It was a sunny Friday afternoon the bell rang for the end of school. Arnold and Gerald were walking home is telling Gerald about an invitation he got in the mail from the Helpers of Humainity about a party. Arnold is feeling a little anxious going to the party. Arnold has a bad feeling that somnething bad is going to happen and keeps having dreams about it as tells Arnold to relax and to look on the bright side like he always does and what is the worst thing that could tells Gerald that he is right and to stay posative cause he is a little nervous about the Arnold gets home to pack for the trip Arnold's parents Miles and Stella greet Arnold "Hey Arnold you ready for your big trip" and Arnold replies Arnold is packing up for the trip Arnold's Grandpa and Grandma Phil and Gertude come into his room and Grandpa goes "Hey Shortman you exited for the trip" Arnold replies "Hey Grandpa,Hey Grandma,yes I am". Phil has a sad feeling of Arnold leaving for the Arnold finished his dinner. All the boarders Mr. Chynn, Earnie, Oskar, and suzie all came down to say goodbye to and Gurdy come to Arnold with tears rolling down their face. Anold tells Phil and Gurdy " Don't cry Grandpa, don't ry grandma, smile away goodbye" and that he'll be back sunday night to talk about the the bus come to pick up Arnold and he boards the bus and sits in the the bus got to the hotel everybody grabs their bags and start heading to their rooms while the adult checks everyone it was time for bed and everyone crashes out on the next morning everyone wakes up for breakfast and after breakfast everyone gets ready for the was the big party and everyone shows up and have a great time was having the best time of his life and enjoying himself not knowing these are his final moments of his that night the party ended and everybody arrives to the hotel and gets ready for asleep Arnold has the same dream he has been having for everyone wakes up and eats breakfast Everyone gets packed up and ready to go and when everyone boards the bus the adult checks everyone while the bus drives down the road the bus starts falling apart and ends up crashing on the highway.A couple minutes later the accident was reported and emergency responders showed up grabbed everyone all were ok exept for Arnold. When Arnold had been found he was instantly killed at the crash. So the cornor comes and takes Arnold's body to his home town meanwhile the adult with the group arranges for another bus to pick them up at a truck next morning Gerald walks to Arnold's house on the way to he arrives at Arnold's the cops were over there and hearing officer Pudney walks out the asks her about what was going on and about tells Gerald that to come to the car and she'll tell him the news on the way to Gerald got in the car Pudney tells Gerald that Arnold died last night in a bus starts tearing up having a hard time exepting the tells Gerald " I know the news is hard. I'm really sad about it too,Arnold was a good helping kid he will be missed by alot of people".Later when Gerald arrives to school before school starts he walks into mr Simmon's class and principal Wartz was there talking to Simmons. Mr Simmons tells Gerald " Hello Gerald, can i help you with anything"? Gerald tells and Principal Wartz " I have some sad news to tell you guys" Mr. Simmons asks gerald what is the news? Gerald says " Arnold died in a bus crash last night, I found out this morning when a cop was at Arnold's house and told him the news". Mr Simmons comes and hugs Gerald with tears falling from his face and says " That's sad to hear, Gerald he was a good student i'm sure we will all miss him". Mr Simmons starts crying at his desk. Principal Wartz goes to his office and tells everybody on the intercon that school has been cancalled for today. So all the kids left in a cheerful voice not knowing why school was Gerald walks out of Mr. Simmons class in tears mr simmons walks next to Wartz's office with Wartz also in tears about Arnold. Crying and telling Arnold sorry for dicaplining hum unfairly and to forgive Gerald walks to the vacant lot and the boys Stinky, Harold, and Sid ask Gerald if him and Arnold would like to play a game of ball and Gerald tells them not today and they say " Maybe Arnold would like to lets go ask him". Gerald tells them that won't be possible. The 3 boys reply " Why not"? Gerald breaks the news that Arnold died last night. The 3 Sid, Stinky, and Harold start tearing up about how sad that Arnold is now dead and start hugging each other and start crying.A few minutes later Gerald runs into Helga walking on the side walk and asking about Arnold. Gerald breaks the news to Helga that Arnold had died last night. Helga tells Gerald " How sad for the poor football head it's a shame to see him go so fast,but anyway i got to get home now later tall hair boy". Later Gerald runs into Pheobe. Pheobe asks Gerald about his tears and tells him to come in. When Gerald sits down he tells Pheobe that he has bad news to tell her. So when pheobe sits down she asks what happened? Where's Arnold? Gerald replies to Pheobe. " I have some sad news to tell you," Pheobe replies " ok what's the sad news". Gerald replies " Arnold died last night in a bus crash". Pheobe starts tearing up " Oh my, poor Arnold, he was a nice guy it's sad to hear his life ended to soon i sure will miss him". Gerald replies to Pheobe. " I know it's hard to hear about Arnold i had a hard time accepting the news too when a police officer told me then news but it's true". Pheobe asks "how did you hear about it this morning"? Gerald says that he went over to Arnold's house and got the news from there. When Gerald gets ready to leave Pheobe gives him a hug in tears. Gerald tells Pheobe i know it's hard but he lives in our memories. When Gerald leaves Pheobe went to her room to listen to sad music and cry about Arnold's death. Later Gerald runs into Eugeene being so happy that he hasn't been jinxed he sees Gerald he asks Gerald whats wrong? Gerald breaks the news to Eugeene that Arnold died last night and Eugeene starts to tear up and tells Gerald how sad to hear about Arnold and leaves. Later on Gerald walks down the city and bumps into Sheena. Shenna asks Gerald why the tears? What's wrong? Gerald tells Shenna to sit down. So when Sheena sits on the stairs Gerald breaks the news to Sheena that Arnold had died last night. Sheena starts crying hugging Gerald and replies " Poor Arnold i can't believe he died i wish i could of talked to him on friday knowing that would be the last time i would see him, I'm really going to miss him" When Sheena finishes talking to Gerald. Gerald starts walking and runs into people like Lorenzo, Iggy, Curly, Katrinka, Peapod kid, park, and Joey, and chocolate boy and tells them the news about that Arnold had died. They all start to tear up hearing the news feeling bad for Arnold losing his life so fast and telling Gerald he will be missed. After that Gerald goes to Green meats mrs. Virtello's flower shop and runs into Harvey the mail man and alot of the adults telling them all that Arnold had died everyone starts tearing up and crying for Arnold and knowing how much they will miss him. After that Gerald runs into Ruth and tells her about Arnold showing some sadness for Arnold she give Gerald a hug and tells him that she will miss Arnold. After that her runs into Connie and Maria and breaks the news to them about Arnold's death and feels sad for was Stoop kid and he was Devistated to hear the news that Arnold had died and will miss him. After that he tells Dino spumoni and his band members about the news of Arnold's death and all start crying. Next he went to big patty and tells her and her parents the news that Arnold had died last night. Big Patty replies in tears " I feel bad for Arnold and I will miss him pure of heart so sad to see him go so soon". After that Gerald realized he missed a few people which was Lila, Nadene, and Rhonda. So Gerald's next stop was Lila's home. When Gerald arrives to Lila's house he knocks on the door and Lila's dad Mr. Sawyer answers the door and asks Gerald. " Can i help you with anything"? Gerald tells Mr Sawyer that he is in Lila's class and has some important news to tell her. Mr Sawyer invites Gerald into the house and calls Lila down that someone is here to see her. When Lila comes down she sees Gerald and Lila says. " Hi Gerald , what's this ever so much about, where is Arnold he's usually with you most of the time"? Gerald replies to Lila. " Lila, I have some bad news to tell you". Lila replies " Why what happened to Arnold is it bad". Gerald replies " yes to break the news to you, Arnold died last night in a bus crash and won't be with us anymore". Lila was in shocked and asks Gerald how did he know the news and Gerald tells her that the cops were at Arnold's house and broke the news this morning. Lila starts to cry in anger that Arnold is dead and is in denial at first hearing it. When Lila started to cry she couldn't handle hearing the news so she breaks down crying and tells Gerald "i can't breathe". Crying so much about how Arnold is now dead and that she misses him ever so much. Gerald apolagizes to Lila about breaking the news to her but it's true with her dad hugging her and we all will miss him. Mr sawyer tells Gerald " I'm sorry that Arnold died we will miss him, poor guy had his life taken away so soon, but i apperciate you coming to share the news to us". When Gerald left Lila's next was Nadene's place but when he gets there he finds out that Nadene is at Rhonda's house and Nadene's parents ask why he nedded to see her. Gerald tells them that a friend of theirs from school had died last night. Nadene's parents tell them sorry to hear that and then leaves to Rhonda's house. When Gerald gets to Rhonda's house her parents Brooke and Buckley answered the door and greet Gerald. When they ask why Gerald is here. Gerald tells them that he is here to see Rhonda and Nadene so they ask him to come in. Both parents called Rhonda down to the living Rhonda and Nadene come down. They both ask Gerald what the news is and make it quick. Gerald tells them that Arnold died last night in a bus crash. Nadene was in shock while sobing tells Gerald " Poor Arnold he was such a nice guy and now he is gone i am going to miss him, well i better get going". She hugs Gerald and Rhonda goodbye. Rhonda in denial doesn't believe Gerald at all and tries to call Arnold to get the truth but no answer. Gerald tells Rhonda " I know the news is hard to hear but it's true he is dead" Rhonda not believing Gerald turns around and goes to Arnold's house to see for her self. When Gerald gets home he tells his family about Arnold and all start going over to sunset arms to see for themselves. When Rhonda and Gerald get there phil answers the door and tells them Arnold is not here anymore. Gerald says " I know i heard the news this morning". Phil asks Gerald how did he find out about the news and that they haven't told anybody yet. Gerald tells phil that one of the police officers told him this morning and phil invites Gerald and Rhonda in. When Rhonda enters the boarding house. She runs into Miles who is Arnold's dad and asks him if it's true about Arnold. Miles replies " Yes, Arnold died last night and is not here with us anymore". Rhonda start breaking down crying in anger not being able to move so miles helps her to sit in the tv room where there were pictures of Arnold everywhere and cries even more. Later that night while Arnold was in heaven watching over the city and seeing everyone greiving for him. One week later was Arnold's funeral at the school autatorium. Everyone comes in dressed in black. Arnold's coffin was open the kids were sitting together in tears missing Arnold. Mr. Simmons was the speaker of the funneral. " We are here today to honor the memory of Arnold Shortman. Arnold was a good person helping everyone he cared about, but now that Arnold's life was taken away from us it's going to be hard to make a new start without him" (sobing). After Mr. Simmons finished the speech, Dino comes up and announces a song he wrote for Arnold and starts singing it. " I can only imagine. What it will be I walk by your side. I can only imagine. What my eyes would see? When your face is before me. I can only imagine. I can only imagine, yeah. Surrounded by your glory. What will my heart feel? Will I dance for you Jesus? Or in awe of You be still? Will I stand in your presence? To my knees will I fall? Will I sing hallelujah! Will I be able to speak at all?I can only imagine.I can only imagine.I can only that day comes, And I find myself. Standing in the sun. I can only all I will forever, forever worship you.I can only imagine.I can only by your glory. What will my heart feel?Will I dance for you Jesus?Or in awe of You be still? Will I stand in your presence? Or to my knees will I fall? Will I sing hallelujah! Will I be able to speak at all?I can only imagine, yeah.I can only by your will my heart I dance for you in awe of You be I stand in your to my knees will I fall? Will I sing hallelujah! Will I be able to speak at all.I can only imagine yeah.I can only imagine yeah yeah.I can only imagine yeah yeah.I can only imagine.I can only imagine yeah yeah.I can only imagine.I can only all I will forever, forever worship you.I can only imagine." When Dino finished the song Mr Simmons comes up to the stage and says. " Thank you Dino for the song next i have some girls in my class who wrote a poem or a song for Arnold first up is Helga, So Helga come on up." When Helga walks up. She starts reading her poem. " Oh Arnold, Maybe I didn't love you, Quite as often as I could have, Oh Arnold, maybe I didn't treat you, Quite as good as I should have, If I made you feel very best, Oh Arnold I'm sorry I was blind, Arnold you were always on my mind, you were always on my mind. Oh Arnold maybe I didn't hold you, All those lonely, lonely times, I guess I never told you, I am so happy that I've met you, Little things I should have said and done, I just never took the time, Oh Arnold You were always on my mind, Oh Arnold You were always on my mind, Oh Arnold ,Tell me that your sweet love hasn't died, And Arnold, Give me one more chance to keep you satisfied, I'll keep you satisfied, Little things I should have said and done, I just never took the time, Oh Arnold you were always on my mind, You were always on my mind and you'll always be on my mind even in death, I miss you." When Helga finished next was Lila's turn, when Lila stepped to the podium she started to read her poem " I took my love, I took it down, I climbed the mountain and I turned around, and I saw my reflection in a sad running stream until the landslide brings it down, oh mirror in the sky where is Arnold? Can the hurt in my heart rise above? Can I sail through the changes of my tears? Can I handle the grief of my life? The day you died Arnold I had a feeling that something happened to you but I was hoping it wasn't death but when the news came out it hit me like an exploding light not knowing how about it life would be without you. Oh Arnold next time you feel my love take my love and take it down, and when you climb the mountain and turned around and if you see my reflection in a sad running stream the landslide will bring it down, I miss you Arnold wish i could of hold you one last time goodbye. I will always remember you." When Lila finished next was Nadiene's turn with her poem " Oh Arnold the night before you died i saw 100 fireflies light up the night as I fell asleep, When i saw the fireflies they were flying in a shaped of a football like your head and now looking back at it they were sending me a message about you, When i found out that you have died the next day i was in tears, I wish i could of seen you one last time before you left, I will miss you Arnold you were sweet like a honey bee and full of life to us all, I miss you Arnold." After Nadene was Pheobe's turn. When Pheobe got up to the podium she starts to read her poem " Oh Arnold I miss you, miss you so much, and how can I forget you after how you've helped everybody, and When i heard the news that you had died. I didn't want to hear it or accept it but it was true and i hope to see you again someday, I miss you Arnold, I wish i was there to hug you goodbye before you left out of town to die, You will always be im my heart Arnold, I miss you Arnold, may you rest in peace." When Pheobe finished next was Sheena's turn her poem was " Goodbye Arnold I thought this day would never come for many years, And now it seams you lived your life like the candle i lit in the wind. When I found out when you died I lit a candle for you and the candle burned stronger and stronger and every candlie I light will make me feel you are around me, I miss you Arnold, you will be my fire to keep me warm rest im peace. After Shenna finished next was Rhonda's turn to read her poem. When Rhonda started to read her tears began to come out " Oh Arnold i'm so tired of being hurt, suppresed by all my childish fears, And if you have to leave I wish it would just be over, cause your love still lingers here and it won't leave me alone this pain is just to real, this cut won't seem to heal and there's just to much that time could not erase when i'd cried you would wipe away all of my tears when i'd screamed you would fight away all of my fears and you've held my hand for all these years, but you still have all of used to captivate me by your resonating , I'm bound by the life you left behind Your face it comes in my once pleasant dreams. Your voice it chased away all the sanity in cuts won't seem to heal, this pain is just too 's just too much that time cannot erase. I will always miss you Arnold may you rest in heaven I will never be the same again." When Rhonda finished Mr. Simmons ame up and thanked all the girls for their poems. Next the boys had a picture presintation of their favorite memories of Arnold and the good times they had together. After that Mr Simmons thanked them and had Arnold's parents and the boarding house family do a speech. During the speech they told them what Arnold told them before he left that last time when they had tears in their eyes how he said smile away goodbye. After that it was time to eat. During the reception eating the girls Lila, Helga, Pheobe, Sheena, Nadene, and Rhonda were at Arnold's coffin hugging and kissing his dead body goodbye while crying over it. When it was time for the burryal of Arnold it was raining at the grave yard. When the coffin enterd the tomb that was for Arnold everyone started to tear up. When the servie was done everyone with tears was remembering Arnold and the times with him. After that everybody gets together for a group hug to remember every good memory of Arnold and wished him luck in heaven and after that every one leaves to home with tears running down their faces never forgeting Arnold.
this was wriiten by my friend Joshua Coons