Hi everyone! So after a serious argument with her dad, Helga, very upset, accidentally stumbles upon some of her mom's hidden alcohol stash...

Friday After school...

Helga arrived home from school, irritated at having to waste her time at that 'mental institution' they call a school.

What a laughing joke! Could those kids get any dumber? This education system does nothing to stop the flow of retards from graduating. On the contrary, they encourage it! She thought to herself bitterly.

Unfortunately she did not have time to ponder more about her school, as she instantly started hearing yelling from the living room.

Ugh, great. Big Bob is on one of his rants again. What did Olga do now, besides not getting a leading role...again. She thought to herself annoyingly.

Yet, as she prepped closer, she realized that her father was not yelling at Olga, but at her mom.

"For crying out loud Miriam, again?! You started drinking again?! You were doing so well before and now you completely fell back into the wheel!" he yelled.

"Now B the counsellor said...umm...that these relapses are...common among recovering addicts..." Miriam attempted to explain, but was unable to get her point across as she was intoxicated.

"Yes, but only those who are not getting the support that they need! For Pete's sake Miriam, Olga and I have been very supportive of your recovery! Heck, even the girl has been supporting you. So you have no reason to relapse back, other than from your own failings!" he continue to berate her.

"B, I'm sorry. I'll try harder..." Miriam attempted to talk, but Big Bob cut her off.

"Sure you will, like you did all those other times and still failed!" he continued to yell at her.

Although never having been close to her mother, Helga was not taking too kindly of the way Big Bob was treating her at the moment. She felt she needed to step in.

"Calm down Bob! You are not helping her by making her feel this way." she said as she entered the living room.

"Don't try to defend your mother, Olga! She has been like this for years! Every day I had to watch her do nothing but sleep, eat and drink and contribute nothing in this house! I'm sick of it!" he yelled.

"First off, for the thousand time, it's Helga! Not Olga! And secondly, didn't it occur to you that perhaps the reason why she was never able to get out of her addiction was because you are so overbearing that it can be seriously detrimental for her to ever get out of it?" she rhetorically asked him.

"Don't put the blame on me, Helga! I have worked very hard to get this family to where they are financially, even having to completely redo my business in order to ensure it doesn't go down the toilet. None of you helped me with that, except myself! All I asked of her is to do her part, to take care of the house and of you! Yet, she did nothing of that!"

"Speaking of which," he continued to talk while also looking at her, "I could say the same for you."

"What?" she asked with a surprising look.

Where is he going with this? She thought.

"You never come stairs unless you are forced to. You are always cooped up in your damn room all day long, doing God knows what, wasting your time when you could be doing something useful for a change. You never greet us, or even give us a single 'hello' when you come home." he continued.

"I would if you guys pay more attention to me! How many times have I tried to talk to you in the past, only to be shushed away or ignore whatever I have to say?! So why would I say hello to you when you never even acknowledge me in the first place?!" Helga yelled back at him.

"Oh come off it Helga! You just don't appreciate what you have in this house! You act like you own everything, pretending you earned all of this while in fact this was given to you!" Big Bob yelled back.

"I have nothing Bob! What all this means is nothing to me!" she yelled back while pointing at the house. "It wouldn't kill you if you and Miriam just paid a bit more attention to what I have to say or to my interests. None of you have even attended any of the events or games that I participated in!"

Big Bob remained unsympathetic towards Helga.

"Oh yeah? When was the last time you entered any extracurricular activities or events?" he asked her with his arms crossed.

Helga just stared at Big Bob with her mouth opened. She was mentally kicking herself for falling right into that.

"Uh, umm, I umm..." Helga attempted to defend herself but stumbled her words.

"When was the last time you won anything?" he continued to interrogate her.

"I won some, but that's not the point!" she yelled back.

"That is the point! We only support winners in this house and wins! And besides, how do you expect me to attend to your activities when I come home and find this house as if a hurricane came through?" he yelled as he pointed at Miriam.

"It's not like you can cook or clean. All you do when you come home is watch that stupid TV or focus on your business!"

"That's not the point! I do my part so I expect your mother and you to do yours!" he yelled back.

"And what is my part, Bob?" she asked him.

"To shape up and stop thinking about that orphan boy." he responded back.

For the second time, Helga merely looked at him with wide eyes, surprised at his statement.

"Don't look so surprised Helga. You have been mopping around, acting all depressed and hurt ever since Albert left this city years ago." he said.

"It's Arnold, Bob" she corrected him while scowling at him.

"Whatever. I know he was your boyfriend, but crimeny move on already! It's been years. To think that this kid has a strong hold on you that you can't even let go and move on, not to mention it has been affecting your performance, that is an utter failure on your part! You are just like your mother and I will not tolerate failure in this house!"

Helga had to hide the pain she instantly felt when her own father implied that she was a not only a weakling, but a failure. She would not show it to him though; he didn't deserve it. She merely gave him a deadly but hurtful glare and simply said to him, "thanks Bob...for believing in me." before she turned around and started walking upstairs.

"Hey hey hey hey hey! We're not done talking here young lady!" he yelled at her.

"We are done talking!" she yelled back at him and then started running upstairs and into the bathroom.

"You really need to shake up this sad mood and shape up young lady! You're a Pataki and Patakis keep things under the rug!" he yelled back.

Helga slammed the door shut and started to wash herself. She wasn't sure why she felt she needed to do that. She took a shower this morning. She just felt she needed to be...clean and do something to stave off the growing anger and hurt that she was feeling at that moment.

While breathing heavily with fury, she ended up washing her hands three times as she violently attempted to wash the 'dirt' that were supposedly on her hands, to the point of almost breaking the soap. After washing her face and hands more than once, she grabbed the towel to dry herself. Once done, and not bothering to put it back on the handrail, she simply threw it on a magazine basket so hard that it knocked the basket onto the floor.

*clang*

When she heard that sound, it forced her to stop walking out. She turned around and looked at the fallen basket and saw what appeared to be a bottle. Suspiciously, she grabbed it and realized she stumbled upon one of Miriam's secret stash.

So this is where she hides her stuff. She thought.

Without thinking, she quickly put it under her sweater, unlocked the door then quickly went outside and then into her room, closing and locking the door. Once she was safe, she pulled out the bottle and realized that it had no label on it. The liquid was golden brown substance.

It's probably rum or whiskey. She thought.

She wasn't sure why she grabbed it instead of throwing it away, but she nevertheless put it on her study table, sat down on her bed and simply looked at it. After a while, she got up again, grabbed it, opened it and attempted to smell it.

Ugh! It smells like rubbing alcohol! Why would people waste their money on this crap? It doesn't even smell good. She though with some disgust.

Curiously, she decided to try it and took a swig. Luckily it was only a small sip because she almost choked on it when she realized just how strong it was. It was burning her throat, almost like acid!

*cough**cough* "Oh crimeny that's strong! Sheesh. You have to have an iron liver to support this piece of garbage!" she exclaimed.

Yet, despite the awful taste, Helga then felt compelled to take another sip. For a while, she resisted the temptation, but after rehearing what her own dad said to her, she relented and took another, but bigger sip. The second round felt a bit better this time; she now knew what it will taste like so there were no surprises. After a third sip, pretty soon, she started feeling that buzz and started to feel more relaxed.

Huh, this is why people drink. It feels...good. She thought, as she took another sip of it.

A few hours later, at Rodrigo's room...

While Helga was taking her first alcoholic sip, Rodrigo was busy getting himself ready for going out Friday night. A few days previous, he was invited to go to an all-ages club by his dancing friends; a Latin club, naturally. Excited, he accepted without hesitation.

Rodrigo commented on this to Helga and to her surprise, invited her to come with him. However, Helga flatly refused the offer, stating that clubbing was never really her thing and she hated the loud music and the lack of space. She would sometimes get claustrophobic if she was ever in a room filled with so many people. However, she would soon regret her response.

Earlier on Friday...

Rodrigo entered his history class and found that Helga was already there in her seat. He made his way towards his seat and sat down.

"Have fun dancing alone at the club tonight, Latino boy." she said with a smirk on her face.

"Thanks, but don't worry, I won't be dancing alone." He replied back.

"Oh?"

"Carmen asked me to be her date for tonight, so I'll be dancing with her." He replied.

Helga nearly jumped from her seat when she heard that. She held on to her desk tightly, trying not to let her anger get the best of her.

"I thought you said that you were not into her." she said while trying to remain calm.

"I'm not. We are just going as friends, no biggie." he replied back.

"That's...great. I'm sure it'll be a blast." She said while trying to sound genuine even though she was grinding her teeth with a fury.

"Thanks, Helga. Oh by the way, would it be OK if we cancel our dancing lessons for today?" he asked.

"What?" she asked him.

"Well, with the amount of time it will take to get home, eat and do my homework and also getting ready for the club, I'll be arriving late there. I'd figure if we postpone our dancing lessons for tonight, I should have enough time. Is that OK?" he explained.

*snap*

"Are you OK?" he asked her with a concerned look on his face.

"Yeah, I am. Why wouldn't I be?" she asked him with a nervous and giggly smile.

"Because you broke your pencil." He commented.

Helga got so infuriated over what Rodrigo asked, that she inadvertently snapped her own pencil right in front of him. It was either the pencil or Rodrigo's neck.

"Oh, stupid pencil's interior must have been weak. I was barely touching it when it broke like that, hehe." She quickly explained to him nervously, while holding the broken pencil extremely tight in her hand.

"But ya sure, we can postpone our dancing lesson, no biggie." She said

Feeling defeated, she merely slumped down her seat and sadly added, "Have fun tonight Rodrigo."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Rodrigo was not certain that Helga was OK with him cancelling their dancing lessons. He really needed the time to get ready before the club, but he didn't want to upset her.

"Did I stutter? I said it's OK." she retorted back.

"Thanks, Helga." He said with a smile.

It's only one time that I cancel. I'm sure she is not too upset over it. He reassured himself.

Despite having been reassured that Rodrigo was no longer interested in Carmen, it nevertheless bothered Helga to no end that he was going out with her this Friday and she couldn't figure it out why. She figured it must have been the possibility of them renewing their interest in each other and going to a club no doubt usually leads to that. But again, why was that her problem? She wanted to say something. Heck, she wanted to take back her previous decision and go to the club with him, but it was too late. She would only make herself look like a fool and Rodrigo would no doubt ponder as to why all a sudden she seems willing to go to the club with her, when in actually, she only wanted to go to ensure Rodrigo would not be going with Carmen.

Back in Rodrigo's room...

Soon after getting ready, Rodrigo grabbed his jacket and hat, then quickly put on his shoes and stepped outside to party!

He quickly rendezvoused with Carmen and their friends.

"Hola Carmen, ¿qué tal?" (Hi Carmen, what's up?) Rodrigo asked as he kissed her on the cheek.

"Hola Rodrigo. Bien, ¿y tu?" (Hi Rodrigo. Good and you?) she asked back.

"Bien, bien. Hola Javier, Fernando, Sebastián ¿Están listos a ir la pachanga?" (Good, good. Hi Javier, Fernando, Sebastian. You guys ready to party?) he asked them excitedly.

"Si pues, Rodrigo." (Ya, Rodrigo.) Javier replied back with a smile.

"¿Pues, donde están tus parejas?" (Well, where are your dates?) Rodrigo asked them.

"Oh, no te preocupes, ese. Mercedes, Jimena y Isabela nos van a encontrarnos en el club. Aparentemente necesitaban 'tiempo' para poner sus maquillajes y nos querían sorprendernos." (Oh, don't worry about it. Mercedes, Jimena and Isabella are going to meet us at the club. Apparently they needed 'time' to put on their makeup and they wanted to surprise us.) explained Sebastián

"Chev. Pues, vámonos." (Cool. Well, let's go) said Rodrigo.

Once the bus arrived, they quickly hopped on the bus to go to the club. It wasn't far. The club was not in downtown, so it was not far from the neighbourhood. It was a new club that only recently opened a few years back and quickly became popular with both adults and teenagers. After stepping out of the bus, the friends quickly formed their line and waited to get into the club. Because they got there early (surprisingly, since Latinos usually arrive late to a party or club) they didn't have to wait long to get into the club.

After paying the entrance fee and getting their coats checked, they quickly made it to the dance floor and started dancing.

An hour later...

Ven, bailalo
Ay, ven, bailalo
Ven, gozalo
Ay, ven, gozalo
Que la rumba está buena y contigo, morena
Pa' Santo Domingo
Es que me voy yo

Y es que me voy yo contigo
Así que prepara el equipaje
Dale, que nos fuimos de viaje
Baila, mi morena, ese swing salvaje
Metele coraje, y no te me rajes
Hasta abajo, dale...

While grinding Carmen to the reggaeton remix song Ven Bailalo, Rodrigo felt his cell vibrate. He ignored it. He was having too much fun.

Despite it being all-ages, there was barely anyone that exceeded the age of twenty and those that were, brought with them a date. For all its intent and purposes, everyone consented and had fun, surprisingly.

The club was no getting full with people, and it as getting hot. Couples were busy dancing to the music, with some even making outrageous dancing moves or just trying to show off. Rodrigo was starting to sweat a bit as he continued to grind Carmen, who was also starting to sweat, but neither of them minded.

After a few more songs, Rodrigo excused himself to go to the washroom. While there, he remembered his cell. He took it out from his pocket and saw that Helga texted him.

Helga: Hej

Rodrigo: Hey, Helga. Sorry I missed your text. What's up?

Rodrigo then put his cell back into his pocket and went to release himself. After doing that and washing his hands, he was walking out of the washroom when he felt his cell vibrate again.

Helga: I'm vdong da moves

Rodrigo: What? Type again. I didn't understand.

Helga: Me dagin to sa moves!

Umm, OK? He thought to himself.

Rodrigo: I think your cell is not working because I really cannot understand what you are sending me. I'll call you once I'm out of the club.

Rodrigo then put his cell away and went back to the dance floor.

Two and a half hours later...

Feeling tired and as it was nearing their curfew, Rodrigo and his friends exited the club and prepared to head home.

After waiting for a few minutes, the bus finally arrived to take them home. Yet within only a few minutes after getting inside, the bus started experiencing problems and had to stop. Not wanting to get home late, the gang got off and decided to walk home. As they were still in a partying soon anyways, they decided to literally dance their way home.

After a few more minutes, the gang was approaching the movie theatre, indicating to them that they were close to their neighbourhood. Still in a partying mood, the friends were busy making break dancing moves while heading home, as well as making outrageous jokes. Just as they were in the process of passing the theatre, Helga was just stepping out of the theatre, disoriented and unable to see the oncoming teens. Without realizing it, as Rodrigo was doing a little break dancing, he turned around a few times, only to collide with Helga as she was walking right into his path, throwing both teens onto the floor.

Helga said nothing as she landed onto the floor, but Rodrigo got angry at the collision.

"Hey! Watch were you are...Helga?!" he started to shout before realizing who he collided with.

The rest of his friends, surprised at the collision, regained their focus and attempted to help both teens up.

"Sorry Helga, I didn't see you. Are you OK?" he asked her with a worried tone.

"Rodrigo? Ya I am...I guess" she replied back while stumbling on her words.

It then became apparent to Rodrigo that was something was not right. She looked disoriented and she was wobbly. As he approached her, he smelled something and soon realized what it was.

"Helga, have you been...drinking?"he asked her with a shocked look on his face.

Helga merely made a snort and said, "Ya, why? Do I smell?" while giving him a smirk.

Realizing the severity of the situation, and not wanting her to humiliate herself in front of his friends, he quickly walked towards them and asked them to go home without him.

"Oye, eses. Handa sin me. Tengo que hablar con Helga sobre algo." (Hey guys, go on without me. I have to speak with Helga about something).

He then looked at Carman and said to her, "Lo siento Carmen, pero es algo importante." (I'm sorry Carmen, but it's something important.)

Carmen merely smiled and replied back, "No te preocupes. Nos vemos el lunes" (No worries. We'll see you on Monday.)

After he said his goodbyes, Rodrigo then quickly turned around to take care of Helga.

"Helga, let's get you home." he said to her.

"Oh no! I'm not going back to that wretched place of a home!" she shouted at him as she backed away from him.

"Why? What happened?" he asked her.

"None of your business Latino boy! It's a Friday night and I just don't want to go home!" she yelled at him.

Not wanting to further cause a scene, Rodrigo then offered another suggestion.

"Ok, then let's get something to eat. I'm hungry anyways" He said to her.

"Sure, whatever floats...your...umm...uh...you know my line." she replied back.

Despite having some composure, Rodrigo still had to grab her by her hand and gentle walk with her to the nearest pizza restaurant store. They made their way inside and Rodrigo quickly ordered them some food and water. After paying for them and getting their food, they sat down and started eating.

Realizing just how thirsty she was, Helga completely drank her entire water cup, so much so that Rodrigo ended up giving her his.

"F***! My head!" she exclaimed.

"Whoa for a drunk, you sure have a dirty mouth." Said Rodrigo with a smirk.

Helga didn't say anything and merely ate her pizza in silence. After more than forty minutes, Helga sobered up enough to ask Rodrigo,

"What are you doing here?"

"I was coming home from the club. Our bus broke down so we ended up walking. We were still in a partying mood so we started dancing along the way home. That's how you and I collided; I didn't see you." He explained.

"Why were you at the movies?" he asked her.

Helga merely looked at and replied back sarcastically, "Doi, because I wanted to see a movie?"

"Alone?"

"Ya, I wanted to go alone." She replied back.

"Why were you drinking, Helga?" he asked her calmly.

Helga said nothing and merely started looking everywhere, except him. Feeling ashamed, she was unable to even look at him in the eyes.

"I should go. Sorry for ruining your night." She said sadly as she attempted to get up and leave, but Rodrigo quickly got up and put his hand around her.

"Helga, it's alright. I'm not here to judge you. I just want to know what happened so I can help you." He said.

Helga wasn't having any of it. She felt too ashamed to be even stand next to him.

"No one can help me. And it's not your problem" she said as she attempted to move his arm away to let her leave.

"Helga, you're not the only one that went through this. You're not the only one that started drinking to hide your problems." He firmly said to her, prompting Helga to finally stop moving away.

"What?"

"I...also started drinking." He confessed.

Rodrigo invited Helga to sit back down so he can tell her his story. She initially hesitated for a while, but then finally gained enough backbone to sit back down in front of him.

"Did I just hear correctly that you also had a drinking episode?" she asked him.

Rodrigo simply nodded.

"When?" she asked

"Back in LA. Right after my parents informed me that almost our entire family severed all communication with us. I couldn't take it." He explained.

"One night, I heard my parents arguing over it. They were basically blaming everyone. My grandparents, their siblings, even myself. My dad especially was utterly pissed at them! He is usually a calm and patient guy, but on that night he lost it. Man, he said some swear words in Spanish that I never heard! Phew!" he continued to tell his story jokingly.

"I think they were just really hurt and angry over what they just did to them and they just needed to let it all out. Unfortunately I overheard them blaming me. I remember their exact words and how angry they were at me. It was...not a good feeling at all. I felt guilty and ashamed for putting them through this. At that point, I thought they hated me. Needing to get away, I took off, ran out of the house and into some classmates that I knew were from a bad crowd and I drank with them on that night."

"Haha, let me tell you, I was completely wasted. I don't remember anything from that night. All I know is that when I woke up, I was in my bed with a light meal on my study table. Once I woke up and ate the food, I went downstairs and saw my parents, who quickly came to me and hugged me. When I asked them what happened, they told me that I ended up drinking three-quarters of a bottle of whisky and the people that I was with, who didn't know that this was my first time drinking, ended up calling the police because I collapsed on the road and wouldn't wake up. Once the cops arrived, they obviously took me to the hospital and cleared my body of all the alcohol. Basically I almost died on that day. The doctors told me parents that I was lucky to be alive. I was unconscious throughout so my parents had to take me home that night."

"I don't tell people this because it wasn't exactly my finest hour." He said sheepishly.

Despite still being tipsy, Helga was conscious enough to comprehend Rodrigo's story and the severity of it.

"What did your parents say to you?" she asked.

"After they told me what happened, I obviously told them that I was sorry for the stupid mistake of drinking. But my parents simply shushed me and told me that they were to blame. They never should have blamed me for what our family did to us. It was them, not me. They were just hurt and angry and said things that they didn't mean." He explained.

"You shouldn't be surprised at what happened. Like you, there is only so much a person can take before he explodes." He continued with a smirk.

Helga said nothing and simply looked at Rodrigo with sad and distressful eyes, knowing full well that had he not survived, he wouldn't be here with her and she never would have met him. She wasn't sure why, but her heart began to seriously hurt at the thought of possibly never of have met him, as if she would have lost someone very dear to her. Without thinking and not really caring what he would think, she instantly grabbed his hand and held it tight, but reframed from crying. Rodrigo understood the gesture and simply reciprocated.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered to him.

"It's OK. I wasn't trying to kill myself. I just...wanted to feel better. I never drank after that again and I never became an alcoholic. I had the support of my parents so after a few days I was back on my feet." He explained.

Helga simply smiled at the news.

"Luck you." She finally said.

"Yeah, lucky. Now it's your turn. Why were you drinking?" he asked.

Helga groaned a bit and hesitated to tell him what happened. She sighed heavily.

"I started drinking because of what Big Bob said to me earlier today." She began.

Despite Rodrigo's story, Helga still felt ashamed and was unable to look at him.

"Who's Big Bob?" he asked.

"My dad. I usually call him by his first name."

"OK."

"I came home today from school and heard him yelling at my mom. She is a recovering alcoholic and had relapsed again. He was frustrated about it and was berating her. I attempted to intervene, but then he took out his anger out at me."

"Did he hurt you?" he asked.

"No, not physically." She responded. "Anyways, he said that I am ungrateful for not appreciating what he has given me. I don't know how, but he knew how Arnold's departure took a heavy toll on me and he criticized me for not being strong enough to get over him. He did have a point, I'll give him that. But what really hurt below the belt was that he said that I was like my mom; a total failure. I couldn't even get over Arnold, so what chance do I have in making it out in the real world? He doesn't even have the decency to put any faith on his own daughter." She continued.

"After that, I ran upstairs and washed myself. I don't know why I felt I needed to do that. I guess it was because I felt disgusted with myself. Anyways, I saw one of Miriam's bottles and grabbed it, went to my room and started to drink."

"How much did you have to drink?" he asked.

"Not sure, but at least almost half the bottle, although it was not full when I saw it. I drank it slowly, over the span of a few hours. I got drunk, but not wasted. I decided to go watch a movie while intoxicated and just try to get my mind off of things. And the rest you know what happened."

"Why did you feel you needed to drink?" he asked her.

Helga thought about it for awhile, while also trying not to start crying. Only one or two managed to come out, which she wiped with her hands.

"I needed something to relax, to just feel normal, if not happy for just a little while. But I also did it because since I was like my mom, why not start there?" she explained with almost a whimper.

"This is not the first fight I had with my parents. Normally when it happens, I would usually go to stay with Arnold, or with Phoebe. Obviously Arnold isn't here, but his grandparents still live here and I know I would always be welcomed there. But I didn't want to bother them. They are getting older and don't need all of this drama. I was going to text Phoebe, but I know she is with Gerald at the moment and I didn't want to interrupt their Friday night." She went on.

"Is that why you texted me in the end?" he asked.

"I did?" she asked with a confusing look.

"Ya, but I wasn't able to understand what you were sending me. In the end, I told you that I would call you back." he said, as he took out his cell and showed her the text that he received from her.

"What the...? What the hell did I text you? I was at the movies during that time so I guess I was trying to say that I was at the movies." She explained.

"Ah, that makes senses." He said as he scanned the text and understood what she was trying to text him.

As silence started to develop between them, Rodrigo had a thought and was curious to see what Helga had to say about it.

"What did Arnold think about your parents?" he asked her.

"Pfft. That stupid football head used to always tell me that my parents love me; they just aren't good at showing it. Well that and they have their own 'issues' that they have yet to resolve and it has been interfering in their lives." she replied as she ate another slice of pizza.

"What do you think about that?" he asked.

"At first I thought he was being his usual optimistic self and for a while, I believed him. I mean, yes my parents neglected me, but there have been times when they pulled through. But it was never enough for me to be convinced that they actually changed. They would always revert back to their original self. That, and I always lived in a cozy house, I technically do have wealth, but none of that means anything to me. All I really wanted, needed, was for my parents to just pay attention and to listen to me. Apparently that was too much to ask." she explained while rolling her eyes.

"Eventually," she continued, "it got to a point where Arnold's optimism about my parents started to bug me and I would just get frustrated, if not infuriated with his comments. I felt that whenever he tried to come up with an explanation to get me to understand their side, he was defending them, if not justifying their actions. I would get so furious with him that sometimes we would get into serious arguments." she continued.

"Back in eighth grade, we had to do a stupid assignment where each of us had to live at another student's home for one day. Arnold was chosen to live at my house, while I got to live in his house for a day. I don't know what he saw or what my parents said to him, but after that assignment, he stopped trying to be optimistic about my family home. I never asked them what happened. I was just glad that he stopped trying to convince me that my parents were good people who were 'trying' to be good parents." she said nonchalantly.

"I concur. I don't think there is any justification for what your parents did to you. They were supposed to have been there for you and they weren't." he commented.

Helga smiled at him, relieved that there was finally someone that understood her point of view.

"But I think Arnold was on to something." he added.

Helga's smile then instantly disappeared.

"And it all goes out the window." she said while throwing her arms up in the air.

"No, you're wrong if you think I'm not taking your point of view about this. I am. But I'm also taking your parents point of view." he said.

"Your problem is that because you are so invested in this, you are unable to look at the bigger picture, like Arnold and me." he continued.

"Kindly inform this damsel in distress on how I missed the bigger picture?" she asked sarcastically with a bit of irritation in her voice.

"I think Arnold is right; your parent do love you. They just suck in expressing it appropriately. And I'm sure that stems from their own upbringing or whatever issues they faced while growing up, issues that unfortunately, they have yet to resolve, and it has affected their ability to raise children." he said.

"The thing is, it is a huge chain of events that leads to how things are now, things that we cannot control. It could have been their parents, their friends, their environment, or even how they interpreted certain events. Whatever the case, I'm sure they must have been central enough for them to act this way with you. Unfortunately, this still does not justify things because in the end, it is up to them to decide on how they act, even if they cannot control some of them. They are the ones acting upon them, so they must be held responsible. So it is no longer a simple process of blaming them and categorizing them as simple 'bad parents'. It is easy to blame people for their mistakes because it feels good to do so, regardless of whether they deserve it or not. With your situation, they do need to be held responsible for what they did, but at the same time, it is unfortunate because they must have also gone through their own hard times."

"So you're saying that I'm basically stuck between a rock and a hard place?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Pretty much. So it is up to you now to get out of it. Your parents are in the same situation and they failed. It up to you now to ensure that you don't fail. If anything, you have been succeeding. If you read between the lines, I think that's what your dad was trying to tell you, to keep on going, to not trip and fall and if you do, get up again." he explained.

Amazingly, Helga was still able to understand what Rodrigo was trying to say, despite her headache and still being tipsy. At the same time, she was taken aback by this and didn't know how to react. It sounded like he was defending them, but at the same time he wasn't. She was having a hard time putting the full blame on them like she always tried to do.

"And what do you think I should do with my parents? Should I forgive them for their transgressions?"

"That's up to you Helga. I can't make that decision for you. My only concern is that whatever decision you make about your parents, you do not regret it. My other concern is that you become better than your parents, that you do not continue the cycle. Break it." he replied back.

Helga said nothing for a good while as she pondered on what Rodrigo had said. She then looked at the clock and realized that it was getting late and she did not inform anyone that she left the house.

"It's getting late, we should go." she said.

"OK. Come on, I'll take you home." he said.

Rodrigo and Helga walked the rest of the way home. It was freezing but luckily the winds were mild. Rodrigo insisted that he was going to walk her all the way to her house, despite her protest.

"Helga, I'm walking you home and that's that. You're still a bit tipsy and I just want to make sure you get home safely." he protested.

"My hero." she responded back sarcastically.

Pretty soon, they arrived at her house. After saying their goodbyes, Helga quietly unlocked the door, opened it, stepped inside and slowly closed the door. The door was quiet and dark, so she assumed everyone was asleep. Yet, no sooner had she closed the door and took off her boots when she heard a loud snore coming from the living room, nearly startling her.

"*loud snore* umm, uh, Olga?" it was Big Bob.

Ugh, great. Why is he still up? She thought.

"It's just me Bob; Helga." she quietly called out to him as she started heading towards the stairs.

"Helga? Wait Helga, I need to talk to you." he called out to her somewhat quietly as he got up and turned on the living room lights.

"Whatever you have to say, you've already said it." she firmly replied back at him.

"Wait, that's what I want to talk to you about. Just hear me out, Helga." he said.

Helga frustratingly sighed, turned around to face him, crossed her arms and waited for him start talking.

"Look umm Helga. I'm no good at this, but I just wanted to say that I'm...sorry for what I said to you earlier." he admitted nervously.

Despite being a bit surprised by his apology, Helga remained reserved. "Go on."

"Look, Helga. What I said to you earlier, about you being like your mom and a failure; that's not true. You're not. You never were a failure. The reason why I said that to you was because...well...I was scared for you." he said while being nervous.

"Scared? What does the Beeper King have to be scared of?" she asked him.

Big Bob just sighed and said, "that night, when I came home late from work and I saw you on the couch sobbing, and when I went to hug you...I saw the razor blade."

Helga eyes went wide open. When she heard Big Bob come home that night, she attempted to hide the razor blade and thought he never saw it.

"Don't try to explain yourself to me, Helga. I know what you were trying to do, I'm not an idiot. I know you were trying to hurt yourself and I know it was because of Alfred leaving." he said.

"Arnold, Bob. It's Arnold." she corrected him.

"Right, um Arnold. Anyways, when I saw that blade, I got scared of what you might do. That's why I blew up on your mom earlier today. She is suppose to take care of you, but she can't until she sobers up. I know I should be here too, but being the only bread-winner, I have to make sure we have enough to live well. I'm also saving for your college tuition, which isn't cheap young lady, so I can only do so much." he explained.

"I never told your mom about what I saw because I don't want her to worry. I just want her to focus on kicking the bottle. Helga...when a parent sees his own child trying to hurt herself, it scares the living heck out of you! I'm not blaming you. I'm just saying that I overreacted earlier today because your mom relapsing again frustrated me because it delays in ensuring that you would have someone to be there for you. That, and seeing as how you've never really moved on with Arnold leaving, I said those things to try to get you to face the music and be that strong and independent girl again. I umm...hope I get to see her again. Anyways, I just want to say that I'm sorry." he said.

Helga was left completely speechless. In one of those rare moments, her own father showed that he actually cared about her. Helga instantly felt a warmth inside her as she looked at her own father, who had guilt all over his eyes. It felt...nice that he showed that cared about her. For a brief while, she no longer felt that she was alone in this house. Yet nevertheless, she had ambivalent feelings about accepting his apology. What he said to her hurt her a lot and she was still feeling the pain. Should she accept his apology or should she give him the cold shoulder, as he had always done to her? Is she a mirror image of him?

I'm not like him; I'm better. She thought.

"Umm, well...thanks Bob." she began say. "Apology accepted." she said reluctantly. "What about mom?" she asked him.

"Huh? Ya, I also said sorry to her for yelling at her like that." he grumbled quietly.

Big Bob then started walking towards her and awkwardly stretched out his arms.

"Umm...what are you doing?" she asked him with a confused look.

"What does it like I am doing? I'm trying to give my daughter a hug." he said.

"Oh, umm..." she said back as she attempted to hug her dad.

After a few seconds, they let each other go.

"Well, I should probably get to bed. I have a big day tomorrow. Good night, Helga." he said as he started walking up the stairs.

"Right. Night...dad." she replied back.

Big Bob stopped for a brief second as he heard her call him dad. It had been years since she last called him that. Then he started walking upstairs again. Helga followed suit soon after.

Saturday Afternoon...

Yesterday I did something shameful, football head. I drank a bottle of my mom's rum or whiskey or whatever the hell it was, that I found in our bathroom. Why, do you ask? Big Bob said some hurtful things when I came home from school and I couldn't take it. It hit right below the belt so to feel better, I took a few sips. OK, it was more than a few sips, but I didn't get trashed, just drunk. Anyways, I went out to the movies and after it ended, I bumped into Rodrigo, to my embarrassment. Well, needless to say, Rodrigo and I had a good talk, despite that I was still a bit tipsy. I'm sure he will explain what we spoke about in his letter to you.

Well, you can rest assured Arnoldo that I will not be drinking again anytime soon. I have this stupid and awful headache as proof that will deter me from trying something imbecilic like that again.

As for Big Bob, he said something that I wouldn't believe he would have said to anyone; he apologized to me. Did I accept his apology? Yes, reluctantly. Don't get your hopes up football head. You know full well that my parents will revert back to their useful ways. This was only a hiccup. But it did feel good, even if it was only for a brief second.

I'm going to end this letter a bit short today. My head is still pounding from last night's 'adventure' and I'm going to try to take a nap; I didn't sleep well last night.

Your drunken buddy,

Helga G. Pataki.

So I did not make Big Bob into the typical abusing father as in other HA! fan stories because by this point in time I thought that would be overkill. Plus, I think it would be 'worse' if this abusing cycle of neglect and caring would make things more dramatic and make Helga more frustrated, giving her continually false sense of hope.