Author's Notes:
Hey everyone! Hope you're all enjoying the story 17 chapters in. Sorry for those who may find the writing a bit inconsistent at times, but I'm learning how to actually take my time in simple drafting and reviewing my work before publishing. There's a word from our place of the world called 'gigil' or 'atat,' which basically means too eager or too excited to do or accomplish something, at the risk of it being not as refined or as finesse. So my apologies, starting to shake off the title of amateur fanfic writer lol.
Here's the next chapter!
Chapter XVII
Wednesday morning, at the Sunset Arms...
Arnold woke up under the same circumstances as the day before. 6:30 AM. Cold sweats. Deep panting. Rudely awakened by the very same nightmare. Falling from the sky, the force from an explosion further thrusting him down to the ocean. Surrounded by blue waters, turning around, unable to escape the inevitable and towering wave about to swallow him whole. The same voice whispering...calling...yelling his name...
He turns off his potato alarm clock, but the terror lingers just a little longer this time. He remembers the fear running through his spine the moment that the wave is just about to engulf him, accompanied by the loud shriek, as he lets the hot water from the community bathroom's shower head trickle down his tiny body. He tries to put those thoughts aside as he applies his fragrant shampoo and every man body soap, rinses the suds away with cooler water, and steps out of the shower with a towel. He stares at himself in the bathroom mirror, seeing his soaked blond hair with his identity-defining hat at the center of his football-shaped scalp. He brushes his teeth, but the friction of the bristles against his pearly whites reminds him of the sound of engine failure mere moments before his dream takes a turn for the worst.
He heads back up his room, where he clothes himself in his usual attire - first and foremost some underwear, followed by slim and well fitting medium wash denim pants, an oversized red plaid button down shirt, a teal long sleeved sweater, a pair of crew socks and...'why not,' as he decided to go with a pair of slightly beat up red canvas shoes. Feeling that maybe an extra layer of clothing wouldn't hurt so much, he finds an indigo jacket and checks if it fits his ensemble.
'I think even Rhonda won't deny my outfit is impeccably stylish...,' Arnold shyly reprimands himself after, realizing he hadn't even bothered to have breakfast yet and already his thoughts involved his geography buddy.
He heads back down to the kitchen, and can already make an educated guess as to what the breakfast spread must be with the aroma that hit his nostrils upon descending from the second floor. He enters the kitchen to find some steak, buttered veggies and fresh eggs. He knew there must have been a reason for his grandmother Gertie to suddenly cook up steaks, and for breakfast at that, for him. He figured that grandma still had her head wrapped around yesterday morning.
"Eat up Tex! You'll need your strength for rounding up the cattle today!" Grandma exclaimed, as she poured Arnold a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.
"Thanks grandma...I didn't know we had steak today...," Arnold began his inquisition.
Grandmother Gertie, fully aware that her grandson would be more than sharp enough to see the devil in the details, chose to be honest with him. Honest, with her own brand of sanity.
"Well Tex, after you told me how counting sheep just ain't like what it used to be for ya, I thought that a breakfast of rodeo champions is just what you needed. Not only to get some protein in your small but strong frame, but for you to be comfortable enough to talk to me more about it...," Grandma Gertie replied as she prepared a can of luncheon meat and corned beef for the other boarders soon to wake up.
"Thanks grandma. I guess..I can share some more details..." Arnold felt that given how his grandmother was going the extra mile for something he didn't think was too big a deal to share, courtesy dictates that he share his troubles. Grandma Gertie sat down next to Arnold, ready to absorb whatever he had to say and try to come up with some wisdom for him. After about 5 minutes of impressively detailed retelling, grandmother Gertie takes a minute to make her assessment.
"You only had these nightmares recently?" she finally mustered a question.
"Yeah...they used to be good dreams, the best of dreams actually. I'd get them every once in a while, but the first time I did, it was the night where we got second place during the school's Parents' Day."
Grandma's fears were confirmed. While Arnold was wise enough to realize the love and care that they as his grandparents provided for him as proxies, she knew that he was still just a 9-year old boy, who was truly searching and longing for the comfort and affection of his real parents.
'Oh Miles...Stella...if only you two could see how quickly your son is growing...,' Grandma thought to herself, as she had a flashback of their last day in Hillwood, dropping off their son at the boarding house with the promise that it wouldn't be long before they come back. She remembered how Arnold said goodbye to them. Had she known that the rest of Arnold's young life would be spent in the Sunset Arms, while his parents would be missing for years, without so much as a clue on their whereabouts or a confirmation as to their being alive...
"But the haunting parts of your dream. The lightning and thunder, the voice, the tidal wave...when did these come into the picture?" Grandma Gertie pursued.
"Just this week Grandma. Mister Simmons announced that day that we'll be having a field trip, and that we'll be in pairs for a geography report..." Arnold replied weakly, his thoughts still dwelling elsewhere.
"Is this the group report involving that classmate of yours who lived here for a while last week? The Lloyd girl, yes?" Grandma, as much as she wished, could not forget how Rhonda conducted herself in the boarding house. The fainting and disdain for her cooking she could understand, but the constant moping...
"Yes that one grandma. I believe grandpa told you she'll be coming over on Saturday for us to work on it?" Arnold reminded Grandma Gertie. She remembered alright, but naturally had second thoughts.
"Why yes...and Phil also told me that you've been having, let's say, 'mixed feelings' concerning this girl?" Grandma asserted.
"Sort of...but it's complicated," Arnold meekly answered.
"For a man perhaps...maybe it's a problem that needs a woman's intuition!" Grandma raised a valid point, one which Arnold didn't consider, on account of...him being such a boy.
"You have my ears grandma. What's grandpa told you about it? Everything?" Arnold saw his dear grandmother nod instantly.
"Ok so, given all that, what do you think?"
Grandma Gertie was still in the process of wondering how incredible the timing was for Arnold's nightmares to coincide with the announcement that he'd be paired up with his spoiled and materialistic classmate. She wanted to read into that coincidence more, but there was not much else to go around. She figured that, since Rhonda would be arriving on Saturday, she wanted to make the better and more complete assessment at that time. It would be premature to give conclusive advice now.
"Tell me first, Tex...how have you been interacting with her lately? And how do you feel about those instances?"
Arnold summed up the past 2 days with his grandmother, as the preceding events were already made known to her clearly by Phil. Arnold told her of the quick lunch meeting, the morning together at the bus en route to PS 118, the brainstorm and banter at the public library, the ice cream after at Slausen's, and the walk accompanying her home.
Gertie paid close attention to how Arnold behaved while telling his story. The shifts in tone, the glimmer in his eyes, the ebbs and flows as he paced through his tale. She soon was able to tell for herself that whatever Arnold was feeling about her, it wasn't puppydog craziness disguised as love. This was something different, but just as innocent, and ran deeper...
'It's too early to tell, but...,' Gertie soon offered some wisdom.
"It may not be clear to you know, but even in dreams, don't be fooled by appearances young grasshopper. Some lightning bolts are just sparks of life...some screams, a call to return or come closer...some tidal waves, are but mere gentle currents..."
'What in the heck is my grandmother talking about...,' that's all Arnold could mentally respond with.
"It won't be clear now Arnold, but the more you experience your dream, think of what I just told you. You'll understand soon enough." With that, Grandma Gertie embraced her grandson, hoping he has enough physical and spiritual strength for the day.
At the Lloyd residence...
Rhonda was just finishing the meditation portion of her shower, as she then applied conditioner on her hair and a bath gel on her body. After rinsing, she stepped out of the bath and with a towel wrapped around her proceeded to brush and floss her teeth. She then applied a thin amount of body butter on her before she got dressed. Putting on her pants, she felt like changing up on her outfit just for the field trip. Instead of her usual variety of sweaters with any given shade of red, she chose a midnight blue sleeveless blouse and a scarlet sweater that ran down only up to her chest. She put on a pair of comfortable no-show socks and a pair of expertly crafted scarlet nubuck loafers. It made her seem taller and more adult like, but Rhonda liked how her ensemble looked in the mirror. To complete it, she asked her mother for one of her simpler but equally as elegant gold necklaces.
"What's the occasion darling?" Brooke asked her dear daughter.
"Oh mother, I just felt that an outfit change for today felt appropriate. We are going on a field trip to the national museum for our geography report," Rhonda politely replied.
"Oh yes, with your geography buddy, am I correct?" Brooke emphasized the term 'buddy,' remembering how Rhonda was blushing for a while after Arnold, being the gentleman that he is, accompanied their daughter home.
Rhonda rolled her eyes in jest as she replied, "yes mother, that same report with my buddy."
As Rhonda admired the piece of fine jewelry highlighting her slender and beautiful neck, Brooke simply admired the changes Rhonda actively undertook to better herself. In many ways, she can't believe how a week ago, her own priority as a mother was the appearance and beauty of her daughter, rather than her actual upbringing to be a tenacious, sympathetic and capable girl. If going through a few days of virtually being dirt poor meant seeing her Rhonda become truly beautiful, both inside and out, she would gladly relive those days again. Just days, not weeks...
"Darling, you're stunning. I'm sure your buddy will think so as well..." Brooke winked at her daughter while in mid-admiration of her reflection.
Rhonda this time couldn't help but blush, and accidentally mutter, "y-you think so- ERR I MEAN - MOTHER."
Brooke laughed to her heart's delight. She further teased, "why don't you just be honest with me dear, and tell me that you and Arnold decided to change up your outfits today to stand out as buddies?"
"Mother, really! This is my own choosing. Arnold's cool but he barely changes his style up. Not that he needs to...," Rhonda trailed off, remembering just how uniquely brooding and personal Arnold's style was. Only he could make that ensemble work, because it was so him, and therefore so cool...
"Whatever you say Rhonda. Now come downstairs soon, your father will be leaving for work and breakfast is getting cold.." Brooke instructed Rhonda as she stepped out of the child's room.
"Hmph...like Arnold would dress differently today..."
At the bus...
"He actually dressed differently today..." Rhonda murmured. Before her, a few seats aways seated next to Gerald, was her buddy in a different outfit. Arnold, just as surprised, saw Rhonda stepping forward to make her way to Nadine a few seats behind theirs, and couldn't help but be amazed with how her outfit complemented her figure and look so perfectly.
Rhonda continued to walk towards Nadine by instinct, but couldn't help but gaze at Arnold and his green eyes, staring at her hazel eyes right back. She heard a few compliments from the boys and the girls, and was polite enough to thank them without much thought, as she couldn't snap out of the trance she was in because of those beautiful pupils captivating her and demanding her full attention...
To the credit of one compliment, she momentarily snapped out of it. She heard a "Hey Lloyd!...looking good...," from Wolfgang. Bewildered, she opted to be kind enough with an "uhm...thanks...?...Wolfgang...," before she continued on.
When they were basically next to each other, Arnold gave her the words to truly set her day off right. "You look even more fantastic today, buddy..."
She could feel everyone staring at them, not anymore in awe of her outfit and undeniable appeal, but because of what Arnold just called her. "BUDDY?"
"I could say the same thing about you..." Rhonda wanted to get people off their backs, and thus qualified the pet name, saying "...GEOGRAPHY buddy."
A manner of voices began to echo throughout the bus ride just as Rhonda made it to her seat with Nadine. Most of the sounds were regarding the confusion as to whether or not the term is supposed to be partner as first coined by Mr. Simmons, the realization that buddy just rolled off the tongue better than the original coined term, and the desire to appropriate it for themselves as well. So much were the noises that no one noticed the eyeroll and sigh by Gerald, for the fact that one of his nicknames for Arnold was just stolen by Rhonda Wellington Lloyd and made her own. Neither did anyone, except for Phoebe, notice the grinding of teeth and intense glares coming from Helga G. Pataki directed towards Rhonda. So far she had done her best in preventing a slip of the tongue, ensuring that her best friend wouldn't find out that the "geography buddies" were having an ice cream at Slausen's after what seemed to be a very fruitful brainstorm session in the library, both in the academic and non-academic senses. Her mission for the day was to, at all costs, prevent Helga from finding out, not just for the sake of Helga's promising progress, but also for the safety of Rhonda...
At the museum...
The bus had arrived at PS 118, with the students getting off board to see Mr. Simmons already waiting for them, with a private shuttle hired to bring them to the museum. Mr. Simmons then proceeded to instruct them that the bus ride to the museum would take about an hour as the destination was near city limits, and that they were expected to pair up with their geography partners. He also informed the kids of the schedule: ETA at 9 AM, free exploration of the museum until 12NN, an hour-long lunch break, and a special feature on South American countries after before they were to leave for school with ETA at 3:30 PM.
Aside from Arnold and Rhonda, the pairs went as follows: Stinky and Sid, Harold and Eugene, Helga and Sheena, Phoebe and Gerald (Mr. Simmons meant for the pairs to be between people who haven't partnered up as frequently but overlooked the fact that he paired up the cutest unofficial couple of the class, which prompted him to be more thorough lest he risk another incident similar to when Curly snapped), Curly and Nadine, Lorenzo and Lila (much to Arnold's annoyance since chancing upon them also at Slausen's), Iggy and Peapod, Brainy and Park. The class was now inside the museum, each pair exploring the sets and models presented, trying to get ideas for their presentations.
The museum visit so far was proving to be a different experience for the first reporting pair. Arnold and Rhonda, already decided on their Wales presentation, took the time to update each other on what they have individually researched and, seeing as how they were getting quite comfortable with each other's moods, continued their exchange of friendly and borderline mocking banter. All of this was not lost on Helga Pataki, who was observing the buddies from afar. As much as she wanted to leave her own well-meaning but hopelessly geeky partner, come up with conniving schemes and nasty plots to separate her beloved from the witch in rich girl's clothing, and execute the same in succession, two things prevented her from doing so: first, the fact that despite her perceptions, she had no clear or solid evidence that would strongly suggest that Rhonda Lloyd's sudden interests in Arnold extended beyond the confines of friendship; and, second, she had so much progress from her sessions with Dr. Bliss, and did not wish to disappoint her.
"I might as well just put these in the notebook," Helga muttered to herself as she jotted down her honest feelings about the last hour or so in the museum. She returned her private journal in the deep recesses of her satchel just before Sheena could notice.
Phoebe's attention was split in three concerns. The first thought not most immediate concern was Gerald, the love of her elementary school life, who was in the middle of telling her how Kimberly's been extra annoying as a baby sister, moments after they debated as to whether or not New York or Chicago would be acceptable choices for their geography project. The second concern came in the form of Arnold and Rhonda, who were exhibiting the same but stronger vibe of comfort and fondness the two friends (?) did yesterday at Slausen's. Phoebe learned that she caught them mere minutes after Arnold learned again that his feelings for Lila were not at all reciprocated, which spoke volumes as to how his relationship with Rhonda continued to grow deep. Third, and the most alarming concern, was of course Phoebe's best friend, who by the look in her eyes was experiencing conflict. It seemed like she was doing her best to commit to giving Arnold his space, but was unsure if she could actually do it. Phoebe knew that, in the meantime, she needed to assure Helga that she was making the right choice. Her pursuit of Arnold can wait for now. Phoebe then attended her third concern, temporarily excusing herself from Gerald.
"You're making the right decision Helga. I sincerely believe that Raspberry only means to reestablish her friendship with Ice Cream. Nothing more, nothing less...," Phoebe planted her seed.
"Yeah I figure you might be right on the money on that after all, Pheebs...Raspberry? You really should have saved Red Velvet for Princess," Helga cheekily replied.
Phoebe hoped to keep Helga's spirits up, as it could serve as a means of distracting her from trying to perceive more from the pair. "True, and they've stuck to mostly academic concerns. I am certain that while they seem to be developing a deeper friendship as of late, it should not extend beyond that."
It all went so perfectly. It all could have worked. Until...
"Man they're more inseparable now than they were yesterday at Slausen's!" Gerald exclaimed, having finally caught up to Phoebe.
Phoebe's confidence in dealing with Helga's struggle immediately waned upon Gerald's big mouth doing its job, as she grew cold, which was the complete opposite to the growing and growling hot fire now burning inside Helga.
"They...were...WHAT?" Helga asked without bothering to look at Gerald. The love of Phoebe's elementary life continued to be oblivious to the fact that he was functioning as a yodeller calling out for an avalanche to bear down on an unfortunate village.
"Oh, Phoebe didn't tell you? We ran into them at Slausen's. Not only did she take my seat in the bus, but she also took my nickname for Arnold that admittedly didn't catch on...now every pair's calling each other buddies thanks to Rhonda! Next thing I know, she's gonna take my place as best friend."
Gerald was too deep in voicing out his jealousy over the time Arnold's been spending with Rhonda Lloyd to notice that Phoebe was pleading him, with arms repeatedly crossing, to just shut up. He also failed to notice that Helga had smoke coming out of her ears and nostrils.
"Gerald, would you excuse Phoebe and I? We need to go visit the ladies' room...," Helga announced as she dragged Phoebe by her arm, with a clear conviction to connive and plot evident on her face.
'Why do I have to be in love with an idiot...,' Phoebe asked herself as Helga swung the restroom door open.