Let's get back with another chapter! And rather than focus on Arnda, let's focus on two other characters for a while, namely, Rhonda's parents! Why's that? Well, you'll see as you read along! Anyway, enjoy!
Inside their room, Brooke and Buckley were looking through the pages of the book that the woman had found a little earlier. Buckley looked particularly interested as Brooke went through the pages. "So, this is what the life of Arnold's parents were like, hm?"
"It seems to be that way..." Brooke said as she flipped over to the next page of the book. "Who knew that these two managed to go on so many adventures together?"
"It does seem rather hard to swallow..." Buckley said as Brooke flipped over the pages of the book. "Have you shown it to anyone else?"
"Not yet, but I don't want to overexcite anyone else..." Brooke sighed as she looked it over. "At least, not until we get more answers."
As Brooke flipped over to the next page, Buckley raised an eyebrow as he asked, "So, what have you read up to so far?"
"It seems they had a couple of run-ins with some tribe in Central America called 'Green-Eyes'. According to this, one of their people saved Miles and Stella from dying in a waterfall and in return, they helped recover a stolen artifact from a river pirate." Brooke said as she whistled a bit. "You know, it's amazing just how incredibly... amazing they were."
"I have to quite agree with you, darling. Jungle explorers and doctors going out on adventures... yep, those are definitely Arnold's parents, all right." Buckley smiled.
Brooke gave a smile as she said, "Have you ever wondered about that sort of lifestyle when you were younger?"
Buckley paused a bit as he thought about it. "At a time, when I was just as young as our little girl, I always dreamt about having an adventure in a lot of countries..."
"Oh, but Buckley, we always take vacations to Europe every summer. Surely, you're not 'bored' of that type of vacation." Brooke gave a smirk.
"Oh, you minx!" Buckley gave a laugh as he put a hand on his wife's shoulder. "But in all seriousness though, even though being a Lloyd was a chore, I couldn't help but imagine what my life would have been like on the other side..."
"Buckley, dear, we experienced the other side once upon a time, you, me and Rhonda." Brooke pointed out.
"I know, but that was during a time when everything just wasn't going good for us." Buckley explained. "There's a huge difference between the life we were in back then and the life we're in now. At least we know the situation we're in right now..."
"Yeah..." Brooke said. "The police hasn't even heard from the mysterious attacker in about a week. Whoever came over and broke in our house earlier hasn't even been brought up..."
Buckley paused as he put a hand to his head. "Do you think it's even safe to go back to our home sweet abode? I mean, it would be nice to get back into the swing of things, but..."
"I get what you're saying... but on the other hand, look at our little girl. Look at the boy with our little girl." Brooke said. "You know, Rhonda wouldn't even give anything else the time of day... but ever since she started dating Arnold, she looks like she was having... fun with him. And I couldn't agree more with the choice of boy she decided to go out with."
"I have to concur." Buckley gave a smile. "You know, sometimes, I question why Rhonda would look at the type of boys she'd be interested in. I mean, the Berman's kid is all right, but... he's a bit of a slob, and as for that kid with the backwards hat and the big nose? Thank goodness it was just for one week. But Arnold is quite different, isn't he?"
Brooke gave a nod. "He seems to be a very positive kid, always happy, always protective..."
Buckley smiled a little. "Yeah... not to mention, helpful in his own special way. Our daughter picked a great boyfriend. And I think Arnold likes our little girl well enough as well."
Brooke gave a happy sigh as she looked over the journal. "Yeah... they're both wonderful..."
"Well, only a couple more days left until we stage our break-up." Rhonda noted, though a bit hesitant as the two were walking out of the pizza place.
"Er, yeah. Almost two weeks have really flown by, haven't they?" Arnold said as he noted the near twilight sky.
"They have..." Rhonda said, uncomfortable a little as she turned to Arnold. "Do you have any ideas on how we're going to approach this?"
"Honestly... I'm not sure... you?" Arnold asked.
"Well... I suppose we could, on Friday during lunch, we can always stage a fight and..." Rhonda started... before trailing off. "But fighting just probably is not your thing and... I'd just upset everyone because they would think I was a harsh person for breaking up with you. Never mind, I have nothing."
"We could just say we were bored with each other and break up on good terms." Arnold pointed out.
"Maybe, but how would that be possible? In case you forgot, we can't just screw up a break-up and try to get sympathy from everyone." Rhonda sighed.
"Well... maybe you're right..." Arnold groaned. "This is going to be harder than I thought."
Rhonda laughed a little. "Tell me about it. Kiss?"
"H-huh?" Arnold shook his head and turned towards Rhonda with a confused eyebrow raised.
Rhonda, realizing what she said, shuffled into her pocket and pulled out what seemed to be a little chocolate. "I said, would you like a Kiss?"
"Oh..." Arnold sighed in relief. "No thank you, Rhonda."
"All right, then..." Rhonda said as she pocketed the Kiss back in her pocket.
"What is wrong with me?" Rhonda thought to herself as she continued walking with Arnold, holding hands together. "Why did I just ask Arnold if he'd like a kiss? We're not in front of anyone else, it's just me and him alone! This temporary pairing is supposed to be just that, temporary! And yet... why do I want to ask Arnold if he'd like to have this relationship... a little more permanent temporary? Ugh, my mind is getting a little scrambled..."
"Boy, Rhonda sure does look a little cute when she's thinking like that..." Arnold noted Rhonda's mixed face before shaking his head a little as he continued walking. "Whoa, Arnold, hold your horses there! Just because I'm in a fake relationship with Rhonda doesn't mean you have to commit to the act! But... what if I don't want this to be an act? Ever since that surprise kiss Rhonda gave me the night I cleaned her mom's fur coat, my heart always starts racing when I'm with her... this is so ridiculous, I should have told the others the truth... but then my life suddenly got complicated because of this... this lie! But... what if I don't want this to be a lie? Ugh... this is just like whenever I think about Ruth and Lila! If I admit I have a crush on them, she'll probably either ignore me or know I don't exist... like Ruth... or she'll say those infamous words Lila always says! I don't even want to repeat them in my head, but... ugh, when did my life get so confusing!?"
And so, the rest of the walk home was a silent, but nice little diversion from their normal lives. Sure, occasionally, Arnold and Rhonda would look at each other and give warm smiles to each other, but every time they turned their heads away, their minds would often wander back to a worried state... both of them wanted this relationship to be real, but... each of them were fearing the worse... but for now, they didn't want to voice their worries. And when Arnold and Rhonda got back to the boarding house, the two kids came inside as Phil gave them a greeting.
"Hey hey, you two lovebirds! Where have you been?" Phil laughed. "Swimming, I assume!"
"Grandpa!" Arnold blushed furiously as Rhonda gave a small giggle.
"If you must know, Mr. Shortman, we've been on a little pizza date." Rhonda explained.
"You have? Ah, shoot! If I knew you were going for pizza, we would have taken you down there!" Phil pointed out.
"We?" Arnold raised an eyebrow.
"Me, Pookie, and your parents, little girl!" Phil laughed. "You know, I had my doubts about you Lloyds, but whoo-ee, your parents have been the bees's knees!"
Arnold gave a warm smile. "That's... that's wonderful, Grandpa..."
Arnold paused as he looked concerned a little bit. "Hey Grandpa, can I talk to you alone?"
"Why? Don't you want to talk with your girlfriend?" Phil raised an eyebrow.
"It's... kind of urgent and more private." Arnold said as Rhonda raised an eyebrow.
"Is something the matter?" Rhonda asked.
"Oh, no, things are fine, Rhonda... just... you know how you always need to vent to someone?" Arnold asked.
Rhonda paused... as she gave a nod. "Actually, I kind of need to speak with my parents as well. But maybe we'll meet up again in your room as soon as we're done?"
Arnold gave a smile. "Sure. That'll work."
Rhonda gave a nod as she started to head upstairs as Phil said, "They should be up in their room."
As soon as Arnold and Phil were sure Rhonda was gone, Phil turned to Arnold, a serious look on his face. "Looks like you got something to say."
"In a way..." Arnold said. "Could we talk more about it in the kitchen?"
Phil raised an eyebrow in confusion, but the old man nodded as both grandfather and grandson walked into the kitchen and sat at the table.
And this chapter is now done! How did you guys like it? I realize this one is a short chapter, but you know what they say? It's better to go at a leisurely place than to rush out a product that's less than quality. Next time, private conversations abound! Anyway, read, review, criticize and suggest, folks!