Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold or any of the characters. Hey Arnold is the property of Nickelodeon and Craig Bartlett.
A Broken Heart
Chapter 56: Confronting Rhonda
Previously
"RHONDA!..."Helga yelled suddenly, getting the two boys attention.
"Rhonda?...'Arnold question.
"Rhonda! What makes you think that it was Ms. Priss?..."Drake asked.
"Because it is so obvious! I can't believe I didn't see it sooner but this is totally something she'd do..."Helga said.
"But how did she find out?..."Drake asked, hating this.
"She must have been snooping around and heard us yesterday...as for how she got the picture, I have no clue..."Helga said as she started getting mad and started marching away.
Both Drake and Arnold were surprised and both of them followed her.
"Helga?..."Arnold exclaimed.
"What are you gonna do?..."Drake asked, still mad but worried for her sake too.
"To go find princess and have a few choice words of my own!..."Helga said, barely concealing her fury right now.
Drake Sanchez was having one of the worst days of his entire life.
His darkest secret was just exposed in the worst possible way. At first he thought it had been that jerky football headed kid Arnold but Helga believes in his innocence and then suspects that it was Rhonda "Ms. Priss" Wellington Llyod.
Drake, now that he calmed down a smidge, started thinking and he realized that it made some sense. Rhonda is a total gossip and she is certainly petty and vindictive enough to do this sort of thing.
He was mad but to his surprise, Helga looked even madder.
"Helga, do you even know where we're going?...'Drake asked his steaming girlfriend.
"Doi! To find Princess..."Helga said as she stomped the halls, determined to find the school's biggest gossip and make her pay.
"HELGA!..."Arnold shouted as he ran up behind them.
She was so mad about Rhonda, that she actually forgot about him. Drake just sent him a glare.
"What are you still doing here?..."Drake said.
Sure, he wasn't the one to put his secret in the paper, but he still had a grudge over what he did yesterday.
Arnold ignored him and stepped in front of Helga, much to her annoyance.
'Arnold, what are you doing?..."Helga demanded, her patience long gone.
"Just what do you intend to do?..."Arnold asked.
"As I said, I have a bone to pick with Ms. Rhonda Wellington Llyod..."Helga said and Arnold frowned.
"Helga, look...I know what Rhonda did was wrong, putting this story in the paper, but you're not going to do anything rash, are you?..."Arnold asked, worried.
He cares about her but he knew from personal experience that Helga has a bad temper and can be pretty violent. He just didn't want her to do something she'd regret.
"My girlfriend here isn't going to do anything Ms. Priss doesn't deserve..."Drake said and Arnold sent him a glare.
"I was speaking to Helga..."Arnold said and Drake sent him a harsh glare, still ticked.
"And she already told you that she was going to go speak to Rhonda..."Drake said and Arnold was still glaring.
"I do believe that Helga doesn't need you to answer for her..."Arnold said in, what could almost be a rude tone.
Normally, Helga would be perplexed by his attitude but right now, she wants to find Rhonda and yell at her.
"Yes,I can and to answer you, Arnoldo...Drake is right, Rhonda has this coming, so unless you can tell me where to find her, quit wasting my time!..."Helga said, her anger making her especially nasty right now.
"Helga..."Arnold said.
"She said to quit wasting her time..."Drake shot and Arnold soon glared at him again.
Both boys were in another harsh staring contest, the dislike between them was plain as day. After a long time, the two boys looked away and Drake spoke up.
"Come on, Helga..."Drake said, only to see that she was gone.
"Helga?..."Drake said and Arnold then noticed that she was absent.
"Where did she go?..."Arnold said in worry.
The two boys didn't realize until it was too late, that Helga, who when angry, got impatient and stubborn, and she just continued to search for Ms. Rhonda Wellington-Llyod, not bothering to wait for them.
With Helga
It didn't take long for Helga to find Rhonda Wellington Lloyd, who had just gotten out of the girl's bathroom after brushing her hair for the fifth time today.
As soon as she saw her, she had a snobby look on her face, while Helga matched up to her, seething.
"RHONDA!..."Helga yelled as soon as she saw her.
"Oh, hello Helga..."Rhonda said in a condescending way.
"Don't give me that! It was you, wasn't it?!...Helga shouted as she pointed a finger threateningly.
Rhonda crossed her arms and looked uninterested.
"Me what?.."Rhonda said with disinterest and Helga shoved the paper into the other girl's face. Rhonda had to back away just to get a good look.
"You know what! The newspaper! Drake!..."Helga said in outrage and Rhonda smiled and rolled her eyes.
"Surprised it took you this long, Pataki..."Rhonda said as she looked at her nails.
"I know you could be rotten Rhonda, but how could you do this to Drake her-..."Helga paused as she turned and saw neither Drake, nor Arnold there.
"Huh? I thought they were right behind me..."Helga thought, only for Rhonda to scoff.
"I did what had to be done..."Rhonda said and Helga got angrier.
Angrier, but still confused about something.
"How did you even find out? It was just me and Arnold!..."Helga demanded.
"I have my ways..."Rhonda shrugged.
Helga got angrier and even more disgusted by her whole attitude towards this thing.
"Dp you have any idea what you did to Drake?!..."Helga said.
"I only revealed the truth, nothing more, nothing less..."Rhonda said.
"You ruined his reputation, you humiliated him in front of the entire school and for what? All because of that petty grudge you have against him, just because he spilled some milk on your shoes and doesn't take lip from you! I can't believe you would sink so low!..." Helga shouted.
Rhonda scoffed.
"Me low? That's rich, considering what Drake pulled off. He's a thug and clearly beneath even someone like you..."Rhonda said, and Helga knew that was meant to be taken exactly as it sounded.
"Drake is not a thug! I know what he did but he's changed..."Helga said.
"Oh please, Helga...look, I can almost understand your allure to him, but if you are going to go for bad boys, even you can be more selective and go for the harmless kind of rebels instead of flat out thugs like Drake..."Rhonda said.
"HE IS NOT A THUG AND HE'S NOT A BAD BOY!..."Helga yelled at her.
"Drake is not a bad person, he might be a blockhead at times and yeah, he made a mistake and regrets it. He moved on!..." Helga stated.
"Like you moved on from Arnold?..." Rhonda questioned.
Helga was about to answer, but found nothing could come out her mouth. It was then that she paled when it dawned on her.
"She knows?!..."Helga thought in dread.
"Don't even bother denying it...it was so obvious that you liked him...all that attention and bullying you did to him...it might have been hard to believe in the fourth grade but we are in sixth grade now...I am not as dense as he is..."Rhonda said.
In the past, Helga would have denied this and argue feverishly about it, but right now, she was more worried about Drake, than over something that she no longer wants to be a part of .
She shook her head.
"That's irrelevant..we are not talking about Arnold...we're talking about Drake...I just have to know why did you do something like that to him?..."Helga demanded.
"I was merely informing our friends his true colors...I only spoke the truth..."Rhonda said and Helga gritted her teeth.
"You don't give a darn about telling anyone the truth, you just wanted to hurt Drake...well, congratulations, you did it. His life is ruined because of you...!"The blonde girl said in anger.
"Is it? I was just telling the truth and everyone deserved to know, even you...I can't believe I am saying this but even you can do better, Helga..People like him don't change..."Rhonda questioned.
Helga was even angrier now, not just over what Rhonda did but by her hypocrisy as well. And Helga believed Rhoda needed a reminder.
"You're one to talk!..."She said.
Rhonda dropped her look, surprised by that.
"What do you mean?..."Rhonda demanded.
"You used to treat Big Patty like that and now look! You two aren't exactly at each other's throats!"..." Helga points out furiously.
"Her name is not Big Patty, it is just Patty..."Rhonda argued.
"That is my point, you used to hate her and treat her like she was a delinquent and now, next to Nadine, she is practically your best friend..."Helga pointed out.
"Not to mention, you and Harold..."Helga paused.
Rhonda paused for a moment, thinking what she just said.
"She...has a point..."Rhonda thought, before shaking it away, being stubborn.
She still didn't want to admit that what she did was unwarranted.
"Harold and Patty might be gruff at times but they don't have a record as fat as Drake's..."Rhonda said, crossing her arms, though her expression did soften a bit.
She wanted to introduce her to Old Betsy and the Five Avengers but Principal Wartz and Mr. Simmons were at the end of the hall and would be able to see them from here, so that is out.
"If it wasn't for the fact that there are witnesses and I can't afford detention today..."Helga growled, before turning away from her.
"You have always been a piece of work, Rhonda...but this is the lowest thing you have ever done...if you did this because of your issue with me, or more pathetically, because you were just mad because of your petty grudge with Drake...or even the Curly threat...or, even worse, due to your obsession with gossip and needing to have some form of attention or drama in your sad, fashion focused little life, then I only have this to say...congratulations for finally reaching a new low, becoming even more petty and vindictive that I ever was..."Helga said and Rhonda remained silent as she said this.
"Drake is a nice guy, he showed me that he is and unlike you, he is capable of feeling regret and guilt, which is more than you seem capable of doing right now..."Helga said harshly.
"I am leaving now, because I have to go clean up the big mess you made but hear this, school will be over in just a few hours and I'd suggest sleeping with one eye open..."Helga said as she turned away, leaving behind a wide eye and almost shaken looking Rhonda Llyod in disgust.
Helga stormed away.
"Helga!..." Rhona called out.
Helga rose her hand in her direction, not bothering to look back.
"Save it!..."She shouted as she marched away, obviously going to go find Drake.
Rhonda just remained there, still processing what the former school bully just said and once she did, her satisfaction, smugness and pride from earlier were gone...
Now, she just frowned.
-To be continued-
Next time on A Broken Heart
Drake: Friend or Foe?
A/N(1): Special thanks to NeoMark and BeConfuzzled Writer for their help :)
A/N(2): I dedicate this chapter to my friends, my family and my love for God :)
A/N(3): Just a reminder, this story is on TV Tropes, so feel free to add any tropes :)
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewer:
Kryten: Not today...
61394: You got that right...
Invader Johnny: Well, Helga did and will too, but right now, her main focus is finding Drake.
:) Till next time beautiful people, remember to read and review :)