Hey! I just wanted to tell you that this chapter is a special foreign languages chapter. To start off let me say the disclaimer in my own native tongue.

DISCLAIMER: Ang palabas at ang mga tauhan ng Hey Arnold! ay pagmamay-ari ni Ginoong Craig Bartlett.

Do I still need to translate it? Well, okay: The show and the cast of Hey Arnold belongs to Mr. Craig Bartlett.

Chapter Eight

For Friendship's sake

~Friday

She opened her eyes to see a sparkly ceiling. Her eyebrows crinkled. She didn't have a sparkly ceiling in their…her room. The events from last night began to trickle in her memory. She growled under her breath.

He's here! Why is it that where ever she goes he happens to be going there also? Helga took a pillow from her side and buried her face with it. Fate must really be punishing her for all the insulting and bullying she did when she was young.

"Are you thinking of papa?" a soft voice asked.

She was awake already?

Helga removed the pillow on top of her face and saw sea-green eyes looking at her worriedly. Of all the things Katey inherited from her father it had to be his eyes.

"You are thinking of papa."

Helga smiled as she reached out to remove some of the hair on Katey's face. "Yes, I was. Katey. Now, do you want to spend the day today with your papa?"

Katey giggled. "Why are you calling him my papa? You used to call him papa too."

She did whenever she teased Arnold in front of Katey. Helga's heart squeezed. "Not anymore, Katey darling." She smiled. "You haven't answered me yet."

Katey nodded. "I want to spend today with papa but I don't want to make you sad."

Helga smiled. "You won't, Katey. You'll give mama some time alone with her best friend."

"Okay, mama."

"Ask your papa before breakfast okay?" Katey nodded.

"Now go and wash up. I don't want everyone to smell your bad breath!"

Katey giggled, took her pillow and hit Helga. "Mama, you're mean!"

Helga laughed. "It is true. I put up with your bad breath because I'm your mama. All mothers do that!"

Katey giggled. "You're very silly, mama!" She scrambled out of the bed to go to the bathroom, which they had inside the room.

Helga also got out of bed and fixed the bed.

Helga peered into the brown colored liquid in her cup. With one hand she lifted the cup and took a sip. She felt the warm liquid down her throat and realized why her best friend like this stuff so much. It somehow soothed her, giving her temporary peace.

Helga faced her best friend and smiled as she gazed at the shorthaired Japanese woman. She was dressed as if going to work with her pale blue loose fitted blouse and black pants.

"You know Phoebs, you don't look like someone who has a five-year old girl," Helga exclaimed.

Phoebe was surprised at her sudden talk and the topic. But, she remembered this was Helga Pataki, her best friend, and let the brusqueness of the comment pass. "Why, thank you, Helga. I always exercise in the morning. We have a gym not far from here."

Helga smiled. "Oh, I thought your exercise compromised of t'ai chi and yoga. Since you are a woman of the world, I thought you'd be doing something from the other culture."

Phoebe laughed and shook her head. "I don't do that anymore, Helga. I find it very confusing for Bea to be raised with a multi-cultural aspect in her environment. Maybe when she is able to assimilate the American and Japanese culture will I expose her to the other cultures."

Helga grinned. She never did change. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

Phoebe became surprised, "I thought we would talk about you. Don't you remember yesterday?"

Helga gritted her teeth but refrained from letting Phoebe know her anger. "I don't want to talk about that, Phoebs." Helga's voice lost its steel. "Please, Phoebe." She was so very tired…

Phoebe looked at Helga through worried eyes. "But Helga you mustn't run away from your problems. They will only grow worse if you do," she softly uttered.

The blonde looked at her best friend with fury. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" Helga then turned her back from her.

Phoebe gasped. In all the years she had known Helga, Phoebe had never seen her so angry. The brunette was beginning to be a little afraid but Helga was her best friend. So, Phoebe gathered all the strength she could muster and stood and to face her. "Helga, I'm your best friend. I'm sorry but I can't comply to your request."

Helga's eyes narrowed. "Little miss know-it-all has grown a backbone, I see."

Phoebe winced.

The blonde then rolled her eyes and glared contemptuously at Phoebe. "But that isn't enough to make me follow you," she hissed.

Tears had begun filling Phoebe's eyes. Why was Helga doing this? She… she couldn't comprehend what reason would make Helga lash out at her at this extremity. Phoebe felt like she was nine-years old all over again. "If you keep on pushing everyone away then maybe… maybe you'll succeed in your desire for solitude." She paused and said with a sneer. "But wait a minute, you wouldn't need that much effort because hardly anyone would worry about you!"

The taller woman stood up and stared at the crying Phoebe. Helga's face was emotionless. "Who cares if you're right?" her voice was soft yet deadly.

Phoebe gave a cruel laugh. "That's it, isn't it? Nobody cares!"

"You're doing an awful job of not caring if you're being this insistent."

"Haven't you been listening? Or maybe this conversation is too high for you to comprehend."

"Oh, you're right," Helga softly said. But then she added, "If you hate me so much then why don't you leave!"

Brown eyes glared at Helga. "I may just do that!" Phoebe then walked out of the living room. On the way out she passed a very bewildered Nadine.

Only ten seconds had passed then it was Helga's turn to leave.

It was a perfect day to go to the beach. At first she thought it would increase the stress she had been feeling for quite some time now because of all the people but she had forgotten that today was a weekday morning. Most people would be at work right now.

And so Helga found herself sitting in the sand, feeling the water as small waves smashed onto her legs. Above her, she could hear the seagulls cry to each other while flying. The blonde placed her head on top of her folded knees as she lowered her defenses. It had been a very long time since she did so but now her body and soul demanded it.

She didn't know when the hurting started. Helga only knew the pain and its source. But still, she loved him so much; so very much. Her eyes stung but no tears had fallen. She had already cried too much. And it was all because of him… Arnold.

The soft sea breeze and the warm sun felt so good against her skin. She could finally get away from it all.

"But Helga you mustn't run away from your problems. They will only grow worse if you do."

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

The blonde cringed.

"Helga, I'm your best friend. I'm sorry but I can't comply to your request."

"Little miss know-it-all has grown a backbone, I see. But that isn't enough to make me follow you."

Couldn't she have only a few minutes of peace?

"If you keep on pushing everyone away then maybe… maybe you'll succeed in your desire for solitude."

"But wait a minute, you wouldn't need that much effort because hardly anyone would worry about you!"

"Who cares if you're right?"

"That's it, isn't it? Nobody cares!"

Helga buried herself deeper in her arms. No more. No more…

"You're doing an awful job of not caring if you're being this insistent."

"Haven't you been listening? Or maybe this conversation is too high for you to comprehend."

"Oh, you're right. If you hate me so much then why don't you leave!"

"I may just do that!"

Darn it! Why had she said those words to Phoebe?

"I said, where have you been?"

"Tell me!"

"Mind your own business!"

Why must she always be like that?

Suddenly, it seemed that a cloud covered the sun. "Even though it's morning, you shouldn't just sit there without any protection from the sun."

Helga groaned as she noticed the arrival of her mocha-colored friend, Nadine. She didn't say anything as she felt Nadine move about.

"You know it's a good thing that the guys had already left with Bea and Katey when you two began WWW III," she said in a soft voice.

Helga remained silent. She felt Nadine sit down beside her although not too near.

"I'm no Phoebe, Helga. So whatever you say or do, I'm not moving from this spot. FYI, I've been best friends with Rhonda for quite a long time so and I have a much more higher tolerance level. But then again maybe Phoebe has a higher one…"

The longhaired blonde sighed. Gods, she was beginning to sound and prattle on like the princess. Can't she just leave her alone?

"Look, Helga, why can't you tell Phoebe what's wrong? Do you still find it hard to open up to someone, even after all these years?" Nadine paused and said with uncertainty. "Is that why you and Arnold are having marital problems?"

"It isn't that."

In spite of herself, Nadine was surprised at Helga's sudden response. "Can you explain it to me then?"

Helga lifted her head to meet Nadine's face. "It's just that…" She stopped and looked down at the sand.

"Go on…" Nadine prodded.

"For the past few years I've been feeling exhausted," she replied softly.

The frizzy blonde raised an eyebrow. "Exhausted?" Nadine stopped as if an idea hit her. "Are you sick Helga?"

"Yes…No! Not in the way you're thinking. I've just recently had my annual check-up. There's nothing wrong with me. I just feel worn out." A pause. "And stressed out."

Helga buried her head on her arms again. "When Phoebe asked me to tell her what happened I… I couldn't do that. It would mean bringing back those feelings and I don't want to feel them again."

Helga was speaking in riddles. Before she was saying that she was tired and now she didn't want to feel some unknown emotion again. "Uh, could you explain it to me Helga? I'm kind of lost."

She lifted her head again but this time she looked at Nadine with confusion.

"Do you know why you're tired? What are these emotions you don't want to feel again?"

Nadine noticed that Helga's eyes clouded over, and watched as the ex-bully turned her head to face the ocean. "I don't know why I've been tired lately. I just do. All I know is that it hurts. It really hurts and I've been feeling it for so long I'm getting tired from it. I just want it to end."

The shorthaired blonde put her arms behind her back and leaned on them. It was still a bit fuzzy but it was a little bit clearer now than before. And from the way Helga had been acting it seemed as if it was a psychological problem. She was no psychiatrist or psychologist but she had to settle things between Phoebe and Helga soon or things will grow worse.

Nadine noticed that her arms were beginning to loose their feeling so she leaned back and lied down on the sand. She let the sea wet her lower body and finally relaxed. The sunglasses that she had placed on top of her head a while ago were now placed on her nose. It was a good thing she had thought ahead and brought a huge beach umbrella, their tank tops weren't offering much protection from the sun.

"Helga?"

The sitting blonde turned to look at her. "What?"

"Thanks for sharing that to me. Don't worry I won't tell a soul."

A smile graced Helga's face. "You better or I'll let…"

"Old Betsy and the five avengers have a meeting with my face. Oh grow-up, Helga."

Silence and then chuckles were heard.

"I can't believe you still remember," Helga stated between guffaws.

"You are pretty unforgettable. Maybe that's why Arnold never forgot you when you left after sixth grade. At first Gerald was annoyed when Arnold mentioned it a few million times but then suddenly he just stopped."

Helga's laughter died away.

"Oops, wrong topic, huh?"

A weak smile answered her. "You could say that."

"Sorry."

Silence.

Nadine stretched her whole body while Helga looked straight ahead in the sea.

"Gosh, this feels so good. It's not everyday a part time biology teacher can come to the beach, especially when almost no one's around."

"You're a biology teacher? I thought for sure you'd be an entomologist or something."

"Oh, I am. In fact I just recently finished my thesis on flies. I'm just doing the teaching job until Harvard approves my application there as a scientist. Phoebe told me that they have the biggest and most complete equipment on entomology." Nadine paused. "What's your job?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm a lawyer."

The frizzy haired blonde looked at Helga for a second but since Helga was still looking at the sea she didn't noticed it. Nadine let Helga's inattentiveness pass. "Do you work in a firm?"

A nod.

"I know the words that both of you uttered earlier had no meaning," Nadine said quietly.

Helga laughed offhand. "I know. The second to last part kind of gave her away. Phoebe's never discriminated a person's intelligence." She continued to laugh until it gave way to tears.

Nadine sat up and put a comforting arm around her.

"I've never blown up like that to her before!" Helga cried.

"It's okay, Helga. It's okay."

"It's not okay. I don't know what I'd do without Phoebs. First, Arnold and now…"

The entomologist let her friend cry on her shoulder. Finally when the tears seemed to be subsiding, "You may not like my idea, Helga but you have to do it. You have to apologize to her."

No answer.

Nadine gave Helga a small hug. "For friendship's sake, Helga. Please."

She felt a nod. Nadine continued hugging her until she felt Helga's gentle push. Helga looked at her wet tank top and smiled. "You look like you went in for a swim."

Nadine chuckled. "Well, the beach is the perfect place to bawl on me."

Helga laughed at her with teary eyes.

"Now how about a little relaxation? This is why we came here for."

Still smiling, Helga nodded.

Nadine suppressed the sigh that she was about to make. No need to alert her friend about a certain problem she had been having for some time; a certain Beatle-boots-wearing problem. It didn't help that Helga's basic problem was her love life, which had only reminded her of her own.

She was supposed to be relaxing! Why in the world did she have to think about that right now?

Nadine shifted her legs to a more comfortable position. She then looked at her friend, who was now waist deep in water. Helga seemed to be looking at something in the seawater.

She didn't know when she fell in love with that panicky man. Well, he wasn't as bad as he used to be when they were young but he still could be considered nervous. Oh, there she goes again. What did she see in him anyway? Sure, he's tall and cute but one look at a tarantula and he freaks! A date with him wouldn't last long if he knows next to nothing about earwigs.

Now why was she thinking about a date with Sid?

"You're apprehensive about something aren't you? Or should I say someone."

Nadine pulled down her shades until she could clearly see Helga, who still had her back turned at her. "What?"

Helga didn't answer.

Nadine sighed. "Fine! I like him a lot. Okay!?"

"Who?"

She sounded so innocent. Sometimes, Nadine preferred the Helga from years before to the present Helga. Then, she had been just a straightforward bully now she was becoming more devious. "I like Sid a lot. Happy?"

"Very."

Nadine rolled her eyes.

Silence.

"What does he do?" Helga asked again but this time there was a sudden wistfulness in her voice.

"Sid's working at the local newspaper. He has been working there ever since he graduated."

"Oh. How is he?"

"He's still the same edgy, paranoid boy you left behind eighteen years ago. Nothing new." Nadine looked at her weirdly. "Why did you ask? We were just with him a while ago."

"Well, I've only been with him for less than a day. I can't exactly tell from that short time."

"Oh."

"Then you must really love him then, huh?"

Nadine nodded. "Yeah… wait a minute!" She looked at Helga who was smirking at her.

"Did you two ever date?"

Nadine folded her arms. "Hmph! FYI, Rhonda and Sid dated. We just hang around together."

Helga hung her head. "Criminey! That word again. I swear if Rhonda's this contagious it's a good thing I moved to Canada."

Giggles ensued after that statement.

"Phoebe? Phoebe?"

The Asian woman looked up from her seat and saw hazel brown eyes of compassion. "Oh, sorry about that, Sheena. I just got something on my mind."

Phoebe really looked at Sheena this time and saw a tall woman wearing a sleeveless tee and long skirt, leaning on the wall. Her brown hair was tied in a ponytail. "What were you saying?"

Phoebe sat back in Sheena's comfortable recliner. They were inside Sheena's small room where the marine biologist did her research. Currently, the said owner was sitting on the swivel chair by the desk watching her friend lie down.

"That I won't be leaving until the funds arrived. So until then I'll just stay here at the research center." Sheena sighed. "The whales will have to wait but then I'll always have the beach to comfort me."

Silence.

The brown haired woman looked at Phoebe and saw her staring at the ceiling. "Phoebe?"

Phoebe looked at her. "Yes?"

Sheena sighed but continued. "Are we going to continue with the plan? And are you sure Sid and Nadine are going to be there?"

"Oh, well I can't participate in the plan. If you still want to you can do it but please exclude me."

"Is something wrong, Phoebe?"

Phoebe looked at her in surprise. "Excuse me?"

Sheena quirked an eyebrow. "I've never seen you so out of it. There must be some problem."

Brown eyes looked into Sheena's face for a moment and then looked down. "Helga's back, but she's going through a crisis in her marriage. I wanted her to tell me the details but she shut me out. We ended up in a big fight."

"Oh. What are you going to do now?"

"I guess I should speak to her."

"Then it's settled." Sheena went to Phoebe and patted her hand. "Sometimes I wonder about you, Phoebe," she gently teased.

Phoebe laughed.

"Now that your problem's solved it's your turn to help me."

Phoebe turned to fully face Sheena. "What is it?"

Sheena sweetly smiled. "Would you care to explain everything to me?"

"Oh." Phoebe sheepishly smiled. "Well, you see Helga and her daughter arrived last night."

"A daughter? As I live and breathe, Helga Pataki has a daughter. Where is her husband?"

A knowing smile appeared on Phoebe's lips. "Actually, we met her husband at the airport. We were on our way here when we saw him."

Sheena raised an eyebrow. "You know him?"

"Of course. So do you. It's Arnold."

"Arnold? Arnold who? I don't know an Arnold except for… oh my…" She looked at Phoebe for confirmation.

The Asian nodded. "Yes, it's our Arnold."

Sheena slouched on her seat. "Helga… and… Arnold. I mean… It's inconceivable. The possibility of that happening…" Finally, all she could say was, "Oh my!"

Phoebe laughed.

RING! RING!

Phoebe looked at Sheena and grinned as she saw the astonishment written on her face. "Excuse me for just a moment." She took her cell phone on her pocket. "Phoebe Heyerdahl speaking. Whom am I speaking to?"

She heard a tsking sound on the other end. "I told you to break that habit, Phoebe. Anyway, I just want to let you know that she's here with me at the beach." Nadine paused and then continued in a much softer voice. "I'll stay with her until you come, okay?"

Phoebe gave a soft smile. "Thanks, Nadine. I owe you one."

"I know. You already have a long list of favors with me."

She chuckled. "See you later."

"You better." Nadine hung-up.

Phoebe looked at Sheena. The brown- haired woman nodded and smiled. No words were uttered as Phoebe began to leave.

Nadine walked slowly along the beach. She would stop from time to time to gingerly dig the sand to see what life can be found underneath the sand. She had to do it for appearance's sake since she told Helga she was going to look for Tiger beetles. Of course, there wouldn't be any Tiger beetles here. Even though they live in sandy places the beach isn't an ideal place for them.

"You know, one of these days someone is going to know the insect world as much as you do. What would your excuse be if that ever happens?" a high-pitched voice asked.

The blonde looked up and saw Sheena. Nadine smiled and stood up. "Hi! I thought you'd left already." The two began walking.

Sheena shook her head. "The funding got held back."

"That's too bad. What are you going to do in the meantime?"

"Well, I could help with the rally this Saturday. There were rumors about our local official giving the go signal to build a nuclear power plant."

Nadine smiled and put an arm around her. "My friend, a marine biologist and activist."

Sheena beamed shyly. Her smile slowly vanished as she noticed something. She jabbed Nadine and pointed at something. Nadine looked to where she was pointing and grinned.

Nadine and Sheena were too far away to actually hear anything so they just relied on their sight. They saw Helga wading in the water. Phoebe was at her back, hesitantly approaching her. After softly saying something (which they guessed to be Helga's name), the blonde turned around and looked at her impassively.

No one said anything as they looked at each other.

Finally, Helga muttered something. Phoebe smiled at her while nodding. When Helga was finished Phoebe started talking and she talked and talked and talked…

"Gosh, even at times like this Phoebe still talks for a long time," Sheena whispered.

Nadine chuckled. Since she hadn't let go of her embrace, Nadine led Sheena away from the scene. "I heard from Rhonda that there's going to be a reunion here in the park. It's kind of like Parent's day when we were in fourth grade. And did you know Mr. Simmons is going to be there?"

"Really? Where has he been all this time?"

"Well…"

Sheena and Nadine continued to walk away. At their back were Helga and Phoebe hugging and crying.

A small white ball rolled towards the windmill. It missed being hit by one of its blades as it went in the hole. The ball continued to roll as it went through the windmill and into the hole.

"Yoshi!" A girlish voice screamed.

Pretty soon a little black-haired girl appeared beside the hole and began jumping up and down.

"Vraiment? Felicitations!!" Another girl, a blonde one, came into view beside the earlier girl and began jumping and hugging her at the same time.

Together the two girls were yelling, "Yoshi!" and "Felicitations!"

The two fathers looked at them with amusement.

"I take it their happy," Gerald remarked. Arnold nodded.

The two girls then enthusiastically chatted with each other in their own language and somehow managed to understand what the other was saying.

Arnold heard his best friend sigh. "Is something wrong, G?"

Gerald placed his golf club on his right shoulder. "I wish I could understand what they're saying? I'm older than both of them combined and I can't speak a single foreign word!"

His best friend raised an eyebrow then placed a friendly arm around Gerald's shoulders. "Ce n'est pas grave. Tout va s'arranger."

Gerald glared at him. "I hate you." A chuckle answered him, which became a chortle and then full-fledged laughter. Arnold was saved from any physical harm by an arrival.

"I'm back!"

The two men faced the newcomer and saw Sid, holding some drinks. He noticed the two rejoicing girls and went to them. "Qu'est-ce qui s'est passé?"

"Augh!"

Arnold suppressed his laughter as he followed a dejected Gerald but he then faced Sid. "Sid, could you watch the girls for the time being? Gerald and I will just be in the soda shop."

"Sure, Arnold!"

The blonde then waved to the girls and joined Gerald.

Arnold pushed open the glass door to the soda shop. He spotted Gerald in one of the booths and proceeded to go there. Arnold was about to sit down when a perky waitress in one of those 1950's style waitress outfit arrived and asked for his order. After she left, Arnold looked at Gerald trying to see if his best friend was still annoyed. He still was.

"Whew! Miniature golf is fun. I've never played this game before. And I can't believe Bea is that good."

Silence.

Arnold looked at him and saw a frown. "Come on, Gerald. Lighten up. I could teach you French if you want to."

Gerald sighed. "Thanks for the offer, Arnold but I'm really hard to teach. Phoebe already tried teaching me Japanese but I can't seem to remember all the grammatical stuff and words. Besides that's not the main reason I'm like this."

Arnold looked at him in curiosity and worry. "What's the main reason?"

His best friend looked at him. Gerald was serious. "I didn't want to add to your problems, Arnold but you see…" He paused. "When you spoke in French it reminded that we aren't close anymore. I feel like I don't know you anymore."

The blonde's eye widened.

Gerald continued talking, focusing only on the table in front of him. "We've been best friends ever since pre-school. Even though you left we still communicated with each other." He paused again. "I have to confess that during our last letters I knew that there was something that you've been keeping from me. Now I know why."

His relationship with Helga; ever since they were young whenever Arnold fancied a girl he would notice that his best friend was slightly irritated. Arnold knew that Gerald was jealous because there would be an additional person he cared about. He always assumed that Gerald would see he was wrong, but now in this situation it doesn't seem to apply anymore.

Arnold had moved to Canada, far away from his best friend. They had never been apart that long and that far but then he got married to Helga. Now Arnold was not only physically separated from Gerald but emotionally too.

"And then in the last few years you stopped writing altogether. I thought you must have moved or maybe you traveled as a doctor around the world but I always expected a letter from you. And then, out of the blue, you wrote back, saying that you'll be coming for a visit."

"I admit I was angry with you when I learned that you got married to Helga. Even though I really didn't like her I would have like to come to your wedding. I know it seems childish but I miss the bond that we share. We are adults now and adults just don't have the close bonds that one has when they're young."

"Who says that?"

Gerald finally looked at Arnold. "Huh?"

"Who says that we can't have the same bonds that we had when we were young?" Arnold rolled his eyes. "Honestly, Gerald. You yourself told me that we have a close friendship but you never learned to look at the bright side like I do. We have a close bond. It just changed because we aren't nine years old anymore. We can still play football or stickball. You can come over at Sunset Arms and play checkers with me. We can also throw rocks at the dumpster but..."

Gerald caught on his drift. "We might get sued when whoever owns the dumpster finds out."

Chuckles were then heard.

Blue eyes opened and adjusted to the darkness. She then slowly slid off the bed and into her things. It was a good thing that Katey was sleeping with her father this night; Helga could finally set her plans in motion.

She then went to her things and took out a small rectangular object. Helga opened it and pressed some buttons. After a while she said, "Hey! Could you do me a favor?"

Yoshi! = Japanese for 'All right!'

Ce n'est pas grave = French for 'Don't worry.'

Vraiment? = French for 'Really'

Tout va s'arranger = French for 'Everything will work out.'

Felicitations = French for 'Congratulations!'

Qu'est-ce qui s'est passé? = French for 'What happened?'

Okay so it wasn't much of a special foreign languages chapter but I did use more than one language. If you think I used the wrong words please tell me. The source for the French phrases was from my French book: Motifs by Jansma and Kassen. ~I'm still a beginner, okay!~ The Japanese I got from this website: http://www.savergen.com/onldict/jap.html

Anyways, thanks for reading. 'Till next chapter!