It was Saturday, which meant that it was the day of Arnold's date with Rhonda. He was scheduled to meet her in twenty minutes, so he was busy getting ready. While he did that, his grandparents and the other boarders were sat around in the lounge.

"So, he is ready for the big date?" Mr Hyunh asked.

"Should be finishing up soon," Phil replied, "the kid's probably nervous as heck."

"Well, I hope everything goes well for him," Suzie told them, "he is such a sweet boy. He actually convinced me to get Oskar a job at the department store, and he's actually kept it!"

"You're kidding me!" Ernie said, his eyes widening. "He's holding a proper job now?! Never thought I'd see the day."

Oskar frowned. "Hey, I'm sitting right here."

"He does have a point," Phil reminded, causing the rest to laugh. They all turned their heads towards the hall when they heard a knock at the door, so Phil stood up. "Now, who could that be?"

"Could it be his date?" Suzie asked, a smile appearing on her face.

"No, he's picking her up at her fancy mansion or wherever it is she stays now!" He walked to the door, and when he opened it, he saw Gerald standing on the steps. "Oh, hello, Gerald!"

"Hey, Phil," he replied.

"How many times?! Don't call me Phil!"

"Well, if I can't call you Phil or Grampa, and it's too awkward to constantly call you Arnold's grampa, then what do I call you?"

"What do you-" he huffed. "What are you doing here, Gerald?"

"I came by to see how Arnold was doing before his date. Is it all right if I go up and see him?"

"Eh, sure, what the heck."

Gerald walked past the older man and up the stairs, before arriving at Arnold's door. He gave it a quick knock and called in, "Arnold? It's me, Gerald! You mind if I come in?"

"Go ahead, Gerald!" Arnold replied.

Gerald smiled, opening the door. "Hey, Arnold. I just thought I'd swing by and- WOAH!" He looked across the room and saw Arnold standing in front of his mirror, wearing a freshly ironed red shirt, black tie, black skinny jeans and polished black oxfords. He had no hat on his head, and his hair was slicked back. Arnold turned towards Gerald and smirked when he saw Gerald's stunned expression. "Damn, Arnold! What did you do, rob a movie star's wardrobe?!"

"This looks okay, right? It's not too much?"

"Arnold, she is going to LOVE it! She could not have picked a better attire for you herself, and she is the fashionista of the school! You even ditched your hat for this, man!"

"I know, and as much as I love my hat, I just don't think it goes with everything else."

"There is NO WAY IN HELL that she will not fall for you!"

"Thanks, Gerald." He put on his black jacket, then checked himself in the mirror. "Okay. I'm ready. I just need to stop by Mrs Vitello's flower shop first."

"I'll come with you, just to make sure you don't chicken out." He smirked at his friend, who juts rolled his eyes.

"At least I have a date. You can't even ask the girl out!"

Gerald blushed. "Man, sh-shut up!"

They walked out of the room, unaware to them that they had been spied on by Helga the whole time. She sighed once he was gone. "Oh, Arnold! What I would give for you to dress in that way for me! Your golden locks beautifully arranged like always, your suave and debonair poise, matched by your beautifully assembled attire! Why could it not be me that receives the gentleman from heaven!"

"Helga?" She heard Phoebe speak through the walkie-talkie. "I found the pizza parlour."

Helga snapped herself out of her obsessive train of thought and turned on her walkie-talkie. "Okay. He's going to the flower shop before he heads to Princess' place. I'm going to head to the movie theatre, and see if I can figure out which film they'll see. You head inside and wait for them to arrive, then let me know so I can give further instructions."

Arnold and Gerald quickly arrived at the flower shop, and saw that Mrs Vitello was at the counter, arranging an order for a customer.

"There we are, sir," she told him, "that will be $12." He gave her the money and took the flowers, walking past Arnold and Gerald. Once she placed the money in the register, she looked at the two boys and gave them a welcoming smile. "Why, if it isn't Arnold and Gerald! How nice to see you boys!" She looked at Arnold's attire and smiled even more. "Why, Arnold, you look really smart in those clothes! Is it a special occasion?"

"My main man has gotten himself his first proper date!" Gerald boasted, causing Arnold to blush.

"Y-yeah, and I wanted to get her some flowers," Arnold explained. "I was thinking roses would be best, since red is her favourite colour."

"Well, let me go around the back and check what I have. I should have something that is perfect for your date." She headed into the back room, and it was only a moment before she returned, carrying a beautiful bouquet of red roses, which were in full bloom. "Here we go. These bloomed just this morning." She took some arranging paper and wrapped it around the bouquet, before tying a red ribbon around it. "And these are ready to go!"

"Thanks, Mrs Vitello!" He reached into his pocket. "How much will this cost?"

She laughed heartily, and he just looked at her. "I won't take a penny for them! Consider these a gift, from me to you!"

"Are you sure? I mean, it seems a bit much."

"I am certain. This is a special moment for you, Arnold! Take the flowers, and I wish you the best of luck on your date. Besides, you boys have helped me around the shop so much, and you've done a lot for this neighbourhood- it's the least I can do."

He smiled, before he nodded. "Thank you, thank you so much!"

"Have a good night, boys!" she called as they left her shop. They waved to her on their way out. Once they were outside, they looked at each other.

"Well, since that's taken care of, you know what's next, right?" he told his friend, giving him a reassuring smile.

"Yeah," he replied, a determined look on his face, "I do."

At five minutes to five, Buckley and Brooke Wellington Lloyd, Rhonda's parents, were sat by the fireplace in their living room, while Rhonda was making final preparations upstairs. The two of them drew their attention when they heard the door bell. "That must be our daughter's date for the evening," Buckley told his wife. "He seems to be early."

Brooke smiled eagerly. "All the more chance for us to get to know the boy first."

He smiled back. "You took the words from my mouth." He stood up and walked into the hallway, heading straight to the door. He cleared his throat before opening the door and looking down to see a boy with a football-shaped head, holding a rose bouquet in his arms. "Ah! You must be Arnold! I'm Rhonda's father."

He extended his hand, and Arnold shook it. "Hello, sir," he greeted, "it is nice to see you again. How are things with you?"

"Wonderful, thank you so much for asking! For a second, I forgot we had resided in the same building as you for a short time. Now, my daughter should be ready soon, so please, do come inside."

"Thank you, sir."

Buckley smiled at Arnold's manners. 'It seems Rhonda might have made a good choice after all,' he thought as he ushered the boy inside, closing the door. "Rhonda?" he called upstairs. "Your date has arrived!"

"I'll be down soon, daddy!" she called back.

"Why don't we head into the lounge?" He ushered Arnold into the living room, while his wife stood up. "You remember my wife, Brooke?"

"Of course. It's lovely to see you again, Miss Lloyd."

He extended his hand, and she gratefully shook it. "And you as well, Arnold," she replied, "and what a lovely bouquet you have brought! I take it those are for my daughter?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"How sweet of you." She sat down, gesturing for him to take a seat on the couch. Once both he and Buckley were sat down, she adopted a serious facial expression. "Now, before you go on your date with our daughter, we would appreciate it if you could answer a few questions for us."

"By all means, I'm happy to answer."

"That's good to hear," Buckley said, looking at his wife for a second, before turning back to the boy. "Now then, this is the first we have heard of you liking my daughter. Is this a spur of the moment date? Or, have you been wishing to ask our dear Rhonda on a date for some time?"

Arnold thought for a moment. "If I am to be completely honest, sir, I had been thinking about asking her out since we were told about the dance. Rhonda has been a good friend of mine for a while, but it has been more recently that I started to think that maybe I liked her more than that. I couldn't put my feelings for her into words, but I feel very strongly about her."

"I see," Brooke commented. She wanted to smile at his honest bashfulness, but she maintained her composure. "Now, on Wednesday, my daughter came home with her favourite jacket stained. We asked her what happened, but she told us that it didn't matter, before telling us about the date you two had arranged. Because of that, I think I understood, but I just have to check. Was this your doing?"

He hung his head as he answered. "I'm afraid that it was. I had originally asked her to the dance at lunchtime, and while I was waiting for a response, I felt something knock into me, and my pudding went all over her. I tried to apologise straight away, but she was understandably angry, so she left before she could answer."

"I see. This must have made you feel quite awful."

"Indeed. I thought that I had ruined any chance I had, and our friendship, for that matter. I felt guilty- more so than I had ever done before- and it hurt."

"If I may ask," Buckley spoke up, "is this the first girl you have felt such attraction towards?"

"No, sir, she's not. Rhonda would be my third real crush, but she is definitely the one I have been the most attracted towards. Your daughter is a kind and caring young lady, and it has been a privilege to even have her as a friend."

Brooke and Buckley smiled at each other, before turning back to the boy. "That should be enough for now, Arnold. You seem like a brilliant young man."

"Okay! I'm ready!" they all heard Rhonda called. Arnold stood up and turned to the door, and once he saw Rhonda step through, he gasped. "Hello, Arnold!"