Helga had her head, face down, on her desk, groaning with utter boredom in her current morning class.
This class is so f****** boring! She irritatingly thought. Crimeny, why did I ever decide to enroll in this class to study rocks?!
Helga was in her geography class. Before the start of the year, as one of selectives, Helga had a few options from which she could choose; Calculus, Music, specifying in strings and Geology. Finding the first two options uninteresting or just a flat out no, Helga forcefully 'opted' to take Geology. Unfortunately, she never bothered looking at the actual course name, only the course code, which started with the letters, GEO. Thinking that the course was a geography course, Helga thought that it would not only be easy, but also thought that the course would introduce her not only to other countries, but also their landscape, forests, mountains, deserts; especially how the land made those countries what they are. Ya, this course was not that. Instead, it specified on studying sedimentary rocks and other minerals found in the earth. She failed to properly read the description of the course and when she realized her mistake, it was too late. She was stuck now, forcing her to study a course that she thought was more boring than watching yourself in the mirror as you aged.
"Now class," the teacher, Mr. Zaklowski began to announce to everyone, "I'm sure you all remember about our field trip coming up. I know that some of you have been anxiously waiting for this moment all year 'round."
"Sure we have teach." Helga silently groaned while still leaning on top of her desk.
"Our field trip is next week and it will be on Elk Island."
"Elk Island?" A student asked. "What's so special about Elk Island that you'd want to take us there, Mr. Zaklowski?"
"Good question Gabriel." Mr. Zaklowski said.
Helga just groaned.
Please God, just kill me now. She thought.
"To most of you, Elk Island may only be just an island, but it has certain unique sedimentary formations that you won't find anywhere else within hundreds of miles from there." Mr. Zaklowski explained.
"What kind of sedimentary?" Another student asked.
"That, you will find out at our field trip." Mr. Zaklowski said with a smile.
"Excuse me, sir." A female student raised her hand.
"Yes, Kim?" The teacher asked.
"Are we also going with the other classes on this trip?" Kim asked.
"Yes, definitely." The teacher responded. "We will be traveling together, there and back."
Oh joy. She thought annoyingly. Just what I need, more students who have rocks on the brains.
Meanwhile...
Oh man, why did I bother to even take this course? Gerald thought, as he struggled to maintain his focus in his class.
I should have read the damn course description before I enrolled in it. He thought annoyingly. Had I known this course was about studying rocks, I never would have enrolled! And now, they have to take us to Elk Island to actually study rocks!
"Well class, be sure you submit all permission slips within this week in order to be able to come to the trip." The teacher, Mrs. Wayow excitedly said, completely oblivious to the fact that almost none of her students were even remotely as excited as she was.
"What if we don't want to go to this trip?" A male student asked without even bothering to put his hand up.
"Then I'm afraid you will fail this course." Mrs. Wayow responded, becoming a bit more serious now. "This trip and the exercises that you will do, are part of your final marks. Consider this as your final exam. Instead of writing about rocks, you get to go out and study them."
That prompted some interest in some of the students, most of whom lifted their heads up, except Gerald. He virtually had no interest in learning about rocks, whether it was about studying them outright or reading about them. He simply groaned and slumped back into this chair, patiently waiting for the bell to ring.
At least no one else that I know is having to put up with this. He thought.
Later that day...
Gerald walked towards Phoebe's locker, who was waiting for him. Second period had now ended and it was lunchtime, much to Gerald's relief. The second his Geography class ended, he raced towards the door. Despite being at the very back of the class, he was the second person to leave the room. That's how much he hated it. Walking very fast, Gerald wasted no time in trying to get to his girlfriend, wanting to completely forget his second morning class and focus on things that are important to him.
Phoebe didn't have to wait long. Helga had just left to go and see Rodrigo at the lunchroom and with Gerald's speed walking, he arrived there in no time.
"Hey Pheebs." Gerald said as he arrived, placing a soft kiss on her lips.
"Hi Gerald." Phoebe responded softly, but happily. "How were your morning classes?"
"First class was ok. Second class...let's just say that I'm lucky to have a girlfriend. I have something to look forward to after it. Otherwise, I would have killed myself by now."
"Oh Gerald, you don't need to be so melodramatic." Phoebe said. "Your class on sedimentary rocks isn't that bad. I've read your textbook and frankly, I find it quite interesting."
"Well, I'm glad to hear you say that, Pheebs." Gerald said. "You can help me study for my final exam."
"I'd be delighted." Phoebe said smiling.
"Except, there isn't a final exam in this course because they are taking us on a field trip to Elk Island to actually study rocks!" Gerald sarcastically exclaimed.
"Oh really? That sound very interesting. Much better than on having to write a paper on sedimentary rocks." Phoebe said.
"I think you may have missed my sarcasm, Pheebs." Gerald said. "I don't care about rocks, or about this course. I just want it to end!"
"Don't worry Gerald. This year is almost finished and after this field trip, you will be done with this course and will not have to think anymore about it." Phoebe assured him.
"Thanks beautiful." Gerald said with a smile.
"But your field trip wouldn't be so bad." Phoebe then continued on. "Helga will be going on that same trip. She is taking the same course that you are taking."
"Really?" Gerald asked, surprised by this. "I didn't know she was interested in rocks."
"She isn't." Phoebe explained with a bit of a frown on her face. "Like you, she didn't read the course description properly and thought it was something else entirely."
"Oh." Gerald said embarrassingly.
Nevertheless, the thought of him having an opportunity to spend time with Helga, even if it is a trip about rocks, caught his attention and thought that perhaps...it will be worth the pain to perhaps bond with the two pigtail blonde girl.
Wait, bond?! Ever since Helga made her big confession to everyone back in March about her and Arnold, Gerald and Helga finally made their peace with each other and both thought that perhaps now they can finally be friends. Well, both soon realized that was easier said than done. They had been at each other's throats for so longer that both of them now felt awkward at now seeing each other in a less...adversarial light. During this whole transition, neither really knew what to say to each other, other than the typical 'hi' and 'bye' and it often felt very weird when one of them attempted to take the first step and open up.
One time in a morning before the bell rang, Gerald went by Phoebe's locker, but only found Helga instead. Phoebe had gone to her first class early, stating that she needed to speak with her teacher about an assignment and couldn't meet up with either of them. Wanting to use that opportunity to open up, Gerald walked with Helga for a bit in order to talk to her. Helga, although understanding what he was trying to do, felt incredibly weird by this move and said very little. It didn't help that Gerald was feeling very nervous when he walked with her. He felt as if he was trying to talk to a girl for the very first time and he couldn't understand why he felt nervous, other than perhaps fearing that he might accidently set her off, like what happened last time. She could see it clearly; he was stuttering when he attempted to say something and didn't even glanced at her when he talked. Luckily, Helga's class wasn't too far and scoodled into her room as fast as she could, although she did say 'bye' to him.
At another time, Helga also attempted to lighten things up between them by playing it cool. However, her uncanny to be straight word and assertiveness when talking made Gerald feel uncomfortable and at one point, thought she was verbally taking shots 'below the belt', as it were. It also didn't help that for some reason, she was trying to 'play it cool' a bit too hard. When she saw Gerald was starting to get upset, Helga had to immediately explain to him that she wasn't trying to attack, nor upset him and was only trying to be friendly. She even apologized to him, to the surprise of everyone. The last thing she wanted was to have any one of them revert back to their animosity. She succeeded in that, but just barely.
After these two incidents, neither of them attempted to take the initiative in attempting to lessen this growing awkwardness between them. The only time either of them were able to hold some form of conversation was when they were with their friends. As the weeks passed since that fateful March, it soon dawned on them that despite the years they had known each other, they knew very little about one another. It wasn't just them butting heads that was the sole culprit. It was also that, other than playing sports, they had very little in common with each other. Gerald had a more business-type of mentality and was great with people. Friendly, outgoing, charming, less judgmental than the average guy, smart. There wasn't anyone whom he met who didn't like him. Helga had a more literary, social scientific, type of mindset and unlike Gerald, had virtually little people skills. She had a sharp tongue, was witty, direct with others and often didn't smile, even when she was happy.
"Gerald? Gerald?!" His girlfriend called out to him, making him get out of his thoughts.
"Huh? Oh sorry Pheebs. You were saying?" He said.
"I asked you if are going to use that field trip to try and talk to her?" She asked again.
"Who, Helga? I don't know Pheebs. I try to talk to her, but every time I get close to her things are just...well..."
"Awkward?" Phoebe finished his sentence for him.
"Ya. I guess I can try one more time at the field trip, but I doubt it'll do any good."
On the day of the field trip...
Gerald was on the school bus that was taking him and his class to Elk Island. Despite his class going with other classes on the same trip, each class was designated its own bus. This suited Gerald just fine, as it gave him time to think.
Despite the various conversations that he had with Rodrigo, and despite finally coming to terms where he went wrong, Gerald still couldn't fathom how a relative newcomer like Rodrigo, who had not even been friends with them for a year, managed to be not only befriend, but even start going out with Helga?! He wasn't jealous of them dating, none at all. He was actually happy for them both. But if he had to be perfectly honest with himself, he was a little envious on how fast and 'easy' it was for Rodrigo to befriend Helga. After the cessation of their animosity in March, Gerald had been determined to become friends with her. He wasn't expecting to be close buddies, but he was expecting them be, at the very least, comfortable with each other. The fact that that had not even happened bothered Gerald to no end.
Man, I still can't understand why it is so hard to be friends with Helga! He thought frustratingly. It's not like she is pushing me away. I know that she has been trying too, but we can't even seem to get comfortable with each other.
Does she really not like me? I mean, come on! Who doesn't like me?! I'm easy going, I get along with everyone I meet. So why can't I get along with her? Am I trying too hard? Should I even bother in doing anything on this trip? I'm not here to have fun. I do have an assignment to do. He thought.
Eventually, the buses went into the parking lot where the port was and parked on one of the lanes. Once everyone got out and formed a line, the students, by class, then began to form a line and wait for the boat to take them to the island. During this time, Gerald tried to look for Helga, but she was nowhere in sight. It was difficult trying to find someone when there are about a hundred students around you. Eventually, he gave up on trying to find her and opted to talk to her when they got there.
The boat that was suppose to take them there soon arrived, allowing everyone to get on in one go. After a nice crossing, the boat arrived at the port that was on the island and everyone then got out.
It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, there were barely any clouds and it was nice and warm. Many students, more concerned with the weather and the upcoming summer that was only just a few weeks away than their actual final marks, were not really dressed for the occasion. Many were wearing flip flops or sandals, while some female students were wearing shorts. Gerald was one of the few that came prepared for the occasion, yet even he couldn't deny his own desiring nature of wanting to spend some time on the island, enjoying the weather. Things would have been perfect, had it not been for this assignment that these teens were there to finish.
Upon arriving on Elk Island, Gerald went with his class as Mrs. Wayow prepared to deliver out the assignment.
"Ok class." She began excitedly, with an almost a high squeaky voice. "Here are your assignments. As we discussed this whole week, you are to put all of your knowledge that you've accumulated this year on trying to find these types of sedimentary rocks that are located throughout the island. Once you find them, excavate them and put them in these plastic bags. Remember to write your name on it and your class number in order to identify who is whose."
"Mrs. Wayow?" A male student raised his hand.
"Yes, Charles?" She asked.
"Are we allowed to work in teams?" Charles asked.
"Yes, you may." She answered. "So long as the group agrees that each person helped out, marks will be given to each and every one of them."
"Even those from the other classes?" Charles asked.
"Yes, you can team up with those from other classes." She answered.
Seriously?! Gerald thought with shock. You're telling us this now?! I could have asked Helga if she wanted to team up with me so we can get this stupid assignment done. Now I have to spend time trying to find her!
Despite his annoyance on not knowing about this earlier, Gerald was intrigued by the thought of perhaps asking Helga to team up with him so they can finish this assignment as quickly as possible and perhaps even have time to enjoy being on the island.
After a short while, Mrs. Wayow began the assignment and each student began to disperse in order to find these sedimentary rocks.
Not much has changed in and around the island since they were kids. Sheena's Uncle, Earl, had retired as the boatman for ferrying passengers to the island. His son, also named Earl, took over the business. During the recent years, there had been serious interest about the island, either for its beauty, legends circulating about it, or because it gave a sense of adventure. As a result, tourists began to flock there, expanding Earl Jr.'s ferrying business, which now included a more modern port, with a bigger passenger boat to ferry tourists in their hundreds. Agatha Caulfield, the famous children writer and Arnold's favourite author, had recently passed way, but not before becoming a kind of a celebrity in Hillwood. After her death, her home was made into a small museum, dedicating it to her life and work. The replica of the British Fort Porcero, still stands and is still proudly used to hold the annual Pig War commemoration ceremony.
Gerald took a walk past Agatha's house, remembering the time when Arnold went to visit her to do an assignment about her. After reliving a bit of the nostalgia of his old best friend, he then began to walk again as he looked for Helga. None of the students were allowed to bring their phones. They had to leave them on the bus, so Gerald was now faced with the difficult task of trying to find one person throughout this entire island, and it just so happened to be that this same person probably did not want to be found.
After about one hour on trying to find Helga, Gerald was becoming frustrated and anxious. He had wasted an entire hour on trying to someone whom he had only, up until recently, had been trying for years to get away from. And now, when he wants to find her, she was nowhere to be found.
How ironic. Gerald thought to himself as he frowned. I can't waste anymore time in trying to find Helga. I have to start doing this stupid assignment. My grade depends on it!
Reluctantly, Gerald gave up on trying to find her just focused on his assignment. After reading the first sedimentary rock, he made his way towards the cave. He wasn't planning on going in there, but based on what the assignment said, it was where the first sedimentary rock that he was suppose to find, somewhere around it.
It didn't take Gerald long to reach the mouth of the cave that was still supposedly haunted by Wheezin' Ed. Fully remembering the time when he and everyone went into that cave in order to see if Wheezin' Ed actually existed, Gerald couldn't help but smile, now full immersed in nostalgia. He also remembered, quite sadly, when Arnold was here, all of the adventures they went through as a team. Even after that event, Gerald and Arnold sometimes visited the island, sometimes bringing Phoebe and Helga along, either in search of more adventures, or just enjoying a fun time on the island.
Gerald then shook his head hard and came back to reality. No longer wanting to waste anymore time, he then began to look down in order to find this first damned rocks that was on his list.
"Alrighty, what do we have here?" He said to himself as he walked around the mouth of the cave.
He walked and walked and walked, until...
"Wait a minute! Is that it?" He said as he pushed through two bushes to see that it was indeed the rocks that he was looking for.
"Alright! That didn't take too long." He said to himself happily. "If I keep up like this, I should be finished with this assignment in no time."
Taking his small pick axe, he bend down and began to excavate away at the rocks when suddenly,
"Gerald?" a voice suddenly called him.
"Ah!" A startled Gerald suddenly launched himself forward, almost hitting his head on the mountain wall and falling down on the floor. He immediately turned around to see who scared him and was surprised to see who it was.
"Helga?" He said.
"Doi doofus, who else would it be?" She said. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here doing this stupid assignment. I'm in the same course as you are, just different class."
"I know that." Helga snapped back. "I meant what are you doing here?" As she pointed to where Gerald was sitting down.
"Duh, collecting rocks that are on my list." He retorted back as he got up and dusted himself.
Helga said nothing and glanced at Gerald as he got up. Then, she turned around to walk away.
"Hey!" Gerald then called out to her. "Where you going?"
"Where does it look like I'm going? I'm going to do this stupid assignment so I can get out of here." She responded.
"Well um, did you want to team up?" He suddenly but nervously asked her.
Helga said nothing and with wide eyes, began to glance at Gerald with an awkward, if not a suspicious look, a gesture which Gerald noticed. He acted fast.
"So we can get this assignment done faster. You know, two heads think better than one kind of thing."
After a bit of silence from her part, Helga just shrugged her shoulders and said,
"Sure, whatever." and then began to walk, bypassing Gerald and going to where he was excavating the rock that he found.
"So um, did you find anything else on your list?" Gerald asked.
"Nope." She said nonchalantly as she picked up a few sedimentaries for herself and Gerald.
"So what were you doing since we arrived here?" Gerald asked curiously and with a raised eyebrow
"Why are you interrogating me? What's your problem?" She snapped back as she got up with both plastic bags filled with the first rock.
"I wasn't interrogating you. I was just, ugh never mind. Sorry I asked." Gerald said while frowning, just looked at his list for the second rock.
"Ok, the second sedimentary that we are suppose to get should be near the lake...I think it should be over there." He suggested.
"Ok." Was all Helga said.
Both teens than began to walk towards the water.
Man, I hope this works. Gerald thought.
Two hours later...
"This is what I get for teaming up with you!" Helga angrily shouted at Gerald as they came back to the mouth of the cave.
"We have been walking around for hours and still have not found that last stupid rock!" She continued.
"Why are you yelling at me? You're the one that wanted to take the lead and make us go around in circles." Gerald snapped back. "I wanted to go the other direction."
"That other direction leads us back to the boats!" Helga shouted. "For a guy you sure suck with knowing your way around."
"I do know where I am going!" Gerald angrily snapped back. "It's along the way towards the boats. We would have reached there if you haven't been so stubborn in going the wrong way!"
"Hey, I was the one that found most of these stupid rocks on this list!" Helga snapped back. "You should be thankful!"
"Sure, if you consider on having to hear you complain nonstop and not even listening to me, it seems like a steep price." Gerald retorted back.
"You know what? Screw you!" Helga angrily shouted back. "You're the one who wanted to 'team up', remember?!"
"And I'm regretting on even asking you!" Gerald shouted back. "I thought that if we teamed up, we could get this stupid assignment faster and that we can, we can just..."
"We can what?!" She shouted at him.
"Oh forget it! You wouldn't care and even if you did, it's just damn near impossible to be around you!" He angrily shouted.
"Excuse me? You want to go back to how things were, bucko?" She snarled at him, getting her fists ready to meet the side of Gerald's cheeks.
Gerald however was unfazed.
"Pfft, like things have ever changed between us since March."
"That's it! I'm not going to just stand here and put up with your crap any longer! You can go to Hell!" She angrily yelled and walked away from him.
Furious, Helga walked right inside the cave, leaving Gerald on his own, himself now utterly frustrated at how badly things have turned out today.
Throughout the entire time they were partners, Helga had been a constant thorn on Gerald's side. Although no longer taking any verbal jabs at him, not usually at least, Helga's comments or remarks, whether at him or in general were often...less optimistic. Gerald tried to ignore it and attempted to just have a conversation with her. Although it sometimes worked, Gerald was unable to get fully comfortable around Helga. He was under constant surveillance and tension, always carefully crafting his words in order to not set Helga off. Even on this field trip, Helga never seemed to be in a relaxing mood, which only worsened his anxiety. She seemed tense, but that's what usually happens when something bothered her. Eventually, like always, it started becoming tiresome. Essentially, Gerald just could not stand her attitude. It wasn't just cynical. It was just so realistic that Helga seemed to make no room for any glimpse of optimism. This was especially apparent whenever Gerald took the lead to find the rocks that were on the list. Helga not only criticized, but also gave Gerald almost no sense of encouragement on trying to find them. If anything, she did the exact opposite. It's as if she didn't trust him at all. Eventually, all of this became emotionally draining for Gerald. The worst part about all of this was that Helga's entire behaviour during that day wasn't anything over the top. She was just being her normal self, relatively speaking.
It was no wonder then that after enduring this torture for over two hours, it finally set him off, a fact that he was now regretting. After growling and slapping his face with this hand, Gerald then followed suit and entered the cave. After walking a bit deep into the cave, he saw Helga.
"Helga look, I'm sorry Ok? I didn't mean what I said." He said as she approached her.
"Gerald wait, stop walking!" Helga instantly warned him.
"Oh come on, I'm just trying to apologize ok? Can you at least hear me out?" He quickly responded and continued to get closer to her.
"No seriously Gerald! Stop walking before the groun...!" Helga attempted to warn him but it was too late.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Both teens yelled in shock and horror as the ground quickly gave way from beneath their feet and both fell down through a hole.
"Oh! OW! Ooff!" Both teens grunted as they continued to fall and roll over. Both attempted to grab on to something, anything to stop their tumbling, but it was no good.
Finally, after falling some feet into the ground, both teens then emerged from the tunnel and out they fall into what looked like a hug hole that was deep inside the cave.
"Whoa!" Helga fell onto the ground first, followed by Gerald who landed right on top of her.
"Ooff!" Helga exclaimed as she felt the full weight of Gerald's body land right on top of him.
"Get off of me!" She groaned as she took a gap right into Gerald's side, forcing him to slide down and roll over on his back.
"Oh great." She groaned.
"You ok?" Gerald asked as he got up first and then extended his hand to help Helga.
"Ya, I'm fine." She grunted as she took his hand to help herself up.
No thanks to you. She thought.
Once the dusted settled, both looked around to see where they were
"You gotta be kidding me!" Gerald exclaimed.
After scanning around, an eerie feeling started permeating inside them, causing them to tense up and breath a bit heavily. All around them, they saw nothing but boulders, rocks and mud. Where ever they landed, this mini cave looked almost like a dome, but it was not completely enclosed. There was only a hole on top of the roof, allowing light to shine through, but given the shape of the cave, there was no way they can ever reach it.
"Help! Is anybody there?!" Gerald yelled at the top of his lungs.
"We're down here and trapped!" Helga also yelled.
"HELP!" Both teens yelled hard, but none came, although that didn't stop them from trying again.
After twenty minutes of constant yelling, both teens then went silence, their throats becoming sore and their mouths dry. Despite their yelling, none heard them.
"Damn it! I guess we're on our own." Helga said.
"Is there no way out?!" Gerald exclaimed with fright in his voice.
"No..." Helga said softly. "Except from where we fell."
Without saying anything else, Helga quickly attempted to get into the tunnel and tried to climb up. The hole was big enough for her crawl back in, but it soon quickly elevated to such an at extent that Helga started having trouble climbing up. There virtually nothing to grab on and because its walls were muddy, she kept on slipping.
"Don't just stand there Gerald. Push me up!" Helga shouted as she continued to struggle.
"Oh ok." Gerald said and crawled into the hole. He looked to see how he can grab her. He tried to grab her feet and pushed her up. It worked,
"Damn it! The hole is too deep. I can't reach the top." She said. "Can you push me up some more?"
"I'm trying but the walls are muddy and slippery. I can't push you up anymore." He responded as he struggled to hold her. "Plus you're a bit heavy."
"Hey! Just keep pushing me." She exclaimed, frowning at the fact that he just called her fat.
Gerald tried to put his foot deep into the muddy wall and used that as leverage to push him and her up while leaning against the wall. It worked.
"Keep doing that Gerald!" She said to him. "We're not far. You can do it!"
Finally, some encouragement. He thought as he took another deep step into the muddy wall and lifted him and her up again.
After taking his third step into the wall, that part was very muddy and Gerald was unable to get a firm grip. Again he tried to stick his foot on another part of the wall, but to no avail.
"What's taking so long?" Helga impatiently asked him.
"I can't get my foot into the wall." He called out. "It's too muddy."
"Well, keep trying!" She snapped back to him.
Gerald again tried to get a firm grip. This time, it seemed to have worked. After testing it out, he then put his weight on it and attempted to push Helga up again. However, just as he was doing that, the bottom that was holding Gerald up gave way and he slipped.
"Whoa!" They both yelled as they both lost their balance and slid back and into the big hole.
This time, Gerald landed first, followed by Helga who landed on top of him.
"Oof!" Both exclaimed.
Both stayed on the ground for less than a minute and groaned, feeling exhausted, wet and cold.
Helga then rolled over and for a while both stayed on the ground, facing up, breathing heavily. They were tired, covered in mud from their escape attempt, frustrated, but also, getting a bit scared at their predicament.
Helga then suddenly got up and attempted to try again. Wasting no time, she used her fingers to pierce deep into the muddy walls and attempted climb up. For a while, it seemed to work and Helga was kept going up and up until...
"Whoa! Damn it not again!" She yelled as she slipped and slipped right back down.
Angry and with a snarl on her face, Helga again tried to get out through the tunnel, but again, slid right back down.
Gerald watched with a both sense of amazement, but growing sadness at Helga's determined, but futile attempts to get out through the tunnel. If there was one thing that Gerald had always admired about her, it was her tenacity, or stubbornness if you want call it, to not give up and use all of her strength to get out of any bad situation that she found herself. Only this time, not even Helga's own determined stand to get out was enough and she continued to slid back down.
"GGRRRRRRR! DAMN IT!" She yelled angrily and took a punch at the wall. Again, she tried to get out but again, she slipped and slide back down.
No longer wanting to see her suffer like this, Gerald then approached her from behind and just before she was about to try again,
"Helga, it's ok. Let's just calm down a bit and we'll figure this out." He said to her. Poor choice of words.
"Ok?!" She angrily yelled at him. "How is any of this OK?! We fell down into a big-ass hole, we can't get out and no one knows that we are missing!"
"This is all your fault!" She continued to yell at him.
"Wha...are you joking me?! How is any of this my fault?!" Gerald yelled back with a shocking, but growing angry look on his face.
"If you hadn't followed me into the cave...!" She began to yell at him.
"I wouldn't have followed you if you hadn't gone into that cave in the first place!" Gerald angrily shouted back at her, not waiting to let her finish.
"I wouldn't have gone into that cave if you hadn't pissed me off in the first place!" She yelled back at him.
"Which is exactly what you were going to me for two damn hours!" He yelled back.
Both of them then went silent and simply glared at each other, their eyes each trying to pierce the other, ready to see who would take the first shot and quickly counter. Yet, none moved and just continued to glare at each other. Finally, seeing as how none of them were willing to start a brawl, both then took a step back and walked away from each other, going on opposite ends of the small cave, leaned against its walls and sat down, all a while still frowning at each other.
One hour later...
Neither of them moved from their spot. They had eventually stopped their glaring at each other and just either looked around, started at the ground floor, watching or listening to the drips of water come into the cave; that being the only thing breaking the absolute silence that would have otherwise dominated. Occasionally, they would even go back to glare at each other again. But none said a word to each other during that whole time, despite that the silence was now becoming increasingly awkward.
Gerald for his part, had completely given up on trying to even talk to Helga. Furious that his attempts yielded worse results, he just sat there, determined not to speak to her for the rest of the day.
I have had it with this girl! He thought bitterly. Who does she think she is? Here I was, thinking I can bond with her, to actual try and be her friend, heck I even tried to apologize for blowing off on her like that, and she accused me of putting us in this predicament!
I seriously don't know what her problem is?! Problem? I don't know what my problem is with her? Why can't I just relax and act normal around her, like how Arnold and Rodrigo do? I'm one of the coolest guys in our school, I get along with everybody. Heck, I even get along well with the teachers. So why can't I get along with this one?! Worse, why am I even trying?!
Gerald just sat there silently, playing with a few rocks on his hands, frowning when suddenly,
"When do you think they will start searching for us?" Helga asked, breaking the silence between the two.
Gerald looked up with a surprised look on his face and for a moment, was not sure if he even wanted to respond to her.
"It'll probably be at the end of the day, when they do the head counts and realize that we are not there." He decided to respond.
"Great." She groaned and just slumped down.
While Helga was looking elsewhere, Gerald glanced her with a raised eyebrow. He knew her well enough to know that she never would have asked such an obvious question. She knew the answer herself. Heck, if he had asked her that, she would have scoffed at him.
Is this her way of trying to talk to me? He thought. In the end, Gerald didn't buy it and just continue to sit there in silence, looking away.
After a while,
"I know it wasn't not your fault for getting us down here." She said to him again.
Again, Gerald looked her with a surprising face.
Is this her way of trying to apologize? He thought. He wasn't sure.
"Thanks..." Was all he said rather confusingly, although still having no desire to talk to her.
Helga noticed this. After physical adjusting herself a bit,
"Look, I know you were trying to uh...be friends with me today...and I just want to say that I appreciate it."
"You...do?" Gerald asked, again surprised. That caught his attention.
Helga nodded.
"I know we've never been close and we are only acquainted because of our best friends. But I meant what I said back in March; about us being friends. We are friends, Gerald. You don't need to go through this much trouble in order to prove that." She said.
Gerald initially just rubbed the back of his neck, as he carefully crafted his words once again in order to explain to Helga what he has been feeling about their 'friendship'.
"That's the thing Helga; if we really are friends, or anywhere close to that, then it should be no brainer for us to be able to just talk to each other or even hang out. I don't expect us to have long conversation, but at least say things to each other, other than simply 'his' and 'byes'. But I've always felt there is this gap between us that we were never able to bridge. After your confession in March, I thought for sure that things would now be different and that gap would disappear. But it hasn't. It's still there." He explained.
Helga knew exactly what he was talking about. She too had been feeling that same gap between them and like Gerald, thought that by confessing about her relationship with Arnold, they can finally alleviate themselves from it and just let go all of that animosity and tension between them. Like Gerald, Helga couldn't fathom how she was not able to become friends with him. Everyone liked him and wanted to be around him. He was such a relaxed, cool-headed, smart kind of person.
So what can't I be friends with him? She thought.
She knew why. Like Gerald, she was never able to relinquish that awkwardness she'd always felt around him. She had always seen Gerald as a very judgmental person, who seemed to have never pass up on an opportunity to always reminder of her of the type of person that she will always be; as a rude, hot-tempered, unloving and sadistic person. Now, she was expected to not only let that all go, but even see him as, well, the exact opposite of that. It was a tough and overwhelming change, one which she still had a tough time wrapping her head around. It wasn't that she was unwilling to let all of that animosity go; she did, much to her relief. It was just that she had a tough time seeing Gerald as that exact opposite person than from how she used to see him prior, a fact which caused her to be extremely awkward around him. And being the one who can only tolerate so much, which was usually not very much, she ended up doing what she always does when someone bothers her; remaining cold and distant, if not hostile. Much to her disappointment, the only thing her confession accomplished was to let go of their animosity toward each other, but not allowed it to fill that 'gap'.
"Maybe we're just not cut out to be friends." She finally said to him.
"What?" He asked.
"Think about it, tall-hair boy. We have very little in common. Our personalities are different. What's there to really establish any lasting friendly connection between us?
Gerald pondered about that for a minute, although he knew almost immediately that Helga was right. But he was wondering where she was going with this.
"And maybe...that's ok." She continued. "There are some people whom we feel a connection and are able get close to, while there are others whom we have a...less connection to. Maybe we can't be good friends, but perhaps we can be...good acquaintances."
"Acquaintances?" Gerald asked confusingly.
Helga, with a bit of a smile, nodded
"Ya I mean, what's wrong with being acquaintances? We don't have to be friends and I think that's the problem. We believe that just because were in the same group of friends, we feel that we need to be friends, lest things become awkward, which they are. Who says that we need to be friends with everyone? I think if we just abandon this idea of being friends and just focus on just being good acquaintances, then maybe this awkwardness will disappear. That doesn't mean that we won't talk to each other or not hang out. We still can. Being acquaintances doesn't mean that we ignore each other. And who knows? Perhaps if that works, then somewhere down in the future, we can actually become friends."
"I...guess so." He agreed, albeit with some hesitation.
Then, silence once again gripped the area around them. It seemed that neither teenager knew what else to say to each other after Helga's bold analysis of their 'relationship'. Well, at least she didn't know what else to say. Gerald on the other hand, had something on his mind that he had been wanting to say to her for quite some time. He just never knew how to properly say it, nor was the time there for him to say anything to her. But now it seemed that this predicament gave him the space and time to fully say to her what he was on his mind.
"I just wish you told us earlier." He finally said.
"Told you what earlier?" She asked.
"About you and Arnold." He responded. "I wish I had known about it earlier. Perhaps things would have been different."
"How?" She asked.
"I would have cut you some slack." He responded. "When Arnold left, I knew you must have been hurting. But I could never understand why you isolated yourself like that. I knew it must have been painful for you to see him go, but given how we thought that you and Arnold were still in a relationship, I thought it couldn't have been that bad. What's more, because of our past rivalry, it never dawned on me that perhaps we, or I should have done more."
"But you did." Helga responded. "You called me a few times to either see how I was doing or to invite me to play sports with you or some other hanging out. It's not your fault that I didn't answer."
"I know." He said to her. "I don't know, it's just that when you told us in March that you and Arnold had broken up when he left, it was a complete shocker! I never even suspected it. You guys kept that secret well hidden from us. Even Phoebe didn't know! But when you did tell us, everything finally made sense. I completely understood why you isolated yourself like that. And...I also started feeling guilty."
"Come again?" Helga asked with a raised eyebrow. "What exactly do you have to feel guilty about?"
*sigh* "Look Helga, it's no secret that you were never my favorite person. During that time when you were depressed, I felt bad for you, enough for me to actually pick up the phone and call you a few times. I didn't do it for Arnold, or Phoebe. Actually, none of them ever asked me to call you or see how you were doing."
"Really?" She asked, feeing completely surprised.
Gerald just nodded.
"Um...thanks Gerald. I don't know what to say." Helga said with a surprised look on her face. This whole time she had thought that Gerald only contacted her because he was somehow pressured by either Arnold or Phoebe to do so. It had never occurred to her that Gerald would actually care about her, despite their rivalry.
"Don't thank me just yet. There's more." He said. "That empathy was just barely there. The rest of the times, it was bitterness. I had no desire to do anything else other than just to call you and even then, I hoped that you wouldn't pick up."
Gerald couldn't help but reveal a bit of sadness on his face as he told this story to Helga. He even looked away, feeling ashamed, a gesture that Helga noticed.
"But...when you told us about you and Arnold back in March, all of that bitterness suddenly went away." He continued. "I can't really explain it, but it felt like a huge burden was just suddenly lifted from my shoulders. On that day, I didn't see that angry, annoying, sharp-tongued girl I used to see. I just saw you; as a person who was hurt, that's it."
"When that happened, I thought back during first few years when Arnold left, and I started feeling guilty. Not just about feeling resentful, but also that, all I did was just to call you. I didn't do anything else. I chose not to do anything else. Anyway, long story short, I just wish you told us earlier so that I or any one of us could have done something more. I know you didn't ask for my help and truthfully, even I did try to help you more, I doubt you would have accepted it. But at least I could have tried. Who knows, I mean, perhaps if I did try to reach out to you more during that time, I may have done so at the 'right time'. And what if you did accept my help at that time? Who knows? Perhaps things would have been different between us..."
Helga then began to give Gerald a bit of a frown, to which Gerald quickly added,
"I'm not saying that you are at fault here, hehehe." He said with a nervous smile and chuckle. "I know you have your reasons. I'm just saying that I wish I knew about it earlier, that's all."
Despite being a bit aggravated that Gerald was indirectly placing the blame on her, Helga let go of her frown. In the end, Gerald did have a point; Helga chose not to tell anyone, not even her best friend. It was her choice to completely isolate herself like that. She couldn't blame Gerald for indirectly stating that.
*sigh* "It's ok. I know that I'm at fault. I gotta be honest; the times when you called me, I was surprised, but I didn't think it was you calling on your own free will. I thought that perhaps Phoebe or Arnold pushed you into it. Thanks. It was...nice of you to do that." She said with a bit of a smile.
"But there wasn't anything else you could have done." She continued. "After everything that I've put you through, I didn't deserve your help. You had every reason to stay away from me and no one can really blame you, not even Phoebe."
"I...guess." He said. "Hmm, is that perhaps why Phoebe never really pushed me to stop butting heads with you?" He asked.
"Yes." Helga bluntly answered. "There were times when Phoebe came to me, frustrated over how you couldn't see past my toughness. She kept on and on about how she and Arnold were able to, but not you and she couldn't really understand it."
"What did you say to her?" He asked.
"I asked her to put herself in your shoes, to see how you see and then to judge. It took her some time, but after thinking about it for a while, she understood your point of view. I don't know why she initially couldn't see it your way. It was pretty obvious. But that's why she never pushed you." She explained. "You're welcome." She said with a smirk.
"Well um...thanks." He said while scratching his head.
Then, both teens went silent for a bit, until,
"Hey, you know what, I think you're right." Gerald said.
"About?" She asked.
"About being just good acquaintances. We've been talking for a while now and this has been the most extensive and normal conversation we have had in, well...ever. That's an improvement." He said with a chuckle.
Helga just rolled her eyes and said,
"Of course I'm right. That's shouldn't be surprising to you anymore, tall-hair boy." She said confidently. "But...I'm glad that this seems to be working." She continued with a genuine smile.
Feeling a bit confident now,
"So what were you doing for a whole hour before you found me?" Gerald asked.
"Still interrogating me over that?" She retorted.
"Kind of, ya." He responded with a smirk, ignoring her retortion.
Helga frowned a bit at Gerald's sudden confidence, but not wanting to ruin this rather unique moment between them, she relented.
"I was thinking about the times when all four of us used to come here during the summer and the type of adventures we got ourselves in or whenever we came here just to get away from it all. They were...really good times; Me, Phoebe, Arnold...and you." She said with a smile.
"Really?" Gerald asked surprisingly, to which Helga nodded.
"I don't know about you, but those were one of the rare times when I actually enjoyed your company." She said. "There was no drama, no tension between us, everyone was having fun. I went to some of the areas where we used to relax and had fun."
Gerald chuckled a bit over what Helga said.
"Actually, I was thinking the same thing." He said. "When I came to this cave, I remembered the time when we came here to look for Wheezin' Ed. Good times."
"Oh ya? Did Arnold say something about that night?" Helga asked suspiciously.
"Yup. He told me what you told him; that you were trying to confess your feelings for him." He responded with a smirk.
"Typical." Helga groaned as she pouted.
"But I also remembered the times when all four of us came here to have fun." Gerald continued. "I would have spent the entire time remembering, but we have that assignment to finish and I would prefer if I didn't take this stupid course twice."
"Amen to that." Helga said. "Although, given our little predicament here, it seems that we might have to take it a second time." She groaned.
"Ya." Gerald said. Suddenly, Gerald had a thought, and was on the verge of telling Helga about it when at the last second, he realized that his idea was a mistake and silenced himself. Helga however, took notice of Gerald's sudden physical movement and realized that he was about to say something.
"What?" She asked.
"Nothing. I didn't say anything." He said.
"You were about to say something." She said. "So spill it out."
"It's nothing."
"Gerald." She said firmly.
"What? I said it's nothing." He said.
"Gerald!" She yelled, losing her patience.
"Alright, alright. I was going to say, but then realized that it's probably too soon, that perhaps all four of us can take a trip to Elk Island." He said.
"Who's the fourth person?" Helga asked suspiciously.
"Well, Rodrigo." He responded a bit shyly.
Helga then instantly regretted in forcing Gerald to tell her what was on his mind and almost immediately felt a surge of anger growing inside her. However, she managed to repress it, knowing that it was not his fault that he told her and she was not going to take it out on him. Not this time.
"That sounds nice, Gerald," She said while grinding her teeth, "but like you said, it's too soon."
"Yeah." Was all he said, feeling a bit guilty for even thinking about it.
"But let's not throw that idea away." Helga then suddenly said. "It really is a good idea and we should take Rodrigo here. He's never been on this island. It's just...not now."
Gerald looked at her with a bit of a surprise on his face. He was expecting her scoff at him for the idea, but instead simply declined to do it for now. No yelling, no calling names.
"Sure, no problem Helga." He said with a smile.
"Hello?!" A male voice was suddenly heard. It came from the hole that was on top.
Gerald and Helga instantly got up and began to yell.
"Hey! We're down here!" Gerald yelled.
"Down here! Get us out of here!" Helga also yelled.
"Keep yelling!" The male voice cried back. "We'll find you!"
Both teens did as they were told and continued on yelling. It took the rescue team some time to find the hole, but they eventually succeeded.
"Is everyone alright?" The adult male called as he peek into the hole.
"Ya, we're fine. Just get us out of here!" Gerald yelled.
"Hold on, we're coming to get you." The man said and then disappeared.
The two teens waited impatiently for the guy to return. They didn't have to wait long. After a while, noises was heard and then the man reappeared, this time slowly going down into the hole. He was being hoisted by a rope that was around him, as the rest of the rescuers slowly led him down into the muddy dome.
Once down there, the man ensured that neither teen was hurt. Once convinced, he tied Helga first with his climbing gear. Once fastened, he signaled for his team to pull up, which they began to do so. After getting to the top, he unbuckled Helga and then went to get Gerald.
Despite being unhurt, both teens were given medical care and quickly taken to a First Aid centre that was on the mainland. Despite the cave being somewhat damp, they were cold, but not frozen. They mostly complained about being dehydrated and hungry, but other than that were unscathed.
"You kids were lucky." One of the paramedics said to them. "That cave has become dangerous to go into. It has been known for the ground to give way to a labyrinth of tunnels and rooms, as well as rock slides."
"If it was so dangerous, why weren't there any signs alerting people of it?!" Helga retorted with a growl.
"There were." The man replied. "But either the signs would get taken down by delinquent kids, or the strong winds would sometimes rip them from their stand. After what you both went through, we'll be completely fencing that entrance to that cave to make sure this doesn't happen again."
Both teens said nothing and just tightened their blankets that were covering them. Both of them thought, despite the severity of their situation, they were kind of glad that they went through it. Both teens used that time to really sit down and clear things that were still creating tension between them and much to their relief, it worked. While sitting there in silence, both teens looked at each other and for the first time, smiled, acknowledging to one another that they were both thinking the same thing and how this experience brought them just a little more closer together.
Later that day...
...and that's the whole ugly story, football head. It was a day full of nostalgia and self-reflection, all awhile almost getting killed inside a cave that brought many memories of our time together.
However, yes my naive little football headed friend, there is a but. Despite almost our precarious situation, Gerald and I were kind of glad that we went through it. That experience succeeded in bringing us just a bit closer together than all of your and Phoebe's attempts combined. How sad is that! I don't think we are friends. Well, at least not yet. But we were at least able to agree on something and for the first time, just enjoy each other's company. It was nice, really. For the first time in a long time, I actually enjoyed Gerald's company.
Well, that is seeming the cure; if you want me to get closer to someone, just have us go through a near-death experience and lock us in a room together with no way out. Either we would have killed each other, or come out disliking each other less. We probably should have done this a long time ago. It would have saved everyone countless headaches!
Gerald came up with the idea of taking Rodrigo to Elk Island with the rest of us. It wasn't a bad idea, but I told him that it was too soon. I'm...not ready to let go of those memories of us being together there. It was our little paradise, so I know you'll understand. But I also know that you'll understand why I'll eventually have to let those memories go. Just...not yet.
I'm sorry I haven't written to you in a while. It's not that I have been too busy. It's just that I wasn't comfortable in telling you about how things are going with Rodrigo. Talk about awkward, right? But if you must know, things are going well between us. He really makes me happy. I'll leave it at that.
On another positive note, Gerald and I passed our stupid assignment. Even though we never really finished it, our teachers thought that because of our little 'adventure', they felt that we deserved a good mark, though I'm pretty sure they were trying to bride us from attempting to sue the school for endangering the students. Hmm, it might not be such a bad idea. I'm considering on telling Bob about it. we could get a big payload, hehehehehe.
Hope things are going well there in the jungle, with the heat and the poisonous animals that can instantly kill you! Seriously Arnold, do you have a death wish or something? Please be careful.
You're cave dweller,
Helga G. Pataki
Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I wrote this chapter based on Helga's and Gerald's relationship in the show which truthfully, in my view, is non-existent. In the TV series, Gerald makes very little attempt to hang out, much less talk to Helga and with good reason. Given her unorthodox personality and characteristics, as well as her aggressive and bullying nature, it's no wonder that Gerald wants to have little to do with Helga. The only times I've seen them interacting was when they are either hanging out with their friends, or if they each are in need of something, such as in the JM! when both of them wanted to help Arnold in winning that contest. But there is almost no interaction with just between them. Helga also makes little attempt to hang out with Gerald, mostly because I think she knows he judges her like every other kid does and so wouldn't want to hang out with someone like him.
Even in some of the stories that I have read, there is almost no interaction, or any formulation of any relationship between Helga and Gerald. I think it may have also something to do that their personalities just differ up to the extent that I think they have very little in common with each other. Other than their passion for sports, there is nothing else for them to talk about, at least based on the TV series and two movies.
Well, let me know what you guys think about this.
