It was evening. The sun had long since set; but the two girls locked in the nurse's office at PS 118 were none the wiser.
The girls were not speaking to each other in the closet; Helga lounged restlessly on the bench while Lila sat cross-legged in the corner.
The silence was cut out by a low, drawn out groan. Lila lifted her head to regard Helga. "Sounds like you're hungry…"
Helga turned away so her back was facing Lila. "Sounds like someone just lost 'The Silent Game'…." The low grown came a second time, and her hands went to her stomach.
Lila fished in the pocket of her dress and approached the bench where Helga rested. Only when she felt her presence behind her did Helga turn back around, finding herself face-to-face with a wrapped treat.
She glowered. "I don't want your charity."
"I know you're hungry, Helga," Lila said gently. "I noticed you didn't pack a lunch today, and I figured we both could sh—"
Helga grabbed the item and unwrapped it, devouring the entire treat ravenously.
"Do you like it? It's homemade. Your sister and I worked on the recipe…"
At the mention of her sister, Helga began to close up again, turning away from Lila.
Lila kept going: "If you'd like, you could come to my birthday party tomorrow and I could show you how we make it. You seemed to like it."
Helga tossed the wrapper over her shoulder and across the tiny room. "It was okay. And I'll pass."
Lila walked over to the wrapper and stooped down to pick it up. Just as her hands touched the wrapper, the lantern had went out and the girls were awash in darkness.
"Great, just great," said Helga. "As if this day couldn't get any worse…"
"Helga…" Lila's voice sounded small in the darkness but it rang clear.
"What?"
"I just wanted to know….why do you hate me so much?"
The question hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity. The sound of Helga shifting to the sitting position could be heard.
"I don't hate you," she replied, but in a harsh tone that implied otherwise.
"Are you sure? Because….I've been nothing but civil to you since I've moved to this city, and it seems like you've had it out for me since day one. I mean, what have I done to upset you so much?"
"Lila…." Helga gave a resigned sigh, then the sound of her getting up could be heard, followed by the sound of her stumbling over something. "OW!"
The lights flickered back on, revealing that Helga had tripped over and broke a mirror. She was kneeling on the ground, clutching her hand.
"Helga, are you alright? Are you bleeding?"
"No, I'm fine!"
Lila ignored her protests and was by her side without hesitation. She pulled at her own dress and ripped out a length of fabric to be used as a makeshift bandage.
"Let me see your hand," instructed Lila.
Helga hesitated at first, clutched her hand tighter to her chest, then relented, reluctantly offering her injured hand to the redhead.
"It doesn't look that bad…" said Lila. "Hand me that first aid kit next to you."
Helga obeyed, and Lila immediately went to work dressing the wound with the kit's contents, while Helga had opted to stare at her fractured reflection in the cracked mirror.
"You want to know a secret?" asked Lila.
Helga shrugged. "Sure."
Lila began the process of bandaging. "I'm actually not looking forward to my birthday tomorrow."
Helga scoffed in response. "Oh, please – I find that hard to believe. You practically invited the entire school to your party."
"I dislike my birthday, because it reminds me of my mother. She passed away the day before I turned six. I thought a really big party would distract me enough to not think about it, but I guess I was wrong. That's why I came to the nurse's office. The only person I was trying to fool was myself."
Lila was focused on the task at hand, so she didn't detect the look of horror plastered upon her face at that revelation. "Lila…I…."
"There, finished!" Lila released Helga, who inspected her newly bandaged hand.
"Lila…I don't hate you," Helga repeated. "I hate the fact that we always seem to be at odds with each other. I hate how easy it is for you to be everything it is that I'm not. I hate…THIS."
Lila looked at the space that Helga was motioning at and frowned. "…the nurse's storage closet? Why?"
"Being cooped in here all day with you…not having a moment to myself…it makes it really difficult for me to…express myself."
Helga would elaborate no further, but as she spoke she turned a bright shade of pink.
"Oh? Oh…." The realization hit Lila. "Well…I don't really mind. And there's no one else here watching. I won't say anything."
"Are you sure?"
Lila nodded. "Go for it."
"Ok…" Helga took a deep breath, then stood up with such speed and force that it literally knocked Lila to the ground.
"Oh Fate! Thou art a cruel, contemptuous calamitous mistress of chaos, confining me here with my mortal enemy. I thought such dire happenstance would bring about both of our undoings, and yet, in this brief time cloistered away for the rest of humanity, I've come to realize that she's not all that bad! She's not the manipulative succubus whose sole purpose was to steal Arnold from me! No! Behind those freckles beats a heart that's as fiery and passionate as the locks that adorn her head. I was foolhardy…I was mistaken…and I'm sorry."
She swooned, and then turned to looked at Lila. "Thanks I needed that."
"Oh, don't mention it," said Lila, still splayed out on the floor. "Wait – do you hear something. It sounds like…"
The sound of wheezing entered the space, and seemed to be coming from the grated air duct adjacent to the ceiling. The grate popped off and a familiar pasty boy's head emerged from inside.
"Brainy!" cried Helga.
"What are you doing in the air ducts?" asked Lila.
"Uh….I don't know….something…."
Helga rolled her eyes. "Of course. Well, how about doing something to get us out of here?!"
Brainy gave a quick salute and then retreated back into the recesses of the air vent.
"Where do you suppose he went, Helga? And how did he even know we were in here?"
"Search me," said Helga. "That boy's always had a habit for showing up in the most unexpected places. Looks as though it will finally work to our advantage."
Helga grinned, feeling a little smug, until the sound of the school bell ringing and the sprinkler system going off caused water to rain down on both of the girls.
"I stand corrected."
"No, don't you get it, Helga?" said Lila. "Brainy just activated the fire alarm. That means they'll be sending firefighters to the school. Help is on the way!"
"Yeah – only problem is we're still locked in this closet, and at the rate this water is falling, they're more likely to find two bloated corpses by the time they even reach us!" Even as she spoke, the water level had risen just above their ankles.
Lila's enthusiasm was quickly dampened by Helga's words. "What are we going to do? I can't swim!"
Helga pondered for a moment. "I have an idea. Lie back on the bench."
Lila obeyed and Helga proceeded to kick at the metal fasteners that affixed the bench to the wall.
Lila sat up a bit and looked at Helga in confusion. "What are you doing?"
"Lie back down!" Helga commanded. "I'm trying to unhinge this bench so that you have something to keep you afloat when the water rises." At this point the water was already at Helga's waist.
Lila looked worried. "But, there's plenty of room for both of us on the bench…."
"Maybe, but I'd rather not chance it. Besides, it's your birthday. You've got people expecting you to make it to own your party alive."
"Helga…"
The first bolts came undone from the wall, and Helga was about to start work on the next one when a pounding noise started emanating from the door. After the third pound, the sharp blade of an axe had burst through the door from the other side. A masked head appeared from the hole the axe created.
"Heeeeeeeeeeeere's Johnny!"
This startled both girls; Helga leapt onto the bench and both she and Lila gripped each other tight while screaming.
"Whoa whoa, hey girls, it's alright! I'm just a fireman! See?" He immediately pulled off the mask so that the girls could see his face. "Didn't mean to startle you – I just like spouting movie quotes whenever I rescue people. Hang on…"
After several seconds, the door opened, and the water poured out into the rest of the nurse's office. "Ooh ooh ooh! How about this one – *clears throat* – 'it's time to take you out to lunch.'"
The girls stared at the firefighter as though he was crazy, refusing to get up from their spot on the bench even though they were finally free.
"From 'The Abdicator'? Really? Nothing? Kids these days…" he grumbled.
After being rescued, Lila and Helga found themselves outside, sitting at the back end of a fire engine. There were still wet, but were each bundled in thick blankets and nursing a paper cup filled with warm liquid.
"What an exciting day," Lila said, taking a sip from her cup.
"I think I've had enough excitement to last me until my 20th birthday," quipped Helga. "But I suppose I could've been cooped up with worse company."
Lila smiled slightly.
"Oh my goodness!" came a shrill voice from nearby.
Helga sighed. "Speak of the devil…"
The shrill voice came from Helga's sister, Olga Pataki, who was accompanied by Lila's father. The two of them stopped immediately in front of the girls.
Lila was immediately wrapped in a hug by her dad. "I was so worried," he said as he gripped her tight. "Thank goodness you're okay!"
"I'm fine, Daddy," she said, and in a twist of irony she was the one that had to comfort him.
Meanwhile, Helga was practically fighting off Olga's attempted embrace, if only to avoid her mascara teared-stained face.
"Baby sister! I didn't even realize you were missing!"
"Uh yeah – no one bothered to check that I never came home from school today?" remarked Helga, annoyed. "I could've been lying in a ditch for all you knew! Where the heck were you guys?!"
"I was preoccupied with preparing Lila's birthday party. Oh, by the way—" Olga immediately bumped Helga from her spot on the back of the fire engine so that she was sitting right next to Lila. "Your father and I were looking all over for you! I was able to get most of the planning for tomorrow done, but there's still the matter of choosing a cake flavour, picking the music, designing your birthday wardrobe...You should come over and we'll get the finishing touches worked out tonight. You can sleep in Helga's bed!"
Lila looked up and noticed that Helga was now several feet away, her back to the rest of them. Her body language was difficult to read, but even though she was still wearing the blanket, it looked as though she was shivering.
"Actually, Olga," Lila said gently. "I'm certain that the party will be ever-so-wonderful even without my input. I don't think it's necessary for me to come over. In fact, Helga and I were just talking about having our own little birthday sleepover tonight at my place."
At the mention of her name, Helga straightened up. Rubbing her face with her hand, she regarded Lila carefully. "What did you say?"
Lila approached her. "Don't you remember? We planned a special birthday slumber party. Just you, me, and no parents or meddling big sisters." She winked as she said it.
"Is that true, Baby Sis?" Olga asked.
"Uh…yeah, it is," said, and took secret relish in watching her sister's face fall.
"I guess we should be heading home now, sweetie," Mr. Sawyer said.
"See you tomorrow, Olga!" Lila said in her ever-so-pleasant manner.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow," said Helga, mimicking Lila's tone. "Be sure to save that hot air for all those balloons you need to make."
They walked away, leaving Olga standing by herself next to the fire engine. The firefighter who had saved the girls earlier, appeared next to her, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
"Here's looking at you, kid," he crooned.
Mr. Sawyer did not have a car, so the three of them made the way to Lila's home by foot. This didn't bother Lila or Helga, who appreciated using their legs after being cooped up for so long.
"Is everything OK?" asked Lila. Helga, who was noticeably silent, seemed to be lost in her own thoughts.
"Huh? Oh yeah…listen, what you did back there…I want to thank you for that."
"No thanks is necessary."
"I just feel a bit crummy; it's your birthday and I haven't even gotten you anything."
"You're wrong, Helga. You've given me the greatest gift I could ask for."
Helga blinked. "What? Protection?"
Lila giggled. "No silly – your friendship." She smiled warmly at the blonde, and for the first time, Helga smiled back. The two girls walked side-by-side, no longer enemies, no longer flax and fire, but just friends.