This fanfic is completely experimental. I started for the same reason many people do, reading others' work and wondering if I could do that, and wouldn't it be fun to try? Here's a confession: I didn't pick Lila because I am a big fan of her, but because I am a lazy researcher. I knew it would be really hard to live up to all the Arnold & Helga fanfics that had come before, and that I wouldn't be able to read enough to know whether I was covering old territory. So I started examining the peripheral characters, the ones whose names I don't even know, more out of laziness than anything. So you know my secret now. :)
At my first consideration of Lila, I knew she was the character for me. If I couldn't prove my belief that she could also be a sympathetic character, given the insight to her inner world that we have with Helga, then I'd go down trying.
I think it's turned out pretty well so far. If I had known I'd be three chapters in with no end in sight, I'd probably have ditched the whole project from the beginning, but well, here I am. It'll be a while before I post the next chapter. I think there's a nice tidy feeling at the end of chapter 3, and I'm almost tempted to make that the Official Ending. But there are more scenes in my head, and they'll have to come out eventually.
And yes, in these eventual chapters, Arnold will make an appearance. Not a big one, though. This is Lila's story, after all.
This is getting longer than the first chapter, so I'll shut up now.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to everyone who's written a review! I really appreciate the kind thoughts, and that everyone's been so open-minded. Well, mostly open-minded. :)
A very special thanks to Aldin Baroza for encouraging me in the beginning to believe that there was indeed a place in the world for a Lila fanfic.
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Lila sat under a tree, far from home. No one was nearby, and she was alone with her thoughts but for the occasional jogger. The tree above her was a majestic oak. The leaves of late spring were only beginning to unfold, however, and the shade was minimal.
When the sun came out from behind a cloud, Lila turned her face upward, eyes closed. As the warmth washed over her, she found herself back in the cornfields of home, navigating the rows with all the ease of a child who had wandered the fields since she was old enough to walk, accompanied or not.
In her daydream memory, it was late summer, almost time for harvest. The crop had done well this year, and the stalks rose high on either side. She tickled the slick yet textured leaves, and they tickled back. She giggled.
When she paused to adjust the strap of her overalls, always threatening to fall off her shoulder, Lila turned around to make sure home was still there. Sometimes she thought she had wandered so far that she would turn to see only corn for miles around, but the house was always there, the homestead that had sheltered generations of her family, rising in a stately yet comforting manner above its fields. Home.
Lila opened her eyes, half-hoping to see the cornfields before her once more, but not really dissapointed to find instead the city she now called home. It was an interesting place, full of enchanting people. Although she would give anything to go back to the farm, she had long ago come to terms with the fact that it just wasn't possible. Just as she had come to understand the more painful reality that she would never see her mother again.
She sighed and fought back tears. It was time to go home. It wasn't safe to wander from her neighborhood so late in the afternoon, but she still did it often, usually without thought. It was as if her body simply could not restrain itself from taking the long, thoughtful walks it had become accustomed to in the country.
Lila walked for a long time, retracing her steps through the hilly part of the city with an unhurried pace, allowing herself to enjoy the warmth of the sun and the gentle spring breeze. Time passed in a most gentle manner, as it often will when one walks in solitude.
In the midst of her reverie, she was suprised to hear the distinctive sound of a baseball meeting a bat, followed by a chorus of cheers and encouragements. She looked around, and was startled to find how close she was to Gerald Field. She decided to take a different, longer way home. Though it might be nice to see Arnold, who always had a kind word, Helga would be there, and Lila would be seeing plenty of her soon enough. They'd been paired for the upcoming science project.
Lila sighed. She knew Helga didn't really mean the things she said, but the hurtful words were still just that. Hurtful.
Her mind now drifting to the project and how the responsibilities could best be divided, she navigated the streets of her neighborhood easily, soon arriving at her house. She walked up the stairs and reached for the doorknob. With no time for Lila to even jump back in surprise, the door flew open and a pink blur flew out, crashing into Lila and sending both on a tumbling roll to the sidewalk.
Helga was standing over her in a most intimidating manner before Lila even had a chance to figure out what had happened. "Hel-?"
"Nice of you to finally show up, Lila," said Helga with a snarl. "We've got work to do, sister, and I expect you to do your fair share, especially now that you've kept me waiting for over an hour."
She stared at Lila, who could only stare back in utter confusion.
"Well, get up already," ordered Helga. "What's wrong with you, anyway?"
"Nothing, Helga," said Lila, rising unsteadily to her feet and brushing at her skirt. "I'm just ever so... confused, is all. I'm oh so-"
"Yeah, yeah," said Helga impatiently, rolling her eyes. "Cut it with the 'oh-so,' 'ever-so' crap, okay? Just get to the point."
Lila sighed. Helga picked on everything, even the way she talked. "I'm sorry, Helga, I simply thought our meeting was scheduled for tomorrow."
"You wanted to meet today. It's right here in my calendar. You even wrote it yourself to make sure I wouldn't forget." She harrumphed. "That's ironic."
Lila saw that it was indeed in her own handwriting. How could she have forgotten? She didn't do things like that. "I'm ever so sorry, Helga. I really didn't-"
"Yeah, whatever," Helga interrupted, turning to leave. "It's late anyway. We'll talk tomorrow." Lila started to say goodbye, but Helga continued, calling over her shoulder from down the block, "Oh, yeah, tell your dad I said thanks again for letting me hang around so long."
Lila was halfway up the steps, in the midst of distress over the encounter with Helga, when the girl's words sank in. Had Helga just said a word of gratitude? How very odd.
As she walked into the house, she looked around with a keen eye, trying to decide if the rooms needed tidying tonight or could wait another day. She was leaning toward waiting when a hundred sheets of paper fell from above. Moments later, her father came flying down the stairs, grumbling about the phone cord that was dangerously stretched across the upstairs hallway.
"Hi, Daddy!" Lila interrupted.
He instantly calmed, as he always did in her presence. Lila felt it was her greatest talent. "Hi, sweetie," he said, kissing her on the forehead. "Did you have a nice walk?"
"Oh, yes. The weather is ever so nice," she said, helping him to gather the papers. "I'm very sorry I wasn't here to meet Helga, though."
Her father was distracted, looking at the page numbers as the papers reassembled. "Helga, yeah, nice girl."
Lila started to giggle, then realized he was serious. Helga? Nice? Stack of papers in hand and shaking his head in dismay, her father headed toward the kitchen, where he would surely do his best to put the manuscript back in order.
Lila's puzzled gaze followed the receding figure.
"She said.. thanks."
How very odd.