Hi everyone! So I know that in the U.S. there is no Family Day Holiday, but we do have it in Canada, but only in some provinces. So I'm just going to input this holiday into my story.

It is February and it is Family Day, a newly celebrated holiday that was just emplaced by the Federal Government. Rodrigo is finding this new holiday to be unbearable, as it is only reminding him of the family that he lost back home and having his immediate family bear the brunt of it. As he strolls around Hillwood, he accidentally bumps into a friend, who is having her own issues with the new holiday. Having a common interest, they sit down and quickly bond with each other, much to Helga's jealousy and rage...

It is now Friday and all the students were looking forward to a three day weekend; everyone, except Rodrigo. The Federal government had announced months ago that a new holiday was to be emplaced in the new year; Family Day. For the students, they merely supported it since it gave them a new day off to slack around. Rodrigo however, found it irritating. Despite getting an extra day off, he merely found it to be a slap in his face about the family that he lost back home. The last thing he needed was to reminded of that.

By this time, everyone in the gang knew of Rodrigo's issue with his family, so it was no secret to anyone when, during lunchtime, they found him to be quiet, sad and irritable about the upcoming weekend. Sid, Gerald and Stinky tried to raise his spirits by reminding him that at least he could enjoy three days off from school. They even made plans on what they could do.

"C'mon man, lighten up. As Arnold would say, look on the bright side; at least you have three days off from school. What do you say we hit the arcade sometime this weekend?" Gerald asked.

"Thanks Gerald. I don't feel like going, but I'll make an effort come out. It beats having to stay in my room and mope around. When are you guys meeting up?" he asked with little enthusiasm.

"Saturday evening. We couldn't do it for Friday; Harold and Stinky said they were busy." said Gerald.

"OK, I guess I'll come out." He asked, while trying to smile.

Gabriela was with the group and although she really appreciated Gerald's attempt help him, she was one of the few people who knew just how upset Rodrigo was and doubted that going to the arcade was going to help him. Yet, she remained quiet, happy that at least he was going out.

When lunchtime ended and everyone started to get to class, Gabriela approached Rodrigo and asked him,

"Gerald tiene la verdad. Yo sé que es duro, pero intenta ver la situación en términos positivo." (Gerald is right. I know it is hard, but try to see the bright side of it.)

"Si, lo sé Gabriela." (Yes, I know Gabriela) He said with a sad tone.

"¿Vas estar bien este fin de semana?" (Are you going to be OK this weekend?) she asked him worryingly.

"Si, si gracias. Eventualmente, esto va pasar" (Yes, thanks. Eventually, this will pass.) He said.

"¿Por qué no hablas con Helga? Yo sé que ella te puede ayudar." (Why don't you talk to Helga? I know she can help.) She asked.

"No, porque ella tiene sus propio problemas en su casa. Ella ya sabe mi situación, entonces no hay nada más que aumentar. Además, no quiero hacerme una carga para ella." (No, because she has her own problems at home. She already knows my situation, so there is nothing else to add. Besides, I don't want to become a burden for her.) he said.

"Bueno, si necesitas hablar con alguien, llámame, ok?" (Well, if you need to talk to someone, call me, ok?) she said with a smile as she rubbed his back.

"Gracias hermana" (Thanks, sister) he said with a smile.

Rodrigo had other reasons for not wanting to talk to Helga about his issues. Helga was another person who was extremely irritable at the new holiday, so much so that Rodrigo did not feel comfortable, or was simply afraid; to even bring up her own situation to her. During the last two days, he saw it her face; she walked around with a serious frowned face. Whenever she walked, she gave that bodily impression to not even approach her. If he felt that this new holiday was a serious slap in his face, then it was completely mocking Helga's situation. At least he still had his immediate family. Helga had a family that often ignored her existence, with the only family that she had never known having moved away more than two years ago. Rodrigo only mustered up the courage to make just one statement to her during history class on Thursday.

"If you want to talk about it, you know I'm here for you." was all he said.

Naturally, Helga said nothing and continued to look at the front of the classroom.

In the end, Rodrigo was having his own issue with the holiday, so he felt that he could take a break from Helga and just focus on himself for once. At the end of the day, when the bell rang, he took the bus and went home.

During dinner on a Friday, Rodrigo was still bothered and asked his parents if he can just take a long walk. Despite it being somewhat late, his parents gave him permission, on the condition that he would text them very hour to ensure he is ok, to which he agreed.

Once he finished his dinner, he grabbed his jacket and hat, and then went outside for his walk. He only started walking for two minutes before deciding to take the bus somewhere in the city. With that in mind, he hopped on the bus, and then waited to see where it would take him. It wasn't even twenty minutes before Rodrigo decided to jump off. Once he did, he started to regret his decision. This neighbourhood was somewhat of a rundown and he started to get a bit uncomfortable, so he proceeded to just walk for a bit and hoped to get out of this place.

Sure enough, he approached a better part of the neighbourhood, with cafes and restaurants. Feeling comfortable, he continued his walk. As he did so, he came across a block where he was about to turn, but had failed to notice another person coming from the opposite direction. As both people were in deep thought and not looking straight ahead, they accidently collided with each other, hitting their heads. Luckily, none of them fall down but were reeling from having a throbbing headache.

"Ow, jeez, be careful where you are walking next time." Rodrigo barked at the person.

"Rodrigo? I'm ever so sorry, I didn't see you." said the person.

Rodrigo looked up and was surprised to find her here.

"Lila? I'm sorry; I didn't know it was you. Are you ok?" he asked with a concerned look.

"I am, thank you. It was just a bump on the head, so I'm ever so sure the pain will go away soon." She said with a smile.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I live around here. I was just going for a walk." She replied back. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I don't live around here, but I was going for a walk as well. It's a bit cold and dark, why were going for a walk this late?" he asked.

Lila looked at him with sad eyes and replied back,

"I haven't really been thrilled about this new holiday being emplaced. It had been bothering me all week, so I decided to walk for a bit to see if it'll help."

"Yeah, I hear ya. It has been bothering me too, that's why I went out for a walk. Well, I took the bus first to get here, then I started my walk." He said.

"Oh? Is it because of your extended family?" she asked.

Rodrigo simply nodded, but wondered why the new holiday was bothering her. Due to the new holiday bothering her, he figured that like him and Helga, she must also be facing issues at home, but what exactly, he didn't know. It then occurred to him that despite knowing Lila since September, he knew very little about her. They had chatted either during lunchtime or after school, but unlike their other friends, he had not yet had the opportunity to sit down with her and have a heart-to-heart talk. And seeing how sad she looked, perhaps she needed a friend to talk to this evening.

"How come the new holiday is bothering you, if you don't mind my asking?" he asked politely.

"It is because I come from a single parent family. Well I know this holiday is suppose to incorporate all types of families, but I still can't help but feel left out, if not isolated." she said.

"You're dad is not around?" he asked.

"My mom..." she said softly as she looked away.

Wow, I really don't know much about her. I have been spending most of my time helping Helga that I never bothered to even ponder at the idea that my other friends may have needed help. He thought.

"Oh, I'm sorry Lila, I didn't mean to pry." He said.

"No, it's ok Rodrigo. I don't mind it." She said.

"Well, if you want to talk to someone Lila, I would be happy to help, if you are ok to talk to me." He said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Thank you Rodrigo that would be nice." She said with a smile.

"Did you want to go to that cafe, sit down and have some hot chocolate?" he offered as he pointed to it.

"Why yes, that would be ever so nice!" she exclaimed, finally showing her usual smile and optimism again.

The two teens then crossed the street, went inside, ordered their hot chocolate, then sat down to talk.

In Helga's room...

While Rodrigo was riding the bus, Helga was in her room, not only completely bored, but reeling from their 'fabulous family dinner' that she had just had.

Ugh, what a joke! She thought bitterly.

During dinner, Big Bob rambled on about his latest success as usual, while Olga attempted to hide from him the latest bad news of yet another part that she was not able to obtain. Miriam, although sober, was so bored that she had trouble keeping herself awake. Helga, for her part, couldn't even get a word out.

While in her room, Helga attempted to amuse herself on the internet, but found any content she saw to be either boring or just not inspiring. After some time in failing to find anything entertaining, she closed her laptop, got her phone and started texting Rodrigo.

At the San Bistro Café...

Rodrigo and Lila had just sat down with their hot chocolates when Rodrigo's cell vibrated. He excused himself, got his phone, saw that it was Helga and read her message.

Helga: Hey, what are you doing right now?

Rodrigo: I'm at a cafe with Lila.

Helga: Oh? You guys met up?

Rodrigo: No, I was taking a walk around her neighbourhood and I bumped into her. She says hi.

Helga: Which café are you guys in?

Rodrigo: San Bistro Café

Helga: Ah, good choice. Well don't let me interrupt, enjoy your evening with Little Miss Perfect.

Rodrigo: Thanks, I'll text you when I get home.

Helga: OK

Back in Helga's room...

Helga had to use all of her strength to text Rodrigo in a casual manner.

Just what is he doing with Little Miss Perfect?! What does he mean that he 'bumped into her'? What the hell was he doing in her neighbourhood? She thought angrily.

Crimeny, I gotta stop getting so jealous over this! So what if he is meeting up with her? He is not my boyfriend so he can go out with whomever he wants to!

As much as Helga tried to stop thinking about it, she wasn't able to force her mind from reeling itself back into the subject.

What are they talking about? What does he have to talk to her about? Is it something important? Why didn't he come to me? Ugh, I am such a basket case!

Then Helga had a thought, a thought she had not had in a long while. For some time, she resisted the temptation, citing on borderland insanity, if not just downright creepy if she were to do it.

But...it's not like I haven't done it before. I could maybe...no, no that's insane. It was crazy when I did it with Arnold and I'm in love with him! With Rodrigo, it would just be something out of a horror movie! She thought.

Despite the resistance, eventually she relented. It's not like she had anything else better to do.

Screw it! Won't be the first time. She thought.

She immediately got up, grabbed her jacket, hat and gloves, put on her boots then went outside to catch the bus to spy on him.

At the San Bistro Café...

After almost 30 minutes, using her GPS on her phone, she found the café where Rodrigo and Lila were at. She cautiously approached the café and saw both of them there, sitting and talking on the far end of the café. She quietly went inside and hid herself with either the customers walking by, or with the pillars as covers. She examined the room and saw a vacant table not far from them where they were sitting and quickly made her way there, while grabbing a newspaper. She opened the newspaper to cover herself, sat down and proceeded to listen in.

By the time Helga arrived and sat down to spy on them, Rodrigo and Lila were just getting into the conversation that brought them there in the first place. The first 30 minutes were casual, unimportant talk.

"So how come you were walking in this neighbourhood? You didn't walk from all the way to your house did you?" Lila asked him.

"No, no. I took the bus. I wanted to talk a long walk and since I already know the neighbourhood by heart, I wanted to go somewhere else, so I took the bus and just randomly got out here. I just have a lot in my mind. This new Family Day holiday is a complete farce in my opinion. Instead of being something worthy of celebration, it just brings painful memories" he said.

"I'm afraid I'm ever so much in agreement with you, Rodrigo. I'm not entirely appreciative of this new holiday either. Even my dad seems bothered by it, but he tries to hide it." she said.

"Because of your mother?" he asked.

Lila simply nodded in silence and in sadness.

Rodrigo waited for a while, as she seemed to be wanting to tell him about her.

"My mom left us when I was little." she finally said.

"What? Why?" he asked in surprise.

"My dad used to always say that my mom was a free spirited person. She used to like going to places and doing things. When I was born, my dad said that she was not able to cope with the new responsibilities of a parent. She felt...constricted and it started affecting her mood. There were times when she would be very happy and cheerful and other times when she became resentful, if not angry. Eventually, she couldn't handle it anymore and out of the blue, left us. I was four when she left. It tore my father apart, but he managed to hold things together for my sake." she explained.

"I remember that day well." she continued. "I can still remember when my mom walked out of the door, never to see her again. She never even said goodbye to me."

"Lila...I'm so sorry to hear that." Rodrigo said to her with a serious disbelief look on his face.

How could she do that to her? He thought angrily.

Lila then stopped talking for a second as she slumped into further sadness, recalling the memory when her mom walked out the door for the last time, never to see her again.

"Lila, I'm really sorry if this is bothering you. We can stop talking about it." Rodrigo said as he noticed her sad facial expression.

"No, it's ok Rodrigo. It's still a little hard to talk about it, but I can ever so manage it." she remarked with a weak smile.

Seeing that Lila wanted to continue talking, Rodrigo continued.

"Is that why you came to Hillwood? To start a new life?"

"Kind of. My dad couldn't maintain the farm on his own and was forced to sell it. We decided to move here to start a new, so it was mostly for financial reasons."

"I'm really sorry this happened to you, Lila." he said.

"It's ok. I mean, it has been ever so hard for us, but we have been doing well since we came here. My dad got a good job not long after we came here and he has been steadily moving up. So despite the circumstances, I am ever so certain for a bright future." she said with a smile.

"Now you sound a lot like Arnold." he said.

Lila merely giggled at the comparison.

"Ya, what's one of many things that we had a lot in common. I guess that's why he liked me back in the fourth grade." she mentioned.

"Really? I shouldn't be surprised. Did Helga know?" he asked.

"Oh yes, everyone knew. It was no secret that Arnold liked me. He tried many times to go out with me, but I was never able to return my feelings for him." she said.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Well, I guess it's because we for the same reason why he liked me. I just thought we had so many things in common that I thought I was going to get bored. That, and there was someone else who liked him." she said while giggling.

"Helga? You knew that she liked Arnold before they even got together? How did you know?" he asked her.

"Oh gosh, it was back in the fourth grade, when there was a play and Helga was attempting to play the role of Juliet because Arnold was set to play Romeo. I was one of the three girls that was chosen for Juliet, and when Rhonda and Sheena dropped out, I was given the part. Helga tried to dissuade me from being Juliet, but I held firm. It was only when I asked her why she wanted the part so badly that she finally confessed that she liked Arnold. But I always suspected that she may have liked him, so I was not surprised when she confirmed it. I was surprised that she told me at all." she explained.

"I'm assuming that you eventually did give her the role for playing Juliet?" he asked.

Lila nodded.

"Oh yes, and they both performed ever so spectacularly!"

Rodrigo simply smiled at the thought of Helga going through such lengths just to be close to Arnold.

"That's very cute, if not romantic of her." he said.

Lila again just nodded.

"Sorry, I digress. Going back to your mother, I'm surprised that given your situation, you and Helga are not close. I mean, with both your situations, you guys could have supported each other." he said.

"Our friends at that time didn't know about my situation. They always wondered where my mom was, but no one ever asked about it. Ironically, back in the sixth grade, it was right after Mother's Day, I was feeling pretty down about it and during recess, Helga saw me sitting on my own and came up to me to ask me why I was so down." she explained.

"Hehe, I remember exactly how she asked me. It was, 'hey why so glum, chump?'" she said as she tried to imitate Helga.

Hey! I don't sound like that! Helga thought annoyingly.

"Because of Helga's tough exterior, I initially wasn't particularly comfortable talking about this with her, but by that time, I was having such a hard time keeping it bottled inside that I just needed to talk to someone and since Helga was the one that approached me, I told her about it. After I was done explaining it, I was waiting for her usual insensitive remarks or to just tell me to 'suck it up'. But instead, she said nothing and just put her arm around me because by that time, I was crying."

"What happened next?" he asked.

"Well, Helga said she understood the pain because of her own situation with her mom and the rest of her family. Quite surprisingly, she told then me about it." she replied.

"Did you ever find out why she decided to tell you, apart from the obvious?" he asked.

"Well, there are a lot of factors. I guess the first thing that pops into mind is that I was part of a Big Sister program and Helga's older sister, Olga, was my Big Sister. Seeing as how I was sometimes in their house, I guess Helga felt comfortable enough to tell me. Another thing is that after she and Arnold got together, she no longer saw me as a threat, so I guess she warmed up to me."

"She saw you as a threat? How? You said you rebuffed all of Arnold's advances, didn't you?" he asked.

"Yes, but unfortunately that wasn't enough. Whenever Arnold and I hanged out together, I could see from the corner of my eye that was Helga was not happy with Arnold giving this much attention to me, even if I did not like him that way. I knew she was jealous, but I never said anything to her and just let it go. It's not like she did anything to hurt me." she said.

"After her telling me about her home life, I wouldn't say we became close friends, but we become somewhat close. Although I never pried, Helga sometimes came to me and told me things either in her home or about anything with her relationship with Arnold and asked for help or advice. But we rarely hanged out together. I guess we are just different people. We really don't have that much in common. We don't even share the same taste in music or films. But nonetheless I still consider her as a friend." she continued to explain.

"Did you try to reach out her out when Arnold left?" he asked.

"I tried, but just as with Gerald, she ignored my calls. I guess she wanted to be alone, so in the end, I respected it. Even when high school started and I would see her, well, you know Helga. It was hard trying to talk to her. She scowled at me a few times when I attempted to approach her. I felt pretty bad what she was going through and I wanted to help, just like how she helped me, but it was hard trying to get close to her, physically close. In the end, I ended up agreeing with Gerald; if she didn't want our help, then there was nothing that we could do for her, so I left it at that. With me, I was able to take a chance and accept her help. Unfortunately, she was not able to do the same."

"That sounds...sad." he said.

"It is. But at least now she has as a friend and I'm ever so thankful for that. Even though I wasn't able to help her out, I'm glad she met someone who has been able to help her get back on her feet. Thank you Rodrigo." she said with a smile.

"Uh, you're welcome." he reluctantly said.

As Helga listened attentively to their conversation, she remembered the times when Lila had attempted to approach her a few times to see if she was ok. Feeling that sense of guilt encroaching on her, she recalled those same times when she either ignored her and simply walked past her without saying a word, or harshly rebuffed her.

She only wanted to help, but I was too much into my own misery and ego to even acknowledge it, let alone appreciate it. she thought somewhat sadly.

Despite not being close friends, Helga had always considered Lila to be mature enough to trust her, at the very least more so than Gerald. Had it not been for their lack of common interests, and of Lila's bright and cheerful personality that sometimes annoyed her, Helga had no doubt that they could have been good friends.

She then got out of her mind and started to listen again as Lila asked Rodrigo a question.

"I assume you must have been really close to your extended family back home in order for it to continue to hurt you?" she asked as she took a sip from hot chocolate.

"Yeah, I was. I was especially close to one of my uncles, Agustín and his kids. He was so funny. He would always tell jokes and was one of the most welcoming people you'd ever meet. He was serious when he needed to be, but he was the person you can always go to if you were having a bad day or if you needed help. Having him around, he brought a lot life into the party." he said while smiling, remembering those happy times.

However, his smile quickly faded when he continued with his story. "When I told everyone that I felt the Christian faith, he was on one of my harshest critiques. He tried everything to convinced me to recant, but I countered his every argument, which only infuriated him. I had never seen him so angry; no one ever had. It was actually scary. Eventually, he told my parents that I and they were no longer welcomed to his house and he cut all ties with us. My cousins also ceased all communication with us. That hurt. Out of all the family members, him showing his back on me, that really hurt..." he had to immediately stop talking as he felt getting choked up a bit, as he recalled the painful memories. He merely put his hands on his eyes and started rubbing them.

"Rodrigo, are you ok?" Lila asked him with a worried tone.

Rodrigo said nothing and simply shook his head.

"No...I'm not ok..." he said angrily.

Helga looked on helplessly as she saw Rodrigo be visibly hurt by the memories. Despite his cheerful and confident personality, it is obvious that his family issue still clearly bothered him. She didn't know why, but she felt a huge urge to go over there and comfort him. Feelings of empathy and guilt were infiltrating her entire body, causing her heart to ache for him. After seeing Rodrigo in this much pain, for a moment, she felt like crying as well; for the deep sadness she felt for him. But, she reframed from shedding any tears. As much as she wanted to go over there to comfort him, she knew she couldn't. She had to severely restrain herself from doing it. Worse, she now had to watch as Lila attempted to comfort him.

"I've lost everything because of my confession." Rodrigo explained with extreme sadness in his voice. "I never thought they would have done this to me, to my parents. They completely destroyed what family was supposed to mean to me. I never would have done this to them, never. I feel like a leper, being abandoned on some mountain to die."

"As far as they are concerned, my family and I are dead to them. Now I have to live my life as if they are dead to me." he continued.

Like Helga, Lila also felt deep empathy and sadness for him. Despite losing her mom, she still had her extended family back in the country and although she was far away from them, she at least the reassurance that she and her dad would always be welcomed in their homes. Rodrigo did not have the luxury.

"Rodrigo, I'm every so sorry to hear that." she said to him, as she held his hand in support, much to Helga's chagrin. "I don't understand why they were not able to get past your atheism. You are still the same person." she said.

Rodrigo managed to regain some of his composure to allow him to talk again.

"I tried telling them that, but they were hell bent on retaining to their old prejudice. Christianity has been engrained into society so much that it is difficult to see anything outside of it. Religion has nothing to do with that though. It is simply a matter of ideology and a lack of understanding. Basically ignorance and lack of opportunities there have plagued the region. Their faith is the only thing that many people have left, and so throwing that away is extremely difficult; it gives people hope." he explained.

"How often do you think about them?" she asked.

"I try not to think about them. It is only when I'm reminded of them that I remember, such as now." he explained.

"I'm just thankful to have you guys since I came to Hillwood. You guys have made the transition easier than I thought it was going to be and for that, I thank you Lila." he continued with a smile.

Lila smiled back, but then said,

"You know, I could also say the same for you and Helga. With your family situation, how come you are not with her supporting each other? How come you decided to take a walk on your own?"

"We have supported each other since we both spoke about our family issues." he explained. "She comes to me sometimes and tells me about it and I sit there and listen. With me, I haven't really talked about it much because it was only a few occasions when something would remind me of them, that I started feeling the pain and needed someone to talk to."

"It's not like I don't like talking to her about it. It's just...well...I know that she has been having a harder time dealing with hers, so I didn't want to burden her with mine. I just feel that her issue is bigger than mine, so I didn't say anything to her."

Helga listened on with a complete surprising and irritated look on her face.

"Did she come to you talking about it?" Lila asked.

"No, but I could tell it was bothering her, only this time it looked pretty bad. I only said to her that if she wanted to talk about it, she can always talk to me. But I know there is only so much talking can do. She wants to resolve it or get it out of her life and neither she nor I can do that." Rodrigo replied.

As Helga continued to listen to their conversation, she couldn't help but feel a bit aggravated by Rodrigo's comment. She didn't appreciate that he would actually think her issues were bigger than his. As far as she was concerned, his issue was just as bad as hers. The only difference is that while Rodrigo was not around them to be reminded of the loss, Helga still lived with her family. The last thing she wanted was Rodrigo to think of her as being selfish. Yet, she couldn't but feel that she was being a bit selfish during the week. She never once approached Rodrigo to even ask him how he felt about the new holiday, let alone if it caused him to think about his family. Like always, she focused on her own issues and blocked everyone and everything else out.

"You know Rodrigo, you shouldn't assume that Helga's issue is bigger than yours. Have you actually spoken to her about that?" Lila asked.

"Of course not." Rodrigo replied.

"Then how do you know she wouldn't want to hear about it? Even if she has her own problems, that doesn't mean she wouldn't be there for you. If anything, I'm ever so sure she will not hesitate to see you. Helga can be quite a caring person if you give her the chance." she said.

"I guess, you're right." he confessed.

After a few more minutes of talking, Rodrigo realized that it was getting late and needed to head home.

"Sorry Lila, but I have to get going. It's getting late. I hope I was able to help you tonight." he said.

"You did, thank you ever so much Rodrigo. I hope I was able to help you a bit." she said with a smile.

"You did, thank you Lila. I needed someone to talk to about this." Rodrigo replied.

"You see? Talking does help." she said with a smile.

Helga hid behind the newspaper as the two teens got up and headed outside. They hugged each other and went their ways. Helga had to wait for Rodrigo to catch the bus and leave before she was able to get out and wait for the next bus.

After a while, the next bus arrived and Helga hopped inside to go home. Still bothered by what Rodrigo said, Helga decided to take a drastic step to prove him wrong.

The next day...

Helga arrived at Rodrigo's house around noon and knocked on the door. After a short while, someone opened the door, but it was not Rodrigo.

"Yes? Can I help you?" asked Rodrigo's father.

"Uh Hiya. I'm a friend of Rodrigo from school. I just came to speak with him." she said with a nervous smile.

Rodrigo's father, Alfonso, quickly scanned the blonde girl that was in front of him and when he saw the two pigtails, he instantly recognized her. He smiled at her and said,

"Oh, you must be Helga. Please, come in." as he opened the door to allow her to come in.

"May I take your coat?" he politely asked.

"Gracias" (Thank you) she replied as she took her coat off and gave it to him to hang it.

"How did you know it was me?" she asked him.

"Rodrigo has talked a lot about you. He considers you as one of his closest friends." he said with a smile.

"Of course he has." she said sarcastically, while scanning the house.

Taking notice of her infamous sarcasm, "No te preocupes. No me ha dicho nada que no debería saber." (Don't worry. He didn't say anything that I do not need to know.) he said with a smile.

Helga simply smiled at him.

"Rodrigo, higo! Tienes un visitante!" (Rodrigo, son! You have a visitor!) he called out.

"¿Quien es, papa?" (Who is it, dad?) he asked back.

"Helga!" he called out again.

Helga could hear as Rodrigo instantly started walking and came downstairs. As he came down and see her, he was surprised.

"Gracias papa. Hey, what up? Is everything ok?" he asked as his dad started to walk away into the living room.

"Well ya, why wouldn't it be?" she asked.

"Because you unexpectedly showed up at my house. What's up?" he asked with a confusing look.

Helga said nothing and simply stared at him with a dumbfounded look.

"Oh..." was all she said.

"Oh?" Rodrigo asked, being more confused now.

Helga realized she completely failed to come up with a reason for her showing up uninvited.

Wow, I really did not think this through. She thought nervously.

Helga had always prided herself in coming up with the most elaborate ideas and schemes, down to the last detail. Yet on this occasion, she was so bent on wanting to help Rodrigo with his issue that she completely overlooked to plan this properly.

She quickly thought of something fast, while trying to retain her composure.

Come on Helga old girl, think, think!

"I uh, well, I'm um here because...you never texted me back last night doofus. So I got worried." she finally replied back.

Rodrigo just stood there, a bit surprised by her reply. It's true that he forgot to text her back after seeing Lila the night before. But he also knew that Helga never texted him to inquiry on where he was. He knew she would have at least have done that before coming to his house. Although he wasn't buying her story, he nonetheless decided to humour her.

"Sorry Helga, I didn't mean to get you worried. I forgot to text you when I got back." he said, while trying to sound genuine.

"You must have really enjoyed being in the company of Little Miss Perfect if you forgot to text me." she said. "See that it doesn't happen again." she warned him.

"It won't happen again." he replied back. He then asked, "Did you want come upstairs?"

"I might as well. I'm here already." she said with a smirk.

Before the two teens up to Rodrigo's room, Rodrigo quickly went to the fridge to get some Yahoo sodas to take with them. They then went upstairs into his room.

After they settled down a bit, Helga got a chance to look at his room. It was rather simple, but none of the typical trapping one would find in a typical male teenager's room. There were no posters of his favorite athletes, nor of any hot female, or male model. He did have two posters of two people whom Helga had no idea who they were. There were no toys or any collectable items on his desk or shelf. He had a laptop on his desk, which contained some computer games. The one thing he did have in abundance were his huge collections of books. He had a shelf completely full of them. Helga went there to quickly scan what type of books he had. They ranged from different subjects, from history, to psychology, from mathematics to even some poetry.

Wow, this guy is a nerd. She thought to herself.

After a while, Helga then went to look at the posters of the two men that were taped on Rodrigo's wall.

"Who are they?" she asked him.

"The one on the left is Baruch de Spinoza, the Jewish philosopher that I mentioned to you about. The one on the right is a Danish physicist, Niels Bohr. He was one of the main proponents for quantum mechanics in physics. They are my heroes." Rodrigo explained.

Ya, total nerd. She thought to herself.

"If you're thinking I'm a nerd, I'm not. I'm an intellectual." He corrected her with a smirk.

Helga looked straight at him with a startled look, surprised that he was able to pick up on what she was thinking. Yet she appeared unfazed and merely shrugged her shoulders.

"Sure, whatever floats your boat, Latino boy." She said to him nonchalantly.

While Helga looked around his room, Rodrigo sat on his bed. After a while, he decided to end this charade and bluntly ask her why she was here.

"Not that I don't appreciate you being worried about me; I think that's sweet of you, but why are you really here? We both know that you could have texted me back to see where I was before you came here."

Helga knew Rodrigo was never going to fall for that story. She just needed time to think about what she was going to say.

"Fine, you got me. I came here because...well...I was a bit...jealous that you went to talk to Lila about your family problem rather than me." she said sheepishly.

"How do you know I was talking to her about my family problem?" he asked.

"Oh please Rodrigo. I know that this new dumb holiday was eating you up inside. It was obvious during this week. And I already know about Lila's mom. Are you going to actually tell me that you two did not take the chance to talk about it?" she asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"Ok, ya we did talk about it. But that bothered you?" he asked.

Helga then looked away as she nervously responded back.

"Yes. You never even came to me at all last week to talk about it. And before you get to it, yes I didn't approach you because I was not thrilled about this stupid Family Holiday crap either and I was moping about it. But I also didn't approach you because I thought you wanted to be alone for a while and I'd figure you would eventually want to talk."

Rodrigo looked with a bit of amazement. Although he knew Helga cared for him, he didn't think she cared for him this much, up to the point that it would bother her.

"Sorry, Helga. I just didn't want to burden you with my problem. I knew you were bothered by this new holiday as well and I didn't want to make it worse for you by getting you worried about me." he said.

"Well, you failed miserably on that one." she said with a smirk. "And to add to that, that's why you should have come to me; because I know what that's like, doi. We're in the same boat, more or less. And because...we're friends." she finished with a smile.

Rodrigo smiled when he heard Helga say they are friends. He remembered last year when he first said that, only for Helga to harshly rebuff it. Despite it being only months, he felt they have come a long way since those days. Indeed, he felt they were like old friends. Despite his own growing feelings for her, he was actually happy to hear Helga say that.

"You should know by now Latino boy that despite my mood and hostile appearance, you can always come and talk to me. I promise I won't bite...much" she said with a joking grin.

Rodrigo smiled and said, "Thanks Helga. I'm sorry for not coming to you to talk about it. I'll do it next time."

Helga smiled back. Then without warning, she got up, went to him, then sat down next to him. Suddenly, to Rodrigo's surprise, she wrapped her left arm around his right arm and held his hand.

"So, wanna talk about it?" she asked.

Despite having an agreement with Phoebe to keep a distance, Rodrigo made no attempt to let go and continued to hold on to her hand, enjoying the comfort of feeling it.

"Yeah. But you go first." he said.

I would like to remind everyone that this issue is not something that should be taken lightly, nor is this something that, stereotypically, only Muslim families go through. Even in North and Latin America, depending on how strong a tradition or ritual is, a person having different views or moving away from that tradition can cause serious frictions within the family.