The first part of the day went quite quickly. They got to school, got through their first set of lessons, had recess, and got through their second set of lessons, before finally hearing the lunch bell.
"Okay, class," Mr Simmons announced, "we'll pick up on this tomorrow, so be sure to have completed the questions from page 72 in your workbooks. After lunch, we will be focusing on history and geography."
Everyone eagerly collected their things and headed into the hallway, where they would be put into their lockers.
"So, Gerald," Arnold asked as he opened his locker, "remind me again why you haven't asked Phoebe to the dance yet?"
"Because I need to ask her when she's on her own," he explained, "and that means getting her away from Helga, which ain't easy. I tried a little while back with her there, and she nearly bit my head clean off!"
Arnold chuckled, placing his books in his locker. "Okay, but surely there must be some way you can speak to her without Helga interfering."
"Believe me, man! As far as I can think of, the only way would be to go to her house, and I am not as bold as you! I couldn't do that. The only other way would be to call or write, and that's just impersonal."
"Sounds like you're really stuck. If you want my advice, I think you should just man up and tell Helga that you need to speak to Phoebe. If she doesn't like it, then just say it with her there."
"Are you crazy? That's like going up to a guy on a bus with a rabid dog, and asking if you can sit next to him!" Once Arnold had finished putting his stuff away, he locked his locker, and Gerald began to sort his own stuff out. "So, how's everything going with Miss Rhonda?"
"Good. We're going to sit together for lunch, so we can talk about what we want to do this Saturday. I hope you don't mind that I sit with her, because I don't know if she'll want you there."
He scoffed. "What, does rich girl not want my common butt joining you?"
"That's not what I meant, Gerald! I just meant that-"
Gerald burst out laughing, patting his friend on the back. "Hoo boy, I wasn't sure you'd fall for that one! Relax, it's fine! I'll hang with Stinky and the guys, it's not a problem!"
Arnold sighed. "Thanks, Gerald." They then turned their heads just as Eugene tripped up. "You okay, Eugene?"
"I'm okay," he responded. He quickly got up and continued to walk, until he caught up to Sheena. "Hey, Sheena? Can I ask you something?"
Being the taller of the two, she smiled down to her friend. "Of course, Eugene!" she replied, chirpily. "What is it?"
"Well, if you don't have any other plans, I was wondering if you would go to the dance with me next Saturday!"
Her smile grew and her eyes widened, sparkling with joy. "Oh, Eugene, I would love to go with you!"
"Really?" He too smiled widely. "That's great! Thanks, Sheena!"
"No, thank you for asking me! I'm looking forward to it!"
"Me too!"
Arnold and Gerald watched as the two of them headed towards the lunchroom, then Arnold smirked at Gerald. "See? It's not that difficult. I'm sure if Eugene can ask Sheena to the dance, then you can ask Phoebe."
"Yeah, well, it's like I told you. HE didn't have a rabid dog barking every time he tried to even TALK to the girl!"
"Whatever."
The two of them headed to the lunchroom and got their food. "I'll catch you later, Arnold."
"You too, Gerald." They did their handshake, before Arnold walked over to Rhonda, who was sat talking to Nadine. "Hey, Rhonda!"
Rhonda looked up and smiled. "Hey, Arnold!" She then turned to Nadine again. "I'll catch up with you on this later, Nadine."
"No problem, Rhonda," she replied, before walking over to join Sheena and Lila.
"So," Arnold started, sitting down, "do you have any ideas what you want to do for Saturday?"
"Well, not entirely. I mean, I've hung out with guys before, and I did 'go out' with Sid and Harold, but we didn't really date, as such. We just sort of…"
"Hung out?" He smirked while she giggled. "To tell you the truth, I've only been on one actual date, back when I liked Ruth, although it wasn't really a date. She thought I was a busboy."
Rhonda struggled to hold back the laughter. "Oh my! I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh."
"Don't worry, it is a little funny." He then thought of an idea. "What if we went to see a movie? They're showing a fair few different films this weekend, so we'll have plenty of choice."
She smiled at the idea. "That sounds great! Maybe we could get something to eat beforehand?"
He nodded. "That sounds good to me! Do you like pizza?" She nodded. "Why don't we head to this place I know called 'Antonio's' first, then go see the movie?"
"I think we can call that a plan! Although, I think I should warn you. When you pick me up, my parents are most likely going to want to speak with you. They seemed to be okay with you going out with me when I told them, but they're not exactly known for being the most accepting of boys, so… just be careful about what you say."
He couldn't help but chuckle at her concerns. "Don't worry. I appreciate the concern, but from what I remember, your parents seemed like good people, and I'm sure they'll only want to make sure that I'm a good guy. They're reasonable, so things should be okay."
"I know, Arnold, and I know that they'll like you even more when they get to know you better."
On the table behind them, Helga had been listening closely to what they had been saying. "Hmm… so they're going to some pizza joint, and then going to catch a film? Shouldn't be too hard to derail that!" She looked over at Phoebe, who was walking over with her lunch. "There you are, Pheebs! I've got the dirt on Ice Cream and Princess' date, so I should be able to figure out what to do with them! How goes the plan to keep Chocolate Cake away from Spidine?"
"At the moment, they're speaking separately," she explained, sitting down. "Chocolate Cake is sat with Stinky, Sid and Harold, while Spidine is sat with Lila and Sheena."
"Alright. You see if you can hear anything mentioned from the boys' table, I'll see if I can hear anything from the girls."
"Listening!"
"No way! He asked you?!" Nadine asked Sheena, who squealed happily.
"I know, it's amazing!" Sheena replied. "I was so hoping he would, but now he actually has, I can't believe it happened!"
"Gosh, it sounds ever so nice of him!" Lila cooed, holding her hands together. "You are oh so lucky, Sheena."
"Oh, I'm sure you two will have your own dates in no time." She turned to Nadine. "Have you decided who you want to go with yet?"
"Well, I have an idea, but it's hard. Whoever I pick, I'll be upsetting the others, and I don't want to hurt them."
"He actually asked her?!" Sid asked, bewildered. "No way, you're pulling my leg!"
Gerald just smirked. "Take a look over there," he replied, pointing behind them. The other three looked and saw Rhonda and Arnold sat together, talking happily. "That enough proof for you?"
"I can't believe he pulled it off!" Harold said, his eyes widened from the shock. "After what happened yesterday, I didn't think he'd have a snowball's chance!"
"Not to mention they're going out Saturday too," Gerald added, but then clamped his hand over his mouth when he realised he had let it slip. 'Nice one, Gerald! Why don't you tell them about how he was crying in his room while you're at it?' he mentally scolded himself. He sighed, removing his hand from his mouth. "You three don't tell anyone about this, got it?"
"What? Now why would you think we would tell anyone?" Stinky asked, feigning innocence.
Gerald crossed his arms and glared at him. "Remember the Iggy incident?" Stinky and Sid both looked guilty when he mentioned that. "Yeah, they've only just forgiven each other for it, but they aren't exactly friends again."
"Hey, I had nothing to do with that!" Harold complained.
"Yeah, but you aren't exactly the most sympathetic guy either- your response to what happened yesterday being proof of that- so I wouldn't be surprised. You three need to promise me you'll keep it between us for now."
They all sighed, before answering, "we promise."
"So, Gerald, have you asked out your date yet?" Sid asked.
"Not exactly." They all started sniggering at him. "Hey, come on, at least I'm trying to get a date."
"For your information, I would be going with Patty if she had been held back another year!" Harold argued.
"Yeah, but you two go out! Me and her, we don't officially go out, so it's difficult. I need to ask her when she's on her own, so you can see my dilemma."
Phoebe let out a low growl, low enough that only Helga heard her. Looking over at her friend, Helga was surprised by the anger. "Woah, easy, Pheebs!" she told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm guessing you heard something you didn't like?"
Phoebe nodded. "He's going to ask her when he can find her on her own."
"Did he mention her name?" Phoebe thought for a moment, and shook her head when she realised that he hadn't. "Well, I didn't hear any names from Nadine either, and from what I did hear, sounds like she has options. It's not much to go on, so we'll need to keep an eye on them, just to be sure, but it might be okay for you." The bell then rang for class. "Come on, we better head back."
