Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold or it's characters.

Chapter 25,

Mai drove Olga to the Pataki home and it was a fairly nice building. It appeared to be well taken care of, the bricks were in good condition, the window seals almost looked freshly painted, and the surrounding plant life appeared very vibrant. From the outside, the only real indication that any family truly lived here, was the state of the front door. The doorknob had several indents, as if it's been repeatedly squeezed; the hinges appeared to be worn, as if so many people had left this place; and the paint appeared to be chipped from years of abuse.

"Oh, isn't it lovely. I've so many good memories here." Olga said and Mai glanced at the door once more.

"So you wanted to drop you go to the hospital?" Mai asked to clarify what they were doing.

"Well, I will need to check on mommy, of course. We might need to have some lunch with her before seeing Helga." Olga said and Mai blinked.

"Wait, what? I thought you came all this way to be here with Helga, and now you don't want to go to the hospital?" Mai asked and Olga looked away.

"It's complicated." Olga stated before opening the unlocked door. Mai wanted to question this, but instead she picked up Olga's suitcase and followed her in the building. However, when she entered and saw Olga kneeling on the floor next to her mother, Mai's question was answered.

"Mommy? Mommy; it's me Olga." Olga said, gently brushing hair off of her mother's face.

"Huh? Who?" Miriam uttered as she stirred awake from her drunken state.

"Olga. It's Olga." Olga soothed and Miriam looked up at her daughter. After a moment of staring, Miriam recognized Olga and smiled.

"Baby. You're home." Miriam said tiredly and Olga smiled.

"Are you hungry mommy? I could take you to Donald's Den if you'd like. Didn't you say he served the best cheese fries in town?" Olga suggested and as if on command, Miriam's stomach growled loudly. She hadn't really have anything to eat all day.

"Sure. I could eat." Miriam slurred.

"Well Mai, how do you feel about joining us for for some lunch?" Olga said and Mai nodded. She really didn't know what to make of this whole situation.

"Alright, I like cheese fries." Mai said, though she could feel her walls going up.

"Goodie, sounds wonderful. Let's get a move on and get down to the bar before the heavy drinkers get there." Olga said, as she practically dragged her mother out the door. A part of Mai disapproved of Olga's behavior, because it seemed like enabling, but Mai wasn't really in a position to question the Pataki's on their actions. Olga is talented, beautiful, and cares very deeply for others: Olga can't pick her family, and Mai shouldn't judge Olga for who her family is. Still, was it right for her to drive them to a bar when it appeared that Olga's mother was an alcoholic? Regardless of if it's correct of not, Mai took them to Donald's Den.

Perhaps it's good that Mai got the Pataki women out of the Pataki home. He went to the familiar building and he turned the knob and was happy to see it was unlocked.

"Arnold, you should announce yourself." Phoebe said before Arnold entered the building.

"Huh? Why?" Arnold couldn't help but ask as he waited for his friends to get closer to him.

"Perhaps you have forgotten that Mrs. Pataki does not have a job that she is required to go to everyday. Yes, she is normally out, but that does not mean that she will never be home." Phoebe pointed out and Arnold's eyes widened. He hasn't really stopped to consider the possibility that Miriam might actually be home.

"Mrs. Pataki? Are you home!?" Arnold called, but no response was given. Arnold turned and looked at Phoebe who looked away.

"well, like I said, she could be home." Phoebe said and Arnold nodded.

"Sounds great, um. I'm just gonna head up and read a little." Arnold said, trying so hard not to sound desperate.

"You know, with Arnold coming here everyday, you could think about just giving him the key, and letting him feed the giant lizard thing." Gerald mentioned to Phoebe.

"I don't know. To be entirely honest, I'm not really sure if I made the right decision in allowing Arnold access to Helga's room." Phoebe said and Gerald blinked.

"Oh really?" Gerald said and Phoebe sighed heavily.

"Gerald, Arnold is the 2nd most emotionally driven person I've ever encountered. This access that I've allowed has fastly become an addiction to the dear boy, and I'm not entirely sure it's really helped him heal. I don't know perhaps I should stop this" Phoebe said and Gerald looked up the staircase.

"So what, you're just gonna walk up there and tell him he's not allowed to be in here anymore?" Gerald asked and Phoebe shook her head.

"I didn't mean this very instant. If I were planning to do it today, it would be when Arnold returns the key to me, or some time tomorrow. If I tell him now, he's just gonna fight it." Phoebe said and Gerald shrugged lazily.

"Whatever, you make up the rules however you see fit; as I understand it, that is. You do what you gotta do, and I'll help Arnold after." Gerald said. Phoebe smiled and held Gerald's hand.

"Sounds good. Now lets go feed Vlad Bathory." Phoebe said and Gerald rolled his eyes.

"Remind me again how Helga picked a name like that?" Gerald asked.

"Well originally she named the komodo dragon Elizabeth Bathory, after the famous Hungarian Countess, but after she discovered it was a boy, she changed it to Vlad after the Romanian Count." Phoebe explained and Gerald scoffed.

"Man, Helga's really got a thing for bloodsuckers, doesn't she?" Gerald asked and Phoebe giggled at the joke.

Upstairs, Arnold rushed to the bed and Arnold rushed to the bed and instantly opened the diary to the back of the book, as if he knew exactly where to go.

Dear Diary,

Today I found myself in a scene straight out of 12 angry men. I guess someone apparently thought it was a good idea to pull the fire alarm at school, and in our school district, we gotta hold some crummy trial. Somehow Arnold and I ended up on the jury... along with Fat Boy, Phoebe, Tall Hair, and Crazy Curly. Well guess who was caught and put on trail? Happy little Eugene.

You know, technically speaking, it doesn't make a lot of sense for such a fragile guy to pull the fire alarm- I mean he'd probably break something. But after listening to the evidence and the lame efforts of Eugene's lawyer, Stinky, I found his guilt undeniable and his attempts to prove his innocents were laughable. I mean, how else am I suppose to think? If there is evidence of someone being guilty, then surely they must be. I mean, when I see Miriam passed out on the floor with a scotch bottle in her hand, I don't automatically think she was playing the jug and tired herself out. And when I see Bob polishing a trophy, I know Olga's coming home, and I don't automatically think he's cleaning so the house looks nice for mom. And when I see our pantry full of groceries, I know Olga will have one of her random courters over for a 'family dinner', and I don't automatically think mom actually came home with all her groceries for once.

I was quick to vote guilty on Eugene, but as it turns out, Arnold just didn't believe it. I thought it might have been Phoebe at first with her sensitive heart and everything, but it was the guy whose felt responsible for ruining Eugene's 'Every Dork Has Their Day', day... I swear, when it comes to Eugene, Arnold is almost extra sensitive to him. It almost seems like Arnold feels bad for all the bad things that have ever happened to Eugene. Regardless, Arnold insisted that we go through all of the evidence again because he just wasn't convinced that Eugene was guilty.

I gave Harold a banana out of my lunch so that he would say the first testimony, which proves that Eugene had an opportunity to pull the fire drill when he dropped his books out on the floor. Not only that, but Eugene lost his balance and left a peanut buttery claw mark on the wall. Which, of course, is important when you consider the fact that the fire alarm was drenched in peanut butter. Phoebe started to go on about Eugene's Tuesday glasses, and I couldn't help but be testy. This case was sucking the life out of my wreastlemania experience! The evidence was just too overwhelming, but Arnold stood, or in this case sat, firm.

Arnold told us his version of what happened, and he pointed out that there is no way the pencil in the hall, could have belonged to Eugene. Since he was banned from Winkyland last fall for accidentally causing the Thanksgiving Day parade to crash, and since he's been bannedfor so long, it'd be unlikely that he'd have a pencil from there, even though he still loves it. Arnold started talking about someone who would blame Eugene for such a thing, and Curly snapped. He actually confessed to the whole shebang.

Here's the thing, though... Curly is... completely over the top and delusional... Would you like to know why Curly pulled a fire alarm and blamed it all on Eugene? Over three months ago, Eugene borrowed Curly's Winkyland pencil and he chewed it up before returning it to Curly, and it was much to little from being sharpened too much. So that set off an obsession within Curly being unable to eat or sleep properly because of the injustice Eugene had done to him; his mind plagued with images of Eugene mistreating his beloved pencil and then returning the abused wood as if it were 'no bid deal'.

Needless to say we were all shocked by Curly's outburst. And Arnold and I looked at each other and I felt a little sad. How on earth could I have forgotten that Eugene was banned from Winkyland? Perhaps I wasn't really thinking straight because of how badly I wanted to go to Wrestlemania? Or maybe it has become nearly impossible for me to sometimes assume the best in people, because of predictable my family is...

Still, it was wrong of me to completely disregard my role as Juror #4. I mean, I've seen people court and everything, and something evidence is circumstantial. Technically, many students have received Winkyland pencils, and it may have even been a pencil randomly abandoned in that specific location before Eugene even got in that hallway. And it was a little ridiculous to think all of that peanut butter all came from one sandwich Eugene had at lunch. There was enough for 2 sandwiches. Not to mention the fact that Eugene seems to be the type of kid to respect library books, so even if he had some peanut butter on his hands, it wouldn't be that much, because then he'd be concerned with damaging the books. Oh, and he gets sick and stuff all the time, and I bet he always keeps a supply of tissues on his person at nearly-all times... not only that, but I really should have made more of an effort to believe his innocence, because Arnold believed him. Sure Arnold is fair from impartial, and still has no real sense of reality, but he's rarely been wrong about a person's character... look I'm not saying that I should believe Arnold just for the sake of believing him, or to have the exact same opinion as him to help him fall in love with me... Heck, how boring would that be. But when Arnold does believe something, I really should keep an open mind and give Arnold the benefit of the doubt. Afterall, Arnold would give me the benefit of the doubt, and surely I should do the same.

Dear Diary,

There was a gaggle of kids in front of Arnold's house and I just had to find out what everyone was obsessing over. Turns out Arnold had one of those world record books. You know, there was a time when these world records held actual achievements. Like the world's largest skyscraper, or the person with the currant highest IQ. Now any idiot willing to sleep with scorpions for six months is in there. It use to mean something, but now it's all just a big joke.

I mean how on earth do you get 11,284 kites on a single string? I mean how small are those kites, and were they stitched together so they could all be on one string. And how on earth do you measure 2,684.6 chocolate chips in a single cookie? I'm betting they cooked one giant cookie and count out all of their chocolate chips before baking, and then took out a certain amount for chocolate dissolving either by the hear or in the dough. It's all so moronic because not only does someone need to be willing to go this lame stuff, but someone and confirmed that this person actually broke a record. So you gotta call someone, telling them you would like to break the most fingertip push-up record, and they have to travel, who knows how far, just to watch you do fingertip push-ups.

Arnold tried to convince me that there were lots of cool information in it too. He told me about this chick named Phyllis Sorenson who took 46 pieces of gum to make the world's largest blow bubble. I have a feeling he thought I'd be interested because I like bubble gum, but all I could think about was how much her jaw must have hurt and how the gum would have drenched her when it finally popped. I told Arnold that it was a dumb book and I corrected him on the pronunciation of Saskatchewan. Then Phoebe and I went down to the river and threw rocks. You know, part of me just doesn't understand how Arnold could be so blinded towards the rash, impulsive, and destructive things in that book. Besides, all anyone has to do it think of something stupid to create a record, or risk their time and possibly lives to break an existing record.

It's just not practical to reward stupid behavior. I mean, maybe Torvald holds the school record for most assignments failed? Maybe Brainy holds the school record for being punched in the face? And I'm willing to bet Arnold holds the record for widest head? If Arnold is so obsessed with these records, maybe we could do a P.S. 118 version just for a lark. Otherwise it's just dumb.

Dear Diary,

Remember what I said yesterday, about creating a book of records would just encourage others to do stupid, irrational things? Well, I guess I called it, because today Arnold passed by my house and they were walking backwards. And when I asked them what they were doing, they told me that they were trying to break a world record. Oh, my beloved, do you really want to go down as the person who walked thousands of miles backwards? THere is so much amazing stuff about Arnold, I wish he saw that instead of attempting to break some hair-brained record. Even if he breaks that record, it will never show how kind Arnold is, or how smart or creative or how he keeps trying to see the best in people, or... how he doesn't like to give up on something... I'm not sure Arnold will stick with the walking backwards thing. It doesn't seem very practical for school. But I'll be sure to keep you updated on Arnold and this record thing.

Dear Diary,

I stopped by Sunset Arms to see if Arnold was still walking backwards, but he wasn't. Instead, Arnold looked like a little seal, bouncing a rubber ball on his nose. Logically, I knew this was wrong, and he must have been bouncing it on his forehead, but he still looked like a seal. Unfortunately, Arnold lost his balance or something and crashed into the trashcans. I think it's needless to say, I don't think they are gonna stick with that record.

Dear Diary,

I went to Arnold'd house again, and he and Gerald were in the backyard with a hula hoop. They were decent at it, but obviously not as good as that record. You should have seen the look on Arnold's face when the hoop went down on Gerald. He actually gasped. I felt kinda bad that Arnold was going through all this effort to break a record. Why does he care so much about it...? Is he simply trying to be remembered, or does he want to show that he is the best at something? Or is he trying to prove something to himself? I'm a little saddened by this.

It kinda reminds me of when I was little and... oh, wow, I guess I forgot about this.

Olga had come home from school one day, and Bob and Miriam were having this really horrific fight. I don't remember what they were fighting about, but Olga came in the room, and I swear was gonna cry. She tried to talk to Bob about him helping her with her homework, because he was so smart, and he told her to buzz off. Then she tried to talk Miriam into styling her hair as pretty as hers, but Miriam wasn't swayed either. Now back then, Olga just had this little toy keyboard, and she had it right next to the tv. That way whenever cartoons like Tom and Jerry, or Bugs Bunny played classical music, she could try and play along with them. Course mom and dad were too wrapped up in their own lives that they never even noticed Olga doing this. So, when Olga grabbed her little keyboard and played her cartoon music, they both stopped to stare at her. They were so blown away by this talent that they instantly stopped fighting and ran over to praise her... I wonder how long it will take for me to forget this memory again. But there is something about Arnold's drive to break a record, that feels fairly similar to Olga trying to keep our parents from fighting. I'm... I'm not sure why they feel so similar...

Dear Diary,

it had been a few days since I'd seen Arnold and Gerald doing any weird or dangerous stuff for the world record book. I thought maybe they had given up on the record-breaking thing, so I've been keeping my distance. I was pretty outspoken over the records being stupid, I didn't want to make Arnold feel worse. But as it turns out, they were actually doing another world record- not bathing. I mean it's definitely safer then flaming limbo dancing, or chainsaw juggling, or building a mantle of bees; but it's completely unsanitary. I thought this was the last straw, I had to say something! If Arnold was willing to harm his own health, just to be remembered, then there has got to be a deeper reasoning to this madness. I followed Arnold and Gerald to the boarding house... along with a dog, car, and skunk, but you'll never believe what happened when they got home. Arnold's Grandmother dumped water on them both, and they got attacked by brushed, sponges, and soaps. Ooohh, that did not look like it felt good. I decided not to talk to Arnold today. I doubt he'll after they did that to him. I'll think about talking to him tomorrow.

Dear Diary,

I planned on being nice, I really did. But, ugh... Gerald was there and I couldn't really handle the pressure of being kind and vulnerable to both of them. I gave them this lecture on how they were humiliating themselves for no good reason, and how they already tried so many failed ways to break a record and there's no way those two lameos were ever gonna break a world record. For a second, I thought I crossed a line, but them Arnold's eyes lit up like the fourth of July sky and said I was right, and that they needed more kids.

They gathered the troops and they tried a few things. Like the highest pyramid or kids, which may have worked if they hadn't put Eugene at the very bottom of the pyramid. Even if he wasn't weak, or fragile, he's way lighter then the rest of our grade; he should been at the top. When the pyramid inevitably toppled. Ouch.

Dear Diary,

Oh, criminy. I went to the Jolly Olly man for a bubblegum drumstick and I see Arnold and the others outside Green Meats and they are attempting to play the longest game of Crack The Whip. But, uh, Eugene got sick and Dizzy, and he broke off the whip. He crashed into a bunch of junk and they took him to the hospital. Will Arnold stop now that he sent Eugene to the hospital?

Dear Diary,

And the verdict is no; no he doesn't stop. Guess what the football head did today? He got a bike nd piled 12 kids on it to brake a record. I swear he would have gotten more people on that if it wasn't for the fact that he did this on a hill. The bike rolled down the hill, hit Eugene after he got discharged from the hospital, and crashed. So now Eugene is in a wheelchair, but luckily no one else had anything more then a mild concussion. Man... what is it gonna take for Arnold to finally call it quits?

Dear Diary,

It seems like everyone was in a rather depressing mood. I guess they finally realized that all of this record breaking junk wasn't as fun as reading the book, but even after everything Arnold was saying how they shouldn't give up and they could still break a record. I told him to wake up and realize that Everyone here was an average kid, and people are better at stuff then we are. Arnold said that wasn't true, and he pointed out how Stinky can roll well, Phoebe knows sauces, and Geralds's a human veg-o-matic; and how there must be a way to take these seemingly useless talents into one of the grandest things World Records has ever seen.

Arnold said that they'll cook the world's largest pizza puff, which everyone seemed excited for. Of course they'll need the help from Mr. Green, and Mrs. Johansen, will ingredients, but I was secretly impressed. Arnold took everyone's skills and turned them into an achievable world record that should not only be delicious, but safe too. Ooohhh, what a visionary. Especially when you compare them to Brainy and Fatso. Harold had Brainy begging for money so he could ride that baby pony ride outside the grocery stone. I guess that's one way to brake a record, but I try to stay away from Brainy if I can help it, so... yeah...

Dear Diary,

I decided to watch Arnold with his pizza puff thing. I mean, after all , how many other opportunities are you gonna get to see someone make a giant anything. Phoebe said I could help if I wanted, but I wasn't too sure about it. If anything bad happened, they would automatically blame me for it sabotaging it because I've been very outspoken for Arnold to quit. And if it succeeds, then they will only say that I'm doing it just so I can be apart of the world record book., which also isn't great.

It was actually kinda fun to watch everyone working together. Arnold and his grandmother stirred the dry ingredients together with shovels. It was a little odd to see Mr. Green cutting vegetable instead of meat, but Arnold was right about Gerald's chopping skills. And you know, even the princess Rhonda took off her shoes and squashed tomatoes with her bare feet, like she was making wine. Wow, I would have though she would have been more resistant to getting that dirty. Finally they got to assemble the puff. First 6 people rolled out the dough, they dumped the sauce, meats, and veggies within and blanketed it with more dough. Stinky rolled up the ends as tight as only he could do; and then finally a good dozen people carried it over to the heating source so it could bake. They build giant make shift grill with Ernie's cinder blocks, dozens of grates and tons of coal.

I was actually starting to think this really could break a world record... but this time the weak link wasn't Eugene, it was Sid. He didn't know that T.S.P. was a common abbreviation for teaspoons. Instead the joker thought 'tsp' stood for 'Ten Square Pounds'. The pizza puff exploded and tomato sauce drenched the neighborhood. This final failure finally got to Gerald. He said maybe they weren't unique or special at all and may never break a record; and I realized this was all stuff I was saying to them yesterday. I actually felt kinda bad for putting those thoughts in Gerald's mind. And worse, Arnold actually agreed with him...

You know, out of all the kids in my class, I should know what it's like to feel average, common, that I'll never be anything more then that; my family makes me feel like that way more often then not. And quite honestly, it can be a rather depressing thought. I don't want to treat Arnold the same way my family treats me... But after a moment, Arnold looked happy and said he was going off to write a letter. Well, whatever he's doing, I hope he knows that he is special... Even if he doesn't know that he's very special to me.

Dear Diary,

I wasn't sure what I was expecting, when I went to the boarding house this morning. Dozens of people were still cleaning up the tomato mess from before; when Arnold ran out of his house saying 'we did it' over and over. I tried to look cool when I asked Arnold what was going on and Arnold said that we were gonna go in the book of records after all. For being the most determined neighborhood they've ever heard. I got a little caught up in the news, I'll admit, feeling as if fame washed over us, which is kinda ridiculous. But, I'm personally now he'll see how special, unique, one-of-a-kind he is; at least that's one thing I always believed it.

Dear Diary,

It's Valentine's Day, and man, I hoped it would have been so much more... I don't know, special, romantic, easy... let me sum it up for ya before you completely dismiss me. I went on a date with Arnold, where I barfed brains, I told him I had a crush on him, and I got revealed as one of the biggest hypocrite in the entire world. Do I have your attention?

Well, it all started this morning when our teacher Ms. Slovak dedicated the entire class to making Valentines for our special someone. I created a beautiful valentine, and I just needed to write to Arnold, asking him to be my valentine... it's just... It was really difficult... I had trouble finding the balance with my most sensitive, sensual side to the rough exterior Arnold and I are so use to. I wrote and erased so much, I used up my entire eraser before recess. The only thing that hurt worse then the tension pounding against my skull, was when I looked over and I saw Arnold making a Valentine for Ruth McDougal. It's been long since the cheese festival, I had hoped that Arnold's crush for Ruth would have dissipated...But, I guess not... How could I give my valentine to Arnold now that I know he has feelings for someone else? I kept grumbling to myself about it, and not even a postcard from my penpal in Baghdakistan was enough to distract me from it. Granted, what could I expect, they keep asking me for money, how much of a distraction could that provide in that moment of time.

However, I was on the playground angry about the Arnold/Ruth thing. I was also a little annoyed at the fact that Arnold's French penpal, Cecile kept sending him fancy letters too. For all I know, Arnold could start to form Feelings for her, and they already have a connection. I just couldn't deal with it all. It was Valentine's Day for Pete's Sake! If you weren't gonna do something crazy or romantic, then what's the point? After all, wouldn't Saint Valentine be the first to push us to be together, despite his... uh, violent passing...

Then I had an idea. A way for me to spend time with Arnold as myself without him thinking that I was making fun of him or something. Ms. Slovak hadn't given Arnold's Cecile's new letter yet, so I snuck back inside and I altered Arnold's letter slightly... at the end of the letter I added "P.S. I am flying out to visit you this Valentine's Day for one night only. Yes, that's right, for one night only. I have something very important to tell you. Please come alone; and don't wake any other plans. Meet me at Chez Paris." No matter what, I knew Arnold wasn't going to leave Cecile high and dry. I knew I had to pull out all the stops to prove to Arnold that I was really some la-de-da French chick. I rushed home and I borrowed one of my dad's French tapes and went to my room. After all, I only needed to speak enough French to pass as Cecile, who already writes in English for Arnold. I wasn't actually going to Paris anytime soon, and if things went well, then I would tell Arnold it was me the whole time, and I wouldn't really need more French lessons. I did excellent with the tape and I went through every dress I had, trying to find the perfect one that would make me look beautiful and French. I altered one of my prettier pink dresses and then I was off to the French salon I found in the phone book.

It was called Jolie Chien salon, and it must have been really, really French because it had all these pictures of pretty women holding poodles as if they were children instead of pets. The guy kinda looked confused when I came walking in there all by myself, asking for a French hairdo. I think it was because I was so young. After all, how many mothers would kill a beautician for cutting their daughters hair without them their? Some people are hesitant to give me what I want because I'm only nine years old. It's happened before, but I really can't wait for others to knock it off. Eventually I convinced him to simply style my hair without cutting it and I left with my French hair.

I got home and got all dolled up; I guess going to Rhonda's sleepover wasn't a total waste of time. I looked perfect, and I left for my date with Arnold. I was excited when I saw that Arnold. I was excited, when I saw that Arnold was already there... oh wait... oh, I'm not entirely sure I told him what time to meet me. Was he just hanging around forever...? Ugh,I guess I'll never know. But I'll tell you one thing, when I said hello to Arnold, he looked me over, and it made me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world. I think I'll remember his shocked expression for the rest of my life. It was short lived however. I tripped on the way over to the table because of the stupid heels I had to wear, but Arnold rushed over and helped me to my seat like a pure gentleman.

For a brief moment, the gesture had rendered me speechless, until Arnold showed me a picture of the real Cecile. I was terrified that Arnold was gonna prove me a fraud since I didn't look like her, and I didn't have a French accent, and I didn't know the thing heard Arnold talked about in their letters... But he never really questioned much about that, or if he had suspicions, he kept them to himself. I got Arnold to talk a little about himself and we ordered dinner. I ordered something with long name because it must have been very French, and Arnold asked for a Hamburger, which basically insulted the whole restaurant... I guess Arnold doesn't know much about French cuisine either. Arnold ran to the bathroom, and I had a minute to think of how to tell Arnold how much I loved him, and if he loved me too... this really was my big chance. Valentines Day, romantic dinner, on our first date of many, us both in our fanciest clothes... I had to tell him I was in love with him, and I just couldn't blow my best opportunity by not telling him... But I still doubted my ability to get the words out.

When he returned, I tried fishing to see if maybe Arnold already had feelings for me. I asked Arnold if there was some smart, funny, beautiful girl he especially liked in his class and shockingly enough he thought of me. I know calling myself smart, funny, and beautiful, but it's only my wildish dreams that Arnold would think of me before anyone else in our class. I mean Rhonda could easily be the prettiest, Phoebe could easily be the smartest, and... hm... I guess Sheena could be the funniest since she does acting and theater with Eugene- she's probably a wiz with improv. Still, Arnold's first thought was of me... well he said that I really bugged him, even deep down.

Our meal came and I thought it smelled good, and I even thought it tasted good too... uh... until the waiter told me how impressed he was with me that I ordered the calf brains and eggs. Ugh, just thinking about it makes me ill... I rushed to the bathroom and I upchucked everything I ate for the past year. Needless to say I wasn't very pretty when I left the bathroom. My hair was down, my clothes weren't form fitting anymore, I removed my pretty scarf thing and I still felt queasy. But when I sat back down at the table I saw Arnold was gone. I looked around but I didn't see him, and his food was barely touched... I thought he abandoned me and it broke my heart.

I started to leave when Arnold walked inside with some freshly picked flowers. I really appreciated them after getting so sick...

But Arnold looked troubled, like something was really bothering him and I asked him what was up... He asked me if I ever noticed how sometimes you can like someone from a far, but when you actually get to know them, they weren't who you thought they'd be. He told me he had a crush on something, but when he got to know her, they had nothing in common at all. I told him maybe she wasn't the girl for him, and maybe the right girl for him would surprise him because the most beautiful gift can come in the plainest boxes. Heh, I kinda borrowed that line from our teacher, but I guess can be a pretty plain box... After telling me that he was having a great time with me on Valentines Day, I gently broke my news to him, and I asked him if he liked me too... I think he was gonna hold my hand, but then he asked to be excused one last time because he needed to do something. And I was happy. I finally told Arnold I had a crush on him and he didn't freak out or laugh at me, or get grossed out, and he maybe liked me back... until I looked out the window and I saw Arnold outside talking to Ruth McDougal.

I quickly realized that he let me to talk to Ruth, even though she left with some other guy, he must have made dates with both of us... I felt so insulted, but why was I so shocked? He did give Ruth a Valentine, he must have asked her out that way, but still. I snapped a little at him about how I can't stand people not being 100% honest... I know how hypocritical that was of me, but in my defense, I kinda forgot that I was pretending to be Cecile in that moment... And you'll never ever guess what happened next... Turns out Cecile actually did want to visit Arnold on Valentines day. She showed up at the restaurant and I was exposed as the fraud I was...

Ironically I was saved by Gerald. I was so sure he'd rescue Arnold by making up some excuse about me being crazy and sending Arnold off with the real Cecile... but instead... Gerald pretended to be Arnold and took Cecile away so Arnold and I could have a moment alone... I picked up one of my shoes and Arnold picked up the other one to ask me who I was, and I just couldn't bring myself to tell him the truth. He asked me if he was gonna see me again, and i said yes. Then he told me this was the best Valentine's he's ever had, and i said the same. Before I left, he kissed my hand, ooohhh. I get bittersweet feelings when I realized that Arnold really did have feelings for me, but maybe he only like the Cecile version of me. I think I managed to walk all the way home before I realized that Arnold still had my other shoe. I can't imagine what in the world he'd do with it, but I'll never get rid of this thing... Even with all the embarrassing stuff that happened today, it's still gives me hope that Arnold really might love me for me one day... um... though I still have this nagging suspicion about Gerald... why didn't he throw me under the buss when it was so clear that I was lying to Arnold?

In a paranoid world, maybe he actually recognized my handwriting on the letter from my poetry book they found. If he recognized me before I walked into the restaurant... but if he recognized me, wouldn't he simply tell Arnold that I was Helga? Maybe he wouldn't of Phoebe actually had told Gerald I had a crush on Arnold and therefore wasn't as surprised when I showed up, and that's why he calmy walked away; so I could have the chance to tell Arnold who I was privately... but... no, Phoebe would never do something like that to me... Nah, Gerald must have liked Cecile and wanted to romance her a little... wait a minute, that would be bad for Phoebe instead of me... uh, you know what, let's just say that Gerald saved Arnold instead of me, and that won't keep me up at night... Speaking of which, I really am tired now... It has really been a crazy day. I don't know if I want to get that close to Arnold for a while. I don't want to accidentally reveal the fact that I was Cecile. I mean, I don't know if I will tell Arnold the truth about Cecile... maybe I should just leave it as some really great memory for the both of us, almost magical in it's own stupid way, and not ruin it by telling Arnold it was me the whole time... I don't know, but I'll keep you posted I guess...

Though since this is the last entry of this journal, I'll just have to tell you about it later. I suppose this is where I write 'Au Revoir', which apparently means 'goodbye until we meet again'.

"No..." Arnold read it, but he simply could not believe it. It... she... That was Helga the whole time? Arnold was so chocked by the news that he didn't even notice how hot his body had grown from the burning blush on his body. Helga... the whole time it was Helga...

"I..." Arnold just didn't even know what to say; he was utterly speechless. He looked off to the side and he thought about that date.

The thing he recalled most was when he gave the bouquet to Cecile... the way she looked at him and she sounded so innocent and heartbroken when she said 'I thought you left'. And, truth be told, near the end when she asked Arnold if he liked her too... he did, and he almost took her hand, but he couldn't just leave Ruth hanging. Arnold's eyes landed on Helga's closet, and he couldn't help but wonder...

"Did she...?" Arnold said softly and slipped off Helga's bed and he crept over to Helga's closet. He opened the door and he looked at Helga's shoes, but most of them looked like Helga's everyday shoes. He looked deeper and near the back of Helga's closet, he found what he was looking for. The high heel that proves that really was Helga. The high heel that she wore that day, so long ago. The high heel that matched the one he had in his closet back home. On one hand Arnold wanted to kill Helga for tricking him like that, but on the other hand...

"Oh, Helga, you beautiful creature." Arnold said, holding the shoe close.