Here's the second chapter! I'm really happy to hear from the reviews, you guys actually like what I'm writing, yay! I just hope the story will turn out good, I'm doing the best I can for a fan fic. I usually write my own crazy stories but I feel more focused on a Hey Arnold story. I hope you guys stick through the story and give any feedback that you can. 3 Also, I'm titling chapters from lyrics from Panic! At The Disco, so I clearly don't own those lyrics but I find them perfect to the story.
Today's the first day of the 11th grade. I asked Olga to drop me off at school since I didn't really feel much like walking today. My weekend with Olga wasn't the best, but it calmed my nerves as long as it could. She helped me get new clothes that I picked out myself. My new wardrobe felt like I was stepping into a time machine just because the clothes felt like colors I would wear when I was younger, even the designs felt like a younger me. But it was cute and mature enough for me, so I didn't mind. I still even managed to make my pink bow more fashionable by altering into a somewhat cute headband. I even decided to get a new hair cut. My long, flowy locks were all gone and I chose to go with a short hair style. Somewhat like Olga's and Miriam's, but one that would go with my personality. All of this felt weird, but good at the same time.
"Have a good day, baby sister! If you need anything just give me a call. Mummy and daddy will be back home when you come back from school", Olga says as we park in front of my high school. She gives me a peck on the forehead and a hug as I try unbuckling my seat belt.
I struggle, "Okay Olga! I'll see you later... And thanks." I get out of the car and wave at her as she she drives off. I face the school feeling a bit nervous. "There's nothing to worry about, Helga. If anyone tries to make a rude comment or give me the stink eye, just beat the crap out of them. Show them you're still tough as a rottweiler", I tell myself. I take a deep breath and walk up the steps. I open the door and, not by surprise, eyes slowly were staring at me.
"What, is it my new hair cut?.. Just get back to what you were doing", I say grumpily. I walk passed everyone that was still staring at me. Suddenly, I see Phoebe running up to me with a surprised look on her face.
"Helga! What happened to you? Why haven't you answered any of my phone calls?", she asks very concerning.
I didn't know what to exactly tell her without everyone else hearing us. "I"ll tell you later, Phoebe. At lunch behind the bleachers. Right now, I just want this day to go smoothly."
She looked a bit disappointed at me, but she understood. "Okay, Helga. By the way, I love the new clothes and hair! What made you decide on this?", she asks. She noticed a got annoyed about it, but I give her a small smile and say, "I just felt like trying something new. Let the old go and give the new a chance."
We smile at each other and I give her a slight hug as we walk to our classroom. We both step in and I see Gerald come up from his seat to give Phoebe a hug and kiss. "Whoa Pataki, what happened to you?", he says at me. I give him a quick glare, but Phoebe cuts in and tells him, "Don't bug her about it, just let her be. It makes her feel good and it shouldn't matter to anyone else."
I give Phoebe a thank you pat on the shoulder and go find an empty desk. Without one thought thinking about it, I did not expect to see Arnold and Lila here. Seeing them together sitting in the back made feel ill. Lila and her stupid everything. How I felt like attacking her and smashing her pretty face against the wall. And Arnold... Oh how he breaks my heart just by even looking at him. I notice Arnoldlooking at me, but I ignored him and took my seat next to Eugene. I heard my name being called from behind me, but I didn't respond. Finally, I see that Arnold got up from his seat standing in front of me, but I still didn't give him my attention.
"Helga! Is that you? I just want to be sure since I haven't seen or heard from you in the last two days and you look...", Arnold says jokingly. I finally look up at him and I can tell he looks amazed by the way I look.
"Pretty?", I respond with a sour tone. "I've been busy with Olga and we've been planning for when my parents get back home today. I'm caught up in a lot of stuff right now, okay?"
He looks at me with the face of a child that looks as if his teddy bear was just taken away from him for bad behavior. "O-okay, Helga. I'm just relieved to see that you're okay and-"
"Don't worry about me, Arnold, I'm peachy. Now go back to your seat, class is about to start", I say while I look away from him staring into my schedule.
Leaving him speechless, he walks back to his seat. I turn my head quickly to see Arnold sitting down looking through his backpack. Lila eyes me and gives me a friendly wave with her stupid smile placed on her stupid face. I made sure nobody was looking, especially Arnold, and flip her the bird. Her face looked shocked and mortified that I did that to her. I guess nobody has ever done that to her before. I turn back to my desk and chuckle for a bit. Well, that made my day so far.
Our teacher finally walks in with such a rush that she almost tripped on her own feet. I wonder if she was the clutzy kind of teacher that would spill coffee on herself or drop all our exams on the floor into a scrambled mess. Either way, I shouldn't think so terribly of her on the first day just yet. She didn't look so bad, I guess. Her hair is a reddish brown in a pixie cut, she wore square-framed glass, and she is dressed in a sophisticated way with style.
She put her things down and says, "Hello class! Sorry I stormed in as if I came from a marathon." She chuckles to herself and writes her name on the board. Mrs. Pierce. "My name is Mrs. Pierce and I am looking forward to meeting you all. I know it's the first day, but come on", she taps at Harold's shoulder who is sleeping. The class laughs when he wakes up with drool on his face. She continues, "I want to make this a good start for your new school year so let's put those cranky faces away and form your desks into circle just for today so we can tell each other about how we spent our summer vacation"
I really hope she wasn't looking at me when she said "cranky faces". I groaned with annoyance like everyone else when we had to move our desks and were forced to look at each other. I notice Arnold fixing both his and Lila's desk together. Is she that fragile that she can't fix her own damn desk? I'm glad I'm not a weakling just like her. Although my heart tells me otherwise in the love department.
"Okay, perfect!", shouts Mrs. Pierce. "Now, who would love to volunteer first so we get the class rolling?"
The first hand to go up belonged to none other than Lila. I felt my blood boil just having to look at her. All eyes and smiles were on her; she sure was the popular one among everyone here in the class... Not. Mrs. Pierce cheerfully says, "Oh goodie! Now, begin by telling us your name so that I may mark you down and tell us a little about yourself and how your summer went."
Lila speaks, "It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Pierce, just ever so much. My name is Lila Sawyer, and I'm practically friends with everybody here in this room." Lila eyes me and flashes me a smile. That little bitch, I yelled inside my head.
"I spent my summer back in my hometown with relatives of mine I haven't seen in such a long time. I helped them in their barns, went horseback riding all across town, and even helped sell some of my family's freshest, tastiest fruit at the farmer's market. My family is well known for their fruits down in the country", she giggles to herself. "It was a shame to leave early, but I had to get ready before classes started. I also hung out with Arnold right here next to me, and we just had the best time to together. And I'm ever so happy to call him my boyfriend now," she states with rosy cheeks. Her words stung me but had the others teasing Arnold and giving a bunch of "awwws" to Lila. Arnold somehow didn't like the attention he was getting from the guys. I wouldn't like it either if I were dating Lila.
"Oh how sweet! Sounds like you had a lovely vacation, Lila. Thank you for sharing", says Mrs. Pierce. "Now, who's next?"
All eyes were on me without me realizing I raised my hand high so quickly. Oh crap, I told myself. What was I going to say? Why didn't I wait till I came up with some bogus story that sounds awesome? That Lila always gets to me. I honestly didn't know what to say.
"Alright young lady, what is your name and how did you spend your vacation? Don't be shy", Mrs. Pierce tells me kindly.
I do my best to come up with a good story. "Uh, hi. My name is Helga Pataki. I'm sure all of you know me by now."
"Oh, we ALL do", says Rhonda making the others laugh. I'm not sure whatever I had to say would make them shut up or not and I didn't want to ruin my first day more than it already is. I look at Arnold who is staring at me, giving me a gentle smile. Why is he smiling at me? Just looking at him gave me a good idea what I could say to the class.
"My vacation wasn't so bad in the beginning, I had fun every now and then with friends. Just friends. My parents left to celebrate my dad's birthday leaving me with my older sister taking care of me, or rather just having company at home so I wouldn't feel alone... I recently had a self realization about my life before school started. I feel that not everything will always stay in place or if one person in your life will always be there for you. I learned if you love this one thing, like ice cream or playing chess, but it hurts you mentally or makes you sick to your stomach, you have to give it up. Let it go. Learn to finally care for yourself and not care what others think. Of course I'm still that tough girl you all grew up with, but... I'm ready to experience new things. Which explains the clothes and hair. And giving my sister the attention she always wanted from me... And that's all I gotta say, move on!", I end quickly, looking away from everyone. I felt my cheeks were hot and red. I'm pretty sure no one knew what the hell I was talking about. At least I made everyone shut up.
Mrs. Pierce was confused, but politely says, "Okay Helga. Thank you for sharing, that must have been hard for you to share. What choice of words, too. I expect to see great papers from you once I start handing out assignments. Now, who's next?"
I didn't care to see or hear who was next. I think it was Rhonda trying to make herself sound cool like always. I look at Phoebe, who I'm pretty sure found out what I was talking about, especially since Lila was the first to speak. She had a sorry look on her face that made my heart swell in agony. I sent her a text from under my desk quickly, "You're one smart girl, Phoebs. I'll tell the rest at lunch"
"I don't get it, you two were spending all this time together! And Lila finally comes and decides she wants Arnold? I've never had a reason to dislike her, but this is so rotten of her!", Phoebe sharing her anger with me.
"Well, what can I do now? I let him go after her since he clearly was gaining all his feelings for her back. I have to let him go", I tell her. It really hurts to talk about it with someone finally, but I'm glad that it is Phoebe I'm talking to about it.
Phoebe shakes her head and says, "Gerald and I were rooting for you two. Lila wasn't around and we thought it would be perfect timing."
"You can't force something that isn't meant to be, Phoebe. I don't think it ever was", I respond sadly. Phoebe moves closer to me and gives me a tight hug. I feel the tears coming in again and wipe them away quickly so she wouldn't notice.
"I feel I should focus on other things now, Phoebe. I wasted so much of my time pining over Arnold and never once thought what else would make me happy. It's a change I want to embrace. Or at least try. It's time I stop giving up on things for another person who simply isn't... worth it."
Phoebe and I hear footsteps coming our way under the bleachers. By my surprise, and someone I don't want to see, Lila joins us uninvited. I clench my left fist, but Phoebe holds me back.
"What are you doing here, Lila?", I ask with pure disgust.
Lila kindly responds, "I just wanted to check on you. It sounds like something has been troubling you ever since I came back from my vacation. Was something going on? You've been showing so much anger towards me."
"Whatever is going on with me shouldn't concern you, Princess", I tell her, ignoring the fact that she knows I'm pissed at her.
"Oh but it does. You're Arnold's friend! He's been worried about you and I decided to check on you myself", Lila tells me. Who does she think she is to tell me things like that?
"Lila, darling, if Arnold is worried about me, he can check on me himself. Then again, I don't want him, or even you, to check up on me. I can take care of myself. Now I suggest you butt out of here if you know what's good for you", I say exposing more of my anger.
"Is it because I'm with Arnold now? Are you upset I took him away from you? You two still can be friends regardless if I'm dating him or not", she says. Is she really starting with this bullshit?
"I have PLENTY of friends, Lila. I don't need anymore. If you knew how much I cared about him, why would you start this bullshit now?", I ask without trying to break down.
"You see, when we were younger, I just didn't like him that way. I wasn't emotionally prepared for him. But seeing how you two became good friends and I thought you were over your grade school crush for him, well... my feelings started to blossom in and I feel emotionally ready for Arnold now, and just the way that he is with you is what I want. I always knew he liked me liked me, and I'm sorry to say this to you Helga, but I never saw the two of you being meant for each other like everyone else saw me and Arnold being meant for each other. Everyone, even myself, feels Arnold is too good for you."
Is she really doing this to me? Is this little bitch just asking to have her face broken into tiny pieces? I felt my body feeling hot and every muscle clenching. Phoebe held me back before I did something I was going to regret.
"Just get out of here, Lila! You mess with Helga, then your messing with the deadly beast inside of me! You have no right to speak to her that way, she let him have you! So just get out of here! Get out get out GET OUT!", Phoebe yells letting go of me and chasing Lila away from us. I've never seen Phoebe get so... furious like this to anyone. Seeing that scared look on Lila's face and watching her run away was priceless, better than when I flipped her off earlier today.
"Geez Phoebe, where did all that energy come from?"
Phoebe blushes trying to catch her breath. "I care about you, Helga. And I'm really sorry that all this is happening to you. Who knew Lila would be this horrible? She's such a... Such a..."
"Say it, Phoebe, I know you can", I encourage with a smirk on my face.
"... BITCH. She's such a bitch!", Phoebe shouts, shyly covering her mouth just realizing what she said about Lila. She looks awkwardly at me and begins to laugh hysterically. I join in with her. I'm so proud of Phoebe, not because of this. But the fact that she proved to me she will always be here for me and I didn't have to risk losing her for anyone. Especially Lila. She's the greatest friend I could ever ask for. My best friend.
The school day is over and I feel a bit better. I wave Phoebe and Gerald goodbye as I start walking home. Phoebe did invite me to go get chili dogs with Gerald, but Gerald finally tells Phoebe that he invited Arnold and Lila to be friendly and because he hasn't seen much of Arnold lately. It put us in an awkward place, but we laughed it off. I declined since I promised Olga I would be home right after school. I plug in my mp3 listening to classical music as I walk. It feels comforting and powerful listening to this counting the kind of day I had. I didn't notice the shadow coming towards me and see that Arnold is right next to me. I didn't understand what he was saying to me, I slyly point at my earphones. For his sake, I have to take them off. I bet the Princess went to go and cry to him that mean old Helga Pataki threatened to kick her ass.
"What's up?", I ask him.
"Nothing. I just didn't get to see you as much today and see how you're doing?", he responds.
"I'm fine, Arnold. Shouldn't you be with your girlfriend? I thought Gerald invited you guys to hang out with him and Phoebe."
Arnold looks embarrassed and says, "I had to decline and Lila had to go home early. She wasn't feeling okay. I wonder if her family's fruits are really that fresh to have made her puke."
We both laugh at his comment; I mainly laughed at the fact that Phoebe made her sick that she puked her lunch out. I can't wait to tell her that later, I am so proud of her.
"So where are you off to?", I ask him.
"Well... I actually thought I could hang out with you, if that's okay?", Arnold says shyly. As much as I would enjoy that, I just couldn't do that to myself. I have to stick to what I said and I want to stay away from the obstacle that put me this situation: Lila.
With a sigh, I tell him, "It would be fun, but I have to be with my family today. Bob and Miriam are back and I don't want to disappoint Olga. I don't think they would appreciate me bringing someone over they day they just came back home from vacation."
"Oh, okay then... So when can we hang out?", he asks, hoping I give him a positive answer. He really is oblivious to what I have said in class earlier. I wasn't ready to tell him the truth and I wasn't going to. I can't even tell him I have to stay away from him because that would kill me.
So I say, "I really don't know, Arnold. I have a lot I need to take care of and I actually want to focus hard on my studies. Phoebe has inspired me to reach for something more and I aim to get into a really good university." Part of that was a lie, but Phoebe is inspiring me for so much. She cares so much for what she wants that she chose to go to summer school and finished early by no one's surprise. "Plus, you have Lila to hang out with and the boys who want to hear juicy stories from you."
"Yeah... Yeah, I do have Lila", he says with no emotion to her name. He stops me by grabbing my shoulders and asks, "Helga, things are okay between us, right? This Lila thing isn't causing any trouble, is there?"
Oh god, I hope he's not reading my mind. "Arnold, things are great between us. There's nothing to worry about. You have your dream girl and I have..." I look at him and he has such a poker face on. Does he not like what I'm telling him? I hear my phone beep in my pocket, thank god! I pick it up and see Olga is picking up my parents and wants me home fast.
"Oh, I really have to go, Arnold. We'll talk about this later, okay?" I tell him even though I really don't want to talk about it. I sprint away from him without hearing his answer. I feel bad for doing that to him, but I have to think of me like I've been telling myself to do.
I made it home before Olga did, and the house felt like heaven with nobody there. I go upstairs to put my backpack away and notice Olga left a fancy looking pink dress on my bed with a note on top.
"Put this on for tonight. We're going to have a wonderful night as a family!"-Olga.
Whatever Olga is planning, it better be good. I put on the dress and it fits me perfectly. If only Arnold can see me wearing this... Arnold.
I hear the front door open and Olga calls my name. "Helga! Did you put the dress on? Mummy and daddy are here and we're going out for dinner together!"
Hopefully tonight won't be so bad. They're not my favorite people to hang around, but at least it will distract from my school day. I really hope nobody asks about school today.
I took one last look at the mirror and fix my hair swiftly. For once, I felt myself beautiful and I didn't need anyone else to tell me so. I myself felt like a princess out of a storybook. I had to stop daydreaming before Bob goes on a rant about me. I step out of my room closing my bedroom door, finally heading downstairs. "Coming Olga!"