp.
"Miss… Hey miss, are you all right?" Helga looked up at the man talking to her, his face swimming in and out of focus as tears welled up in her eyes at a second contraction of her stomach.
"Hey! Someone call 911! I think this girl is having a baby!"
The moon was full, the stars were smilin'
God has a funny sense of timing,
The baby came on the interstate…
Somewhere between Jackson and Memphis,
She finally found what she had been missing.
She cried and laughed, as the red lights flashed.
The moon lit up the sky with a pale yellow light, drowning out the winking stars near it. Helga sat in the back of an ambulance, watching the doctors' movements with weary eyes. Finally, they turned to her, one with Helga's child wrapped in a mint-green blanket, the other with a birth certificate and a pen. Crying as the baby was set into her arms, she stared at its pink face and dark hair with a look of love that she had never gotten from her own family.
"What will the name be?" a voice asked from behind the mask of the doctor with the pen.
Helga thought for a moment. "Amanda… Amanda Leigh Pataki." She looked down into the wonderful sweet and innocent face of her daughter. "How do you like that, 'Manda? It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" And as the flashing lights lit up the area around the bus and ambulance, Helga laughed. "You're going to be just like me, aren't you? Not ever a day old, and you're already causing trouble!"
Sweet baby girl…
She found a brand new world!
On the back seat of a Greyhound bus,
Heart so full that it could bust-
Staring at the rest of her life.
She never thought this would be the place,
Where she would find her saving grace…
But she fell in love, she fell in love,
On the backseat of a Greyhound bus…
Helga stepped off the bus with a small smile on her face, her bag slung over one shoulder, Amanda fast asleep in her arms. Her dress was somehow crisp and clean, the collar once more it's sparkling white. Her hair blew around her face in the wind as she squinted to see if he was there yet. Not seeing him, Helga walked over to a fountain by the station, and, sitting on the edge carefully, listened to the sound of the water flowing. She closed her eyes in peaceful reverence, rocking the sleeping girl in her arms.
"Helga? Is that you?"
She opened her eyes with a snap, her smile widening at the sight of the tall, fair-haired man standing in front of her. "Hey football head," she said, using her old nickname for him. "What took you so long?"
Arnold rolled his eyes smiling. "I should have known better than to keep Helga G. Pataki waiting… But there was something I had to pick up." Looking down at the sleeping babe in her arms, he asked, "And who is this bundle of joy?"
Standing up, Helga walked beside Arnold laughing. "Arnold, I would like to present you to Amanda Leigh Pataki."
"Nice name."
"Thanks. It's a lot better then Helga, let me say that much."
"What's wrong with Helga? I like that name!"
"Whatever you say, Bucko…" Leaning down, Helga placed Amanda into the baby seat in the car, tucking her in snugly. Turning, she saw Arnold right behind her, his hands behind his back, a shy smile on his face.
"Helga, I know you've been through a lot lately… This is why I wasn't waiting for you right as you got off the bus…" Bringing his hands out from behind his back, he held out a dozen long stemmed roses, tied with a pink hair ribbon of years' past.
…
A/n: Well, originally this wasn't supposed to tie into my "Hold On" set of fanfics at all… But I think it will work really well when I write the actual fic… Unfortunately, the name of this series will end up changing, but that's all right… So you have the beginning, you have the end, and soon you will have the wonderful middle! Coming soon: Correspondence!
And I'm sorry that this is a really cruddy fic… but I was itching to write it after listening to Sara Evans for a whole day… well, what do you think of it, really? Read and review please! And I'm sorry about what may be a LOT of OOC-ness, but under the circumstance don't you think…? Well, anyway, tell me what you think, flame me, even, if it's that bad, I don't care, just as long as you REVIEW! .