Arnold stared at the girl in front of him. In the three years since he'd last seen her, Helga had grown. A lot. Her hair now hung halfway down her back, and she wore it loose, without any hairclips or ribbons. She still had a petite frame, but she had filled out in all the right places, and it was evident she had a nice figure. Her sense of style was still girly, but functional: a light pink hoodie over a white t-shirt, and boot cut blue jeans over black Chucks. The only make up she wore was some neutral eye shadow and light pink lip gloss. Swallowing hard, Arnold reached down and grabbed her hand, pulling her back on her feet. By now she had seemed to recover, and she had schooled her face into a neutral expression. Reaching down to brush off the back of her jeans, she asked, "What are you doing here, Arnold?"
His mind going in ten directions at once, all he could do was look at her in response. When he realized she had asked a question, he snapped out of it and replied, "I'm here to see the photography exhibit."
Helga looked surprised and said, "I didn't know they advertised it all the way in Hillwood."
"They didn't. Phoebe told me about it", he answered, and then he gestured toward the direction of the museum. "Are you headed that way now?"
Reaching down to pick up the black messenger bag she had dropped when she fell, Helga said, "Yeah, the exhibit is going to start in five minutes."
Arnold gave a tentative smile and asked, "Mind if I walk with you?"
Helga just shrugged and acted nonchalant. "May as well, since we're going to the same place."
They began walking in awkward silence, neither one of them knowing what to say. Finally Arnold couldn't take it anymore and asked, "So, how do you like the Governor's School?" To himself he thought, "Small talk is better than nothing."
"It's great", she answered. "I like living in the dorms, and I've made a lot of new friends. How are things going for you?"
"They're going well. I was accepted to State, so now I'm just trying to save up some money to help out with the scholarships I've gotten."
"Oh? Congratulations", Helga said, looking straight ahead and avoiding eye contact. "I'm not sure where I'm going to go."
By now they had reached the museum, and they could see Gerald and Phoebe waiting out front. Helga seemed relieved to see her friend, and she picked up her pace a little bit. Arnold sighed and followed along, not very happy with how things were going. While he was glad she hadn't freaked out or asked him to leave, he could tell that it was going to take a lot of work to get her to really open up and start talking to him. She hadn't even looked him in the eye since they first saw each other.
When they joined their friends Helga said, "Hey Pheebs, hey Gerald. How's it going?"
Phoebe looked at Arnold and then back at Helga. She didn't know how they had met, but they didn't seem to be at each other's throats, so that was a good sign. Helga was obviously nervous though, so Phoebe tried her best to act natural and put her at ease. With a smile she replied, "Great! I can't wait to see the exhibit!"
"Yeah", Helga agreed, looping her arm around Phoebe's and walking toward the entrance, "I hear it's going to be really interesting."
When they made their way past the security guard and into the museum, Helga turned to Gerald and Arnold and said, "Could you please excuse us? Phoebe and I need to go the bathroom." Without waiting for an answer, Helga dragged her best friend down the hall to the ladies room. Arnold looked at Gerald and said, "Pray for Phoebe."
~A/H~
As soon as the bathroom door was closed, Helga began her inquest. "WHAT the HECK is going on here?" she cried, looking at Phoebe for answers. When she had literally run into Arnold on the street, she had been convinced she was seeing things. She then figured it was just a coincidence, until he mentioned being there for the exhibit. Finding out that Phoebe, of all people, had been the one to tell him about it was unfathomable, since Phoebe knew that was against the one rule she had made when she moved. Helga tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for her friend's reply.
Phoebe looked at her innocently and said, "What are you talking about?" But when she saw the death glare that Helga was giving her, she dropped the act. "When I mentioned to Arnold that I was going to a photography exhibit this weekend, he asked if he could come." It wasn't an outright lie, since that was how it happened, and Phoebe hoped Helga would buy it. She wasn't that lucky though.
"Why didn't you say 'no'?" Helga demanded.
"Yes, you're right, I should have said 'no'. And when he asked why not, I should have said, 'Because Helga's had a crush on you practically since birth and doesn't want to see you anymore.' That would have been a much better response."
Helga was somewhat taken aback by Phoebe's sarcasm, and she backed off a little bit. She walked over to the counter and looked into the mirror. She knew she had improved some since middle school, but she could never see herself as anything but the awkward little girl who had to bully people to make up for her own insecurities. When she moved to her new school, she did her best to leave the old Helga behind and start a new life, and for the most part, she had been successful. She wasn't lying when she told Arnold she had made a lot of friends; the girls in the dorm loved to hang out with her, and she had even been on a few dates with some of the guys from her class. She didn't feel a connection with any of them though, and therefore she remained single without becoming attached to any one person. She tried not to think about why she never felt a connection, but deep down, she knew. Finally, she turned around and looked at Phoebe.
"What am I going to do? I haven't talked to Arnold in three years, and yet when I see him I still feel like I did when we were kids!"
Phoebe walked over to her and put a reassuring hand on Helga's arm. "Why don't you just go out there and try to talk to him? He knew you would be here, and he still wanted to come. Doesn't that mean something to you?"
"I don't know Pheebs. I've never been very good at talking to Arnold. My defenses start coming up and I always end up saying something mean just to keep him away. The only time we've ever had a decent conversation was when I was pretending to be someone else."
"How do you know you can't do that again? Why just assume things are going to go badly? You should try being more positive for a change", Phoebe gently advised.
Helga looked down at the floor and then back at Phoebe. "Just tell me one thing: Is he seeing anyone?"
Phoebe smiled and shook her head. "No, he's perfectly, absolutely single."
Giving a sigh of relief, Helga turned and headed toward the door. "I guess we better get back out there. They probably think we've fallen in or something", she said, and she walked out of the bathroom.
Phoebe took a deep breath and crossed her fingers, hoping that she had done the right thing.
~A/H~
"Well, I don't hear any screams or crashes, so I'm guessing everything's still okay", Arnold said, looking at his watch. Helga and Phoebe had been in the bathroom for ten minutes, and the museum lobby was starting to fill up with people who were there for the exhibit. Gerald turned away from a sculpture he was trying to figure out and replied, "If they don't come out in another minute, I'm going in after them."
As soon as he said this, the door to the bathroom opened, and Helga stepped out into the hall. Arnold still couldn't get over how good she looked, and he really hoped the night was going to be a success.
After scanning the crowd, Helga and Phoebe saw them standing across the lobby, and they made their way toward them. When they arrived Phoebe took Gerald's hand and said, "Come on. It looks like the exhibit starts in the room on the left." They all started walking toward the entryway, with Phoebe and Gerald in front, and Arnold and Helga bringing up the rear. Arnold cleared his throat and said, "So, you like photography?"
"Yeah, I do. I like black and white the best, and I think I prefer cityscapes to landscapes. What about you?"
"I prefer color, but I can appreciate black and white if it's done right."
They stopped in front of the first picture. The subject was a girl who was in mid-jump, which gave the impression that she was levitating. There was a plain white wall behind her, but on the floor were old drop cloths used for painting. A little card was attached to the wall underneath the picture, and on it was the word, "Illumination".
"Where do they come up with these titles?" Helga asked, shaking her head.
"The Pretentious Artist's Handbook probably", Arnold answered, and Helga gave a little laugh. "You're probably right", she said, and moved on to the next picture.
This one was a series of black and white shots of a city skyline. The top shot was obviously from many years ago, judging by the architecture and the small number of buildings. The next shot was from a few years later, and there were a few more buildings added to the scene. The final shot was from the past year, and this time the skyline was completely crowded with buildings and other structures. The title underneath it was "Progress".
"At least this title makes sense", Arnold said, while appreciating the beauty of the picture. Helga seemed lost in thought, and at first he thought she didn't hear him, but she eventually said, "Yeah", and moved away. He thought she was going to look at another picture, and he was surprised when she started walking toward the exit. He followed her, and when he caught up to her he gently grabbed her arm.
"Helga, what is it? Is something wrong?" he asked, looking concerned. Helga looked as if she wanted to run away, but she took a deep breath and said, "I'm fine, I just want to get some fresh air. Do you want to go for a walk?"
"Sure!" Arnold answered, relieved that she wasn't pushing him away. "Let me find Gerald and Phoebe so they'll know where we're going, and then I'll meet you outside."
"Okay", Helga replied, and she turned and slipped out the door. Arnold looked around the room until he found his friends, and he told them that he and Helga were leaving.
"I'll be sure to meet you back at the bus station", Arnold said, and turned to leave the museum.
"Good luck!" Gerald called, and this time, he really meant it.
