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Chapter 2
"Alright everyone, that's lunch! We'll pick this up on the last scene after lunch," the director called. Everyone broke up and headed to the lunch truck parked out front.
Helga got her sandwich and found an empty table.
"Mind if I join you?" Arnold asked, coming over with his own lunch.
"Go ahead," Helga said. She felt a little weird still wearing her ghost makeup, but she tried to ignore it. 'I hate feeling so self-conscious. I should try to be more like my character; that Helga is so confident in who she is.'
"You were really good in there," Arnold said, breaking into Helga's thoughts.
"Really?"
"Yeah. You're so believable when you act, it's more like you're just being your natural self while the rest of us act."
"Thanks. Maybe it's because something like this episode actually happened to me."
"Really? What happened?"
"Well," Helga began, "It was...about two years ago I think. I used to hang out with these guys in my class sometimes, and this one time they were going to sneak into this old, abandoned joke shop that was supposedly haunted. They said I couldn't come because I was a girl, so I dressed up like a demon and hid in the shop. I set off a bunch of the jokes to scare them before finally jumping out. Man, they ran out of there so fast they left skid marks!" she laughed at the memory.
"That's hilarious!" Arnold said, joining in her laughter. "Did they ever find out it was you?"
"Oh yeah. The next day I showed up at school dressed up and they thought the demon had tracked them down for revenge. After I pulled off the mask they realized that they should have let me come along, and they even admitted that my prank was good."
"Well I'm glad everything worked out. That was wrong of them to try and exclude you." Arnold said.
"You sound like Hillwood Arnold. But yeah, it was pretty mean. But everything's fine now, so it's all good."
"Yeah."
There was a pause in conversation while both of them ate, trying to think of something to say.
Just when Arnold looked like he was about to say something the bell rang calling everyone back to filming.
Helga and Arnold threw out their trash and walked back to the large double doors. Just as they stepped into the studio Helga swore she felt Arnold's hand brush hers, which made her heart pound for the rest of filming.
§
'Another day done, another episode filmed. I wonder what we'll have for our next script?' Helga thought. She stuffed her sweatshirt into her bag and began walking to the parking lot to meet her mother. After filming episodes with her on-screen mother, who was neglectful and often pretty out of it, Helga was extra grateful for her real mother.
When she was seven Helga had told her mother she wanted to be an actress. Instead of passing it off as a childhood dream, Helga and her mom had had a long conversation about what being an actress would mean, and what Helga would have to give up. After lots of talking and thinking Helga had told her mom that she still really wanted to be an actress no matter what, so her mother packed them up and they moved to California. It was the first time since her parents' divorce that Helga had been really happy, and she could never thank her mother enough for everything.
Helga was about halfway to the parking lot when she tripped over an uneven patch of cement. She landed hard on her knees and immediately knew she was bleeding from at least one knee.
"Shoot! Ow! Oh man!" Helga dropped her bag and rolled to a sitting position.
"Helga!"
Arnold ran over, dropping to his knees beside her.
"What happened? Are you okay?"
"I tripped on the cement and skinned my knee; nothing major," Helga said. She couldn't hold on to her calm demeanor for long, and soon the pain in her knee got to her, causing a few tears to roll down her cheek.
"C'mon, there's a first aid station nearby," Arnold said. He helped her up and picked up her bag. Together they walked to the small building a little ways down the walkway.
"Oh no, what happened?" the woman at the desk asked as they approached.
"Nothing big," Arnold assured her, "Just a skinned knee. We've got it."
"Alright dears. If you need anything just give a holler, okay?"
"Alright."
Arnold set Helga's bag on the floor and she sat in one of the plastic chairs.
"Alright, we have to disinfect it; is it going to sting a bit, Helga," Arnold warned. With one hand he shook the aerosol bottle of disinfectant, and with the other he took one of Helga's.
"I'll count to three, and when I spray it you can squeeze my hand as hard as you want, okay?" Helga nodded.
"Okay. 1, 2, 3!" Arnold gave her knee a quick spray and Helga squeezed his hand. It did hurt, but a part of her brain just kept saying 'I'm holding Arnold's hand! I'm holding Arnold's hand!'
"Alright, all done," Arnold said, gently laying a band-aid over the scrape. It was just a plain tan band-aid, but on the center of it was a hand-drawn heart.
Helga looked at it, then looked at Arnold.
"I wanted to make it look a little better," he said, blushing a little and looking at the ground.
"I love it," Helga said. She got up and walked over to Arnold, pulling him into a hug. 'I can't believe I just did that!' she mentally celebrated.
Arnold hugged her back, and together they left the first-aid station and walked to the parking lot.
"You know you really don't have to carry my bag," Helga said.
"I know, but I don't mind."
"Alright, if you really want to."
Helga's mother's car came into view parked right out front like she always was. Helga was almost disappointed to see it, only because that meant she had to leave Arnold's company.
"Well, guess this is my stop," Helga joked. 'Stupid! It's a parking lot, not a train!' she thought.
"Yep, guess so. Oh, here's your bag."
"Thanks. So...see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
"Great."
"Great."
"Arnold?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for helping me."
"Sure, anytime."
"Well, uh, bye."
"Bye."
Helga turned and practically ran to her car. 'Stupid!' she thought, closing the door quickly behind her. 'That could not have been a worse conversation! I sounded like an idiot!'
"So, Helga, who's your friend?" her mother asked, pulling out of the parking lot.
"No one, Mom, just a castmate."
"If he's "just a castmate", then why is he watching the car like he wishes he was in it?"
Helga gasped a little and turned around, peeking over the back of the seat. Sure enough, there was Arnold watching her car drive away. He saw her in the window and waved, causing her to blush a little. She waved back before sliding down in her seat.
"So, what's his name?" her mother asked.
"Arnold" Helga whispered, drawing circles on the leather seat with her finger.
"What a nice name. Do you two have fun on set?"
"Yeah, we all have fun," Helga put a little extra emphasis on the all, trying to draw the conversation away from she and Arnold.
"He seems very nice. Maybe sometime you could invite him over! I'd love to meet him and his family."
Helga's eyes widened at the very idea. Invite Arnold over? 'Yeah, I can just picture that being a hot mess!' images of one humiliating scenario after another flashed through her mind's eye.
"No!" she practically yelled. It sounded very loud in the small car.
"Helga? What's wrong? I just suggested that—"
"I know, sorry, I was...spacing out. Um, yeah, maybe I'll do that."
Helga pulled a small pink book from her bag. It was identical to the ones they used in the show because when the director saw hers he decided they would make perfect poetry books for her character. Really Helga just kept them as journals, writing down her thoughts whenever things got confusing or exciting.
Dear Journal,
Whew, what a day. Filming was fun, like always, but it's tiring. But it's mostly the emotional stuff that wears me out. Arnold ate lunch with me today, which isn't that strange since he eats with me a lot, but it was just the two of us, and that rarely happens. It kind of felt like we were on a date, even though I know that's probably never going to happen. And then I think he tried to hold my hand, and then he did hold my hand later, and—
Helga's bag began playing the chorus of "Tangled Up In Me" by Skye Sweetnam, which was her favorite song currently. She put down her pen and pulled her cell phone out of her bag.
Helga, I saw you with Arnold walking to the parking lot and he was CARRYING YOUR BAG! WHAT HAPPENED?
Phoebe. Always excited for Helga over the smallest of things. Helga smiled and texted Phoebe back.
Chill Pheebs, it wasn't anything TOO exciting. I tripped and scraped my knee, so Arnold helped me to the first-aid station and then carried my bag to the parking lot for me.
Sounds exciting to me! Did he ask you to hang out or ask for your number? Or hint at it?
No. I keep telling you, it's not gonna happen.
Yes it will! If you believe something hard enough it will come true!
If you say so. I hope you're right, even if I don't think you are.
I am ;)
We'll see :) ttyl?
ttyl.
Helga closed her phone and put it back in her bag. Her mom pulled into their driveway and Helga hurried into the house. As fast as she could she darted to her room to finish her journal entry.
"Remember you've got homework to do!" her mother called. "If your tutor tells me you didn't do your homework again because you spent all your time writing in your journal I'll confiscate it until all of your work is caught up!"
"Yeah, I know!" Helga called back. She rolled her eyes; her mother threatened to take her journals all the time, but she'd never really do it, and both she and Helga knew it. Writing was the only way Helga could really express herself, and her mother would never take that.
She climbed into her half circle chair the hung from her ceiling by a long chain and opened her journal.
'Now, where was I?'
§
Later that night Helga lay in bed thinking. Tomorrow at the cast meeting they would get their new script and do a run through, and those were always the worst for Helga.
Every time she had to read her new monologues or poems for the first time it felt like she was confessing her love to Arnold in front of everyone else in the room. Like everyone knew she loved Arnold, even though she knew that was impossible. The only person she had told was Phoebe, and she would never tell anyone. That was one of Helga's favorite things about Phoebe; although she was much more outgoing than her character, she was just as trustworthy.
'I wonder what Arnold's doing right now? Probably going to bed like I am. I can't believe I was brave enough to hug him today! And he hugged me back! Oh wow, wouldn't it be amazing if we got to be close enough friends the he would hug me goodbye every day? Who am I kidding, that's not going to happen. Oh well, as long as I can be near him that's enough.'