The next morning, Arnold woke up with a smile on his face. He quickly shut off his alarm, got up and prepared for the day ahead. Grabbing his towel and body wash, he headed towards the shower, where he was surprised to find that there was no queue, and it was unoccupied.

'Wow! Today must be my lucky day!' he thought as he went in to use the shower. He spent five minutes getting washed, then brushed his teeth, sorted his hair and put his towel around him, before he stepped back out. As he headed back to his room, he bumped into Mr Hyunh. "Good morning, Mr Hyunh!" he greeted, smiling.

"Good morning, Arnold!" he replied, also smiling. "You are in a good mood today!"

"Yeah. I guess I am!" He simply shrugged it off, and headed upstairs. It didn't take long for Arnold to get dressed and have his bag packed, so he decided to open his window and stick his head out. Looking out, he noticed that the sun was shining brightly in the clear blue sky. The air was warm and inviting, and as he took in a deep breath, he sighed, feeling invigorated. Looking down, he saw Harvey delivering the mail. "Good morning, Harvey!" he shouted, giving a wave.

Looking up, Harvey saw Arnold and grinned, waving back. "Good morning, Arnold! You seem to be in a good mood this morning!"

"Why not? It's a beautiful day!"

"You're right about that! Enjoy school today, kid!"

"Will do!" After that, Arnold shut the window and started to head downstairs. When he passed the Kokoshkas' room, however, he stopped when he heard shouting.

"Aw, but Suzie, you're being so mean to me!" Oskar whined on the other side of the door. "You've been so uptight lately!"

"I know I have, Oskar!" Suzie shouted back. "I've been forced to work extra hours to make sure we keep the apartment, since you don't get paid much as a paperboy, and you tend to lose our money at your poker nights!"

Arnold stepped back as the door opened, and Oskar stepped through. "Oh! Hello, Arnold!"

"Hi, Mr Kokoshka," Arnold replied, "is everything okay?"

"And another thing!" Suzie yelled as she stepped outside, but she calmed down when she saw Arnold. "Oh! Hi, Arnold. I guess that you heard our argument, huh?"

"I heard some of it. Do you mind if I give you a suggestion?" Suzie shook her head. "What if you were able to get Oskar a job at the department store? He would earn more, so you wouldn't have to work as many extra hours, and that way, you could spend more time together!"

Oskar and Suzie exchanged glances, before smiling. "That could work. Are you willing to give it a try, Oskar?"

"Sure thing, Suzie! Especially if it means more money! Ahehe!"

Suzie turned towards Arnold. "Thank you, Arnold! You've always been there when we needed help. I just wish that we could help you more."

Arnold smiled back. "Don't worry, it really doesn't matter. I'm just happy I could help you."

They watched as he headed off, with Suzie noticing the extra spring in his step. "Well, he sure is in a good mood!"

Arnold just continued downstairs, heading into the kitchen where his grandma was busy cooking, dressed in her 'Calamity Jane' attire. "Good morning, grandma!"

She turned around, and smiled. "Good mornin', Tex!" she replied. "Ready for a day on the ranch?"

"You bet, Calamity Jane! Do you mind if I help you prepare breakfast?"

She gasped, but still smiled. "Why, that would be lovely! I think I'm all good with the food, but I would really appreciate it if you laid the table." Arnold nodded, as he began to set up the plates. "You know, I can't remember the last time you helped me to prepare breakfast. How come?"

"I'm not sure," Arnold honestly replied. "I mean, usually, I arrive when you've already prepared breakfast, due to the queues outside of the bathroom."

His grandma just laughed at this. "It's always nice to see you in such a good mood. Your grandfather told me what happened yesterday." Arnold blushed at this, and it warmed her heart. "I think it's really sweet. I wasn't sure I would be around when you got your first girlfriend."

"Grandma, she's not my girlfriend. I mean, I'm going on a date with her on Saturday, and she's going to be my date to the dance, but I wouldn't quite say she's my girlfriend." He inspected the table. "Okay, I think I'm finished here, grandma!"

She checked the table, and nodded. "Oh, thank you, Arnold! As a little treat, would you like anything else with your pancakes?"

"Do we have any strawberries?"

She walked over to the fridge, and when she opened it, she instantly saw a pack of strawberries. "Why, yes, we do! Now, it'll take me a minute to finish up, so could you fetch your Grampa his newspaper?"

"Sure thing." He quickly headed towards the door, and went outside, picking up the newspaper, before heading inside. Shutting the door behind, he saw Grampa Phil heading down the stairs. "Here's your newspaper, Grampa!"

"Eh?" He then saw the newspaper in Arnold's hand. "Oh! Thanks, Short Man!"

Arnold handed him the newspaper, then headed into the kitchen, where his breakfast was lying on the table. He licked his lips as he sat down, then picked up his knife and fork and began to eat. As soon as he took one bite, his lips curled into an even bigger smile as the gooey syrup complimented the sweetness and freshness of the strawberries. "These are delicious, grandma!"

"Why, thank you, Arnold," she replied, while continuing to prepare breakfast for the other boarders.

"So, Short Man, ready for school today?" Grampa Phil asked as he entered the room.

"Uh huh," he answered. He raised an eyebrow as his grampa laughed. "What? Is there something funny in the paper?"

"No, no. It's just good to see that you're-"

"In a good mood?" Both Arnold and his grampa laughed at this. "Yeah, I've heard that a lot today." He quickly finished his breakfast, and had a glass of orange juice to wash it down, then stood up and picked up his bag. "I'm gonna head off to school now. I'll see you later!"

"See you later, Tex!"

Arnold then started walking away, stopping when he almost ran into Mr Potts. "Sorry, Mr Potts!"

"Be careful, kid!" he shouted as Arnold rushed out the door, then headed into the kitchen. "Boy, he's in a good mood! What did you do, dip his pancakes in sugar?"

She laughed at his suggestion. "Oh, no. He's just eager to see his friend."

"Wait a minute, yeah! I remember, the kid got himself a date, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he did!" Phil laughed. "Reminds me of when Miles got his first girlfriend."

"Yeah. The kid reminds me of him a lot- he really is a good guy, just like him."

"Yeah…"

Arnold practically ran to the bus stop, even though he was early. When he got there, he saw that Gerald wasn't there yet, so he decided to head over to Gerald's house. He walked up to the house just as Gerald's brother, Jamie O, was walking out. "Hey, Jamie O!" he greeted holding up a hand.

Jamie O smirked back. "What's up, Arnold?" He went for the high five, but instead, he widened his eyes when Arnold retracted his hand and ran his hair back. "Woah! Normally, it's me messing up your hair!"

"Not today, man. Is Gerald ready?"

"He'll be ready in a second, go right in."

Arnold nodded as he walked past Jamie O and into the house. When inside, he smiled as he saw Mrs Johanssen. "Good morning, Mrs Johanssen!"

She turned towards Arnold and smiled back. "Good morning, Arnold! You don't normally come to pick up Gerald on a morning!"

"Yeah, well, I was up a bit earlier than usual, so I thought I'd meet him here, rather than at the bus stop."

"Well, that is very considerate of you! Wait here one second." She turned towards the stairs and shouted up them. "Gerald! Your friend is here!"

"I'll be down in a second!" he shouted back, and soon enough, he came down from upstairs, bag in hand. "Hey, Arnold! What are you doing here?"

"I got ready a bit earlier than usual, so I chose to come get you."

"Okay." He then gave his mom a quick hug, telling her "I'll see you later, mom," and then started to head out with Arnold.

"Have a good day, boys!"

Once they were both outside, Gerald turned to Arnold. "Okay, spill it, what's happening?"

"What do you mean? Nothing's happening!"

"Don't give me that. You're here early, you came to my place instead of waiting at the bus stop, and you've got a big grin on your face!" Then, when it hit him, he groaned. "Man, are you still thinking about Rhonda?"

"What's wrong with me thinking about her? If it was the other way around, and you had managed to get the date you want with Phoebe, you'd have a big grin and some extra energy too!"

"Arnold, don't get me wrong- it's nice to see you in a good mood, and I'm really happy for you, but you're gonna make me blow chunks in a minute! Seriously, you need to relax a bit! She sees you this giddy, you might scare her off. You need to play it cool."

Arnold rolled his eyes, but proceeded to take a deep breath. "You're right, I'm calm now. I just still can't believe that she said yes."

"Well, believe it man, because you and Rhonda Lloyd will be going on a date!"

"Yeah, I will. So, have you asked Phoebe yet?"

They then crossed the road towards the bus stop. Behind them, however, Helga was stood against the wall, having overheard their conversation. "What?! After everything I did, they still want to be each other's date?! This is a nightmare!" She checked no one was around, before pulling out her locket. "Oh, my dearest, beloved Arnold! Somehow, this cruel witch has placed a curse upon us, and has stolen you away! Rest assured, I will unite us once and for all!"