"Yes, Lila," said Helga. "I know. I was just here yesterday, remember?"
"I'm ever so certain I do, Helga," Lila responded as she opened the door, then called, "Daddy, I'm home!" She paused. "Are you here?" There was no answer. "Oh, well, I guess he's not home yet. Would you like to work in the living room? I'm certain the coffee table will be ever so much better than my floor."
"Yeah, sure, whatever," said Helga with a wave of her hand.
"Well, there it is. Please make youself right at home. I have to go to my room for just the fastest second. I left a book there that I'm certain will be ever so helpful to us."
"Just go already, won't ya? Sheesh!" Helga had already made her way to the couch, throwing her bag on the floor.
Without another word, Lila went quickly up the stairs to her room, releasing a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Lila knew she tried too hard with Helga, but what else could she do? For better or worse, they were partners. She had to try.
After enjoying a few moments of solitude, Lila found the book she had come for and went back downstairs, where she was surprised to hear laughter. In the living room, she found her father and Helga, both apparantly enjoying themselves quite a lot. "Oh, man," Helga was saying, wiping a tear from her eye, "that's priceless."
"Daddy, you're home," said Lila, walking slowly into the room.
"Hey, sweetheart!" he said with a final chuckle. Taking her into a bear hug, he asked, "How was school?"
"Ever so wonderful, Daddy. Mr. Simmons told me my skill with fractions is impressive."
"That's great, sweetie. I'm so proud of you." He kissed the top of her head and let her out of the hug. "I know you two have work, so I'll go make myself busy elsewhere. Dinner at six, Lila."
"Okay, Daddy. I'm certain it will be oh too yummy."
"I'll see what I can do. It was nice seeing you again, Helga. Catch you later?"
"Sure thing, Rick."
Lila stood awkwardly at the edge of the room after her father's departure. She wasn't sure how she felt about Helga calling her father by his first name. She wasn't sure how she felt about any of this, really.
"So, Lila, what's this book that we'll find just ever so helpful?"
Lila sat next to Helga and began slowly, "It has... experiments." She looked at Helga, unable to get the big question out of her mind.
"What?" asked Helga, returning Lila's stare suspiciously.
"Well, I certainly hope you don't mind my asking, Helga, but I'm just ever so curious. What were you and my father talking about, before I came down?"
"Oh, you know, just stuff. How dumb people can be, that sort of thing."
"Dumb? I'm certain I don't quite understand, Helga."
"Oh, come on, Lila, sure you do. All the stupid, moronic things people do. It's just funny, is all."
"And my father was joking about this? About... stupid things?"
"Yeah. Doesn't he tell you about the idiots he has to work with all day?"
Lila picked a piece of imaginary lint off her skirt. This conversation didn't make any sense to her. None at all. She said quietly, "I'm ever so certain we don't use that word here, Helga."
"Oh. Yeah. I guess it's not 'ever so kind,' huh? So just what do you talk about?"
"Just... things that happen, I suppose. Sweet things." She felt suddenly self-conscious, and added softly, uncertainly, "Just ever so sweet."
Helga was silent a moment, then said, "Yeah, well, that must be a barrel of laughs."
Lila felt an unfamiliar pang, and it took a few seconds to realize what it was: jealousy. Was it possible that her father had more fun with Helga than his own daughter? How could it be?
The following silence was incredibly awkward for both girls, and Helga broke it by reaching for the book. "Experiments, huh? I guess we could look through it, unless you already had something planned." Lila shook her head, and Helga started flipping the pages.
Both were quiet as the pages passed, pausing on those that caught their attention, but usually moving on within moments. It occurred to Lila that they were getting along better now than they ever had, and without saying a word. It was obvious to both that most of the experiments were completely lame, someone's misguided idea of what kids were capable of doing.
One experiment caught their attention for a few moments longer than usual, particularly Lila's, but finally Helga chuckled and made a move to turn the page.
"No, wait!" said Lila, excitement creeping into her voice. "I'm ever so certain we could do this. Oh, Helga, let's!"
Helga laughed. "You've got to be kidding. You want us to talk to plants?"
"Oh, but it's not just talking to them, Helga. It's testing the effect of emotional stimuli on living entities."
Helga stared at her. "Have you been hanging out with Phoebe?"
Lila giggled, and in her enthusiasm, spoke much faster than usual. "No, but I'm ever so familier with this experiment. There would be three plants, all treated oh so similarly, but for one difference. We would be nice to one plant and mean to another."
Helga leaned back, a thoughtful look on her face. "You really are into this, aren't you? Well, what would we do with the third?"
"It would be our control. We would leave it alone. Our hypothesis would be that the plant we're nice to would grow faster than the others."
Helga's expression was dubious. "And the point of this would be....?"
Lila hesitated. "That it's good to be nice, I suppose?" Helga stared at her blankly. Lila picked at her skirt again, saying, "Or... we could keep looking for something that suits both of our interests."
Helga sighed. "No, that's fine," then added loftily, "let's talk to the plants."
"Are you ever so sure, Helga? I am certain I wouldn't want you to be bored."
"Bored? How could I get bored? We'll be talking to plants. That's exciting stuff, there, talking to plants."
Lila couldn't contain her excitement. "Oh, Helga, I am ever so certain you won't regret it! Thank you!"
Waving off Lila's motion to hug, Helga said, "Don't mention it. Does that mean we're done for today?"
Lila nodded and was about to say more, but her companion was already leaving. "Well, that was painless enough, I guess. Later."
"Goodbye, Helga, see you in-" The door closed behind the departing girl. "-class."
Lila sighed. Considering how different they were, she supposed it had gone extremely well. Although she was pretty sure Helga was just going along and not really interested, Lila couldn't help being a little excited about this project. It would be a chance for her to work with the earth again, on however small a level.
She looked at the clock, and found it to be not yet five. That left plenty of time for a long, thoughtful walk before dinner. There was so much she wanted to think about.