CHAPTER 10: FRIENDS, LOVERS, AND ENEMIES
In the school known as P.S. 1018, the school day ends, and its many adolescent students rush out its doors, eager to finish their long days with relaxing activities. Some choose to go straight home and study for tomorrow, furthering their education; some stay behind and partake in afterschool activities, furthering their own passions; and some choose to group together with friends and continue to spend time together, furthering their friendships.
The latter is the case of four students leaving now. These students are Gerald Johanssen, the hip kid and sports extraordinaire; Phoebe Heyerdahl, the smartest of the students, nerdiest, and Gerald's girlfriend; Helga Pataki, Phoebe's best friend; and Arnold Shortman, returning back home from his absence of 5 years and now completing his first day of high school.
While most of the students were all quick to catch the bus to get home fast, others choose to walk to spend more time talking with their friends. This group opts for the latter, continuing discussing Arnold's time in San Lorenzo, among the ancient civilization of the Green-Eyed People.
"Mmm-mmm-mmm! I can't imagine living away from pizza for that long! How did you do it, Arnold?" Gerald asked.
"Things like that became less of something for me to think on when I needed to learn to be strong again. I guess it's just necessity overriding luxury." Arnold replied.
"I don't care what anyone says, pizza is a necessity. I couldn't go on without it."
"Would you do it for me?" Phoebe asked.
Gerald thought for a minute before answering. While he would be willing to do so for the one he loves, he chose to take the opportunity to make a humorous moment for the two to laugh at.
"I don't know, you're putting me between a rock and a hard place right now, Pheebs." He said.
Phoebe hit Gerald flirtatiously, giggling at his playful banter. Helga, taking notice of the humorous moment, decided to join in the fun.
"Hey, 'Pheebs' is what I call her!" Helga said.
"Well, you've been away. I gotta fill the shoes." Gerald replied.
Helga, mistaking Gerald's reply as a dismissal of her 5 years of misery, got visibly upset, grabbing Gerald and making her feelings more apparent.
"Hey, I wasn't 'away', I was contemplating suicide, you jerk!" Helga said.
"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, I was just playing. I know you were hurting bad, but that's the past. Arnold's back. It's all good now." Gerald said.
"'All good now'?! Do you have any idea what you're saying-?!"
Arnold stopped Helga from doing Gerald any physical harm, calming her down as best as he could.
"Helga, it's okay, he was just trying to apologize." Arnold said.
"Well, he failed miserably! How can you-" Helga replied.
Arnold put his hands on Helga's face, shushing her. Helga, taking solace in Arnold's attempts at peace, found herself much more calmer with his reassurance.
"It's okay, Helga. I know you still hurt, but we all just want to help you. We know things are tough with you. We can help you. I can help you." Arnold said.
Helga stopped her fight and hugged Arnold, shedding a tear. Arnold, relieved to have helped Helga again, returned the hug.
"Thank you, Arnold. I'm sorry, Gerald." Helga said.
"Hey, it's all cool. That's what friends are for." Gerald replied.
As the moment of violence turns to one of peace again, two large, grungy men walked up to the group, holding large blunt objects with the intent to use them towards them.
"Well, ain't love just grand?" One asked.
"'Grand'? This show's awful! I want my money back!" The other replied.
"What do you two want?" Arnold asked them.
"Your money, all of it, now." The first one said.
Both of them held up their weapons. One was holding a baseball bat, the other was holding up a heavy chain.
Gerald, Phoebe, and Helga were quick to comply, fumbling in their pockets to gather their money.
Arnold, on the other hand, did not give in to their demands. Remembering his training as a Spirit Master, he chose to use his powers to defend himself and his friends.
"No." Arnold said.
The two muggers stepped closer to him, looking down towards him with intimidating looks and readying their weapons for attack.
"Excuse you?" One said.
To their surprise, Arnold's eyes began to glow bright green. Not knowing what to do, the two muggers stepped back, hoping nothing else would happen.
Their hopes do not last. Using his telepathic suggestion powers, Arnold began to talk to the muggers inside their heads.
You will not harm my friends. You will not take their money. You will not take anyone else's money. You will leave, stop this destructive lifestyle, and do something more productive with your lives. Arnold said telepathically.
The muggers, quick to take Arnold's suggestion, dropped their weapons on the ground in shock and quickly ran away. As they fled the scene, the two once-muggers began letting out screams that resembled the screams of 6-year old girl that encountered a spider.
With the threat gone, Arnold's eyes returned to their natural color, deactivating his Spirit Master powers.
"Alright, here's all $7.59 of my- Hey, where'd they go?" Gerald asked.
Having been too busy gathering their belongings to see the fantastic encounter, Gerald and the kids held up their money, only to see that their muggers were long gone.
"Arnold, what the heck happened?" Gerald asked.
"I don't know, maybe they had a change of heart and left." Arnold said.
The trio was stunned at the disappearance of their muggers, but they weren't complaining at all. After putting their money away, the group continued their conversation.
"So, anyways, what are you guys gonna do when you graduate?" Gerald asked.
"I was thinking of applying at M.I.T.. I do have extremely high grades. But then again, I'd miss all of you. Maybe I could just head to Hillwood Community College and we can all spend time together." Phoebe answered.
"Maybe I'll go with you. I'd get in on basketball scholarship. Helga?"
Being only concerned with ending her misery for 5 long years, Helga never put any thought about the future, having no real future as far as she was concerned or wanted. With Arnold returning to Hillwood and all her misery taken away, the future had turned from days of darkness and sorrow to hope and happiness.
Not having any other honest answer, she said the only thing that came to her mind.
"...Marry Arnold?" Helga answered.
Arnold, not expecting Helga to give such a blunt answer, began to show a blush. Gerald, taking notice, began to laugh almost instantly.
"I know you two love each other, but marriage already? You've only been back together for a day! I don't think it'd last very long." Gerald replied.
"Well, I don't know, Gerald. Helga is another big part of what brought me back, after all. I wouldn't mind being with her forever. Although that'd take some planning." Arnold replied.
Helga, elated at Arnold's answer, gave him an extremely passionate kiss.
"Hwoo! Get a room, you two! Hey Arnold, I know you just got back, but what are you gonna do when you graduate?" Gerald asked.
Arnold thought hard about his answer as well. During his 5 years in San Lorenzo, his only concerns were overcoming his pain and becoming a Spirit Master. Now that he has accomplished those goals, he is left without purpose in his life. Luz had told him that his city needed him, but he never specified how it needed him.
"...I don't know, Gerald. During my time in San Lorenzo, I realized I cared most about helping people, but there's not a lot in the job market for something like that." Arnold said.
"That's not true. If you want to help people, you could be a policeman, a fireman, a parole officer, a social worker, and several other things. Someone with your patience and kindness would be a good fit for those jobs, and this city really could use people like those." Phoebe suggested.
"I know, but... I feel like there's something else for me. Maybe I just have to keep looking."
"Good plan, my man. Always good to think carefully before a big choice like that." Gerald said.
The group arrived at Gerald's house, where Phoebe chose to further accompany Gerald further indoors. Before heading inside, the two pairs of lovers shed their temporary goodbyes.
"Alright, it's time for us to boogie. We'll see you guys later." Gerald said.
Arnold and Gerald shared their special handshake, bidding each other goodbye.
"See you guys later." Phoebe said.
Gerald and Phoebe entered the house together, holding each other as they headed inside. To the naive eye, one would think the two were heading inside were planning to study and complete their homework, like two respectable young citizens.
But nobody's that stupid.
"Well, we'd better get you home too." Arnold said.
Helga scoffed, believing that he meant her own home.
"Go home? No way! I'm not going back there when you're back!" Helga said.
"I meant to my home. My parents won't mind. Besides, it's probably not best you go back to your parents' house. I had no idea they were that bad to you." Arnold said.
"Well, maybe Gerald was right. I should just let it go. How do you just let things go so easily? I bullied you for years, but you never retaliated on me. What kept you so nice to me?"
Arnold thought a minute, thinking on how to give the most palatable answer for someone like Helga to understand.
"After my parents first left, I was in pain. I managed to overcome it with my grandparents caring for me. I'm not sure if I was so hurt that nothing else really hurt me after healing, or if I knew you were hurting somehow and I wanted to take away that pain. Either way, my kindness wasn't good enough to help you then." He answered.
Helga stopped Arnold, putting her hand on his chest to reassure him.
"That's not true. You saved me. You're back now. I've never been happier." Helga said.
"I know. I only wish I'd done it sooner. Did you really mean it when you said you wanted to marry me?" Arnold asked.
"Did you mean it when you said you wouldn't mind living with me forever?"
"I did. On marriage, I know I flirted about it in class, but, I just..."
"What?"
Arnold took a while to answer, again, unable to express his feelings in a logical way that Helga could understand.
"...I don't know. It's all happening way too fast. I've only been in a serious relationship with you for a day, had sex with you within the first few minutes of it, but I'm not ready for the next step. I want to experience this, I want to savor it. You and I have changed so much over the past five years, I'd like us to know each other as best as we can before we rush into anything." Arnold said.
"But I love you! And you love me! Isn't that good enough? What if we find something about each other that one of us doesn't like?" Helga asked.
"If you find something you don't like about me and can't overlook it, why would you want to marry me? Besides, if you're so confident that our love is that strong, why are you afraid that something bad will happen?"
Helga thought for a minute, understanding what Arnold was trying to convey. Upon understanding what Arnold meant, she realized that he was right.
"You're right. Maybe we should spend more time together and get to know each other better. How about we go do something?" Helga asked.
"Like a date?" Arnold asked.
"Duh, football head, how else to couples get to know each other?"
"Okay, what do you wanna do?"
Helga thought for a minute, trying to suggest an activity that both of them would enjoy together.
"You remember Mickey's Dog Pound?" Helga asked.
"Mickey Kaline's restaurant? It's still standing?" Arnold asked.
"Yeah, wanna take a trip down memory lane?"
"Sure, I am pretty hungry."
The two began to walk to the restaurant, talking endlessly during the trip there. Their conversations range from trivial things like their favorite colors and favorite foods to musical preferences and favorite activities. Much of their preferences remain from the years of their youth, some change drastically.
Either way, the two once-separate lovers find themselves completely caught up in conversation, finding themselves talking so much to the point where they can't stop talking at all. All the more enjoyment for themselves, they both think.
In the heart of the inner city, a restaurant known as Mickey's Dog Pound stands proudly in a shopping plaza. It was founded and is currently owned by its namesake, Mickey Kaline, a former baseball player who happens to be Arnold's personal favorite. He sat at the counter, waiting to seat any potential customers.
For many years Mickey Kaline has owned his restaurant and owns it proudly, but his pride takes a toll on his finances. With interest in baseball declining in the late 2010s, his sports-themed restaurant's popularity also fades, even with his once-celebrity status upholding it. Now, his most regulars include only old fans and non-selective eaters.
Unlike most days, he received a visit from a fan that he had the pleasure to meet in person and even drive him on in his own life: Arnold Shortman.
Upon noticing him walk in the door with Helga, Mickey was extremely happy to see him again.
"Hey Arnold! How long's it been, 5 years?" Mickey asked.
"Hey, Mickey. Yeah, it's been about 5 years. I've been out of town. Everything going good?" Arnold asked.
"Fine, fine, yeah. A table for you and your lady-friend, I presume?"
"Yes, please, thank you."
After the two are seated to a clean table, Mickey takes their orders, two hot dogs with Yahoo Sodas. After a brief waiting period, Mickey returned with their food and left the two to continue their date. Again, Arnold and Helga still talk about the past and the lost years between the two while eating their hot dogs.
"So this Luz guy acted as some sort of counselor for you?" Helga asked.
"Yeah, something like that. Speaking of counselors, how come you never got one? I don't want to bring up things like that, but it still haunts me that you never found any sort of help." Arnold asked.
Helga contemplated for a minute, visibly unhappy about the memories that Arnold had asked about.
"I tried practically every psychiatrist and counselor in the city. None of them could help me, and no prescriptions they gave me worked. They said I was untreatable. One tried to put me in a mental asylum, but your parents stepped in and offered to help me. They've practically been my legal guardians since." Helga said.
"That sounds really nice of them." Arnold said.
"Yeah, they're great people. It feels good to have people who care about you, not at all like Bob and Miriam."
Arnold took note that Helga made it a point not to refer to her parents 'Mom' and 'Dad'.
"I'm sorry for leaving you all those years, Helga, I shouldn't have-" Arnold tried to say.
"Hey Arnold, your grandparents died. You had to work it out. It's fine." Helga interrupted.
"No, it isn't fine. I called you selfish. I said I hated you. I was too scared to tell you what was really going on. I didn't want to make you feel the pain I had."
"The people who loved you the most were dying. I would've been more than happy to help you, no matter what it took."
"It wasn't just that, Helga. At first, I only knew my grandma was dying of Alzheimer's. I had just got the news and left for the hospital when I... hurt you. When I got there, I found my grandpa writing his will. He took a suicide serum he claimed to steal from Nazis and took it so he could be with Grandma, saying that being with her was more important than being with me and my parents. I stayed in bed with them both that night until they both passed away. I cried endlessly, and that's when I thought about jumping."
As Helga listened to Arnold's retelling of his horrible experience, tears began running down her face. Arnold had never told anyone the entire story, and Helga had never been told exactly what happened.
"Oh my god... I had no idea. I'm- I'm so sorry, Arnold." Helga said.
"I didn't want to share any of that with you or my parents because I can see how that hurts people, like it's hurting you now. When I was in San Lorenzo, I discovered that I had a passion for ending the pain of others, hence why I was always the peacemaker in the city. I let this city go to hell while I was away, and I want to make up for it somehow." Arnold said.
"Sharing pain with others is how you help relieve it, Arnold, friends are willing to do that for each other. But you can't change this city all by yourself. Most of this you couldn't helped if you stayed anyway."
"Why didn't you share your pain with others if you claim it helps?"
"I did. I shared it with your parents, who were also hurting from missing you. I may not have shown it to them, but I did appreciate everything they did for me and I still appreciate it. But it wasn't enough to cope with losing you. I thought about suicide a lot when you left. Ever since that night you left. I never moved from that spot when we fought that day and no one helped me, I just laid there and cried."
"I'm sorry, Helga. I wish I never said any of that at all. If you had died, I never would've been able to live with myself. I even had a nightmare that you jumped off the same roof I would've jumped off of. It was right after you gave a eulogy at my funeral. I can't tell if you or I cried more. I don't ever want to see you in pain again, Helga. I want to make up for every second that I was gone."
Arnold reached his hands across the table to hold Helga's hands. With Arnold showing his display of affection, Helga's smile returned.
"Okay. How about we go to the boardwalk after dinner, start on easing some pain with skeeball and table hockey?" Helga asked.
Upon seeing Helga happy and open to more fun, Arnold finally smiled.
"I like that idea. You're on." Arnold said.
After the two finished their food, they began to head to the boardwalk. There, they both played several games together, having a good time together. All the time, the two continued talking, laughing, living, and feeling more free than ever. They may have dated for a few months before Arnold left, but this was an experience that couldn't match those days. In this moment in time together, they were both extremely happy, and happy to have each other.
As the day ended and the boardwalk began to close, the two sat on the docks to watch the sunset, basking in the end of a perfect day together. The two concluded their day with a kiss, and began their night with a walk back to the boarding house, still talking endlessly, and they continued to talk endlessly all through the night.
As the night grew darker and the hour grew later, however, their talking comes to an end and they begin to indulge in more... physical activities.
Meanwhile, at the massive Lloyd Estate, Rhonda Wellington Lloyd stayed home alone. Her parents were gone on a business trip at an exclusive country club, possibly soon to be owned by the Lloyds in a long line of bought-out properties, typical for the mega-rich.
Wanting to relax after a long school day, Rhonda stepped out of the shower and put on her trendy new bathrobe that her parents had bought her for her birthday. The bathrobe was a faux white fur, resting comfortably on Rhonda's skin as if it were her own skin.
After spending several long minutes fixing her hair just right and several more long minutes setting up her outfit for tomorrow's school day, a luscious red blouse and a showy short skirt with a pair of high heels; she grabbed a Yahoo Soda from the fridge and began to relax in her room. While relaxing on her bed, she began applying nail polish to her toenails, making them look as beautiful as she could make them to go with the high heels she planned to wear for tomorrow.
While moving on to her fingernails, she began to hear footsteps approaching her room. Naturally, she just assumed that her parents arrived home early. Rhonda found it unusual for her parents to be home this early, but she kept her happy demeanor to her parents.
"Did you get a new golf course, Mommy and Daddy?" Rhonda asked.
After not receiving a reply, Rhonda turned to see why she did not get a response. She did not see her beloved parents, but rather a slender silhouette standing in her doorway. A small shock came over her, not expecting this new and unwelcome visitor.
"Just who are you and what are you doing in my home?" Rhonda asked.
"It's me, my dear Rhonda." A familiar voice replied.
Rhonda would know that voice anywhere. Little did she know, however, the person that she knew who owned that voice was no more. Now, it belonged to someone else. Someone much, much worse.
Rhonda made the mistake of approaching this new person in a threatening manner.
"Curly?! What the hell are you doing here?! Get out this instant or I'll call the authorities, you-!" Rhonda began to say.
The Freak pulled out a small handgun, sending a shock down Rhonda's spine. Upon realizing the danger she was in, Rhonda immediately changed her tone towards him, backing away and putting her hands in the air.
"C-Curly, what are you doing? Where did you get a gun?" Rhonda asked.
The Freak gave a sinister chuckle, amused at Rhonda's state of fear.
"The latter was simple, my dear. I just simply took it from my father's locker. Well, after I killed him and his whore of a wife. What I'm doing is a fairly unimportant question, as I'm here to kill you. 'Why' should be your main concern." The Freak said.
"O- Okay, Curly, why are you here to kill me?" Rhonda asked.
Rhonda, not wishing to die, was shaking with fear, all to The Freak's enjoyment.
"For years, I've been watching you. Adoring you. I even tried to make you be my girlfriend after fixing your mother's birthday present, if you recall. I didn't say what I said at the end of that day to make you 'cool' again, although your happiness was a bittersweet reward. No, I meant every word I said. I even began to believe that you really did like me and weren't just putting up a show. I see that mistake now, and I just began to realize it as I sat on your porch, crying myself to tears. Then, as the final nail in the coffin, you call me a 'freak' in front of the whole school." The Freak said.
Rhonda tried to offer an apology, but The Freak, far past accepting any apologies, quickly interrupted her next words with more of his monologue.
"You crushed my dreams! You must be insane." The Freak said.
If Rhonda didn't know any better, she would give a witty reply calling him insane. Thinking fast, she sipped her Yahoo Soda and turned to place it on her desk. Trying to keep The Freak unsuspecting, she attempted to reach for her phone to call the police.
The Freak, seeing through her ploy, cocked his gun, making Rhonda stop immediately.
"Don't waste your time. The police can't help you now." The Freak said.
"You'll be in a padded cell for life, Curly! Do you really want that?" Rhonda pleaded.
"I've been called crazy my whole life. I've been deprived of love and attention most of my childhood. It'd be no real difference. Maybe you should be in one. It'd be very therapeutic for someone as stuck up and narcissistic as yourself."
Even though he was covered in shadows, anyone could see that The Freak was most certainly smiling behind the veil of shadows in the corner of Rhonda's room.
Rhonda, desperate for her life, fell to her knees, crying and begging for her life.
"Please, Curly, if you love me, please don't do this to me." Rhonda said.
"'Curly'? My name is not 'Curly', sweetheart." The Freak said.
"Okay, Thaddeus, please don't-"
"No, no, no, not 'Thaddeus' either. That boy you knew is dead, and with it, his infatuation with you."
The Freak stepped from his corner, revealing himself to the light, showing his new, horrifying look.
"I am a man, and my name is... The Freak." The Freak said.
The drastic change in his appearance shocked and dumbfounded Rhonda, not expecting someone she viewed as a mere nuisance as a horrifying killer.
"And as the great Alice Cooper said, 'school's out'." The Freak said.
The Freak pulled the trigger, shooting Rhonda in the stomach. The bullet passed through only muscle and tissue, not causing any immediate damage, but the experience was nonetheless agonizing for Rhonda. She fell to the floor, unable to feel her arms and legs, crying and screaming in pain. Blood poured from her wounds violently, staining her bathrobe, turning it from pure white to dark red.
The Freak, looking down on his handiwork, gave a smile, liking what he saw.
Rhonda, weakened by her loss of blood and the agonizing pain that clouded her mind, was just barely strong enough to beg for mercy.
"Curly... Please stop... It hurts, it hurts... Why are you doing this?" Rhonda asked.
The Freak took Rhonda's Yahoo Soda from the desk and sipped it, enjoying the moment as much as he could.
"Because I can. And more importantly, because I want to." He replied.
The Freak gave a devilish grin, taking pleasure in bringing pain to what was once the source of all his infatuation.
"Happy death day to Curly, and happy birthday to me." He said.
After tossing aside the soda, The Freak's hands led themselves to Rhonda's bathrobe beginning to untie it, undressing her.
"And there's nothing I like better on my birthday than opening my presents." The Freak said.
What happened next was just far too inhuman for words to describe.
Later, The Lloyds came home after a long night dinner and business, now the proud owners of a new golf course. Buckley and Brooke entered the house laughing over the events of the evening, enjoying their decadent lifestyle.
Buckley, Rhonda's father, announced his presence to greet his beloved daughter, not aware of the awful events that occurred only a few hours ago.
"Rhonda, dear, we're home!" Buckley called.
No response was heard.
"Rhonda, we have a gift for you from the country club!" Brooke called.
Again, no response was heard.
The two continued into the house, heading toward Rhonda's room. They were expecting their daughter fast asleep, explaining the lack of response, but instead, the two found her in a horrifying state. A state far worse than the two of them or any parents on Earth could ever imagine seeing their child in.
They found their only daughter, Rhonda Wellington Lloyd, on the floor of her room, naked, shot, bruised, bloody, and near dead. She did not move at all; not blinking, not flinching, not sweating, and barely even breathing.
Brooke, appalled at the sight in her eyes, gasped and dropped her items on the floor, running straight for Rhonda. She sat down on the floor, holding her daughter in her arms, crying at what had become of her.
Buckley was in shock, unable to process the terror that was his daughter's downfall. Buckley was a man that was never good at showing his own emotions, or at least, not showing them well, but there was no denying that he felt completely awful about what became of his daughter.
He looked on the wall to find the words 'BEWARE THE FREAK', written in his daughter's blood.
'The Freak'... what kind of sick world is this? What kind of a man could do this to my baby daughter, to anyone? I will make you pay, you son of a bitch, whatever it takes. Buckley thought.
While silently making his vow, Buckley gave a scowl at the writing, clenching his fists.
Brooke, broken down horribly, had covered her mouth trying to stop herself from continuing to cry.
After a moment, she began to laugh, laughing harder and harder as time went on. She removed her hand from her mouth, leaving Rhonda's blood on her face in the form of an ill-fitting smile. She continued to laugh hysterically the entire night.
