Hey Arnold The Jungle Movie: Quest of the Heart

Chapter 7

The next morning, the jungle was lit by the rising sun. The morning dew covered much of the vegetation around them making everything glisten. Near the area consisting of the boys cabins, it was pretty noisy. Some of the boys were stirring, but only a few woke up. It would be several more minutes before everyone was finally up and about. One of the early birds, Arnold was organizing a few of his things and laying his pack off to the side. He would glance at the other two. Gerald was also fixing a small pack for himself and threw on one of his red sleeveless tops.

"You got your bag ready Gerald?" he whispered softly. Gerald replied with a smiling gaze and held the bag over the top bunk. Arnold grabbed the bag and placed it beside his on the floor.

Meanwhile in the girl's cabin, All the girls were already awake, fixing up their own little space in the cabins. In Olga's cabin, Helga was the last girls to wake up. The window let in the sun's light making her cringe from its brightness.

"Stupid light…ughh" She rubbed her eyes and the first thing she saw was none other than Olga's goofy smile. Olga drew closer.

"Wake up baby sister!" Her voice sounded soft, but to Helga it was the most annoying voice to ever enter her ears. She only replied with a grumble. The rest of her cabin were dressed and ready to take on today's endeavors.

Thirty minutes passed and the class was awaiting for announcements for today's events. As usual a peppy Mr. Simmons came out with his clipboard and showing off a huge smile to his class who are growing impatient.

"Good morning class! I hope you all slept well last night! It sure was humid though… " He began to mumble a little bit.

"Get on with it Simmons…" Helga's grouchy voice stopped Mr. Simmons mumbles.

"Anyway, our plans for today do consist of exploring the jungle some more, but first we have an unexpected surprise! It seems that our tour guide has invited us to visit the special markets in a small town not far from here. So for the first few hours we'll go do some souvenir shopping. What do you say?!" The class seemed interested, but didn't respond to Mr. Simmons.

"Ok then. Make sure you have some money if you find something you like." As he said that a few decided to go grab some change they had with them.

"I hope they have food I'm sooo hungry!" Harold complained to Sid and Stinky.

"I wonder if they have any lemon puddin' " He said with a dreamy look on his face.

Sid ran ahead, "I wonder if they have any awesome tribe masks. Maybe we can put them on and scare all he girls straight out of their hut!…"

Harold and Stinky were immediately interested and cackled at each other, "Let's do it!"

They laughed as they went to grab their money.

The class boarded the bus and were ready to go. Most of the was class acting up as usual. Arnold and Gerald grabbed a seat toward the front. With the seats around them empty, Arnold turned to Gerald.

"Okay, I've been thinking about it all morning. I've waited this long already so I can learn as much as I can about the rainforest, like the fruit we can eat. Some of the plants to stay away from.."

Gerald raised one of his eyebrows, "You aren't prepared at all are you." Arnold retorted with only a smile.

"This is our second day in the Jungle and since everyone seems settled in, I plan on going…tonight. I do have my watch with new batteries and everything and the time is right on it. I think about Three in the morning we need to move." Gerald didn't seem very convinced, but knowing his closest friend it seems like nothing could change his mind.

"Tonight?! And at three in the morning? That's really early Arnold…" Gerald said trying to see if they could add an hour or two.

"I know, but by then I'm positive everyone will be asleep." Arnold turned his gaze out the window seeing some of the sights.

"It's settled then." The boys sat there waiting patiently until that time.

The bus screeched to a halt on the side of a small grassy strip. Some of the fourth graders scurried to a window to look out. This strip contained an abundant of vendors. There was the smokey smell of fish and a small dusty haze over the entire market. Many native people were tending to their archaic looking cloth tents with much hustle and bustle. Mr. Simmons addressed the class.

"Okay. Everyone stay in a group of four and don't go too far. Stay where I can see you. Our group will see about 6 vendors at a time. Keep any eye out for me standing and waving my clipboard. We will all meet back here at the bus in a couple of hours. Go have fun!" He said cheerfully. The class appeared ecstatic and started to group together.

The class exited the bus and ran toward the first couple of vendors. The tour guide and his two right hand men were right behind them.

"Slow down everyone!" Mr. Simmons waved frantically as Principal Warts followed suit. Fernando and his two men Francisco and Tiotom also followed the eager class.

"I have an idea What if someone around here knows them?" Arnold said rather excited.

"Who? Your parents?" Gerald asked as he leaned in.

"Yeah...I'm sure they might have visited here often to find more food and supplies…" Gerald took a gander at Arnold.

"Good point. What did they look like?" Arnold pondered a moment.

"My dad's name was Miles, and my mom's was Stella. Dad's really tall with short blonde hair. He looked like a strong kind of guy. Mom was shorter with light brown shoulder length hair. She normally liked to where a light green shirt a a long green dress." Gerald let that all soak in.

"R-right. Got it."

"Oh and Gerald? Since this is a secret, don't mention that they are my parents. More like you are wanting to meet a hero or like you saw them on TV and admired them or something." Gerald was moved by Arnold's wit about the situation.

"Okay." The two split up, only for a little bit to gather any tools and info they could. Meanwhile the rest of the class seemed to be enjoying looking at all the vendor's souvenirs and replicas of ancient artifacts.

"This dress is absolutely gorgeous! It is so perfect! I'll take this." Rhonda said handing out some money. The woman gladly accepted and offered her more accessories to go with it. Rhonda eagerly listened to her offer and purchased the accessories too. Nadine was looking into the merchant's booth across from the wardrobe booth. It was abundant in bug pendants and other sea animal bracelets and necklaces. The two quickly met up. Rhonda was carrying a few bags, while Nadine only had one. The girls showed off their souvenirs to each other.

Further down, Phoebe took a liking to the jewelry and did acquire a beautiful star pendant. Helga didn't seem all that interested in buying anything, but still enjoyed what the vendors market had to offer. Most of the boys were eager to try out some of the food, including Harold who was one of the first to buy some.

"This is so goood!" He said munching on a fishy delicacy. Sid on the other hand also enjoy some small fried fish. Stinky didn't seem all that happy. His search for lemon pudding came out empty.

"Look at this Arnold…" Gerald said pointing out a jungle themed booth. The two headed over there to see if they had anything that would help them on their secret expedition. The boys were in luck. They obtained a current map, a small pair of cheap binoculars, and a rope. Out of the blue, Arnold spotted what looked like a wooden trinket with a familiar symbol. It resembled an eye with a green colored Iris, although the was at half gaze.

"Excuse me, can I have a look at that?" The man hesitated, but seeing the glow in the boy's eye prompted him to let him at least look at it.

"Gerald…this…this looks like an amulet from the green-eyed people…"

"In fact it is. I found it a couple years ago when I visited a small village not far from here. It was laying on the ground near a hut that seemed to be abandoned." Arnold reached into his pocket.

"Is there anyway I could buy that from you? I'll give you the rest of the money that I have." The guy seemed a little interested.

"That's quite a rare artifact from the green-eyes themselves, I'm afraid that might not be enough." Arnold dug into his pockets more. On Cue Gerald held out more money, the rest of what he had.

"Don't worry man I'll spot ya." Arnold smiled.

"Thanks." The guy still hesitated, but seeing someone so interested In getting it, he was willing to part with it.

"Wow, I can't believe I found something like this. This is so cool!" He put the amulet around his neck and looked at it.

"I promise I'll take good care of it." The old man smiled.

"Ye better." The two looked at each other and smiled.

An hour passed and the class met up in a bigger clearing with small tables and a tiki-themed bar. Mr. Simmons was showing signs of fatigue due to the class's rambunctious behavior.

"O-o-okay class. I think it's time we sat down for a short lunch and bathroom break." Principal Wartz eyed the restrooms and a couple of the boys followed suit. Some of the girls also took the opportunity to wash up for lunch. The class didn't have a lot of table room, but they did have a tree implanted in a round cemented display. Beside that there was a big fountain with clear water spitting out of what looked like a replica of an ancient Mayan temple. It was surrounded by concrete blocks conveniently short enough for the kids to sit on.

Fernando and his two tour guide helpers sat there and ate their lunch. Arnold stared at Fernando. Something about him seemed kind of familiar. Arnold left his seat and sat by Fernando.

"Hey…Mr. Fernando? Is it ok if I sit here? I have a couple questions. Do you live here? How long have you been here?" He said taking a bite of his food.

Fernando chuckled and gave him a smile. "Why of course young…Arnold was it?" Arnold nodded a yes.

"I've lived here all my life. I was an anthropologist for a long time, but I wanted to…well…settle down a while and so I became a tour guide. I've been on many expeditions!" He said hesitantly. A few other classmates of Arnold joined him in learning more about Fernando's life in Central America.

"Where is your house? Is it in the jungle?" Sid asked. Harold also spit out a question.

"Have you ever been chased by jungle animals?!"

Fernando chuckled, "My house is in fact in the Jungle and no I have not. Though you can be if you are not careful."

"Yeah yeah…" He laughed off The guide's warning.

"I had a partner with me till he went off on his own adventures. I haven't seen nor have I heard from him in a long time." His heavy accent made it hard to understand him. Arnold's curiosity grew.

"What was your partners name?" Fernando spent a few moments to think, "His name was-" He was interrupted by screams. Their gazes turned to a familiar boy with glasses and a bowl shaped hair cut.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAA!" Curly laughed maniacally while wearing a tribal mask. He also had on a vibrant pancho and he was holding a fresh fish. In hot pursuit of this crazy boy were 3 merchants desperately trying to get their merchandise back. After a few moments Fernando continued to tell the kids more about his life.

"I can't seem to recall his name, anyway…" Fernando looked back at Arnold and his gaze immediately turned to the trinket around his neck.

"That's an interesting amulet you have there.." Arnold looked down, "Oh, I found this in one of the tents over there."

"Why yes, I studied an old civilization that had architecture like that here. Though I could never catch-well see them." Something about Fernando just said threw off Arnold, but he decided to keep his silence. Before their guide could further enlighten them of the old world culture around them, Mr. Simmons decided it was best if they keep moving if they want to stay on schedule.

"My class, please finish your meals quickly so we may get back to exploring some of the vendors on the east strip before we head back. When we get back to our campsite, we have another exciting excursion to see some old ruins from an unknown civilization. Some believe it could be the Mayans-" Harold complained at his teacher's ramblings

"Okay okay…" he finished the last half of his sandwich and got up to get a drink.

The class gathered around the fountain. After Mr. Simmons counted the students, they proceeded to explore the rest of the market.

Late afternoon was fast approaching and the class boarded the bus and left the marketplace to head back to their camp.

Gerald and Arnold sat in the back as the rest of the class were showing off their souvenirs.

"So tonight's the night huh Arnold." Gerald quietly remarked. Arnold nodded in agreement. The two smiled and looked ahead at their classmates acting like their usual selves.