Hi everyone. So for the next two chapters, I will be focusing more on Rodrigo's background because I think it is crucial to understand him better in order to get a better understanding of his friendship with Helga and how they relate to each other.
Plus in this chapter, we will see how he attempts to befriend Helga (Good luck to him lol).
Since the first days of school, Rodrigo had started to hang out more with Helga's friends. He was impressed by how welcoming they were towards him, especially Gerald. He also liked how relax, yet hard working they were, as well as how diverse this group was, not just racially, but also in their interests. It was way better than hanging out with people whom you had too much in common with; Rodrigo found that to be…boring.
As the first weeks rolled by, he was invited to their weekly sport games, and later would often hang out with them on Friday and Saturday nights. He became acquainted with their families and they were impressed by Rodrigo's mannerism and respect that he had for his elders. This also allowed him to familiarize himself with his neighborhood. Previously he had to use Google map or some sort to direction to get around, but he eventually was able to walk many blocks from his house without the fear of getting lost.
Rodrigo was especially becoming close to Gerald, as he found him to be more mature than Sid, Skinky or Harold. However, that did not mean that he did not like them. If anything, he found it thrilling that he was able to hang out with either the entire group, or only a portion of them without any issues. Often some groups would not hang out at all unless everyone was available, at least from his experience. His relationship with the girls of the group also became warmer. Each had their own interests and he was particularly fascinated by how close Rhonda and Nadine were. Although they were no longer best friends, they remained close, despite how vast their differences were.
All seemed to be very receptive towards Rodrigo and they did not seem so reserved to talk about their personal lives. If anything, they behaved as if they wanted to, much to Rodrigo's delight. He took this as a hint that they found him to be trustworthy and unbiased. As far as Rodrigo was concerned, he felt that he was becoming more and more part of the group and everyone seemed to be glad to have accepted him; everyone that is, except Helga Pataki.
If he had to guess how Helga may have felt about him, it was mostly one of ambivalence, if not cold. Ever since their first walk home, he had hoped that there would be no further animosity between them and their relationship would improve. It did not. Although they would often engage in casual talk, that was mostly it. The rest of the times whenever they found themselves, she would give him an unappreciative look or a scowling face, sometimes accompanied by a smart remark. Rodrigo would counter it with his own smart remark. This ended up developing with a contest between them, as they attempted to best the other out.
Initially, Rodrigo did not seem to mind this 'friendly rivalry' between them. However, as time went on, it soon became repetitive, then just annoying. Rodrigo began to feel that he could not get a word out without always having to be on guard for Helga's eventual smart remark. At one time, Rodrigo had asked Gerald about this and why she always seems to be 'attacking him'.
"I feel you man. I know that it is not a comfortable position to be in. I used to feel to same way. Years back she would do the same thing to me; giving me this annoying sarcastic smile and always ready to attack everything I would say, even if I was not talking to her. Naturally, I ended up snapping at her and eventually she stopped. I guess she got tired of all the fighting we had, much to my relief."
"And your relationship with her never got better after that?" Rodrigo asked him.
"Nope and I have no desire for it to improve." Gerald said nonchalantly.
Rodrigo knew that there was more to this story, but he let it pass for now. He was confident that Gerald will tell him more eventually.
To make matters worse, there were times when Rodrigo saw that Helga was just not in a good mood and felt he had to be more careful so as not to ignite her rage. She also had this strange habit of simply disappearing, not being seen by anyone for days at a time.
The first time she disappeared like this, Rodrigo grew concerned, despite the reassurance from everyone else that this is just Helga being Helga.
Undeterred, during their history class he went up to her to ask her, "Hey, haven't seen you in a while, is everything ok? Just a little worried."
"Just peachy, Latino boy." Helga responded back nonchalantly. She then turned to face him and with a smile added, "I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."
"OK" said Rodrigo.
Things between Rodrigo and Helga took a serious low turn when during lunch time, as Rodrigo was talking to Rhonda, Helga made a smart remark about his clothes.
"You're the one to talk, Latino Boy. With those clothes that you have, you'll surely be escorted out of this year's fashion event and into the gutter."
"Yes, and with your 'style', you will be joining me, especially with that French wanna-be blue hat that you always wear." said Rodrigo, as he suddenly flickered her blue hat.
Although his flickering was nowhere near strong enough for it to fall off her head, it caused Helga to suddenly jolt from her seat, then furiously grabbed Rodrigo by his shirt, pushed him so close to her face that their noses were practically touching.
"Don't you ever, and I mean, ever touch my hat again, got it buster?!" Helga yelled with a frightened, threatening look on her face.
Rodrigo knew instantly that he just crossed a serious line and for the first time, took her threat seriously. Whatever special significance that hat held for Helga, it was not to be trifled with.
Make a mental, make a mental note. Never, ever touch her hat again! He thought.
"I'm sorry Helga, I did not mean anything by it." Rodrigo said nervously, but still trying to maintain his composure.
Rodrigo expected for Helga to continue yelling and berating him. However to his surprise, Helga just dropped her angry face, let him go, grabbed her stuff and walked away without saying a word.
Incredibly, the rest of their friends looked on, but were not concerned.
"Ya, we forgot to tell you Rodrigo; never touch her blue hat." said Sid, as he continued eating his food.
"I know that now, thanks Sid," said Rodrigo, back with an annoying look on his face.
"You got lucky Rodrigo. The last time someone touched her hat she gave him a black eye." said Harold.
Rodrigo avoided Helga for the rest of that day, even going so far to seat in a different seat in their history class, away from her. It was not because he was afraid of her. Quite the contrary, he was incredibly furious with her and was afraid of him snapping at her. If there was one thing that Rodrigo could not stand, it was when someone threatens him. Unless they were willing to go through with their threat, it was in their safety to not threaten Rodrigo, as he had a tenancy on becoming very aggressive. He only backed down with Helga because he knew that he was at fault.
He left school that day feeling irritated over what happened at lunch time. He felt that things have now gotten worse. As he hopped on the bus, he then got the idea if he should speak with Phoebe on this and see if she can perhaps enlighten him on what he should do.
That's it! I'll talk to Phoebe. She is Helga's best friend and I am sure she can help me out. He thought.
The next day Rodrigo went up to Phoebe when he saw her that she was alone at her locker and attempted to ask for her help.
"Hey Phoebe, how are you today?"
"Hi Rodrigo. I am going well, thank you. How about you?"
"Not very well actually, and I was hoping if you can help me out. It's regarding Helga." Rodrigo said.
"Oh? Is it about what happened at lunch yesterday?" She asked him.
"That, and more." Rodrigo responded back.
"Look Pheebs, I'll level with you. I am getting frustrated with Helga. I thought that after the second day of school we would start to be more acquainted and perhaps even become friends. But since I first arrived here, she has been giving me the cold shoulder, whereas everyone has been welcoming. Worse still, I feel that she always attacks me with the way she looks at me and with her smart remarks. It is as if she doesn't want me here. I just want to know if I did or say anything to her that offended her, besides what happened yesterday. Is it about me bumping into her? She can't possibly still be upset about that."
"Well, no Rodrigo. She hasn't said anything to me that would indicate to me that she did not like you." She confirmed.
"Well, can I ask another question? I'm not asking you to spell out any secretive or sensitive information about Helga. It's not my business. But I just want to know if there is anything that I can do on my part that will help. I want to be friends with her, and despite her attitude, I kind of like her enough that I would like to be her friend." Rodrigo continued.
Phoebe listened with a surprising look on her face. This is the first time since Arnold that someone genuinely wanted to be friends with Helga, despite the attitude that she was giving him. But she had no special formula to give him because other than herself and Arnold, no one wants to be friends with Helga. She wanted to help him, not just for his sake, but she also did not want another Gerald scene to develop. Just then, she realized something and thought of an idea.
"Well Rodrigo, the only thing I can tell you is this; Helga is a very guarded person and rarely does she let anyone close. I cannot give you any details, except that she has been through a lot in her life. So with that, it will take time for her to open up." She explained.
Rodrigo did not dare ask what Phoebe meant by 'been through a lot.'
"Also, it would help if you can be trusted, and the way I think you can do that is by being nice to her. Show her that she can trust you." Phoebe continued.
"You mean I will have to work for her trust?" Rodrigo asked, to which Phoebe simply nodded.
"Great! Thank you Phoebe, you helped a lot." Rodrigo said with a smile, but before he left he quickly added, "And can this be between us?"
"Sure Rodrigo." Phoebe confirmed, smiling back.
This was the only advice Phoebe was able to think of. Arnold had always been nice to Helga and it was because of that that she fell in love with him. Although Phoebe did not expect for Helga to fall for Rodrigo, she hoped that this would provide the first steps for Helga to trust him. It worked well with Arnold, so why not with Rodrigo?
Rodrigo left school that day feeling with a sense of hope. He decided to walk home in order to think about how he was going get on Helga's good side.
So I have to be nice to her in order to get her to trust me? I can do that, but how? Helga does not strike me as someone who can be easily wooed with traditional gestures like opening the door for her, or complimenting her looks. Nah, she is too smart to fall for that. Plus, I also don't want to put a huge effort into this. I want to be friends with Helga, but I am not desperate. So I have to be nice in a way that is genuine, something that Helga will appreciate.
As he continued to ponder, he couldn't help think what Phoebe had meant by Helga having through a lot in her life.
What did she meant by that? Does Helga have any issues at home, or with a boyfriend? Did something bad happen to her? I hope not.
As he continued to ponder on this, and began to analyze Helga's behavior towards him, something dawned on him.
What if she kept making those remarks at me so she can get my attention? But, why? Why would she be trying to get my attention, and why in that way? Can't she just talk to me? Was she also doing that to Gerald so as to get his attention because she actually likes us?
Rodrigo was more convinced about this with his own situation than with Gerald's. He knew that Gerald was omitting certain things about why their relationship took a nose dive, although he did not know if it was by choice or due to ignorance.
Nevertheless, it made sense. He felt that Helga started to be a little more relaxed after they walked home together that day, and he cannot imagine that she would be playing him like that. She does not seem to be that type of person. Plus he also realized that whenever they hanged out, he would be giving the rest of the gang more of his attention than Helga, although that was sometimes because of her attitude.
That's it! If she looking for me to give her some attention, then perhaps the best way is to just acknowledge her by just saying, 'hello' or 'good morning'. Baby steps. Rodrigo thought happily. I will try this out first thing tomorrow. Then he rushed home.
Meanwhile with Helga….
Rodrigo was correct in his assertion that Helga had ambivalent feelings towards him. After some weeks, she still did not know what to make of him, and that made her nervous. She had decided to spend more time hanging out with everyone whenever she could in order to better understand him. However, he would always maintain his mysterious aura around him, which did not alleviate her anxiety. Because he was more of a listener, he did not reveal much about himself to anyone. He would talk, make jokes when needed, but he would usually just listen. There were times when he would not stop talking about a topic, but that was not a common occurrence.
As was her usual defense mechanism when facing stress or nervousness, she would keep her guard up and ensured no one got close to her. Tried as she might to lower her defenses, she was not able to relax around him. Why? She did not like 'like him, but he still made her nervous. Maybe she just did not like meeting new people.
When the hat incident happened, as she was looking straight into his eyes as she was threatening him, she saw the fear he had of her, even some hate. Instantly regretting her action, she let him go and walked away before it escalated. During the rest of their lunch time, Helga pondered about what to do. She knew that she went too far with this. It was not his fault that he flickered her hat. He did not know what it was hiding from everyone. He only did it because she made that rude remark about his clothes. It was her fault, and yet she took it out on him.
By the time history class rolled around, Helga had decided to apologize to him for the way she treated him in front of everyone. However, when Rodrigo entered the room, without so much as even looking at her, he instantly just sat on the nearest empty seat that he found, far away from her.
Well, I guess he no longer wants to have anything to do with me. Can't blame him, though. She thought to herself sadly. Crimeny, why did I blow out at him like that? He seems like a good guy and he has been nothing but nice to me since he came. Nice? Kind of reminds me of Arnold….*sigh*
Helga took the bus home that day feeling a bit demoralized.
The next day…
Rodrigo entered school that morning with a cheerful mood.
Ok, I must put my plan into action. I just have to make sure that I sound genuine enough, without being overly nice. It is just a simply 'good morning' or 'hello' to her. He thought.
Helga opened her locker that morning, still feeling the guilt from yesterday's blow out.
"Helga, are you ok? You have been awfully quiet this morning." Phoebe asked her with concern.
"I'm ok Pheebs, just a little under the weather." she responded.
Helga had decided that she will reframe from making any smart remarks or snap at him for at least this week.
I at least owe him that much. She thought.
Just then, Rodrigo approached both friends and said, "Morning ladies."
"Good Morning Rodrigo." Phoebe responded.
"um..hey" Helga also responded, feeling surprised.
"Are you ok, Helga?" Rodrigo asked with some concern.
"Hmm? Ya I am, just a little under the weather." She responded back, whiling trying to smile.
"Well, I hope you feel better soon." Rodrigo said, while smiling.
"I'm sure I will." Helga said.
"Ok, well let's get to class then." Rodrigo said.
Helga was a bit surprised that he acknowledged both Phoebe and her. She was even more surprised to find him cheerful, as if yesterday's incident did not happen. However, she had her reservations, afraid that he might be pulling some sort of prank. However, as the week slowly went by, nothing happened. Rodrigo continued to acknowledge her with simple gestures and attempted to make some conversation with her whenever he could during lunch time.
Rodrigo almost instantly saw some small change in Helga's behavior. Throughout that entire week, she started to feel a little more relax around him. She did make some smart remarks at him, though they were at lot less than usual.
So much for not making any more sarcastic remarks this week at him. She thought while frowning.
When Friday came, Helga was in one of her foul moods.
When Rodrigo came, he said to her, "Good morning Helga."
"What's so good about this morning?" She retorted back him.
Undeterred, Rodrigo responded while trying to sound sincere, "Well, that is up to you to decide what is good about today, Helga."
"And what if there is nothing good about today?" Helga said, almost snapping at him.
"Then you should to talk someone if you are feeling a little down. You should talk more, Helga. It's actually nice to talk to you." Rodrigo responded back with a smile.
Not wanting to get into any arguments with her, he then walked away from her.
Later that same day...
Rodrigo arrived at home in a happy mood. It is now Friday and he had the whole weekend to himself. As soon as he entered the house, he found his father waiting for him to tell him some news from back home.
"Hola papa, ¿como etas?" (Hi dad, how are you?) Rodrigo asked.
"Bien, hijo. Escuhame, tengo noticies. Tu abuela me llamó y confirmo que va a venir a visiternos por una semana." (Good, son. Listen to me, I have news. Your grandmother just called me and confirmed that she will be visiting us for a week) his father responded.
At that moment, Rodrigo felt a serious twist to his stomach and felt like vomiting. Why was his grandmother coming to visit them?
"¿Por qué?" (Why?) Rodrigo asked, in an almost rude tone.
Ignoring his son's tone, he responded, "Porque quiere ver la nueva casa y ella nos extraña." (Because she wants to see the new house and she misses us.)
"Ella te extraña a ustedes, pero no a mi." (She miss you guys, but not me) Rodrigo said, trying not to choke.
Realizing how upset he was at the moment, his father bent down and calmly said to him, "Mi hijo, yo se que ustedes no se van bien, pero ojala que sabés que ella te quiere mucho, y ella es familia, como tu tambian eres familia. Intenta que ella te entiende" (My son, I know that you two do not get along, but I hope that you know that she loves you very much and she is family, just like how you are family. Try to make her understand)
"Ok papa ¿Cuando viene?" (Ok papa. When does she arrive?) was all Rodrigo could say back.
"La próxima fin de semana." (Next weekend.) his father responded.
Well, so much for my weekend. He thought.
When school started again, Rodrigo attempted to get on with his week as normally as possible. For the first two days, it went ok. However by mid week, he started to fall into despair. He became more quiet and less engaging. His friends would ask him if he was ok, to which he would reassure then that he was. However, by Friday, his condition deteriorated. He avoided everyone on that day, refusing to even have lunch with his friends. He became so stressed out over this that he started to develop acne on his face.
His strange behavior was not lost to Helga during that week. He even stopped saying hi to her and did not acknowledge her when she was there, much less anyone else.
why is he acting so strange all of a sudden? Is he ok? She thought.
When Friday lunch came, Helga was walking down the hallway when she noticed Rodrigo sitting on a bench alone, listening to music while he was bent down with his hands covering his face.
By this point, Rodrigo was on the verge of tears. His grandmother visiting him was taking a toll on him. He wanted to talk to someone about it, but just like Helga, he did not like talking about his problems. To make matters worse, Rodrigo had a secret that he did not wish to reveal to anyone. The last time he did, his relationship with his grandmother was destroyed.
What am I going to do? I can't face my grandmother. Why is she coming? She doesn't love me. He thought.
Just then, Helga approached him and gently tapped his foot with hers. A bit startled, he lifted his head to find Helga staring down at him, out of all people.
What is she doing here? He thought to himself.
"Hey" Rodrigo said.
"Hey. Are you ok?" Helga asked him.
Rodrigo just bent his head downward again to face the floor and said, "Just fine Helga, thanks."
"You are a terrible liar, you know that?" Helga said.
Oh my god! If she is going to pull another smart, sarcastic remark on me, out of all the days, I swear I am going to explode! I do not need this right now! He though frustratingly.
Before he had time to say anything, Helga sat on the same bench next to him and said to him calmly but sheepishly,
"I know that I am the last person that you want to talk to right now. It's none of my business, but if you need someone to talk to then...I am here to listen."
Rodrigo was completely taken aback. He never would have expected Helga to offer her help. He didn't think she was cold, he just...didn't expect it.
It's true, she was last person he wanted to talk to right now, especially about this sensitive topic. But with no other options left, and him on the verge of exploding, he decided to tell her. Besides, this is a golden opportunity for her to trust him.
"My grandmother is coming to visit me this weekend. " Rodrigo began to explain.
When Helga said nothing, he took this as his cue to continue.
"My grandmother and I used to be very close. I used to tell her everything; there were no secrets between us. I used to help her cook back home and we used to laugh a lot. She was almost like a second mom to me. But we are now very distant...and she hates me."
"Why?" Helga asked.
"Because I am an atheist." Rodrigo responded back. Before Helga could say anything, Rodrigo continued,
"You may think being an atheist is not really a big deal. In this country, it may not be, but back home, it is a very big deal. Religion still plays a strong role in my country, especially in my family. I was almost the perfect child back home. I used to always help around the house, I used to go to church every Sunday. Everyone was so proud of me. I even became an alter-boy. But then we immigrated here and my father, as well as the schools, exposed me to many new philosophical and psychological texts that he read when he was in university and what I found at the library and I soaked all that knowledge like a sponge. Slowly I began to question my faith, then critique it, until I eventually left it."
"When I told my parents, they were not particularly happy about it, but they accepted it, albeit reluctantly. But when I told my grandmother, things took a nose dive. She told me that I had lost my way and I need to go back to the one true path. I countered her arguments. I was also able to counter the priest's arguments, much to their frustration. It's funny actually. People will think that you are smart when you have the same viewpoints as they do, but when you have contrary viewpoints, they will think you are either arrogant or ignorant. That is kind of what happened. People thought that I was being arrogant when I told them how bad their reasons were. I wasn't criticizing their religion; it was way more personal. I was criticizing their reasons for believing in their religion. Well eventually, she said she no longer wanted to have anything to do with me. Worse still, my parents also became a target. My extended family criticized my parents' parental skills, said that they were bad parents for not raising me properly and that if they were back home, they would have taken me away from them. As a result, because of me, my entire family became outcasts."
"I even became somewhat of an outcast here. Back in L.A., I lost some of my friends when I told them that I was now an atheist. I am not sure why they got upset with me over that. I am still the same person as I was before, I just now no longer believe in God. That's also kind of why we moved here. There were other reasons, but it was also I was starting to get into arguments with some of my friends' parents. The same parents also criticized my parents' parental skills; they thought that I was a bad influence on their kids."
"So now my grandmother is visiting us and I have no idea why. She is one of the few family members that still keeps in contact with my parents. The rest want nothing more to do with us. I get to be with her all week as she looks at me with contempt. So, there you have it, story of my life. I now had to live with this guilt of what I put my parents through and I have no one who understand me, understand what it feels like to be ostracized. I just feel...alone." Rodrigo finished sadly.
Helga did not know what to say. Not coming from a religious family herself, nor even from a stable family, she did not know what it was like to be thrown out from your community because of you had different viewpoints. However, she does know what it is like to feel unwanted, to feel like an outcast...
"I'm sorry to hear that Rodrigo" she said.
Helga then closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then released it...
I hate talking about this. She thought, before she began to tell her story...
"I am not close with my family at all. They don't really acknowledge that I even exist."
Rodrigo then just looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
"My father is a workaholic. He owns his own business and has dedicated much of time in that place. As a result, we're good financially, but he is never there and whenever he is home, he just focuses more on his business or is busy watching TV, while never really noticing me. His entire focus is on the material; money, cars, authority, never on the emotional. No matter how many times I would attempt to talk to him, he would always ignore me or tell me to solve my own problems. Eventually I just stopped talking to him. My mom is..was an alcoholic. She is currently attending meetings to help her recover. But before she sought help, she would spend her time drinking and sleeping, not knowing what else to do with herself. She always seemed to be...bored really, as if taking care of me was not a priority. There were days when I would go to school either hungry or making my own lunch because my own mother would forget to make it. I have an older sister, but she too often does not acknowledge what I go through, even when I actually tell her about it. She ignores the problems that we have in our family and pretends that everything is perfect."
"Worse still, my parents' expectation is always for me to achieve what my older sister achieved; to be an exact replica of her. They would always compare me with her and nothing that I achieve or do is anything good. They would always remind me that I have to always be like her, that I have to think like her. Whatever I think or whatever I want to do is irrelevant, if nonexistent. I had to fend of myself at an early age. I would make my own lunch, do my own laundry, take myself to school and even do my own homework. Without a choice, I had to become independent."
"As a consequence, I became an angry person.. or rather, I am still an angry person. I would take out my frustration and anger out on anyone really. That was the only thing I can control; to ensure that no one messed with me. It was bad enough that I was a joke in my own house; I was not going to tolerate it with others." Helga concluded with a sad facial feature.
Rodrigo just stood there, completely stunned that Helga had just revealed something so personal, so deep about herself. As far as he was concerned, this was a major breakthrough in their relationship and any other time, he would have been extremely happy about it. He then thought about Gerald and everyone else and how they always seem to be unconcerned, if not distant with Helga. Gerald especially never revealed any sympathetic notions towards her. He then thought of something to ask her...
"Does anyone else know about this, Helga?" he asked her.
"Only Phoebe knows." she responded back. And Arnold...she thought.
"But why did you never tell the rest of them about any of this? I am sure they would understand and not consider you, or your situation as a joke." Rodrigo asked.
"I never really trusted them, even now. I know things have changed and they are more mature, but I generally do not trust people. Plus, I guess it is also out of habit that I never told them; it just became like this." Helga explained.
"Why did you tell me?" he asked.
"I guess it is because you would understand how it feels; to be alone and not feel wanted. That, and you are more mature than the rest of them." Helga explained with a smile.
To say that Rodrigo was flattered that Helga trusted him enough to tell her story was an understatement. He was humbled by it, if not privileged. He had not expected for Helga to be this forward with him so soon. He thought it was going to take baby steps before Helga would trust him. And although he couldn't help but feel a little guilty that Helga did not consider their friends trustworthy enough, he did not hesitate to use this opportunity.
"Thanks Helga for telling me. I know it must have been hard for you to tell me this, but I really appreciate it. And I will not tell anyone else about this. It is your story to tell." Rodrigo said.
After some silence, Helga then said, "I'm..sorry for blowing out at you yesterday over my hat. It holds a special importance to me, which is why I kind of freaked out when you touched it."
"It's ok, I'm sorry too, for flickering it." Rodrigo responded back.
Just then the bell rang, bringing their lunch time to an end.
"Well, I guess we should go to our history class." Rodrigo said.
"Ya, we don't want to be late." Helga responded back.
After school ended, Rodrigo decided to walk home that day, while everyone else took the bus, attempting to delay the inevitable, as well as pondering about his atheism.
Ironically, despite him being an atheist, he was not a typical one. Unlike some his atheist contemporaries, he does not ridicule religion and its teachings as pure nonsense. Quite the contrary, he is fully aware of its emotional and psychological impact it has on people. It once provided not just a way of explaining things, but also provide a sense of comfort. It gave people hope, hope to live, hope to strive through this dark, often miserable, meaningless life. It gave people a sense of purpose and for that, Rodrigo has deep respect for religion.
In addition, he does not solely blame religion for much of the controversy it has been blamed for. As far as he was concerned, the people practicing their faiths are just as responsibilities for their actions and the actions of their faiths as those in authority. He does not consider those humble worshipers as mere victims. Rather, he holds them personal responsible for any action they do or take, whether good or bad. This holds even more so with his grandmother's treatment of him. She chose to act hostile towards him. She failed to see that despite him leaving the faith, he was still the same grandchild that she raised; loving, caring, morally strong, and intelligent. Apparently that was not good enough for her.
As he continued to walk, he also thought about Helga's situation and kept on wondering why she has such a huge problem in trusting people, especially their friends.
What did our friends do or say to her when they were kids? Were they mean to her? He thought.
He wanted to know these things and attempt to fix it. He wanted to help and he knows that eventually Helga and the rest will come clean about this. However, it will take time. For now, he now had other things to worry about at this moment.
Despite it being early October, the weather was still a little warm, with a cool light breeze sometimes passing by. The breeze would sometimes collect some the dead leaves from the trees and causing them to twirling around, almost as if they were dancing. Yet whenever that breeze touched Rodrigo's skin, it felt like ice, causing him to shiver. He had been so nervous about his grandmother's arrival that his hands were now freezing, despite wearing a sweater. As far as he was concerned, winter was not coming; it had arrived.
...well, that was my major breakthrough, Arnoldo: Someone else now knows about my...predicament. I'm sure that if you were here, you would tell me how proud you are of me, blah blah blah. I'm still not sure why I told Rodrigo. I guess maybe that he told me first about what was bothering him today, which I assume was something personal, since he did not share it with anyone. And I guess since he trusted me with it, I also gained some confidence that he can be trusted too.
I hope all is good on your end and I hope you get a chance to us sometime soon. We miss you...I miss you.
Yours truly,
Helga G. Pataki
Once Helga completed her letter, she carefully put it insider her binder, then carried it to her closet. After she brushed her teeth, she then turned the light off and drifted off to sleep.