You Don't Know Me, Arnold
Chapter 10: Experiment
Omg we did it! We hit 100! And on my first Hey Arnold fanfiction too xD
But we're getting close ladies and gentlemen. Our story just hit January which means that I need to start bringing in The Jungle Movie hints and easter eggs. Which also means that Arnold and Helga's relationship is going to be developing ;) Thank you all for your feedback for the last chapter, I'm glad you all liked it!
WARNING: IF YOU SEE A (*) ON A PARTICULAR WORD FOR THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS, IT MEANS THAT IT'S A FORESHADOWING TO THE JUNGLE MOVIE! AND I WILL EXPLAIN WHAT IT IS AT THE END OF THAT CHAPTER.
"Hello class! How was break?" Simmons asked as the class groaned, clearly our sleeping schedules were not cooperating with any of us.
"Well I'm glad your special breaks were fantastic, but remember, the Science Fair is this Friday. I hope you all have your projects finished."
"Wilikers! We forgot about the project!" I heard Stinky whisper to Harold and Sid.
"Mr. Simmons." Sid said as he raised his hand.
"Yes Sid?"
"What if... hypothetically, we don't have the project done by Friday?" he asked hesitantly.
Mr. Simmons smile faded, "Gosh Sid, that wouldn't be good. These projects are worth a huge percentage of your final grade. It can bring a grade as high as an A+ down to a C- or maybe even a D+"
"D+!?" Harold exclaimed. "WE'RE GONNA FAIL!"
"Now now Harold, I'm sure you three are going to do a spectacular job," Mr. Simmons responded. "But because of what's at stake, we're spending the rest of class time making our finishing touches on our poster boards. Did everyone bring there's?"
Everyone nodded calmly except for Stinky, Harold, and Sid, who were all chewing their nails.
"Splendid! Now get to work!" Simmons exclaimed as our class moved desks to be with our respective partners.
I looked over at Helga and noticed that she was wearing her snow boots, I wonder if she knows it was from me.
"Looks like Pataki liked your gift, what'd she tell you when you gave them to her?" Gerald asked as Lila and I set our poster board on our desk.
"Oh um..." I said as I blushed. "I didn't give them to her personally..."
"You what!? Arnold!" Gerald exclaimed as I covered his mouth, noticing that some of our classmates turned around to look at us.
I removed my hand and put one finger on my lips, motioning for him to keep it down.
"Arnold, man are you crazy? Are you aware of what you had to sacrifice to get her those boots?"
"And are you aware of what SHE had to sacrifice to get Mr. Hyunh and his daughter back? She wanted to remain a mystery so that I wouldn't think differently of her, so I'm doing the same."
"Arnold..."
"Gerald please. I don't want Helga to think I'm bribing her into talking to me again, I wanted to simply do something nice for her. No strings attached."
Gerald sighed in frustration as Lila looked between the two of us.
"Gosh Arnold I couldn't help but overhear, but did you do something for Helga?"
"The boy gave up his father's one of a kind harmonica for some Nancy Spumoni snow boots that Pataki gave up for one of Arnold's boarders and his daughter to reunite," Gerald said as I turned to him indignantly.
"Gerald!"
"What? It's the truth!"
"Oh, that is ever so sweet Arnold! Do you like like Helga?" Lila asked as I widened my eyes.
"Well... um... I..."
"ARNOLD!"
I turned and noticed Stinky, Sid and Harold were motioning for me to approach them.
"I'll be right back," I said as I silently sighed in relief.
"What's wrong?" I asked but was stopped when Harold grabbed my arm and roughly sat me next to Stinky.
"We have a problem Arnold," Sid said.
"You guys didn't moon Principal Wartz again did you?" I asked as I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes.
"No but you gotta admit, that was pretty funny," Sid said as he chuckled.
I sighed and rolled my eyes, "So what's going on?"
"You gotta help us Arnold! We forgot about the science project, all we have is our hypothesis and our procedure and we shopped for all our stuff!" Harold whined.
"We still gotta do our experiment and our poster board. But it's gonna take time, it'll take our experiment DAYS to finish!" Stinky added.
"And then on top of that! We have to do the poster board! We're doomed!" Sid complained as he banged his head on the table.
"Okay guys calm down," I started. "If you guys have that much to do, shouldn't you guys get started now?"
"Yes, but we'll never finish Arnold!" Sid exclaimed.
"Yes, you will, you just need to delegate."
"Delegate? What in tarnation does that mean?"
"It means splitting up jobs within yourselves. Like for example, Stinky, you and Harold can work on the experiment and Sid can do the poster. I'm sure that if you really put your heads together, you can finish by Friday."
"And if we don't?" asked Harold.
"Well then I'm afraid you're going to have to tell Mr. Simmons the truth," I responded as my three friends sighed.
"Well what are we waiting for, let's do this!" Harold exclaimed as the three of them pulled out a piece of paper and started planning.
"Thanks Arnold, you're a pal," Sid said as I smiled and headed back towards my seat.
I turned and for a second my eyes locked with Helga's, but she looked away quickly.
Was she watching me?
I smiled and sat back down in my seat.
"Uh... Helga," I heard Brainy say as he approached her.
"What's up Brainy?" she responded softly as I noticed her look up at him.
"When do you want me to come over?" Brainy asked as he continued breathing.
"Is 4 okay?" she responded as I noticed him nod.
Why in the world was Brainy going to her house?
"Nice boots Helga," Rhonda said as she walked by Helga. "Who got them for you? Your parents?"
I noticed Gerald and Lila look at me and I pretended I was working on the poster board, but in reality, I was listening to their conversation.
"No, it wasn't them."
"Then who got them for you?" Rhonda asked as she sat next to her.
"I don't know... they were on my stoop and it said that they were for me."
"Wow, what a mystery, tell me when you find out who it is! I love these kinds of things," Rhonda said as she left Helga.
Did I mention that our desk was next to Helga's? I was literally sitting one person away from her, so the next thing she said shocked me.
"Brainy, I wanted to thank you."
"Huh?" Brainy asked.
"For these boots Brainy, I know it was you. You were the only one who knew about my little Christmas secret last year, it couldn't have possibly been anyone else. It means a lot," Helga responded.
Wait. WHAT!?
I noticed Gerald giving me a 'you better stand up and tell her it was you right now' look and I ignored him.
Look, I don't care if Helga thinks it was Brainy, as long as she's happy, I'm happy.
"Look man, if you don't tell her, I will!" Gerald whispered as he was getting ready to get up.
"Gerald no! Look, it doesn't matter, Christmas isn't about who gave who what. It's about miracles and making people happy."
"Fine Arnold, but if she one day comes up and asks you if it was you, you BETTER tell her."
"I will Gerald, you know I can't lie."
"You truly are somethin' Arnold."
I turned back and noticed Brainy look confused. "Um... I..."
The bell then rang, and Helga got up with Phoebe, leaving Brainy to his thoughts.
As the class poured out, I packed up everything, "I'll meet you outside Gerald."
"Alright Arnold," he said as he left the room, leaving only Brainy and me in the room.
"Why didn't you tell her?"
I turned and noticed Brainy frowning at me.
I slightly widened my eyes and played it cool, "Tell her what?"
"About the snow boots Arnold, I know it was you. And I know you listened to everything Helga said, you and Gerald made it pretty obvious."
I sighed and responded, "I don't want her to start talking to me just because I decided to do that for her Brainy, I just wanted to make her happy."
"Yeah but now she thinks I did it," he said as he motioned toward himself.
"Well don't tell her it was me, please?" I asked.
"Even if I did she wouldn't believe me, she still thinks you don't like her."
I frowned, I'm working on it okay! Baby steps!
"I honestly sometimes miss the old days when a punch in the face was the only interaction I had with her."
"Why do you say that?" I asked as I stopped shuffling with my things.
"Because she's not herself anymore Arnold, she's not the same Helga. She acts nice but I can tell she isn't happy. It's like her identity was ripped away from her... I don't know. But you made a good move with the boots, I haven't seen her this happy since summer vacation."
I smiled at the compliment, you did good Arnold.
"Arnold will you hurry it up in there!" Gerald exclaimed.
"Coming!" I called back. "I'll see you later Brainy."
"Arnold, I don't know what you're doing. But keep it up," he said as I smiled and approached Gerald.
Friday
It would be an understatement if I said that PS 118's fifth grade class was freaking out.
IT WAS PURE MADNESS!
Kids running in the halls with bags under their eyes.
Kids yelling at each other because of a miniature mistake on their poster board.
Experiments EVERYWHERE!
It was more chaotic than April Fools Day, and that's SAYING something.
"NADINE! I told you to polish the shoes twice each day not once! You've RUINED the experiment!" Rhonda yelled as Nadine put her hands on her hips.
"Well I told you I'd be more comfortable doing an experiment about bugs but it ALWAYS has to be about you huh Rhonda?"
"Please stop fighting..."
"SHUT UP SHEENA!" Rhonda and Nadine yelled as Sheena hid behind the water fountain.
"I FORGOT THE POSTER BOARD!"
"GO GET IT THEN SID!"
"This Science Fair bites!"
"ARNOLD ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION!?"
I jumped and turned to Gerald who was scowling at me and Lila who was frowning at me.
"I'm sorry what did you say?" I asked sheepishly.
"Get it together Arnold! We can't have you going into dream world today, I told you to be careful. I feel like I'm carrying this project more than you are!"
I looked at Gerald's hands and noticed he was carrying the cage with the baby chicks who finally hatched courtesy of Lila and the majority of our volcano. Lila was carrying our poster board.
"Sorry Gerald," I said as I helped him carry half. "It's just that everybody has been out of it today."
"Well there is ever so much at stake," Lila responded. "This could determine whether or not we flunk the 5th grade or not."
"Man I thought high school was where we had to worry about these things! I'm always seeing Jamie O freaking out about this thing called a final exam. Not cool man!" Gerald complained as we all headed toward the gym.
"C'mon, it won't be so bad! We finished everything, all we have to do is present it."
Gerald groaned as Lila quickly opened the door for us.
"Hello class!" Mr. Simmons exclaimed. "Your spots are assigned by the table numbers Helga gave you in the beginning of the year. Arnold, you, Gerald and Lila are Table 5."
The three of us nodded as we headed toward our table and began setting up.
We passed by Eugene, who was in Table 4 adjusting his poster board.
Wait! We're next to Helga's table! But where were Helga and Phoebe?
"Hey Eugene!" I saluted as Eugene turned to me.
"Oh! Hello Arnold, what a wonderful day for a Science Fair don't you think?"
"Speak for yourself..." Gerald muttered low enough for Eugene not to hear.
"Where are Helga and Phoebe?" I asked.
"Oh! I think Phoebe is in the restroom and Helga is getting Brainy ready."
"Ready? For what?"
"Oh... you'll see," he said as he winked at me.
I don't know... but I suddenly felt nervous.
I looked at their poster board and noticed that it was titled, HELGA'S SOCIAL EXPERIMENT.
"ARNOLD! WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT GETTING DISTRACTED!?" Gerald yelled as I turned back to my group and noticed that the baby chicks were trying to run away.
"You have been ever so out of it Arnold," Lila added as she set the last baby chick in the cage.
"Sorry guys, won't happen again."
"Mm mm mmmm, just shut up and help me set up the volcano."
As Gerald, Lila and I revisited the procedure, I noticed Phoebe run back into the gym with a packet of papers.
"Here are the surveys Eugene," she said as Eugene grabbed them and set them on the table.
"Helga isn't back yet with Brainy?" she asked as Eugene shook his head.
"I think Brainy just got back but he's with his own group right now, Helga still hasn't gotten back."
"Where is she!?" Phoebe asked and I could automatically tell that, like Gerald, she was also freaking out.
"There she is!" Eugene exclaimed and I couldn't help but look.
Helga walked in - completely carefree - and she was holding a camera and a VHS?
Oh, well that would explain the huge TV on their table.
"Helga where have you been!?" Phoebe exclaimed.
"I was getting this from my locker, this camera* my Dad got for me really came in handy."
"It did!" Eugene exclaimed. "Imagine the endless possibilities with that camera, technology sure is something."
"Alright everyone! Listen up!" Mr. Simmons called as we all turned to him. "Our judges are here, please give a warm welcome to Principal Wartz, Mr. Green, and Mrs. Vitello. They will be deciding our Top 3 winners and I will be with them recording the grade that you get, got it?"
Our class nodded as the judges and Mr. Simmons walked toward Brainy, Curly, and Iggy's group in Table 1.
"Is the volcano ready Arnold?"
"Yep, all set up, what about the baby chicks?" I asked Lila.
"I'm ever so sure they're all set Arnold."
"Great, now all we gotta do is wait," Gerald said as he collapsed on the floor.
I then decided to take this opportunity to approach Helga.
"H-Hi Helga..."
Really Arnold? Hi Helga!? This is the whole "Hi Ruth" thing all over again!
Helga turned to me and seemed surprised that I had talked to her, "Oh... hi Arnold."
"How's it been?"
"Busy... you?"
"Same here, the holidays were hectic, how was your Christmas? I see you got new boots," I said as I pointed to her boots.
She looked down and looked back up to me, "Yeah, they randomly showed up on my stoop and I thought Brainy had gotten them for me but he insists that he didn't. I think he's just being shy."
I softly smiled, "Do you like them?"
"I love them! I've wanted these boots for a long time now," Helga responded and I noticed that she said that with a lot of ease.
She then seemed like she realized how comfortably that had slipped out and she started blushing and taking a few steps back while putting her head down, "B-But I think I better start setting up our experiment, Simmons is going to get here soon."
No Helga! Don't close yourself up again!
"Okay Helga, I'm glad you like them. Good luck!" I said as I headed back to our station.
She nodded but didn't make eye contact with me as she began imputing the VHS in the VCR.
I turned and noticed that Mr. Simmons and the judges were finishing up with Rhonda's table, which happened to be Table 2.
Woah they're going quick!
As Simmons and the judges approached Sid's station in Table 3, I noticed Brainy running towards Helga's station.
"Okay everyone! Get in position!" Phoebe ordered as Helga, Eugene and Brainy stood on one side and Phoebe stood on the other.
"Is the video ready Helga?" Phoebe asked as Helga nodded.
"Eugene? Surveys ready?"
"All finished!"
"Ready to be put on the spot you three?" Phoebe asked as the three nodded.
Wow. I'm surprised Helga isn't the one giving the orders.
I turned to Gerald and noticed that he was smirking at Phoebe.
Sheesh, and he says I got it bad. Lila was currently observing the baby chicks.
"Okay Helga, Phoebe and Eugene!" Mr. Simmons said as he and the judges approached them. "Tell us about your project."
"Mr. Simmons, judges," Phoebe started. "Behold. Helga's Social Experiment. When Eugene, Helga and I first discussed what we were going to do, we asked ourselves - How does loneliness affect our way of living? Well, Helga gladly volunteered to be our test subject, since she herself has admitted to not being used to having stabilized friends."
I REALLY hope I wasn't the reason she thinks that, I wish I could turn back time.
"Our hypothesis was that loneliness indeed does affect your way of living negatively, since you need interaction with others to feel wanted and cared for. So we put it to the test," Phoebe said as Eugene and Helga stepped into the middle.
"Helga started off with Eugene, who she was never officially friends with before this project began. Helga decided that spending more time with Eugene would ignite a possible friendship. And it certainly did," Phoebe said as she started the video, showing many scenes of Helga and Eugene spending time with each other - one of them being Eugene riding his bike with training wheels while waving at Helga.
So THAT explains why Helga added training wheels to Eugene's bike! That explains why they've been spending so much time together.
"After spending time with Eugene," Helga began. "I gained a mutual respect for him. He's not as bad as I thought, and I learned that we should never judge and attempt to get to know others."
"Helga and I took a survey at the end of this experiment and we both realized that we were much happier within each other's company," Eugene said as he got the surveys. "Here they are, and it's great because Helga and I are still hanging out!"
"Now the real improvement was shown when it came to Brainy," Phoebe said as Eugene and Brainy switched spots. "Helga, do you want to take this one?"
"Of course. I have to admit that I did not like Brainy at all before we started this and the thought of having to speak to him revolted me. But one day I realized that I've never really given the guy a chance, so I told my fellow group members to add him to the experiment. We ended up learning a lot about each other and he is definitely someone I can rely on. Here is footage of me attending his Awards Ceremony at Dino Land. He volunteers there and he wanted me to attend, so I did. He went so far as to even get me these Nancy Spumoni snow boots, he's a true friend and I find myself happier with his company."
Three things.
1. Now I know why those two have been spending so much time together
2. Now I know why he and Helga went to Dino Land
3. "He is a true friend and I find myself happier?" You've GOT to be kidding me. That's so... ENRAGING!
Brainy looked surprised and sheepishly looked at the judges, "Uh... here are the surveys."
The judges took them and looked over them.
"I selected questions based off of emotions and interaction, I was aiming for a pathos approach," Phoebe explained as the judges nodded in satisfaction. "But although Helga was much happier when she hung around her new friends and old ones including myself, it was only temporary."
"Why temporary?" Mrs. Vitello asked.
"According to her answers on Page 5 of her survey, her new friends were only mere distractions. Which leads us to our conclusion, our hypothesis was only half right because it goes way deeper than what meets the eye. True happiness is accomplished more efficiently when you have company - this is true - but it all depends on what kind of company you're seeking. Eugene and Brainy are amazing people, but maybe if Helga would have seeked company elsewhere as well, then maybe her results would have been higher."
I could have sworn Mr. Simmons stole a glimpse at me.
"What a wonderful piece of research you three, you did an amazing job!" Mr. Simmons complimented while the three judges nodded in agreement.
"I love the depth to it," Wartz commented.
"And I love how you three filmed it, fabulous job!" Mr. Green complimented as Helga, Phoebe and Eugene thanked them.
"Your final scores will be posted out in the bulletin board this afternoon, thank you," Simmons said as they began walking over to us.
Gerald stood up and Lila straightened out her dress.
I noticed that Helga's group was now watching us.
"Hello Arnold, Lila and Gerald. Tell us about your project."
"Ladies and gentlemen of the panel," Gerald started. "We introduce you to Action and Reaction, a Quest for Silence. Observe," he said as I started the volcano.
"These are newborn baby chicks," Lila continued. "They are ever so sensitive to loud noises so we asked ourselves - Are baby chicks sensitive to loud noises such as a potential volcanic eruption?"
"Our hypothesis was that both baby chicks would be afraid of the noise, so we tested it," I continued as I added the ingredients into the volcano. "Take a look at the volcano's action and the chicks' reaction."
The volcano erupted and one baby chick freaked out while the other remained in place. It even looked like it was going to confront the volcano.
The judges stared in awe as Gerald began speaking again, "As you can see, Test Subject A was not fond of the noise and wanted to escape it as quickly as possible. But Test Subject B was fearless and wanted to confront the volcano. Which leads us to our conclusion, we were half right, one baby chick was indeed scared but the other wasn't. Which goes to show that some baby chicks are sensitive to noise and others simply aren't. It depends."
"My personal favorite is Test Subject B," I added. "Because of its ferocity and willingness to battle it out. It's not like the other baby chicks and that's what makes it unique and special," I said as I looked directly at Helga. "If Test Subject B were to stop being itself, it wouldn't be right. Ferocity, passion and determination is what makes it who it is, and I wouldn't want it any other way."
Helga seemed to have caught onto my double meaning and blushed while looking away.
Got you.
"Wonderful!" Mr. Simmons said as he applauded.
"Well thought out Arnold, Gerald and Lila, props," Mr. Green said as Wartz gave us a thumbs up and Mrs. Vitello clapped.
"I'm going to go with the judges to deliberate but I gotta say, both stations knocked it out of the park. Both of your groups get A's," Simmons whispered to both mine and Helga's group.
The three of us smiled and high fived.
"We got one problem guys," Gerald said. "What are we gonna do about Tweety #1 and Tweety #2?" he asked as he motioned toward the baby chicks.
"I'll take them home to my aunt! I'm sure she'll ever so love them!" Lila exclaimed as she put them in their cage.
"Good job guys! I loved your project!" Eugene said as Phoebe nodded.
"Thanks, kudos to you guys too!" Gerald replied as they thanked him.
Helga still didn't say a word as she began cleaning up.
She looked like she was having a battle with herself and I was about to approach her until Mr. Simmons started talking again.
"Alright everyone, the judges have come to a consensus and we have chosen our Top 3 projects. In 3rd place, Brainy, Curly and Iggy with their Silme-a-Ganza!"
Everyone applauded.
"In second place... Arnold, Gerald, and Lila with Action and Reaction, A Quest for Silence!"
Mr. Green gave us our ribbon as the class began drum rolling on their tables.
"And in 1st place... Helga, Phoebe and Eugene with Helga's Social Experiment! Good job everyone, grades will be posted afterschool! Make sure to clean up your stations before going to lunch!"
Just as I was about to take that opportunity to talk to Helga, she books it out of the gym with all their material.
I LET HER ESCAPE AGAIN UGH!
You guys are going to like the next two chapters xD
I mean Valentine's Day is around the corner... oh no! I've said too much!
*Camera: As some of you may have noticed, camera was one of our key The Jungle Movie terms, and this is why - I don't know if any of you have seen the artwork, but Craig posted a photo of Helga's basement and it looked like Helga had a bunch of video footages on her shelves. These happen to be the same video footages Helga uses to make Arnold's video for the San Lorenzo contest. A camera was obviously used to film it, so that camera is the same camera mentioned in this chapter ;)
It's crunch time ladies and gentlemen, we're getting close!