PART 4:

GWEN'S DEAL

Helga and Phoebe returned to their classroom in better spirits than when they had left. Helga received some odd looks because of what she was wearing (Sammy had put a belt around Helga's waist, but that didn't hide the fact that she was wearing a big tee-shirt), but at least Gwen was nowhere to be seen.

She's probably with Principal Wartz, Helga thought, smiling. Maybe this will keep her off of our backs for a while.

Class resumed and everything went all right for a while. Then Gwen returned. Helga could see Phoebe stiffen in front of her and laid a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Remember what Sam said," she whispered. "Stay away from her, don't let her bother you." Phoebe nodded as Gwen returned to her seat.

"Okay, class. Now that everyone's here, let's start our history lesson. Open your books to page 109," Mr. Simmons said and turned to the chalkboard once again.

Helga expected Gwen to take this opportunity to turn and say something to them, but she kept quiet for the rest of the class. At recess, Helga pounded a few kids for teasing her about her clothes and tried to concentrate on a game of kickball. The whole time, she kept an eye on Gwen and Phoebe. Phoebe was sitting on the bench and reading (as usual) and Gwen was sitting on the swings watching Helga. Needless to say, Helga couldn't keep her mind on the game.

"Helga, are you going to play or not!" Gerald called. Helga whirled around.

"Maybe beating the pants off of losers like you isn't challenging enough to me anymore! Maybe I should just sit this game out!" she shouted. Gerald threw his hands in the air.

"Whatever, Helga. Just make up your mind so we can get on with it," he said. Just as she was about to say something, Sammy came out with Helga's dress slung over her arm.

"Hey, guys. Don't mean to interrupt, but I've got a nice clean set of clothes for Helga. I thought she'd want to have them so you guys don't pick on her anymore. Besides, I want my tee-shirt back before she gets it filthy," she said with a wink and Helga smiled at her.

"You losers got lucky, this time!" she called to the other kids, then walked over to Sam. "Thanks," she whispered.

"Anytime, kiddo. Is that Gwen?" Sammy asked, pointing to the big girl with the long brown hair on the swings. Helga nodded. "You're a lot stronger than I thought. You went up against a girl her size and all you got was a bloody nose? Sheesh."

"Yeah, well, I was kinda mad at the time. You know, all that adrenaline," Helga replied and went inside to change. Sammy saw this as a good opportunity to go and talk to the new girl. She walked over to the swings and sat down on the one next to Gwen.

"Hi. I'm Sam." Gwen looked at her, then back towards the school doors.

"Where's she going?" she asked.

"To change. I ran her clothes out to be washed. She got soup all over them, somehow," Sammy said and looked at Gwen.

"'Somehow'? You mean she didn't tell you how?" Gwen asked sarcastically. Sammy had been right. This girl was clever.

"Well, maybe she did. But I like to hear both sides of the story. I know hers, what's yours?"

"I tripped. The soup spilled. She jumped me. Her friends dragged her away. End of story." She was lying. Sammy didn't know why, but she was.

"You mean you don't hate Helga? Or Phoebe? I heard you and Helga had a little tiff this morning and got detention because of it. That true?" Sammy asked, watching Gwen's face for her reaction. There was none. Sammy didn't like that.

"That was just a little misunderstanding. Nothing to worry about."

"Oh." There was something wrong here. Sammy had a funny feeling about this girl. She wasn't sure why, she just did. There was just something a little off about her.

But she had told Helga and Phoebe that she would talk to the girl. She had never lied to the girls before, and she didn't intend to start now. She tried again.

"So, do you miss your old school? And your friends?" she asked. Gwen turned and looked at Sammy with such an odd expression that Sam unconsciously leaned away from her.

"I'm sure they remember me. I'll bet they remember me very well," she said in a low voice.

Sammy was about to ask what she meant, when the bell rang. Kids ran to line up, and Gwen went to join them. Suddenly she stopped and turned to Sammy.

"I'm glad we had this little talk. We should do it again real soon," she said, and smiled. Phoebe would have known that grin. Now Sammy had a chance to see it. And she hated it just the same.

The kids returned to their classroom, and Sam was just coming inside when she met up with Helga. Her hair was still down, but she was dressed in her usual jumper again. She held out Sammy's tee and belt.

"Here you go. Thanks again," she said, then noticed the look on Sam's face. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I had an interesting little talk with Gwen. Did you get a funny feeling when you met her?" Helga nodded. "Yeah, me too. She's very good at answering my questions without really answering my questions. I only know one thing from our talk. She's trouble." She thought. "I think she might be a little dangerous," she said quietly.

"That's nice to know."

"I'm serious, Helga. She's mean, that's bad enough, but she's also smart. That's what makes her so dangerous. Don't underestimate her. I want you and Phoebe to stay away from her. Don't look at her, don't talk to her, don't even breath around her. Keep your heads down and get to the library as fast as you can after the last bell rings. We'll figure out what to do then."

Helga nodded and Sammy took her to class, explaining to Mr. Simmons why she was late. Helga took her seat and class continued. Gwen was suspiciously quiet for the rest of the day, which both pleased and worried Helga.

Minutes before the last bell rang, Helga leaned forward and whispered in Phoebe's ear.

"As soon as the bell rings, get to the library as fast as you can. Don't stop at your locker, just go! I'll distract Gwen if she goes after you."

"But, Helga . . . " Phoebe started, sounding very worried.

"But nothing! Just do it!" Helga hissed. This was not the time to be nice. She wanted Phoebe away from Gwen.

The bell finally rang and Mr. Simmons' 4th grade class jumped up and ran out the door. Helga was glad to see that Phoebe was one of the first ones to leave. She grabbed her books and stood to go, but was forced back down in her seat by a pair of very strong hands. She looked up and wasn't too surprised to see Gwen staring at her with that grin on her face.

"Where'd the geek go, Pinkie? Did she run off to your babysitter friend?" she asked, digging her fingernails into Helga's shoulders.

"Maybe she ran off to the zoo to let them know that you've escaped," Helga replied. Gwen's fingernails dug deeper and Helga made a small noise in the back of her throat.

"What's the matter, Pinkie? Am I hurting you?" Gwen asked, smiling wider.

"Gwen, please come up here and take a seat," Mr. Simmons said. "Helga, you had better get down to the library to serve your detention."

"Yes, Mr. Simmons," Helga said and stood. She spared one last glance at Gwen and walked out the door.

Once she was in the hallway, Helga started shaking. That was too close. Sammy had told her not to say anything to Gwen, but as usual, her tongue got away from her. She just hoped Gwen wouldn't take it out on Phoebe.

Suddenly, strong hands grabbed her from behind and shoved her into the lockers. Hard. Then they seized her arms and spun her to face the attacker. She wasn't really surprised to see who it was.

"Hiya, Pinkie," Gwen hissed into Helga's face. There were a few other kids in the hallway, but they were turning a blind eye to the girls. Helga didn't blame them. Had the situation been reversed, she would have done the same thing. That's just the way things were done in school.

"Shouldn't you be . . ." Helga started, trying to sound calm. Gwen pushed her against a locker before she could finish.

"I told 'special boy' in there that I had to use the restroom. And I will. After I take care of some unfinished business," she said, smiling that hateful grin.

"Oh? And what business might that be?" Helga's heart was beating very fast. She had a feeling she already knew.

"You," Gwen growled and smiled even wider. "Seems I had a little visit from the busybody librarian. Friend of yours?"

Helga, for once, kept silent.

"I don't really like it when people go around talking about me behind my back. Kinda ticks me off. You know what I mean?" Helga nodded slowly.

"Good. Now, I'll make a little deal with you, Pinkie. I'll leave the little four-eyed geek alone, if you stop talking to your redheaded babysitter about me. This is none of her concern. This is just between you and me. Okay?" Gwen asked in a low voice. Helga thought about this.

Sammy was right. She IS dangerous. But what choice do I have? I can handle her to a certain extent, Phoebe wouldn't last 5 minutes with her. If a deal keeps this freak off of Phoebe's back, then SOMETHING good will come of it.

"Okay, Gwen," she answered, nodding. "You've got yourself a deal."

"Glad you could see it my way, Pinkie." Gwen released Helga and turned toward the restrooms. "Besides," she said, turning back. "It will be a lot more fun pounding YOU than your little friend. I mean, where's the challenge there?" She laughed meanly and headed toward the bathrooms once again.

What have I gotten myself into? Helga thought miserably as she continued to the library. Me and my big mouth!

When she arrived at the library, Phoebe and Sammy rushed over to her. They had identical looks of worry on their faces, and Helga almost laughed at the sight.

"Helga, are you all right?" Phoebe asked, the fear evident in her voice. Helga didn't feel like laughing anymore.

"What happened? You were supposed to come here directly after the bell rang," Sammy asked worriedly. "Phoebe was almost in tears when she arrived. She said you told her to run here and you would distract Gwen. Did she stop you? Helga, talk to me!"

"Calm down, Sam." Helga was surprised at how calm she sounded, considering what she had just gone through. "As a matter of fact, Gwen and I did have a little talk. We made a little deal, and you can both relax. She won't be messing with Phoebe anymore. I made sure of that."

Phoebe had a look of pure shock on her face. Sammy looked suspicious.

"What kind of deal? What does she get out of it?" she asked. Helga shrugged.

"What difference does it make? Phoebe's off the hook, that's all that's important, isn't it? Now come on. I've got a detention to work off." With that, Helga walked over to the counter and started replacing the returned books.

Sam and Phoebe stood back a moment longer. They exchanged a questioning look and Sammy went to one knee to speak with the small girl.

"Well, it looks like you're in the clear, Phoebs," she whispered.

"Yes, it would appear so. But I am as curious as you about this deal Helga has made with Gwen. Any deal with such a girl could not be good," Phoebe whispered back. Sam nodded.

"Yeah, Gwen doesn't exactly strike me as the kind of girl to just agree to something without getting something else in return. Whatever Helga agreed to, she's not telling us."

"Why would she keep it a secret?"

"I don't know Phoebs. I just don't know," Sam answered, shaking her head. Helga had never kept any secrets from her before, why would she start now?

What have you agreed to, Helga? And why won't you tell me?

Helga was diligently putting books away when she noticed that Sam and Phoebe were still by the doors. They were whispering to each other and she had a pretty good idea what they were talking about. She didn't want either of them asking more questions, so she stirred up some anger to take care of things.

"HEY! Am I supposed to put ALL these books away myself, or what? How 'bout a little help?" she yelled, making them jump.

"Whatever happened, she obviously doesn't want to talk about it. Maybe we should just drop it for now," Sammy suggested. Phoebe nodded.

"Yes. Perhaps that would be the best course of action to take," she agreed.

The two went to help Helga return the books, still wondering about her deal with Gwen.

~End of Part 4~