Chapter 7: Nothing Stands Out
After Phoebe's interesting conversation with Rhonda, the first thing set on her mind when she awoke was speaking with Helga. Rather than calling and risking being hung up on, she got dressed as quickly as she could and made her way to her best friend's house.
Rhonda's House
After putting on her best sweater, Rhonda went to the mirror to fix her hair for the photos the studio would be taking of her. When she felt she looked her best, she headed for the front door, only to see someone standing there.
"Hey Rhonda! With the weather being as nice as it is, I thought it would be a good day to catch some Malaysian beetles down by the lake. Would you like to come?" Nadine requested.
Rolling her eyes at the request, Rhonda replied "I'm afraid I have more important things to do Nadine. I'm heading to the magazine studio to have my picture taken for this month's cover of Pre-Teen Miss!"
Helga's House
Standing nervously on her friend's porch steps, unsure of how it would go, Phoebe nervously tapped on the door.
With her hands behind her back, she waited patiently until the door swung open in front of her.
"Oh goody a visitor!"
"Hello Olga. If I may ask, is Helga home?" Phoebe requested knowing.
"Oh yes, she's upstairs now!" Olga said, letting the young Asian girl inside.
Walk
Walking down the street with her friend, positive she'd get the part, Rhonda listened to her friend ask "Have you decided on the topic for your poem?"
"This IS my topic Nadine." Rhonda smirked.
"What are you talking about?"
"The whole point was to pick something we value about ourselves. How could someone not value the idea of being picked for something so popular?" Rhonda asked, seeing Nadine roll her eyes at her friend's stuck up attitude.
Helga's House
Nearing the end of the hall towards her best friend's room, Phoebe pressed her ear against the door as she began to hear constant rummaging on the other side.
"Criminy! How is all this supposed to fit in here?"
Having listened to her friend's complaint, Phoebe invited herself in.
"Helga?"
"Phoebe!"
"Is it true Helga?" Phoebe asked worriedly, after recalling the information Rhonda had given her the previous night.
*Previous Night*
Walk
"Well, after continuing to have my thoughts on my poem horribly interrupted in the cafeteria Friday, I decided to step outside a moment…" Rhonda began to explain, as Phoebe listened attentively.
"Standing on the playground, alone with my thoughts, I heard yet ANOTHER classmate of ours feeling the need to release their complaints."
*Another Flashback*
Playground
"Oh, why am I such an idiot?! Here I'm given so many chances to speak the truth and what do I do? Run away from my beloved when all he wants is the chance to be near me!"
Falling against the brick wall, Helga pulled out her locket to speak to her beloved, as Rhonda listened attentively from around the corner.
"Oh my beloved, if only you knew the truth. If only you knew how much it will pain me to tell you I'm leaving you forever. That we're being torn away from each other. That my family is forcing me to move."
Pre Teen Miss Studio
"Well, here we are Nadine! By the end of the day, I'll have the information I need for my topic and a picture to go along with it!" Rhonda said, excitedly marching through the doors.
Heading proudly towards the front desk with her friend following behind her, Rhonda said "I'm Rhonda Wellington Lloyd and have an appointment scheduled with the photographers today."
Sighing at the proud girl, the receptionist said "Down the hall and to the left."
Helga's Room
"Why didn't you tell us Helga?!" Phoebe insisted on knowing.
"Oh gimme a break Pheebs! You really think it's been easy for me keeping this secret?"
"I suppose not." Phoebe sighed, taking a look around her friends room. Nearly everything was packed away. All that remained out was Helga's poetry books and the shrine she had made of her beloved.
Sitting there, looking at one of the books in her hand, Helga listened to her friend ask "So, when do you plan on telling him?"
Whipping her head around, Helga's eyes widened with fear as she snapped "I can't do that!"
"I'm afraid I don't understand."
"Phoebe, I can't just walk over and say to him 'Listen up football head. My dad's opening a new store, we're moving, it's been nice knowing ya!'"
"Well, you're going to have to tell him eventually? You can't wait until the last moment to reveal such extreme news to him." Phoebe pointed out, watching her best friend, stare down at the book in her lap.
Pre Teen Miss Studio
"Alright next one up!" The director called out, seeing Rhonda approach the stage.
Watching her walk towards him flip her hair, with a wide grin and a poise that screamed I'm the best he simply said "Next!"
Rhonda's face dropped, as she said "Excuse Me?!"
"You heard me kid, you're not what we're looking for."
"Do you know who you're speaking to? I've bought every single copy of your magazines! I own your best merchandise! I know everything there is to know about fashion! You would be lucky to have me!" she screamed, glaring at the unamused man.
"Look kid. You may know a thing or two about fashion, but you've got a lot to learn about personality."
"And what may I ask is THAT supposed to mean?" Rhonda sneered.
"While your clothes are up to date, there's nothing about YOU that screams individuality. The nice hair, the smile, the perfect posture...it's all been done before."
Helga's House
"Promise me you won't tell him Pheebs! Promise me!" Helga pleaded, grabbing her friend by her sweater.
"Well okay Helga, if you're sure."
Letting go of her friend, Helga sighed at the floor, thinking about her boyfriend until she listened to Phoebe ask "Have you at least thought about when you will be telling him?"
Burying her face in her hands, Helga let out a deep sigh as she thought about how things would go when she did reveal the news. Anger for holding back the truth, the more anger for not having anything they could do about it, finally, overwhelming sadness for knowing they would never see eachother again.
"I haven't thought about it."
Placing a hand on her friend's back, Phoebe replied "If I may say so, choosing a place that will give you plenty of time to evaluate your troubles would seem like the appropriate thing to do in this situation. Therefore, as hard as it may be, I would suggest waiting until after school tomorrow to say anything to him."
"Thanks Pheebs." Helga sighed, giving her friend a weak smile. It was never easy sharing extreme information she knew may hurt someone, but the people she knew loved her always knew how to comfort her.
Rhonda's House
Standing in her room, angrily staring in the mirror, Rhonda smirked "Can you believe those people?! Saying I have no personality?!"
"To be fair Rhonda, your attitude is based only on what you and everyone else is wearing. You don't have any interests that make you stand out from the crowd." Nadine said, ashamed to have to point that out to her friend.
"What do you mean, I don't stand out? Do you know anyone else capable of affording the nice things I possess?" Rhonda smirked.
"They don't need you just to show them off Rhonda. If that was the case, they could stick anyone on the cover."
Seeing Rhonda turn around to face the mirror, still frustrated about the situation, Nadine couldn't help but notice a tiny rip on the side of her sweater.
"Hey, what happened to your sweater, Rhonda?"
"What are you talking about?" Rhonda asked, seeing her friend point to the tear on it.
"Uhhh! It must have happened when I left the cafeteria!" Rhonda thought out loud to herself.
"By the way, what exactly were you doing when you left?"
"I simply went outside to clear my head, when I overheard someone once again distracting me from my thoughts." Rhonda smirked.
"What do you mean distracting you?" Nadine asked, lifting an eyebrow at the statement.
*Friday*
Playground
"Oh why am I such an idiot?! Here I'm given so many chances to speak the truth, and what do I do? …"
Hearing Helga's cries from around the corner, Rhonda leaned against the brick wall to get a closer listen.
Rhonda's Room
"Helga's moving?!" Nadine asked anxiously.
"Yes, and good riddance to her!" Rhonda smirked, once again thinking about the way her auditions had gone.
"Does Arnold know about this?"
"How should I know? Besides, if anything this will benefit him." Rhonda insisted.
Seeing she wasn't getting through to her friend, Nadine left, thinking about how while her friend had always been cocky about her looks, she now had to listen to her complain about the failure she had become.
Helga's Room
Giving her friend an enormous hug, Phoebe tried holding back her tears as she said "We'll think of something Helga."
"Pttss...forget it Pheebs. Bob's not going to turn down an opportunity to make his company grow."
"There's still time Helga. Don't give up hope." Phoebe replied, waving goodbye to her friend.
As Helga watched her leave, she turned to take a look at the empty room. So many memories had been made of her dreaming of one day confessing her love to Arnold in that room. Now her last few days in there would be spent dreading the thought of confessing she was leaving him.
