Phoebe can't stop pacing back and forth in her room. Man, thought Helga, I never seen Phoebe so worked up like this. She's starting to look like a wreck! I swear if Geraldo's not here soon, he's really gonna hear it from me.
"It's almost 6:30 Helga! Where in the world is Gerald? He's never been late for our dates. And I can't seem to reach him on his cell phone. Where is he? I'm getting worried."
Helga tried her best to stay clam for Phoebe's sake. "Calm down, Phoebe. I'm sure he has a good reason why he's late. He'll be here."
"I sure hope so."
Just then, the doorbell rang. Phoebe's dad answered it and shouted from the foot of the stairs, "Phoebe! Gerald is here!"
"Ok I'll be right down!" responded Phoebe. Then she turned to Helga and said, "I'm going down there and give him a piece of my mind. Are you coming Helga?"
"You go ahead. This sounds like something that's just between the two of you. I'll follow in a few minutes."
"Ok Helga." Then Phoebe left her room slamming the door. As Helga was getting her things together, she could hear her storming down the stairs yelling, "Gerald Martin Johansen! You better give me a good reason why you're 30 minutes late in picking me up!"
Helga was surprised that Gerald didn't respond. Then she heard Phoebe call her. "Helga, could you please come down for a moment? Now?!"
Helga responded, "Ok! Ok! Pipe down! Crimeny! I'll be right down!"
As Helga was walking down the stairs getting ready to swing a punch at Gerald, she noticed that the room was dead silent, which made her worried. I wonder what the heck is going on? I really hope Gerald didn't do what I think he did!
When Helga reached the bottom of the stairs, she was surprised at what she saw. Not two, but three people wearing evening formal attire. Gerald and Phoebe were standing together by the doorway while the third person waited for her at the foot of the stairs. It was Helga's mother.
"Mom? What are you doing here? And dressed like that?" Helga asked with a confused look on her face.
"Well, first of all, tonight's that silent auction dinner your dad's work is having. I'm meeting him there in a bit. Second of all, I'm here because I need to talk to you. It's important."
"Here? Now? But why? Is everything ok?"
"Of course Helga. Why don't we sit on the couch and talk?"
"Great idea. Mrs. P." said Gerald. "Phoebe and I will be outside. We'll be back in a minute." As they were walking out, Phoebe whispered to Gerald, "I thought Helga was going with her dad to the WrestleMania match."
"She is," replied Gerald. "But it turns out that the match is actually next Saturday and not tonight. I'll explain everything to you outside."
xxxxxxxx
Once Helga and Miriam sat on the couch, Miriam started the conversation. "I want to talk to you about why you decided not to go to prom tonight."
Helga rolled her eyes and slouched against the couch. "Oh no mom, not you too. Why does everyone want me to go?"
"Now just hear me out Helga. Let me tell you a story. When I was your age, I had a date to prom. Oh he was so charming and handsome and nice that I couldn't say no to him when he asked me. Then, when the morning of prom came, he called me up and said, 'Sorry Miriam. I can't go tonight. I woke up this this morning with a fever.'"
"And you fell for that?" asked Helga.
"Not at first. To make sure he was telling the truth, I brought him some chicken noodle soup. And when I got to his room, he wasn't sick at all. In fact, he was getting his tuxedo ready."
"You mean he lied to you. What happened?"
"Well, it turned out his dad's close friend, Marty, was visiting from out of town and his parents practically forced him to take Marty's 17-year old daughter instead of me. He said that it was last minute and that he was sorry and he'll make it up to me later. I was so upset that I stormed out of his house. But you know what? I didn't let that get me down. So I went to prom by myself."
"You did? Weren't you afraid of people talking about you?"
"Well yes at first, but as the night went on I didn't care at all. What was important was that I was spending time with my closest friends. I'll tell you, Helga, I had the time of my life. It actually felt nice to not have a date. I was able to freely mingle with everyone. I was even able to dance with him at one point."
"So what you're trying to tell me is that I should do the same and not let what happened to me last year with Stanley get to my brain and just go to prom tonight and have fun?"
"That's what I've been trying to tell you." Helga jumped a little at the sound of Phoebe's voice. Helga was so caught up with her mom's story that she didn't hear her friends come back inside.
"Exactly ladies," responded Miriam. Then she took her daughter's hand in hers and looked in her eyes and said, "If I can do it, so can you. I know what Stanley put you through is hard, but I know you. You are a strong, confident young woman, stronger than me as a matter of fact. I know you'll be ok. And you have your friends here to support you."
"That's right Pataki. Remember we told Stanley that if tries anything on you, he'll have to answer to all of us?"
Helga just sat there quietly for a minute to think about it. "I guess you're right if you put it that way. But I don't have anything to wear. And I know you got something special planned Gerald for just you and Phoebe. I don't want to intrude."
Gerald replied, "Well your mom brought that dress and shoes that you were going to wear for graduation. It's in the car. And the three of us always do stuff together, so don't worry about intruding or anything."
Helga thought about it for a moment. Then she said plainly, "Ok. I'll go."
"Perfect!" said Phoebe with a huge smile. "I'll go get your dress so you can get ready."
As Helga and Miriam waited for Phoebe, Helga asked, "So did that guy kept his word? Did he make it up to you?"
"Of course he did. He is a Pataki after all and you know Pataki's don't break their promises," Miriam said as she smiled and winked at her daughter.
Soon, Helga was back in Phoebe's room with Phoebe and Miriam helping her quickly getting ready for prom. All the while Helga was wondering if she really made the right decision and if she was going to regret it later. But the words of encouragement from her mother and best friend resonated in her mind and gave her hope.
When they were done, Helga looked at herself in the mirror. There she was with makeup, her hair in wavy curls, her favorite pink bow tied to the side of her head, wearing dangling silver earrings, a necklace with a silver heart pendant, and a simple, yet beautiful flowing strapless knee-length coral dress with touches of glitter all over.
"Oh you look so beautiful honey. Phoebe doesn't she just look stunning?"
"Yes Mrs. Pataki. She sure does," Phoebe said trying to hide her excitement from her best friend. You'll have a wonderful and unforgettable time tonight Helga, I promise.
When the three of them went downstairs, Gerald smiled at what he saw. "Wow Helga! You look amazing! Come on, we better go ladies if we want to make our reservation. And don't worry Mrs. P. I'll drop you off at the reception on the way."
Then they all got inside the car, with Phoebe riding in the front with Gerald and Miriam and Helga in the back. As Gerald was driving, Miriam continued to hold her daughter's hand for comfort as Helga thought to herself, I still don't see what the big deal is about prom and why they're really pushing me to go. But I'm sure they know what's best for me. Who knows? Maybe they're right and I might end up having a great time. I guess we'll just wait and see what tonight has in store for me.
Hope you're enjoying the story so far. Don't forget to review :)
DISCLAIMER: I don't own "Hey Arnold!"
