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Chapter 33

Francis woke up with a jump. He sat up to find himself unable to move his arms or legs. He tried to yell out, but also found that he could not speak. He was tied up, as was the rest of his guards. They were being thrown one by one into the back of La Sombra's truck.

Francis got his mouth free from its prison. "Wait until La Sombra comes back! He'll get all of you!" he exclaimed.

"I don't think so," Gerald replied. "He kind of..." he finished by making a whistling sound.

Francis stayed silent, too shocked to respond. Members of the Green Eyes threw Francis into the back of the truck and slammed the door. The guards were yelling at them, begging to be let out.

Adan got in the truck and started it up.

"Where will you take them?" Sid asked.

Adan thought for a moment. Eduardo walked up to Adan and told him something out of everyone's earshot. Adan grinned and drove away.

"What'd you tell him?" Harold asked.

Eduardo turned to him and smiled. "I think those men need to take a very long walk in the jungle. Maybe for a few years."

The class laughed and cheered. Eduardo turned his attention to Miles and Stella.

"My friends," he started, "I think it's time you went home."

Miles and Stella smiled and turned to Arnold.

"What do you think, son?" Miles asked.

Arnold smirked. "I think that's a great idea."

Mr. Simmons suddenly spoke up. "I don't know how to thank you," he said and shook Miles' hand feverishly. He then went around to the members of the Green Eyes and did the same. He walked up to the Green Eye elder and hugged him. The man stiffened up, The Green Eye tribe nodded and bowed to the class and started to disappear back into the jungle.

"Hey, wait!" Arnold called after them. Stella laid a hand on his shoulder to stop him. She smiled softly at him.

"Let them go, son," she said calmly.

"But why?" he asked.

"They want to stay in secret," Miles answered. "It's how they are."

Arnold nodded in understanding. "Can we go home?"

"YES!" Everyone answered. They laughed as they made their way back to the cabins. When they arrived there, they all gasped in amazement. The villagers had decorated the small village in the same manner they had earlier in the week for their party celebration.

"Oh, and I don't even have my dress on!" Rhonda moaned. "I look disgusting," she berated herself.

"Uhm, Mr. Simmons? What happened to all of our luggage?" Sheena asked.

Mr. Simmons thought for a moment. He had forgotten that the guards had taken away all of their belongings. "I'm afraid I don't know, Sheena," he mumbled. "And they had all of our return tickets in there as well...oh, what will we do, Principal Wartz?!" he questioned. His anxiety was beginning to reach capacity.

Principal Wartz sighed loudly. "I don't know, Mr. Simmons." The class started to moan and worry.

A villager that was walking by stopped when she heard the commotion. She walked up to Lorenda and asked what was wrong. Lorenda explained that everyone's luggage was missing and they had no way home. The villager looked at her confusingly and proceeded to talk very quickly. She laughed and walked away, all the while shaking her head.

Lorenda cleared her throat and spoke over everyone's arguing. "HEY!" The group stopped and looked at her. "I think you'll all want to check your cabins," she smirked.

The class hesitated for a moment before running to their cabins. Phoebe was the first to arrive at the girls' cabins, Sid arrived first at the boys, and Principal Wartz arrived at his and Mr. Simmons' cabin. They all walked into their cabins and gasped in awe. All of their luggage was there, and hanging from every piece of luggage was a necklace with the Green Eye symbol. The girls immediately put the necklaces on and checked their bags.

"But how did they get it here?" Phoebe wondered aloud.

"Who cares! I got my bag back!" Rhonda yelled happily.

Nadine rummaged through her bag and jars of insects. "My magnifying glass!"

Lila took out her clothes and folded them neatly back into her suitcase. Sheena was sitting on her bed and admiring her new necklace.

Helga rolled her eyes. She looked down at the necklace and cradled the symbol. She smiled to herself and blushed, thinking of the past few hours.

Phoebe smirked at her. "What are you so happy about?" she asked.

Helga looked at her best friend and smiled wider. "Just ready to go home," she shrugged.

~

Sid was trying to fit the necklace around his head. "It won't fit!" he complained.

"That's why you untie it, genius," Curly hissed.

Harold made a face and was about to retort, but suddenly changed his mind. He got up from his bed and walked up to Curly. He stopped and looked down. "I just uh...wanted to say..that was some good fighting back there," he

muttered. He took out his hand. Curly lifted his chin slightly and shook Harold's hand.

"You do it like this, Sid," Stinky declared. He untied his own necklace and put it around his neck to demonstrate. He then stood up and stretched. "Whillikers, what. a. day," he said and flopped back onto his bed.

Eugene was getting ready for the villagers' party, while Brainy was going through his luggage. Gerald was also going through his luggage, when he was about to say something to Arnold. He looked up and realized he wasn't there. His suitcase wasn't beside his bed. Gerald furrowed his eyebrows and looked out the window.

Arnold was sitting on the ground with Miles and Stella. They were looking at the Green Eye necklace and talking and laughing with each other. Gerald smiled and was happy that his best friend finally got everything he wanted. He waited for a few more minutes before deciding on seeing if Phoebe wanted to hang out with him. He made his way to the girls' cabin and smiled even wider when Phoebe was already outside waiting for him. She smiled at him and waved. 'What a great trip,' he thought.

~

It was in the evening when the party finally started. The villagers gathered around a fire with instruments such as drums, trumpets and guitars. Some of the villagers were already dancing around the fire. Rhonda dragged Nadine to join them, much to Nadine's displeasure. Sheena and Eugene were more than happy to join and dance with the villagers.

"A 5, 6, 7, 8, and JUMP!" they sang in harmony and danced.

Helga was the last to come out of her cabin. She had debated with herself on going to the party. She walked around and spotted Phoebe. She started to walk over to her, but stopped in her tracks when she saw Gerald walk up holding two drinks. Phoebe blushed and grabbed the drink he brought for her.

Helga smirked and looked at the villagers. She saw Rhonda dancing, oblivious to Nadine standing still with her arms crossed, a bit of a scowl on her face. She saw Harold at the concession table, grabbing anything and everything to eat. She saw Lila standing at the end of the table looking on as Helga was. Stinky and Sid were looking at the girls in front of them and mustering up the courage to ask one of them to dance.

Helga was enjoying looking at everyone when she suddenly heard a nasally breathing. It started to get louder and she started to feel the breath on her neck. She fought the urge to bring her fist up and instead turned around.

"Well, well. Brainy," she started, "I have to say I'm really glad to see you."

Brainy stayed silent. He had multiple bruises on his face. He looked to the left and right nervously, unsure of her intentions.

"I never thought I'd see you again. So, I'll let you off the hook for now. I think I can deal with your breathing for a while," she teased. "Well, at least for tonight," she tacked on. She laughed when Brainy started to smile and blush.

"So, are you going to join the rest of those lunatics and dance?"

"Uh..I don't know," he shrugged.

Helga put her arm around his shoulder, to which he tensed up. "I think you should go dance with Lila," she suggested and pointed in her direction.

Brainy looked up and saw Lila standing alone. He smiled slightly and nodded. "Uh..okay," he replied. Helga patted him on his shoulder and sent him on his way. She smiled as she saw Lila nod modestly and walk with him to the group. Lila started to dance while Brainy awkwardly swayed side to side. Helga shook her head and couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" she heard. She gasped and turned around.

"How many times do I have to say it; don't sneak up on me like that, football-head!" she growled. Arnold smirked at her and joined her in watching the crowd. She couldn't help but turn red as she remembered what happened the last time she was alone with him.

"Where are your parents?" she asked.

Arnold nodded to the Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz' cabin. "They wanted to get ready for traveling. It's going to be a pretty big shock to them, I think," he answered.

Arnold admitted to himself that he was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep in his own bed, but he talked himself into seeing Helga before they left the next morning. "So, uh.." he started, "it's been a pretty crazy day, huh?" he asked, and scratched the back of his neck nervously.

Helga's eyes slightly widened and she laughed nervously. "Haha, yeah...said some pretty crazy things?" she asked.

She knew she said the same thing back at the FTi tower, but hoped this would have a better outcome.

Arnold smiled. "Yeah, I would say so," he said.

They stayed silent for a moment.

"Look, I just-" they both started. "N-no, you go first," they said together again.

Arnold sighed and grabbed Helga's hand. "Let's just take things slowly," he suggested.

Helga gulped and nodded quickly. She was unable to speak for fear of blurting out all of her feelings. They mutually agreed to leaving it at that for the rest of the night. And like that, they stood side by side, silent, and holding each other's hand.