Collision
Helga pounced on Rhonda tackling her to the floor. A loud thud jarred Rhonda's head for a moment as she grunted from the impact on the linoleum floor. Helga violently pushed her hand onto Rhonda's face, smushing it about. Rhonda shook her head to try and loosen the grip on her face, but it proved ineffective. She quickly reached her hand out and grabbed Helga's hair, her hair drenched with yahoo soda. She pulled it loose from it's ponytail, the pink ribbon falling onto the floor behind her.
"Quit pulling my hair and fight..!" Helga vociferated, the chocolate drink slowly running down her cheek to her neck. Rhonda grabbed onto Helga's hand that was firmly planted on her face and forcefully pulled it off.
"And fight like what? A man?! You'd like that would'nt you, you dyke!" Rhonda's nose flared as she drew breath after labored breath. Helga raised her right hand and tightened it into a fist. All of her frusturation centered into one point, and she released it in a single blow across Rhonda's cheek, causing her head to turn in the opposite direction. Rhonda's head began to ring, her vision slightly blurred. She turned her head to face Helga once more- the corner of her mouth trickling with blood. She stared at Helga in disbelief.
"How dare you!" she exasperated.
"If this bruises..." she seethed as a numbing pain began to fill her cheek. Rhonda swung an open palm upon Helga's face, causing her to tilt in the opposite direction. A loud clap echoed from the connection. A sharp pain pulsed at her cheek and then quickly diffused throughout the left side of her face. Helga winced in pain. With her left eye slightly squinted, she reached for Rhonda's shirt and tugged on it till it eventually tore at it's neck. Rhonda's face skewed into a look of spite.
"Do you know how much this shirt costs?!" She pulled harder with a fistful of Helga's hair.
Helga grinned maliciously.
"Not as much as it will after the doctor finishes reconstructing your face!" Helga riposted.
Rhonda immediatlely swung her hand once more, but Helga pulled back just barely dodging her strike. She endured the stinging pain of her hair being pulled so tightly.
"You bitch!" Rhonda screamed in frustration.
"You think you're so tough!" She kept slapping Helga's shoulder, her eye's staring icily into Helga's.
Helga stared back the same, even more so.
"Oh, I'm sorry your highness... Was I suppose to lie down and take a beating?" she said snidely, scoffing at the thought. Helga reeled her tightly clenched fist back for another swing and Rhonda closed her eye's recreantly. A teacher rushed in and two arms slid under Helga's, lifting her from atop of Rhonda.
Rhonda and I could never really see eye to eye,mostly due to how different our upbringing is- But I say it's because she's a conniving little bitch... So when she walked up behind me while I was eating my lunch and poured yahoo soda over the top of my head, all reason flew out the window. I don't remember much of what was going on around me, but I remember seeing Pheobe's concerned face as she watched us try and beat each others face in.
Principal's Office
Rhonda and Helga sat on opposite sides of the waiting room outside the Principal's office. Rhonda pulled out her handheld blush with the pop-up mirror. She inspected her face in dread as she noticed a swelling on her cheek and slightly around her eye. She ran her fingers over the swollen area.
"Ohhhh, it's starting to swell.." she groaned concernedly. Her eye's darted from the mirror and glared at Helga.
"This better not leave a mark!" She shouted.
Helga rolled her eyes.
"Oh no! You've been hit!" Helga said sarcastically as she waved her hands theatrically.
"Your life is now forfeit..." she continued teasing.
"Give me a break!" Helga scoffed as she crossed her arms firmly.
Rhonda began brushing her hair carefully, but soon her hands trembled and she slammed the brush down to her side in frustration.
"Just because you don't care about your looks, doesn't mean you have to drag everyone else down!" Rhonda yelled, irate by Helga's unconcerned attitude.
Helga grinned devilishly.
"I dunno, that swelling looks like an improvement on your part." She cackled.
Rhonda closed her make-up disc in anger, the earsplitting sound of broken glass followed.
"You little... if I had half a mind-"
Helga quickly cut her off.
"Half a mind? Don't you think you're exaggerating?!" she sneered.
Rhonda frowned as she continued to scowl at Helga.
A voice called from the Principal's office.
"May Ms. Pataki and Ms. Lloyd step into my office?" A gruff voice called out calmly.
Helga and Rhonda glared at each other once more. Rhonda got up from her seat and turned her nose upward at Helga as she walked towards the door. Helga rolled her eyes and followed behind her.
"Have a seat." The gruff voice said firmly as he interlocked his fingers on the oak desk.
Two seats were stationed in front of his desk. Rhonda sat down in her seat with her arms crossed, she turned her head from Helga scoffing in displeasure. Helga slumped down into her seat, placing her arms on the armrests. She stared at the nameplate that was centered on his desk, It read: 'Principal Poole'.
"So, I hear you two were fighting during lunch..."
Helga pulled her pink ribbon from her pocket and laid it across her nose.
"Looks like you're really ontop of things..." Helga snidely remarked.
Rhonda glanced at her bitterly.
"She doesn't take anything seriously! Look at what she did to my cashmere sweater!" She exasperated.
"It's ruined!" She tugged on her shirt hysterically, showing off the the tears and stretching of the fabric. The Principal sighed as he thought about the problem at hand.
"Please Ms. Lloyd... Let me handle this."
Helga snickered as she continued to fiddle with her ribbon.
The principal gave her an austere look.
"I don't see this as a laughing matter young lady, you're in as much trouble as she is."
Helga sucked her teeth at his comment.
"I'm going to be contacting your parents... the both of you." He casted an austere gaze on the both of them.
Helga glanced at the floor slightly detached.
"I don't see why... It's not like they'll be coming here anyway..." she said with a listless expression.
Rhonda glanced at Helga with a wavering look upon her face. She looked back at the Principal, quickly shaking off the feeling of guilt.
"Please, don't call my parents!" Rhonda pleaded.
Principal Poole interlocked his fingers and placed his elbows onto the desk, then rested his chin upon his fingers.
"I'm sorry Ms. Lloyd, but it has to be done... In the mean time. You two will be waiting in detention." He motioned for them to leave.
Rhonda pushed herself up from the chair and walked to the door, while Helga slid out of the chair to her feet and turned to the door, but just before Rhonda could exit, the principal cleared his throat for their attention once more.
"Oh and do try to sit away from each other, please... to avoid further conflict." He noted.
Rhonda and Helga stepped out of the office and walked into the hallway.
"I can't believe this!" Rhonda groaned as she traisped down the hallway with her arms crossed.
"This is all your fault!" She glared over her shoulders at Helga indicatively.
Helga paid her no attention, she cooly gathered her hair in her hands and drew it together towards the back of her head, then tied it with her pink ribbon.
They continued down the hallway in total silence, only the sound from the many classrooms that lined the hall could be heard faintly. The two of them finally made it to detention hall. The room was just as silent as they were. Helga spotted Sid and Stinky seated in the back. Sid glanced at Rhonda and Helga as they entered the room.
"Never expected you to be here." Sid said casually to Rhonda.
Rhonda took a seat ignoring Sid's comment.
"Still going around buying friends?" Sid goaded, chortling under his breath. Stinky chuckled along.
"Yea, how's that working fer ya?" Stinky said in his southern drawl, in between laugher. He slapped his knee.
Rhonda groaned under her breath, clearly unamused.
"Hey Helga... Did you give Rhonda that nice little shiner on her face?" Stinky said glacing over at Helga as he pointed to Rhonda's swollen cheek.
Helga sat down at her seat, far away from Rhonda. She leaned back in her seat and grinned as she reveled in what she did earlier.
"I might have." she mused.
Sid and Stinky continued speaking to each other indistinctly.
Moments passed and Helga felt as though she could die from boredom. She glanced over to Rhonda and noticed she buried her face into her crossed arms on the desk and went to sleep. Helga sighed insipidly. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pencil and began tearing small pieces from its eraser, then plucked them off of her desk.
"Am I late?" A voice asked sarcastically as the door closed behind him. Helga glanced over to the door and saw Curly stepping in the room. He noticed Helga sitting in the far corner- He grinned and sauntered on over. Helga peeled off another bit of eraser and rolled it between her fingers. Curly sat in the seat beside her and turned his head toward her. "Sooo..." Helga plucked the eraser at his face while he was in mid sentence.
"What's... going... on?" He said pausing after each word dubiously. Helga rested her head on her propped up hand and looked at him questioningly.
"Are you following me?" Helga said flatly.
Curly sat in thought as a smirk appeared upon the corner of his mouth.
"Hmmm...Maybe..." He said amourously, raising his eyebrows.
Helga's eyes widened in surprise, she tossed her pencil at him, it bounced off his chest and onto the floor.
"Weirdo.." she said coyly.
Curly chuckled. He raised his right hand to his chest and crossed it as he said,
"In all honesty... I didn't know you were here."
Helga raised her brow at him in suspicion, but decided to let it go. Curly's ears perked when he heard a faint 'psst' coming from behind him. He glanced over his shoulders and saw Sid motioning his hands silently. It took a moment for Curly to understand what it was he was doing, but he then realized he was asking whether he and Helga were dating. Curly was about to whisper back, but Sid quickly turned his head and raised his hand up over his face to shield it from sight. Curly turned to Helga hesistantly and saw her staring daggers at him. Curly laughed sheepishly and then asked her a question.
"What are you doing here anyway? I see Rhonda is here too...?"
Helga glanced at Rhonda and then glanced back to her desk.
"We fought each other..."
Curly stared at her for a moment and sighed.
"You didn't hurt her too bad did you?" Curly asked skeptically, glancing over to Rhonda.
Helga scoffed.
"I wanted to, but no..."
Curly returned his gaze upon Helga again.
"Are you hurt?"
Helga's eyes widened from shock, she quickly averted them to the floor.
"Me? Of course not Bucko! Why would you even ask such a stupid question?!" she fronted. She raised her arm up and patted her bicep as she stuck her chest out.
A woman stepped into the doorway and veered toward Rhonda's desk.
"Rhonda!" She said sternly, tapping her on her back. Rhonda lifted her head from the desk lethargically and looked up.
"Were going!" The woman said strictly.
Rhonda rubbed her eyes and took another look at the woman.
"M-Mother!" Rhonda gasped.
"Let's go young lady..." Rhonda's mother reiterated.
"Yes mother..." Rhonda muttered compliantly. She looked over at Helga and noticed Curly sitting next to her. She stared at them despondently, her shoulders dropped from an invisible weight that was placed upon them. She turned away towards the door and the two of them left the room. Curly had a troubled expression on his face. The principal walked in shortly afterwards.
"Ms. Pataki... Your parents won't be able to make it here, so I called your sister to come pick you up..."
Helga didn't look the least bit surprised by the news. She already knew this was going to happen, so she just sighed in response and turned her head to look out the window. Principal Poole scanned the room. He looked at Stinky and Sid and the both of them looked back and waved with a smile. He shook his head in pity. He glanced over at Curly.
"Mr. Gammelthorpe..." He said with a sigh.
"Principal Poole..." Curly said mimicking Principal Poole jokingly. Principal Poole shook his head once more and stepped out of the room. Curly glanced over to Helga, his smile slowly faded. Helga stared out the window pensively, her eye's bearing a wistful look.
The final school bell rang, ushering the end of school. The hallways teemed with students and indistinct voices, but Helga didn't hear a thing. All she could think about was Arnold.
It's funny... Even though I detest Rhonda and most of the things she's about... There was a completely unrelated feeling I was getting... A bitterness inside me, that left a bad taste in my mouth. Seeing her mother come into the room to pick her up, completely displeased with her... was something I never got to experience. I just wanted some recognition from my parents... anything, but they couldn't even show up for this. I don't even know why I've been trying my best to stay out of trouble... whether I'm doing well or not... they don't give a damn! If Arnold was here... if you were here...
Olga came running through the door over dramatically. She was always the over dramatic type, but then again... Helga could be at times too. Olga rushed to Helga's desk and planted her hands flatly on the surface, which caused Helga to draw back in her seat in surprise.
"Ohh, baby sis! Are you alright?!" she asked concernedly.
Helga took a deep breath.
"Criminey! You scared the crap out of me!" she said agitated.
"Let's go home." Olga said, her sensibilities getting the better of her.
Helga sat silent for a moment and then pushed back in her seat and rose to her feet. Helga followed behind Olga quietly. Curly reached out as she passed by his desk and tapped her hand. Helga glanced toward him quizzically. He opened his hand with a folded sheet a paper and lowered his eyes to it and returned his gaze back to her. Helga reached for it apprehensively, curling her fingers around the folded paper and gripping it in a fist. Curly gave her a faint smile and Helga continued to dawdle behind Olga.
Olga hit the anti theft button as she walked to her car. Two chirps from her car responded as the front and rear lights flashed in unison. She unlocked the driver and passenger doors and slid in on the driver side. Helga opened the passenger door and slid in, shutting the door. Olga started the car and pulled out of the parking space and down the driveway. Helga leaned her head on the window , her eyes fixated outside. Olga did a quick glance at her and looked back at the road. As she came to a stop sign, she reached into her pocket and pulled out gum. She opened one and slid it in her mouth. She tilted the pack towards Helga.
"Gum?" she asked thoughtfully.
Helga made no sound, she sat in the car seat lifelessly. Olga stuffed the gum pack back into her pocket and continued driving.
"Helga..." She said, with her eyes still on the road.
"What happened?" Olga tightened her grip on the steering wheel.
"You can tell me baby sis... You know I'm here for you..."
Olga stopped at a red light. She turned her head to Helga.
"Helga... I'm your sister... I just want to Hel-"
Helga pounded her fist on the dash board angrily.
"It's nothing, okay?! So just drop it..." She shouted. Her fist loosened and slid off the dashboard into her lap.
Olga felt a slight sting in her chest. She nodded and returned her gaze to the road once more. Her crestfallen face reflecting back to her from the windshield.
"Okay..." Olga said timidly.
Helga's Room
Helga tossed her bag to the side and crawled into her bed inertly. She didn't even bother to toss her shoes off, nor change her clothes. She laid on her side, facing the wall, her face halfway buried into her pillow. She remembered the folded piece of paper Curly gave her and out of curiosity, reached into her pocket and pulled it out. She unfolded it and noticed numbers written down... his phone number and a small note beneath it. 'Call me whenever you want to,' it read. She took another look at his number and rolled to her other side to pull out her cellphone. She punched his number in with the keypad and added it to her contact list, which was a short list of course. She scrolled to his number and placed her finger over the dial button. Just when she was about to press the button her phone vibrated and she ended up dropping it on her chest from surprise. She quickly grabbed the cellphone and looked at who was calling her. Pheobe's number glowed on the touchscreen. She touched the screen to answer.
"He-..." Helga choked on the word, barely able to say it, so she cleared her throat.
"Hello..." She finished.
Helga didn't feel like talking at the moment, but she rarely ever gets time to speak with her best friend, and when these rare occassions ever presented it self, she made sure to embrace them.
Helga could hear Pheobe breathing on the other end, but she did not answer.
"Pheebs?" Helga asked questioningly, slightly concerned.
A faint rustling sound was heard and then Pheobe's sheepish voice followed.
"Helga..." She paused.
"Lila came to my house last night..." she continued.
Helga rolled her eyes at the mere mentioning of her name.
"Ms. Perfect? What could she possib-"
Pheobe interrupted her.
"Please Helga, let me finish..." she asked firmly.
Helga remained silent, surprised by Pheobe's stern tone.
"Lila came to my house completely shooken up... she was crying and I could barely understand what she was saying, but I heard her say something about Harold..."
She swallowed loudly over the phone.
"She said... he...raped her..."