Wow, it's been awhile, huh? Well, sorry to those of you who might actually like the story, I'll just post this just in case anyone does...This really isn't my fave chapter, at least not the beginning, I just don't like the way it's written, but whatever. Just a forewarning. And just one more thing: you'll notice as the story progresses that the POV changes frequently.
Chapter Two: Transportation
Fall of 2006
I hung up the phone and lay down on my bed, staring up at the coming rain clouds. Anyone could tell there was about to be a huge storm. I thought about the conversation I had just had with Helga. Why had I lied to her? Why couldn't I tell her that I just called to talk, instead of making up some lame excuse about Trig homework? 'She'll probably think I'm dumb now,' I thought to myself, 'that assignment was easier than some of the harder ones from Algebra.'
It got me thinking about how much Helga had changed since we started Junior High. It seemed like something had changed in her. She was a lot nicer and sweeter; of course, she still had a little bit of her old attitude, but she wouldn't be Helga without that. She was friendlier now, and I liked it.
I woke up really early the next morning, almost an hour earlier than usual. I walked down the stairs and started to make breakfast for myself, hoping I could make it to school a little early that day. I finished my cereal, then took a shower and finished getting ready. By the time I was done, I was almost forty-five minutes ahead of schedule.
I went out the door and got into grandpa's Packard that he still hadn't gotten rid of. I had recently gotten my license, and had been driving myself to school for about 4 months. What I really couldn't wait for was a new car.
As I was driving by Helga's house, which was on the way to our high school, I saw the door open. I slowed down and stopped in front of her house. I heard her yell something to someone in the house, but I couldn't understand what she was saying because I was too far away. Then she turned and saw my car there. At first she looked shocked, which I guess makes sense because I'm not usually just sitting there in Grandpa's green Packard, staring at her at 6:35 in the morning. She walked up to the car as she was buttoning her raincoat.
"What's your deal, football-head?" she asked.
"Good morning to you, too," I responded.
"Sorry, my alarm clock didn't go off this morning for some reason, and I'm late as it is, so if you need something-"
"Do you want a ride?" I offered.
"What?" she looked genuinely surprised.
"Do want a ride, to school, in my car?" I asked, a little sarcasm setting in for some reason.
"Um...okay, sure," she consented, opening the passenger side door and getting in.
As soon as she closed the door, I put the car back into 'drive' and we were on our way. "So this is late for you?" I asked.
"Yeah, it is, and I take it it's early for you?" she answered.
I nodded. "Why do you leave so early?" I asked her.
"Its called transportation, football-head: I have none, except for these two legs here. And it takes a considerably longer time to walk than it does to drive."
"Oh," was all I could manage after her little speech.
There was silence for a while, then Helga broke it. "So, why are you going to school so early?"
"No reason," I shrugged. "I just woke up earlier than I normally do, so I just figured I'd get to school early too." I looked at Helga at the end of my sentence, and she nodded.
I checked my watch, and saw that we still had a half-hour before school started. I debated with myself for a while, then finally gave in to the better half. "Do you wanna stop and get some coffee or something before we go to school? We have plenty of time for it."
"Yeah, coffee sounds good, especially since I feel like I just woke up two minutes ago. Oh, wait a minute, I did wake up two minutes ago." I glanced over at Helga and smiled.
A block and a half later, we were sitting at a small table in Starbucks, waiting for our coffees to cool down so we could drink them.
"Why did you give me a ride this morning?" Helga asked, bringing her cup up to her mouth, then taking a small sip after speaking.
I was silent for a few seconds, and I just looked at her with a face that probably had "what on earth possessed you to ask such a crazy question?" written all over it. "Because I wanted to," I finally answered.
She raised an eyebrow. "I figured as much. But why?"
"I don't know," I answered, a little defensively. "I was just being nice. Can't I be nice when I want to, Helga?"
"Jeez, Arnold, chill. Forget I asked."
I stared at her for a minute, then looked back down to my coffee cup.
Why had I acted like that? Like I was trying to hide something about my reasons for giving Helga a ride to school. Why did I give her a ride? Why did I call her last night, and then lie about my reasons?
I glanced up at Helga, who was spacing out on something past my left shoulder outside. I just stared at her, until she shifted her gaze to me. I looked away quickly and blushed. 'Why am I blushing? So I was looking at Helga, big deal.'
"You okay?"
I looked up, a little startled. "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine."
That's all for now. Hopefully, I won't be too lazy or too busy (??) with school coming up to post some more soon. I already have about 4 more chapters written, I just need a *reason* to post them...