Soon, after being pretty uneventful, the school day reached its end, and Arnold was planning to head to the arcade with Gerald. As they left the school doors, however, Arnold felt someone knock into him. He stumbled, before tripping and falling down the stairs, letting out groans of pain with each step, until he reached the bottom.

"Oh, man," he moaned, readjusting his hat. "What happened?"

"Arnold! You okay, man?" Gerald asked as he walked over to Arnold.

"I think so."

"Arnold!" He heard a voice say. Looking up, he saw Rhonda rushing towards him. "Arnold, are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah, I think. I don't think it's more than a bruise." He was a little surprised that Rhonda was asking him if he was okay. "I'll be fine."

"I am so sorry, Arnold!" She held out a hand, which he accepted, and she helped him to his feet. "I don't even know what happened! I just felt someone knock into me, and I accidentally sent you flying down the stairs!"

"Rhonda, relax. I'm okay." He dusted off his trousers, before smiling. "It was an accident, don't worry."

"Are you sure?" He nodded, and she sighed with a smile. "That's a relief, I was really worried." Her eyes widened as she realised what she had said. "I-I mean, I-I was worried that I, uh, that I had… ruined your outfit! I wouldn't want you damaging your awesome jacket." She yelped, her cheeks heating up slightly. "Not that it should matter what I say, though! Your style is impeccable, regardless." She laughed a little to hide her nervousness. "Anyway, Nadine's over there, so I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay. See you tomorrow, Rhonda." Rhonda quickly walked over to Nadine at the bus stop, relieved that she hadn't scared him or hurt him as she sighed. Once she was away from them, Arnold looked towards Gerald. "Is it just me, or did that seem odd?"

"Eh, I'm sure it's nothing, man," he replied. "So, we heading to the arcade?"

"Sure."

So, he walked off with Gerald. A short distance away, however, Helga was growling. It had been her who knocked Rhonda into Arnold, hoping that one of them would get angry at the other.

"Drat!" she cursed. "Why does Princess all of a sudden feel like she can court Arnold?" She then took out her locket, and sighed. "Oh, Arnold, my beloved. Another obstacle now separates your heart and mine. I must search the heavens for an answer to my never-ending quest to win your love." Then, as soon as she heard heavy breathing behind her, she just swung her fist upwards, breaking Brainy's glasses and knocking him out. "Well, neither has asked the other out, so it's not too big at the moment."


"Man, you sure you didn't break something or bang your head from that fall?" Gerald asked, as he and Arnold were playing on an arcade machine.

"Yeah," he responded, not shifting his gaze, "why?"

"Because you're sucking even more than usual! I mean, just look!" He pointed to the screen, which showed that Gerald had just beaten Arnold in a flawless victory. "You haven't landed a single hit in five games, man! What is with you?"

"Nothing." Gerald, however, noticed that Arnold was, in fact, distracted. His brow was furrowed, as if deep in thought, while he had been a bit softer spoken since they arrived at the arcade, and his lips were curled in a smile, even though he was losing. Arnold noticed Gerald staring at him. "I'm serious, it's nothing!"

Gerald then realised that he had seen a similar smile on Arnold's face before, and he groaned as he realised what was up with his football-headed friend. "Oh, no. Please. Don't tell me."

"Don't tell you what?"

"You're thinking about Rhonda, aren't you?" Arnold rolled his eyes, walking to a different game, but Gerald still pressed. "Honestly, you've had that look on your face ever since we left P.S. 118 today, after Rhonda picked you up off your butt. You DO like like her, don't you?"

"Please, she's just a friend. She won't feel the same way about me! It's just that, when she helped me up after knocking into me, she seemed to be acting… strange..."

"Huh… Now that I actually think about it, she was acting a bit odd. She seemed a bit nervous when she was seeing if you were okay."

"I think she might have just been a bit guilty that she might have hurt me. She's a good person, and she does care about people." Gerald started chuckling to himself. "What's so funny?"

"You seriously expect me to believe you don't like like her?" He put an elbow on the machine, turning towards Arnold and smirking. "Why do I have the feeling you've been pining over her for a while now?"

"I haven't been pining over her! Besides, you like like Phoebe, and I mean, really like like her."

"Well, fine, but I at least know how I feel, and can admit it-"

"To me alone, you mean-"

"While YOU can't admit it to NOBODY! Just say it, you like like Rhonda! It's just you and me, go for it!"

"You're nuts, Gerald." He started walking towards another machine. "She's just a good friend."

"Oh, a GOOD friend, huh?!" Arnold just groaned as he inserted a quarter, and began to play. "Earlier, you said she was just a friend! I mean, I know you're friends with pretty much everyone, but GOOD friends? Now, that's different!"

"Gerald, what's your point?"

"My point is you like like her, and you know it! So why are you trying to hide it?"

"Because I don't like like her. I mean, she is a nice girl, and my friend," Gerald raised his eyebrows at him, "okay, good friend. But I don't know if I feel that way about her."

"So, it is possible, then!"

He gave a frustrated sigh as he saw the 'GAME OVER' screen, before turning back around. "Okay, sure, it's possible. But, even if hypothetically I did like like her, the odds she would like like me back are smaller than the odds that Helga would like like… well… anyone in our class!"

"Man, that seems like a bit of an over exaggeration." At that moment, Sid, Harold and Stinky walked in. "What's happening, guys?"

"Hey, Gerald," Stinky greeted, before turning to Arnold. "Hey, Arnold! Are you seriously going to ask out Rhonda?"

Arnold shrugged. "I guess so," he answered. "I mean, why not?"

"Let's just say that Rhonda isn't the easiest person to date," Harold confessed.

"Oh, yeah!" Gerald said as he realised something. "You and her went out, didn't you? And Sid, you also went out with her."

"Yeah, but she broke up with me after a week," Sid confessed. "Something hit me at the park, and when I fell into Rhonda, she spilt her ice cream over her top. She broke up with me straight away, without even giving me a chance to explain."

"Ouch! Now, that's cold!" He then turned to Harold again. "Was it as bad for you?"

"Well, we didn't really go out. It was just that one time on the swan boat- I don't even know why she wanted to do it- and I fell out, causing a big splash. She screamed, because it got on her outfit, and she just left me there in the water."

"Okay, I'm sensing a pattern. Don't ruin her outfit." He nudged Arnold. "You want me to make a note of that?"

Arnold just rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Gerald."


Gerald kept pestering Arnold about this as they headed to the Boarding House, but Arnold ignored him for most of it, until they got inside the red building.

"Seriously, Arnold! You need to think about how you're going to ask her out!" Gerald pointed out, shutting the door behind him. "One wrong step, and you're done for, man!"

"Gerald, you're getting a bit ahead of yourself," Arnold said, putting a hand on Gerald's shoulder. "I don't even know when I'll ask her."

"You'll need to do it soon, though. It's in two weeks, so the next few days will be your best chance."

"Is that you, Arnold?" they heard Arnold's Grampa, Phil, call out, before he came down the stairs.

"Yeah, Grampa! It's just me and Gerald!"

"Now, then, what's this about you asking out a girl?"

Gerald butted in before Arnold could even speak. "He's got a crush on Rhonda Wellington Lloyd, and he's thinking about asking her out to the upcoming dance."

"Gerald!" Arnold blushed, punching Gerald's shoulder. "It's not a crush."

"Lloyd, huh? The rich girl who stayed here for a while?" Arnold nodded. "Well, for a girl like that, you need to really impress her, because they could have anyone they want, so you need to prove that you are the best suitor."

"Then, what should I do?"

"How should I know? I never asked out no ritzy!" He then went into the lounge, while Arnold and Gerald just looked at each other.

"Well, so much for the sage advice of the elderly," Gerald pointed out.

"Yeah. Anyway, let's head upstairs, so we can get on with this project."