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Veganmana: Yeah, Rhonda is gonna be mostly like her usual self in this universe. But, she will go through a character development, albeit very slowly. Maybe Rodrigo could help her, if he can somehow manage get to through this thorny maze that Rhonda has set up for him, lol.
Saturday…
It was 2:15pm and Rodrigo was almost done prepping himself up for his big 'date' with Rhonda. The invitation didn't indicate that the party was anything formal, but Rodrigo felt that as Rhonda's escort, he should dress himself a bit for the occasion. Although he retained his black fedora hat, he settled to wear a red tie, along with a white formal shirt with a checkered black and purple sweater and black jeans.
"Well, don't you look handsome." Someone from his bedroom entrance said to him.
"Gracias mami." (Thanks mom) Rodrigo said to her as he tried to adjust his tie. "Ojala que me vestí apropiado por esta fiesta."
Rodrigo's mom, Elisa Castile, was a somewhat middle aged woman. However, she looked relatively young, with her long black hair not having a single white hair, nor having any kind of wrinkles on her skin, at least not yet. Like Rodrigo, her skin had a tan brown complexion and was somewhat skinny.
"Creo que te vez muy distinguido." (I think you look very distinguished). His father said suddenly said to him. "Dejame ayudar con esa corbata." (Let me help you with that tie)
"Gracias papa" (Thanks dad) Rodrigo said as he lifted his head up for his father to help him.
Rodrigo's father, Alfonso Castile, was a soft-tone, loving, but firm father. He had a mustache that his wife dislike and sometimes enjoyed smoking an old pipe. He had thick, but short black hair. Like Elisa, he too was relatively skinny, was somewhat middle-aged, but also looked relatively younger.
"Okay. Ahora te vez bien." (There. Now you look good.) He said to him with a warm smile.
"Gracias papa. Bueno, me voy." (Thanks dad. Well, I'm off). He said to them as he gave them both a kiss on the cheek before leaving.
"No te olvides que tu horario limite es hasta la diez y media de la tarde." (Don't forget that your curfew is at 10:30pm.) His mother called out to him.
"¡No te preocupes estaría de vuelto antes que!" (Don't worry, I'll be home before then.) He called back as he continue to ran out of the door.
Rodrigo made it just in time for him to catch the bus that was going to take him to Rhonda's house. As he sat on one of the seat, he couldn't help but continue to be suspicious about all of this.
None of this makes any sense. He thought. Rhonda wouldn't have wanted me as her date unless she either likes me or wants something from me. Given how she has been avoiding me for weeks, we can take the former out of the equation. That leaves with the latter; what does she want from me? Is she really jealous that I'm becoming ever more popular in that school? It can't be. I'm nowhere near as popular as she is and even if I am, so what? I don't care about that, so she wouldn't worry.
Rodrigo wasn't oblivious to his growing popularity in his new school. He was fully aware that with each passing time, he grew more and more noteworthy in the eyes of his fellow students. It was not only his fight with Helga that 'made' him, although that did help. Many students found him to be very friendly, smart, honest and modest person. Although he wasn't a blunt person like Helga, he did speak his mind, albeit in more appropriate, less confrontational ways. He was also generally seen not to be impressed with material assets. He demonstrated that in the clothes he wore. Apart from his 'date', he usually dressed relatively modest, with no indication of wearing anything that demonstrated his family's wealth and status. This no doubt made him a rather appealing person to hang out with between those in the higher (Peapod kid & Lorenzo) and lower classes (Sid and Stinky).
Not surprisingly, despite his increasing status, he care little about popularity. That was never his goal. He just wanted to fit and make friends. That was what was more important to him.
But, if it's not that, then what? He continued to think. What is she planning? Man, I really don't want to do this, but if I refuse now, then I'll really make an enemy out of her and after what I went through with Helga, that's the last thing I want. I'd better keep an eye out for anything, just in case.
Eventually, Rodrigo made it to the street where Rhonda's house was. He got out of the bus and walked for a bit before finally arriving.
Okay. He thought somewhat nervously. Here goes nothing.
He knocked on the door a few times and waited. After a while, the door opened and revealed an older adult.
"Can I help you?" The man asked.
"Good afternoon sir." Rodrigo politely greeted the man. "My name is Rodrigo Castile. I am Rhonda's date for this afternoon."
"Ah yes, Mr. Castile." The man said. "Come right in. Ms. Lloyd is expecting you." As he moved away to allow Rodrigo to enter the house.
Once he entered, the man closed the door and directed him to where the living room was. Rodrigo quietly followed hm
"Please make yourself at home." The man said as he gestured to Rodrigo to enter the living room. "Ms. Lloyd will be right down."
"Thank you sir." Rodrigo politely said to the man before he disappeared.
Rodrigo then went over to the couch to sit, but then curiously went about to look around the house. He was intrigued that with all the supposed 'glamour', 'wealth' and extravagance Rhonda had always talked and never hesitated to show, her house seemed a bit, less glamorous. There was definitely clear signs that the Lloyds were well-off, even a bit cultured, just not up to the level that would show they were members of the super-elite. At most, their dwelling mostly resembled that of an upper-class family.
Well, this is interesting. Rodrigo thought as he continued to look around. It seems Rhonda is not really the princess she makes herself out to be. She just acts like one. This is a bit of a conundrum; she likes to act like she is a high-class person, almost royalty. And yet, her house is nowhere near the level of a noble or royal house, AND she goes to a public school. Why? Why not go to one of those elite schools where she fits in? Why go to PS 118 instead? Does she go to a public school just to rub her wealth at us 'commoners'' faces? No, it has to be more than that.
Just then, he heard footsteps approaching, prompting Rodrigo to focus on that. Soon enough, Rhonda emerged from the living room entrance.
"Oh good, you're here right on time." Rhonda said to him.
Rodrigo approached to greet her, but was immediately struck by just how beautiful she looked. For her biggest party yet, she had decided to dress up a bit. She was wearing a somewhat short black skirt that was just above her knees. She was a wearing a red sleeveless top with a white pearl necklace and low high heels. She wanted to wear some make up, but her parents refused to allow her, so she settled with just a bit of mascara.
Whoa… An awe struck Rodrigo thought. She's beautiful. That's when he saw his chance.
"Rhonda, vous regarder très magnifique!" (Rhonda, you look magnificent!) He exclaimed with a smile.
"Votre beauté illumine toute la pièce" (Your beauty illuminates this entire place) He continued to woo her as he approached her and attempted to kiss her hand.
However this time, Rhonda was not impressed and simply moved her hand away.
"Ya, whatever Rodrigo." She said to him dismissively and walked right past him. "Would you mind hopping over to the kitchen and getting some of the snacks out to the table? I'd do it myself, but I just did my nails."
"Oh, sure." He said to her, now confused as to why him talking in French didn't have the same affect as it did before. Nevertheless, he complied with his 'date's' direction and went to the kitchen to get the snacks out.
That was weird. Why didn't it work? Rodrigo thought. It worked so well last time. Does she really not like me?
Rhonda's behaviour only caused more confusion for Rodrigo and it made him that much more suspicious, so much in fact that when he went to the kitchen to grab the snacks, he thought they might be boody trapped.
I'd better make sure. He thought.
Rodrigo quietly and cautiously approached the snacks, whilst looking down to make sure he didn't step or trip on any wires. He was only about two feet away, but it left he was about a mile way from his destination. With each step, he tested the floor by pushing down on floor or feeling for any possible wires. Once he got close enough to the counter, he looked around them to see if there were any strings or anything unusual. After making sure, he slowly and nervously, began to pick one of the snacks up. Just as he touched it,
"What is taking so long?!" Rhonda called out from the living room.
Rhonda's sudden voice startled Rodrigo so much that he almost dropped one of the snack sandwiches to the ground. He immediately tried to grab it with his hands, but it kept slipping off. He ended up juggling it, but eventually managed to grab it and put back on the dish plate.
"Phew!" Rodrigo sighed with relief. "I'm coming!" He called out as he grabbed them and walked out.
So far so good, but he didn't feel he was out of the woods yet. Rodrigo was still suspicious and continued to scan the two snack dishes as he made his way to the living room. By the time he reached the tables though, he grew confident enough that they were just regular snacks and placed them on the table.
"Here you go." Rodrigo as he placed them on the table. "Anything else?"
"I only see two snack plates." Rodrigo said with even looking up from her phone. "There are more in the kitchen."
Rodrigo sighed with a bit of annoyance, but didn't say anything and just went back to the kitchen.
Rodrigo continued to 'help' Rhonda in bringing out more snacks and drinks before everyone else arrived. Rhonda meanwhile sat on the couch texting on her phone, much to Rodrigo's annoyance.
After helping out for a bit, soon enough, people started to arrive. Rhonda, ever the good hostess, immediately put her phone away and went to the door and greeted all of her guests, one by one, or in some cases, couple by couple. She was even courteous enough to acknowledge Rodrigo as her date for the evening, to which the Latino kid felt relieved and also politely greeted the guests.
Within the hour, every invitee had arrived and the house was full of kids. Unlike the time when she only invited the 'cool' kids, Rhonda this time invited practically everyone in her grade, including the 'geeks' and others whom were not categorized as being worthy of her attention. She had learned from her mistake.
Rhonda went almost all out for her party. She had not only hired waiters for the party, but even hired a DJ to play music. There were balloon and decorations all over the room, with snacks and drink sof various kinds, safe for alcoholic ones. Many of the kids at the party were either formally dressed or just wore casual clothing. The invitation never specified a specific dress attire and that was the point; it was whatever the person felt comfortable.
Rodrigo did his best to help Rhonda out. He would stand by her side greeting the guests and explained to them the snacks and drinks available, as well as helped where the bathroom was located. However almost from the beginning, Rodrigo felt this big space between him and Rhonda. Other than acknowledging him as her date, she ignored him the rest of the time. He initially tried to shove it off, but it kept constantly coming up. Once the last guest arrived and went inside, Rodrigo excused himself and went to one of the tables to get some punch.
"Hiya Rod." Stinky approached him along with Sid.
"Hey Roddy." Sid greeted him.
"Hey guys." Rodrigo casually greeted them while drinking some punch. "Enjoying the party?"
"Eh, it's okay I guess." Sid replied with a shrug. "It's not what I was expecting."
"Really?" Rodrigo asked.
Stinky replied. "Yeah, rumors had it that this party was supposed to be Rhonda's biggest yet. But from what I've been gathering, there hasn't been a lot of excitement."
"Yeah, it looks just like any of her other parties, safe for the DJ." Sid pointed out. "Not much difference."
Rodrigo turned to face the party floor and saw the Stinky and Sid were not that far off. Apart from some music being played, there really wasn't much excitement going on. People were mostly relaxing and conversing with their friends, while others were looking and walking around, almost as if they were searching for something to do. Very few were even dancing.
"Well, it's still early." Rodrigo said to them. "The day's still young. I'm sure Rhonda has something planned that'll make this day one to remember."
"Yeah, I guess." An unconvinced Sid said to him.
"So, how is your big date with Rhonda?" Sid asked him a bit eagerly. "I'll bet you must be feeling the luckiest guy in the world, am I right?" He winked at him.
"Um, well, actually," He hesitatingly said as he looked toward where Rhonda was and then back toward Sid. "I'm not so sure."
"What do you mean?" Stinky asked him.
"Well, it's just that she hasn't really been talking to me." He explained.
"That's not surprising." Stinky said. "She is busy attending to her guests. That is one swell hostess."
"No, I mean she is avoiding me." Rodrigo clarified. "She hasn't really made any attempts to talk to me since I got here. Actually, she even keeps on giving her back and doesn't bother to even look at me."
"Have you tried charming her like you did last time?" Sid asked.
"I did, but for some reason, it didn't work this time." Rodrigo confusingly explained. "She just brushed me off. I don't get it."
"Well that is a bit of a pickle you are in, Rod." Stinky commented. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm not sure." He said.
"Maybe you should try a different way to charm her." Sid then suggested. "What did you do last time?"
"I spoke French to her." Rodrigo replied.
"Well, why not try to charm her in Spanish?" Sid suggested. "Gals love it when they hear someone talking in Spanish."
"Hmm, I guess I could." A somewhat skeptical Rodrigo said.
"Were you two alone when you tried to charm her again?" Stinky asked.
"Yeah." Rodrigo replied.
"Well, why not also try to do it again, only this time in front of other people?" Stinky suggested. "You did it the first time and it worked."
"Hm, it did." Rodrigo agreed. "Thanks, guys." He said as he then turned around and went back to Rhonda.
"Well that's a shame." Sid then commented to Stinky. "He's only been Rhonda's date for an hour and she's already bored of him."
"It is a pretty sad site to see how the mighty can fall so hard, so fast." Stinky agreed with him.
Rodrigo walked up to Rhonda and saw her talking to some of their friends. Peapod Kid was among them. Rodrigo stopped for a while and hesitated if whether or not he should say anything now. Not only did she look busy, but he was also a bit unnerved about how she was going to react, let alone if she was going to fall for it.
He wrestled with the indecision for a little while, but eventually relented and approached her.
"Excuse me, Rh-" Rodrigo attempted to get her attention, but was cut off by Peapod Kid when he saw him.
"Rodrigo my man, you are one lucky guy to be the gorgeous Rhonda Lloyd's date." Peapod Kid commented to him.
Rhonda look behind her and was a bit surprised to see him there, but her surprising look was immediately replaced with an unpleasant frown, which Rodrigo noticed. However, just as quickly, she turned back around to face Peapod Kid.
"Oh why thank you Peapod Kid." A bashful Rhonda said with a giggle. "Charming, as always."
Rodrigo remained silent and looked dumbfounded with the way Rhonda briefly looked at him. It was not only an unpleasant look, but as if she was also irritated by his presence.
"Rodrigo," Rhonda then addressed him with a somewhat stern tone, "it's considered quite rude if you do not acknowledge the person who is talking to you."
"Huh?" Rodrigo snapped out of his train of thought.
"Peapod Kid was just commenting on how lucky you are to be my date." She reiterated.
"Oh uh, right. Sorry Peapod Kid" Rodrigo said to him. "And thank you, I couldn't agree more. Rhonda looks stunning today. Su belleza hace que mi corazón se detenga." (Her beauty makes my heart stop).
"Ugh, honestly Rodrigo." Rhonda scoffed at him, once gain unfazed by his compliments and 'charm', "Haven't you learned by now to only speak English? None of us here speak French. It's quite rude of you to talk in a foreign tongue that nobody here understands."
"It was Spanish." Rodrigo corrected her.
"Well regardless," She remained stern, "please communicate in a language that everyone can understand."
That really backfired. It was bad enough that Rhonda left him speechless, but he now had the added misfortune of feeling utterly embarrassed in front of their friends! That was a truly uncalled comment and left Rodrigo almost turning red, both from embarrassment and anger!
Peapod Kid noticed Rodrigo's embarrassment and just awkwardly shrugged his shoulders and gave him a sympathetic look.
What is her problem?! An outraged Rodrigo thought to himself. Why did she just humiliate me like that?!
Too upset to be standing anywhere her, Rodrigo simply turned around and left the group.
"Just take it easy, Rodrigo," he softly muttered to himself as he attempted to calm himself, "They are just words, they don't harm you."
"Remember that your here to have...fun and to get back on Rhonda's good side." He continued. "A little hard to do when she is giving me such an attitude!" He angrily yelled, but again managed to calm himself down.
"I need a drink." He said to him as he went over to grab some punch.
Rodrigo stayed away from Rhonda for a bit in order to get himself together and just focus on the task at hand. In truth though, Rhonda was cramping his style with her attitude to such an extent that he would preferred to just call it a day and head home. However, ever the stubborn person, he refused to give in and tried to find some way to get back on her good gracious.
After all, Rhonda did invite him as her guest and date and thus far, no prank has yet been sprung. He was able to rest easy on the idea that the chances of her pulling a prank on him in front of everyone was becoming ever more slim by the minute. However, he still could not understand why she would bother to invite him as her date if she didn't seem at all keen to want to spend any time with him, let alone talk to him.
Rhonda's not stupid. He thought to himself. I know she is planning something. I know there is a reason why she 'invited' me to be her date. If she is not pulling a prank on me, then why invite me? It's not like she's been trying to be friends or something.
This is getting annoying. He continued to think. I'll have to think about this later. I'd better get back to her soon and 'entertain' her.
Rodrigo shuddered at that last thought, but by this point, it was not a farfetched conclusion. His only real reason for remaining at the party was for her pure entertainment, not his, which didn't really incentivize him to want to remain there.
Some time later, the DJ put on some dance music that Rodrigo felt he could dance to. It wasn't Latin music, but it nevertheless worked for him. Thinking that perhaps Rhonda wanted a bit of a little twirl and that perhaps it could alleviate some of the tension, he went up to her who was talking to a few people.
As he approached her, he took a deep breath, let it out and tapped on her shoulder.
"Excuse me, Rhonda," he politely addressed her, "but may I have the honor of this dance?" He courteously asked her, even taking a bit of a bow.
Rhonda turned around to look at him, and once again, was not impressed by neither his gesture, nor his presence. If anything, she look even more irritated than ever.
"Not now, Rodrigo." Rhonda heavily retorted at him in front of everyone again. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of a conversation with my guests here? My Gosh, you have no courtesy."
Rodrigo couldn't believe it. Ever since he set foot in her house, she had done nothing but made him run errands for her, but scoff at him, insult him, even embarrass him in front of their friends. He was losing his patience. He came here to have a good time, not be insulted. But instead of saying anything to her, all he did was just give her an angry glare, but turned around and with a hard frown on his face, walked away.
Rodrigo was now fuming over this latest slap in the face and once again felt he needed a drink. He went over to the table to have some more punch.
"Stupid Rhonda. Who does she think she is anyways?" He angrily muttered to herself. "I didn't accept her invitation just so she can treat me this way. Heck, I never even accepted!"
"Hi Rodrigo." Arnold then appeared along with Gerald, Phoebe and a reluctant Helga. "How's your date with Rhonda?"
Both Arnold and Gerald were a bit formerly dressed for the occasion, with ties and black shoes. Phoebe and Helga were both wearing long, one piece dresses that were sleeveless. However, Phoebe's dress was blue and she was wearing white pearl with a transparent shoulder covering, while Helga's was pink. And she still had her pink bow.
"Terrible!" Rodrigo angrily shouted. "Ever since I came to her house she has done nothing but insult and embarrass me in front of others! I don't know what her problem is but I'm THIS close to losing it!"
"Wow, that bad huh?" Helga just casually remarked.
"I don't get it. Why would she do that?" A worried Arnold asked.
"How should I know?!" Rodrigo continued to angrily shout. "I have been wrecking my brain out to try and answer that question. I don't know why she is acting this way. I haven't said or anything to her other than be nice and charming since I set foot in that school. This is really aggravating me."
"I'm really sorry to hear that." Arnold just sympathetically said to him.
"So, what are you going to do?" Gerald asked.
"I guess I'll just leave." Rodrigo grudgingly responded. "It's clear that she only invited me to ruin my Saturday night. For some reason, she has some vendetta against me."
"Boy, you have quite a knack for getting on a girl's wrong side ." Helga remarked with a laugh. "Must be all that 'charm' of yours."
Rodrigo wasn't amused.
"How come you're here?" He asked her. "I thought you said you weren't coming."
"I didn't want to come." She said. "Football head practically forced me to."
"Well, I thought it would be nice for us go to a party." He said to her. "And I didn't force you to come, Helga. All I said was that everyone was coming and it would be nice if you came as well."
"Oh please." She said "You practically guilt-trip me into coming here. I had more important things to do then waste my time coming to a party that's on live support."
"Sure, whatever you say, Helga." He said to her with sigh.
"What exactly did you have to do today?" Rodrigo asked her.
"None of your business, Latino boy." Helga retorted at him.
"So basically, nothing." He said with a bit of a laugh. "Playing hard to get, are we?"
Helga angrily growled at him for figuring her psyche out, but then just began to breathe in deeply and then out, closed her eyes and after taking a few breaths, allowed her anger to dissipate.
"I'm going to go over there and get some snacks and punch," she calmly said to everyone, "and try NOT to stuff them down Rodrigo's throat."
And with that, Helga turned around and walked way.
"You look really nice, by the way!" Rodrigo called out to her.
Helga actually stopped for a second and slightly turned when she heard him, but then continued to walk to the other table.
"You too, Phoebe." Rodrigo then complimented. "Love your pearl necklace."
"Thank you, Rodrigo." Phoebe said to him and smiled.
"Helga's got a point though." Gerald remarked.
"About her wanting to kill me?" Rodrigo asked.
"No. I mean about the party." He clarified. "It is kind of half dead. I expected the music to be more, well, better."
"I somewhat concur." Phoebe then spoke. "Although I am indeed having a good time, I also had the higher expectation for the party to be a bit more, 'hyped up', if can I use that term in this scenario?"
"C'mon Gerald, it's not half dead." Arnold said. "There are lots of people here who are enjoying themselves."
"Uh huh." Gerald remarked, unconvinced. "More like enjoying in their own little fantasy. To compare, the party you held on top of your roof two years ago is better than this one."
"Well that doesn't make feel any better." Rodrigo disappointedly said. "I guess this whole thing was a farce from the start. I guess I'll just go home and call it a day."
"Hold on there," Arnold then spoke, "before you go, why not just ask Rhonda why she even bothered to make you her date if she didn't even want you to be here? It's clear you're having a terrible time here, so why not just ask her? What's the worst that can happen?"
"You know what, Arnold? You're right." Rodrigo agreed. "I don't have anything to lose. It's clear that she doesn't like me and I'm already on her black list. I'm gonna go over to her right now and get this mattered settled."
And with that, Rodrigo left his friends and went over to find Rhonda. It didn't take him long to find her. She was near the entrance of the living room talking to a few people. Without hesitation, he went over to her.
"Pardon me," He politely said to the guests. "but I would like to speak to my 'date' about something."
"Ugh, not now Rodrigo." Rhonda retorted with an irritated look. "I am trying to entertain my guest. Can it wait?"
"I'm afraid it cannot." He said to her quite sternly. "I am very, VERY keen to talk to you about something."
Rhonda noticed the seriousness in his voice and relented.
"Fine." She retorted. "Excuse us for a second." She politely said to the guest before she and Rodrigo went and left the living room, went around a corner and once they were far enough away,
"Alright Rhonda, what's your problem?" He bluntly asked her.
"Excuse me?" Rhonda said, a bit taken aback by his sudden bluntness.
"Don't play dumb with me." He sternly said to her. "From the first moment I've been here you've been treating me like that garbage. I didn't 'accept' your invitation, which by the way you forced me to, just so you can mistreat me and embarrass me in front of our friends. Now what's your problem?"
"It serves you right for the way you treated me." Rhonda said to her with a resentful frown.
"For the way I treated you?!" He frustratingly exclaimed. "I didn't do anything to you!"
"You most certainly did do something to me." She countered back. "Do you take me for a fool?"
"You really want me to answer that question?" He sarcastically remarked, which Rhonda didn't find at all amusing.
"See, this is exactly what I'm talking about!" She angrily exclaimed.
"What are you talking about?" Rodrigo asked her.
"Oh don't YOU dare and play dumb with me!" Rhonda angrily said to him. "You think you can just come my house and attempt to pull the same sleazeball trick again - acting all 'charming' and 'cultured' by speaking French to me and expecting me to melt in front you?"
Rodrigo said nothing and just looked at Rhonda with a stunned look, whilst becoming increasingly uneasy that she figured him out. Rhonda noticed his stunned looked.
"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Rhonda rhetorically asked him. "I may have fallen for it the first time," she continued, "but after your fight with Helga, I finally got to see who the real Rodrigo is; a violent fraud and a manipulator!"
"What?" A shocked Rodrigo said. "Rhonda, I-"
"Don't try and attempt to explain yourself out of this one." Rhonda angrily cut him off. "I'm more angry at myself for stupidly believing that you were something else. Now all I see is that you are nothing but a sham! A low class, conman!"
"Helga was right to finding you suspicious." She continued to berate him, "To think I actually thought you were really a nice, charming, intelligent boy, instead of the violent Machiavellian manipulator that you really are."
"That's not true, Rhonda!" Rodrigo finally began to defend himself. "I did no such thing. When did I ever try to manipulate you?" He asked her.
"Back on the school playground," Rhonda reminded him, "When myself, Nadine, Sheena, Phoebe and Helga tried to teach you the rules and code of conduct of the playground. You not only refused to cooperate, but due to your stupid feud with Helga, you charmed your way into our good side just so you can neutralize her, like a sniffling little weasel! You used us! You used me as your political tool!"
"Aren't you being biased?" A flabbergasted Rodrigo asked. "What do you think Helga was trying to do to you on that day? You don't think she was trying to manipulate you as well? I don't see you being angry at her."
"First of all," Rhonda said, "it's Helga; I expect that from her, hence why we're not "friends". Secondly, unlike you, Helga was blunt of her intentions. She explained to us that she found you suspicious and believed that by letting you know of the social rules, you can be held in check, or something like that, I don't remember. But with you, I actually thought you were charming and cool to hang out with. I actually wanted to be friends with you!"
"And that wasn't the first time you did it!" She added. "You also did it on your first day! I came over to you to greet and welcome you to our school and all you did in turn was to take advantage of that by charming me in front of our class, just so you can be on my good side and impress everyone. I am Rhonda Wellington Lloyd and I am not be used that way!"
Rodrigo just looked at Rhonda with at stunned look. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Rhonda, you're taking all of this way out of proportion." He said to her. "I was just trying to make a good impression. I wasn't trying to manipulate you or anyone. Okay yes, seeing as how you are the popular girl, I was trying to charm my way to your good side on the first day." He admitted.
Rhonda said nothing and with a heavy frown and crossed arms, just continued to look at him.
"And yes, I was trying to do the same thing today." He admitted with a sigh. "But that's all I was trying to do! I wasn't trying to get something out of you, nor take advantage. Throughout this whole time I've never asked anything from you. You're mistaking making a good impression with actual manipulation and that's not fair. C'mon, you're making it sound like I am some hardened criminal that needs to be locked up!"
"Hmm, that maybe a little too much," Rhonda admitted, "but the fact remains that I don't believe you."
"If you really think that I'm some sort of a con-artist," Rodrigo said, "why did even bother to invite me to your party, let alone as your date?"
"To give you a second chance." She said to him with her arms crossed.
"What? Second chance?" He asked her, looking confused.
Rhonda just sighed before she explained.
"After your little 'dancing' session with Helga a few weeks ago, I was not only appalled by your despicable act of putting you hands on a girl, but angered on how well you played us. You were never that shy but calm, intelligent, charming person you made us believe. All I saw on that day was an highly tempered, aggressive, uncontrollable neanderthal."
"Rhonda, enough with the insults and get to the point!" Rodrigo angrily exclaimed at her.
"Anyways," She continued, "I was so furious on having been played like that, that I thought of ways on getting back at you."
"Just out of curiosity," he asked, "how were you planning on getting back at me?"
She then snobbishingly began, "I am the self proclaimed fashionsta and gossip queen of the entirety of PS 118." But then threatened him with an angry snarl. "I know everything that goes on in that school and I know that what I say reverberates heavily throughout its walls. If I really wanted to, I could have spread so much foul and false rumors about you that you would have to spend your lunch time eating inside the school cleaning closest, alone and away from civilized company."
"So why didn't you?" He asked her with a frown, not taking kindly to her threat.
"When I heard what you did for Helga and that she forgave you, well, that kind of impressed me." She somewhat grudgingly admitted, but with a frown.
"Really?" Rodrigo asked, now surprised at the first compliment she made that evening.
Rhonda just nodded.
"I'm not close to her, but I've known Helga long enough to know that she is not easily impressed, nor is she the forgivable type." She said. "So by retrieving her bow, it must have been some grand and personal thing because it worked and it finally made her stop her incessive witch hunt against you."
"It also made me realize that perhaps there was more to you than meets the eye." She continued. "So instead of using my influence to tarnish your puny little reputation, I decided to test you."
"Test me?" He asked you. "Is that why you organized this party? Just to test me?"
"Don't flatter yourself. I was going to have the party anyways." She explained. "I just used the occasion to give you the chance to show to me and to everyone here just what type of person you really are."
"Fine." Rodrigo grumbled with a sigh. "What do I have to do?"
"That's for you to tell me." She said to him. "If you claim you are not some violent, manipulative con-artist, then you should be able to do something that will convince me otherwise. You have until the end of this party to do it."
"Are you joking?!" Rodrigo exclaimed. "You're only giving me until 9pm tonight to do something that will make you believe that I'm not a scam artist?! That's only three hours from now! You could have told me about this sooner, you know? That's not a lot of time."
"Well excuse me Rodrigo," Rhonda just countered back, "but in case you haven't noticed, I have been very busy trying to entertain my guests. I'm trying to salvage this party!"
"Salvage?" Rodrigo asked.
"This party is supposed to be the biggest and most exciting I have ever thrown." She began to explain with increasing worry. "The whole expectation was for people to have fun and to remember it for the rest of their lives. You know, a little bit of immortality. But it turns out that this party is completely falling apart! The DJ has been playing I don't know what kind of music, but it's terrible – last time I hire him – and everyone is not really fond of the snacks that I provided, which really surprised me since they are typical snacks. I even saw one kid sleeping - sleeping - n one of the couches!"
"Well, why not ask the DJ to play some nice funky music or something?" He suggested.
"Don't you think I already asked him?" Rhonda retorted almost in a panic tone. "But he insisted on playing that god awful music of his. Apparently he finds it more 'suitable'. Ugh! He's gonna have a nasty little comment on his website after this!"
Despite having been angry at her about a moment ago, Rodrigo saw how this was stressing her out and began to feel a bit sympathetic.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Rhonda." Rodrigo sympathetically said to her. "Is there anything I can do?" He asked.
"Unless you can magically change the direction of this party, then no." She said. "In any regard, it's not your problem. You're problem now is to convince me that you are not the person I think you are."
"But Rhonda," Rodrigo insisted, "three hours is not enough time for me to come up with something to convince you otherwise!"
"Well then, I suggest you step on it." Rhonda unsympathetically said to him.
"And if I were to fail?" Rodrigo asked with a frown.
"If you fail," Rhonda said as she cracked her fingers, "then I guess I will not be responsible for MY own actions. Or more appropriately, for my own words."
"Rhonda, this is not fair!" Rodrigo angrily exclaimed. "You're practically threatening me and for what? To get back at me just because you think I was using you? News flash Princess, I wasn't! Not everything is about you! You weren't even someone whom I'm interested in being friends with!"
Rhonda was a bit surprised that Rodrigo called her 'Princess'. No one, other than Helga, had ever called her that and she wasn't really sure what to make of it. But, she had to focus with the task at hand.
"I can sense a lot of anger in you." She said to him. "That's gotten you into trouble in the past. Are you sure you want to go down that route again?" She sternly warned him.
Rodrigo said nothing, but just silently and angrily glared at her.
"Are you seriously going to go through with this?" He asked her with a snarling voice, to which Rhonda, without hesitation, just nodded.
"Just to help you out," she said to him, "the question that you should be asking yourself is not how do you plan to convince me and everyone that you are not who I think you are. Instead, you should be asking yourself, who are you?"
"I'm-" Rodrigo was about to swiftly answer her, but Rhonda stopped him.
"Just who are you, really?" She rhetorically asked him again. "What you say or what you do from now on will determine what people will think about you."
That question didn't really help Rodrigo all that much. It was a rather vague question and not one to be easily answered. He said nothing and just angrily looked at Rhonda as he tried hard not to explode. Rhonda noticed his anger, but was undeterred.
"I wish you the best of luck." She said to him. "Honestly." Before walking away and heading back to the living room.
"GGRRrrrr!" Rodrigo growled in anger and in utter frustration and began to hit the wall with his forehead a few times.
*bang*
*bang*
*bang*
After getting a headache, he stopped and with a heavy defeated sigh, took off his fedora hat, rubbed his long black hair and slowly waltzed back to the living room and wondered just how he was ever going to get out of this situation. He much as he didn't want to do this stupid test, he didn't have a choice. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place and Rhonda had strategically placed herself on high ground for her to see his movement. He had no way to get out of this.
If I back off now or fail, Rhonda will surely make scrap meat of whatever little respect I gained with everyone. He thought. But I don't know what I need to do to convince her that everything she said about me is not true. Charming her didn't work, nor will showing my intelligence off. Not even me trying to be a good date made a dent either.
When Rodrigo arrived at the living room entrance, he just looked around and let his mind wondered aimless, desperately trying to come up with some sort of a plan.
How am I going to be out of this? He worriedly thought.