Veganmama: Yup,that's why i made this chapter. it was something they needed to talk about. But, this is something that will be mentioned in the other story.
Thanks! I wanted to include the Sewer King and draw attention a bit to something cute, but also touching.
At the Hillwood International Airport...
Arnold, Gerald, Helga, Phoebe, Rhonda, Sid, Stinky, Harold, Patty, Nadine, Peapod Kid, Park, Sheena, Lila and Brainy arrived at the airport and went inside. The day had finally come for Arnold to head back to San Lorenzo. Even though he was only there for two months, it felt like he had been back for way longer than that, which only made the farewell that much more difficult.
After Arnold and everyone else was released from prison, Arnold's parents were only able to stay for a few days before having to head back to San Lorenzo. They wanted Arnold to come with them, but the football headed teen wanted to remain in Hillwood until his scheduled flight, which was just a few days before the start of the school year. His reasons were that he wanted to spend as much time as possible with his friends, grandparents and Helga. Despite their worries, they nevertheless relented and headed back without him.
Helga was especially sadden by the day's arrival and had to try really hard not to show it. It almost felt like deja vu all over again. Almost. After their dance at the club, she had spend the very last few days with Arnold, spending time and discussing their future plans. Obviously, they will continue their relationship, now on a long-distance basis. Arnold promised to continue writing letters to her, while Helga promised to 'try' and make an effort to send him one. Helga would also attempt to visit him at San Lorenzo whenever she could, even for a few days. Arnold in turn, would try to do the same. He also decided to attend college in the U.S., as close as possible to Hillwood, if he could. He just needed to be accepted to an American university in order to be allowed to move back.
In effect, the couple would only need to spend one year apart before they would able to to resume their relationship closer. That was easier said than done. For Helga especially, being apart from Arnold, even if they were now together, was going to be torturous. However, she now had the assurance they were now a couple and after only a year, it was expected they will be able to be physically together again. That's all she had left to wait for; just one more year before finally putting all of this behind them and embracing a future with him.
The wait could have been a bit more tolerable, had it not also be for another worrying issue; Rodrigo. Helga was still gripped with the fear of neither of them possibly being able to patch things up. The Latino kid had largely been responsible for giving her any kind of hope and happiness she hadn't felt in years. He had quickly become a big part of her life. But now, with him heartbroken and needing the space and time to heal, Helga lamented on going back to school without him by her side; whether as a boyfriend or friend. The sudden feeling of him no longer being there, of her experiencing his absence in the absolute sense was an intolerable pain that she did not want to have to endure. Even with the knowledge that Arnold was now her boyfriend again, she needed someone to help her cope with it. She wanted to avoid at all costs on isolating herself again.
Much to her despair, she realized she will need Rodrigo as a friend, now more than ever, in order to deal with the chronic loneliness and sadness of waiting for the year to pass. She had Phoebe to feel reassured that her best friend will always come to her aid. But, the half Asian had a life of her own now and she knew she couldn't depend on her how she used to.
As the group continued walking inside the airport, Helga could only hope that she will be able to get through this one, final, hurdle in life.
Rodrigo was among those who was there, although not by choice. Having been forced by his friends to come, he walked inside the airport, with a highly agitated look on his face. Given what happened between him and Arnold, he wasn't sure why his friends wanted him to come.
"Hey Arn, you sure you have enough money to give me and Helga a call to let us know that you arrived there safely?" Gerald asked him as he helped carry one of Arnold's luggage.
"I do." Arnold replied. "I made sure before we left the boarding house."
"Just be sure you actually call us to make sure you landed safely, football head; unlike the last time." Helga then remarked.
"Don't worry, Helga. I promise I'll call you and Gerald when I land." Arnold reassured her.
"How does it feeling going back, Arnold?" Eugene asked him as he continued to limp with his crutches.
"To be honest Eugene, after everything we went through together," Arnold began to say, "it just won't be the same."
Arnold then just sighed.
"To be even more honest, I don't want to go back." He said rather sadly.
"Same here man, same here." Gerald said as he gave him a gentle pat on his shoulder.
"Well, it's only a year, Arnold." Sheena then spoke out. "Once you're application to attend college here is approved, you'll be back in no time."
"Absolutely!" Rhonda agreed. "And once you come back, we'll roll out the red carpet for you again."
Everyone else also mumbled, smiled and nodded in agreement. Rodrigo said nothing and with a cold look, just continued to walk in silence.
"Thanks, guys." Arnold said with a hopeful smile.
Yet even with that amount of optimism, it was becoming clear that having to watch Arnold go was becoming more and more difficult for everyone. Eventually and with a heavy heart, the group made it to the airlines check point that was going to take Arnold back to San Lorenzo...and away from them.
"Well, I guess this is it." Gerald said rather sadly.
"Yeah." Was all Arnold said, also feeling sad.
Arnold then inevitable turned around to face everyone, but then saw the level of sadness in everyone's eyes, including Gerald. Even Helga who, upon realizing that the end had finally arrived, could no longer hide her sadness and just slumped down, looking away from him. Rodrigo was the only one who didn't seem negatively affected by this. He just stood to the side, looking more agitated and bored than anything else.
"You guys okay?" Arnold worryingly asked.
"Hm?" Gerald then replied. "Oh ya, we're okay man. It's just that, well, this is just a bad case of déjà vu. We just wish, you know, that you could have stayed longer." He sadly continued.
Everyone either nodded in agreement or said a soft 'yes'.
"Ya, me too." Arnold said, looking even more sad and upset than before.
Then Gerald, not wanting to make things any worse, was the first to bid Arnold farewell. "Well, take care man." Her sadly said to him as the two best friends hugged each other.
"You too, Gerald." Arnold said. "Phoebe." He said as he went over to her and hugged her.
"Take care, Arnold." She said to him as she hugged him back. "Don't forget to write to us."
"I won't." He said to her.
One by one, he went over to each of his friends and emotionally hugged them goodbye, offering encouraging words to each other in the assurance that they will see each other again. Nevertheless, it was painful to see one of their most dearest friends go.
"Bye Rhonda." Arnold said to her as they hugged each other.
"Bye Arnold." Said to him before starting to get emotional. "Oh boy, here come the tears again." She said as she rubbed her eyes in order to not to let them fall down. "It was already hard the first time saying goodbye. Please let this be the last one."
"Let's hope so." He said to her.
Finally, after he said his goodbyes to everyone, there was only Helga and Rodrigo.
While Arnold said his goodbyes, Rodrigo was merely playing a game on his phone, waiting for this to end so he can go home.
"Helga." Arnold addressed her when it came time to say his goodbyes to her.
Helga however said nothing back and merely looked down, feeling completely saddened, even already feeling alone at his departure.
"Helga," he then said again, as he he gently lifted her head up to look at her. "I'm coming back. I promise you that I'll come back. I'm not leaving you, not ever again."
Helga still said nothing and with an emotional and tearful stare, just leapt towards him, wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. Arnold in turn wrapped his arms around Helga's waist and kissed her back. The couple made no attempt to let go and continued to embrace and kiss each other, regardless of who was there. But eventually, they had to let each other go. After a long, passionate kiss, they slowly started releasing each other from their arms. After a few more kisses and hugs, Helga, very reluctantly, fully let him go and forcefully turned around and walked away from him.
With that, Arnold then walked towards the last person he wanted to say goodbye to.
"Um, Rodrigo?" He said to him, prompting the Latino kid to stop playing his game and face him.
Arnold was at a loss of words on what to really say to him. He nervously scratched the back of his head as he tried to find the something to say to him. But in the end, nothing came and so, with a somewhat weak, but innocent smile, extended his hand.
For a moment, Rodrigo just stood there with his arms crossed and looked at Arnold's hand with a cold stare. However, he then rolled his eyes, grabbed Arnold's hand and shook it.
"Take care, Arnold." He said with a sigh.
"You too, Rodrigo." Arnold replied before then grabbing his luggage and after doing one final wave at everyone, walked towards the receptionist.
Rodrigo and everyone waited for Arnold to register himself. Once they took his luggage, he turned back to look at his friends one final time, smiled and then went inside, disappearing.
Almost as if on cue, everyone led out a small, but sad sigh as they gruelling watched him go for the second time. After a few moments of just blankly staring where Arnold disappeared to, the group then slowly started heading back.
As the group headed back outside, they remained silent, deeply saddened on seeing the departure of one of their closest friends. Everyone, with the exception of Rodrigo, did hope that this year will go by fast so they can see him again. Yet even with any sense of optimism, it was still disgruntling to see him go. When he was here, to them, it truly felt like old times.
"So um, did you guys want to do anything today?" Gerald, albeit a bit hesitation, spoke up, breaking the sad silence that was surrounding the group.
"To be honest, Gerald," Rhonda then said with a sigh, still feeling down, "this has been an exhausting summer. I think I'll go home and just crawl into bed again."
Everyone else seemed to have agreed as they also muttered "yeah", or "me too". Helga said nothing.
"Oh come on guys!" Rodrigo then suddenly spoke out, even going so far as to step in front of everyone. "We can't let Von Scheck or Arnold's departure get us down like that. You heard what Sheena said; Arnold will be back soon. And after what we went through, no one deserves to enjoy the rest of their summer more than us. We shouldn't stop enjoying life just because it throws giant hurdles at us."
Helga, a bit curious by what Rodrigo had just said, curiously lifted her head and looked at him.
"Oh, thanks for the encouraging words Rodrigo," a rather gloomy Eugene said, "but I think I agree with Rhonda on this one."
"To do what? Mope around and do nothing?" Rodrigo then said. "Look, I know it was hard saying goodbye to Arnold, but if there's one thing he taught us is to always enjoy and be grateful with what you have. So, we have each other. School hasn't yet started. There's still time to have fun and just enjoy ourselves. Next year we'll be planning and getting ready to either work or attend college. This summer could be our last time we to be together. Life is too short to feel down."
"Rodrigo's right, you guys." Gerald then spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to him. "I don't know about you, but I intend on using these last few days to its full advantage. I'm really ticked off that Von Scheck almost ruined our whole summer and I'm not about to let him get the best of me by just sitting at home and wait for school to start."
"Well, what did you guys have in mind?" Sid curiously asked.
"Whatever we want to do!" Rodrigo declared. "We can go the movies, go to the arcade. Or the beach."
"The beach?" Nadine asked, now getting a little curious.
"Sure." Rodrigo said. "I hear there's a nice beach just a few hours away from here. I've never been. We could go there and relax." He suggested.
"Well, the beach does sound nice." Rhonda remarked. "I could really go for an all natural tan."
"Well, it does sound nice and relaxing." Nadine also cautiously agreed.
"That's the spirit!" Rodrigo excitedly exclaimed. "What does everyone else say?"
Slowly, everyone began to lift their heads up and after thinking about it, agreed to the idea. Indeed, going to the beach and enjoy the warm weather, ice cream and the cool water did seem very exciting and relaxing. Everyone did admit, it was way better than staying at home.
"You know what? Rodrigo's right. Going to the beach does sound like a good idea." Park agreed.
"Indeed. It can be very therapeutic." Phoebe said.
"Willikers, I hope they serve lemon ice cream." Stinky said.
"Can we barbecue there?" Harold asked. "I get really hungry if I go to the beach."
"Sounds like a great idea to me." Rodrigo replied to him. "We can buy all the items we need to barbecue today and then head out tomorrow morning."
"How about you, Brainy? Think you can make it?" Rodrigo asked him.
"Uh, sure Rod." Brainy wheezed. "Sounds like fun."
Now finally catching on to the idea, everyone began to get excited and offered suggestions on what else to bring.
"Well, you guys have fun." Helga then said to everyone. "I'll be at home."
"Oh no, Helga. Not this time." Gerald said to her. "We're not going to let you self-isolate yourself again. You're coming with us."
"Fat chance, Gerald." Helga just grumbled.
"Gerald's right, Helga." Rodrigo agreed. "We, including me, are not going to let you fall down the same dark hole that you were in all those years ago. You're coming with us."
"Still haven't given up on me?" Helga somewhat dryly asked him.
"Well, I haven't thought that far yet." Rodrigo remarked. "But the short answer is no." He smiled.
Helga couldn't help but be surprised by Rodrigo's response, but it did gave her some sort of hope. Nevertheless, she showed no reactions and just looked at him with a somewhat stern face.
"Yes Helga, please come with us." Phoebe also said. "It'll be fun for everyone."
"And who knows? You might just get inspired." Rodrigo remarked with a smirk.
Everyone else also muttered to her and pleaded with her to come along.
"Alright, alright!" She retorted at everyone. "I'll come." She grumbled.
"Yay!" Everyone excitedly cheered.
"Alright, so," Phoebe then said as she took out a pen and notebook and began to write down what they will need to bring to the beach.
Everyone clambered around Phoebe and, becoming ever more excited, began to shout out what items to bring and who would be bringing what as they walked out of the airport. Even Rodrigo was fully in on it and began to help Phoebe organize the event.
Helga was the only one that kept some distance away and just walked along with them while glancing at Rodrigo. As she continued to look at him, she couldn't help but let out a small smile. She was surprised by his sudden surge of energy and encouragement, but she was especially intrigued at what he said about him not yet giving up on her. In truth, that statement brought about some light in the hopeful prospect that perhaps they can, in the near future, be able to put this heartbreak aside and reconcile. Although Helga couldn't understand how, she felt Rodrigo still had a big part to play in her life and after everything they've gone through together, there was no way he can just get up and leave from her life. Even if he could, she was not going to let him. Who knows? Perhaps with a bit of luck and with the help of their friends, they could be able to heal all wounds, forgive and continue to be in each other's lives, as she hoped they were meant to. How else could it be otherwise?
As the gang headed out of the airport and waited for the bus to take them back, the Sun, standing right on top in the sky, continued to shine is rays of light and energy in full view of the city of Hillwood, brushing aside the last shroud of that dark, nefarious shadow that had once gripped its inhabitants. Indeed, with the month of August now coming to a close, the start of a new month can allow everyone to shed the last vintages of everything that had happened on that fateful summer and finally put it behind them. As the day continued to strive forward, the gang, and everyone else in Hillwood can finally breathe in an array of fresh air as they looked toward a bright and hopeful future.
The End
Wow! So, this is definitely the final chapter to this story! I mean it. This is the actual end. I can't believe it has been almost a year when I posted the first chapter, but it feels way longer than that! I just want to say thank you to everyone for coming along this highly adventurous, yet also emotional ride with me by taking the time to read it. I hope everyone enjoyed it.
Next, I will continue on with my previous story, 'A New Life' as we explore how Rodrigo and Helga cope in this new found change in their relationship. Will they be able to remain friends, or is it perhaps best if they go their separate ways?
Please comment and review!