The whistle blew. Everyone in the team crowded around the coach. It was one of their last practices before they had to play the Eagles. The toughest school they've ever played against. So far, the school had never beat them before.
Each person on the team worked especially hard or else they would be cut from the starting line…Arnold couldn't concentrate. All he could think of was Helga. Helga. Helga. How could he have not known she'd liked him so much? It was obvious. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Could he be feeling the same thing for her? Shake it out, Man he thought.
"Boys, you all worked really hard. And I've figured out the final starting line up," said the coach. "I'll have Gerald, Jerry, Marcus, Parker and Stinky."
"Stinky?" Arnold and Gerald asked in disbelief.
"What about me, Coach?" Arnold asked.
"Lately, Arnold, I just didn't know where your mind has been. You haven't been giving me 110% like you usually do. And I really don't think you'll cut it for the game. Sorry."
Arnold just stood there as everyone else shuffled into the locker room.
"Don't worry, Arnold. It'll be okay." Gerald said, with his hand on his shoulder.
***
"Oh my gosh, Girls. Do you know what I heard?" Rhonda exclaimed at the lunch table.
"What?" Helga asked, just to amuse her.
"For the next game against the Eagles, the coach cut Arnold from the starting line up!"
Helga's eyes widened. "Yeah right."
"I am so totally serious! You DO know that we are in risk of losing to them the tenth year in a row if Arnold doesn't play. It's completely outrageous! I think the coach has serious problems."
"Yeah…why do you think he's not playing though?"
"No idea. What do I look like? A magic 8 Ball?"
Helga laughed nervously. Then Phoebe took a seat at the table. "Phebes!" Helga exclaimed. "I need to talk to you."
They walked to the other side of the cafeteria. "What is it, Helga?" Phoebe asked in concern.
"Did you hear about what the coach did to Arnold?"
"Yes…Gerald was just talking about it. He said that Arnold was so out of it. He kind of didn't blame the coach for doing what he did," said Phoebe.
Helga crossed her arms. "This really sucks…I mean, ugh. This is all his own fault anyways."
"What…?"
"He made me tell him that I liked him. And so – now…LOOK! He was too much in shock to do anything right." Helga complained.
"You told him?"
"Yes, Phoebe. I told him! Is it such a crime that I want him to pine for me the way I've pined for him?? THAT I FINALLY COULDN'T STAND THE PRESSURE?!" She exclaimed. Everyone stared at her. "Mind your own business," she snapped back at them.
"Helga, I think you should talk to Arnold…it seems that he's the only thing that's on your mind."
Helga sighed and shrugged. She glanced at Arnold sitting with Gerald. "Yeah, I guess…"
"See ya, Phebes…" she walked over to Arnold and sat down next to him. "Hey Arnold," she said.
Gerald glanced at Helga. "Hey man. I'll see you later." He got up and left.
Arnold tried to keep himself calm. "Hi Helga…"
"I heard about what happened…Are you okay?"
"Sure, I'm okay," Arnold sighed. "It's just – I don't know what got into me." You know, he thought. Say it now. It was Helga…you feel the same way about her. "Um, Helga."
"Yeah Arnoldo?"
"I…uh…well. Um…"
"Yeah…?" She asked eagerly.
Arnold shook his head. "I can't believe he took me off the starting line up."
"Maybe something will come up and you'll be able to
play." Said Helga, looked around.
"It'll take a miracle." Arnold chuckled.
"Maybe with an angel it'll work," Helga said. Suddenly she had an
idea. Maybe I can ask the coach to let him play, Helga thought. Nah,
why would a guy coach listen to a measly little girl like me…? Well, it's worth
a shot. Slowly, Helga got up. "Arnold, I'll talk to you later. See you
after the game." She winked and walked away.
Helga walked to the boys' locker room to see the coach. She wanted
to make him let Arnold play again. I mean, it probably was partly her fault he
couldn't play. Right? Helga took a deep breath and walked towards the locker
room with her eyes closed. When she opened them, she saw that there was nothing
wrong with the boy's locker room. It was just like the girl's locker
room....but smellier. She looked around the locker room and saw the coach
sitting on a bench and flipping through a play book.
"Coach?" Helga said almost in a whisper.
The Coach turned around and saw Helga. "Whoa, did I come in the wrong
locker room?" He got up and looked around, scratching his head.
"Oh, no. It's just that, I'm here to ask you something. About Arnold."
"Oh...Arnold. What about him?"
"Well, see, he IS ready to play. He can play in the next
game! You know you need him, coach," she persuaded.
"He hasn't been in to the game lately, I don't think he can handle
today."
"C'mon Coach! There's no one better than him. If you let him play, you guys can beat the Eagles! For the first time in five years! Am I right? You can make headlines too!"
He scratched his chin and started thinking. "Yeaah. That's true. But if we don't win because I let him in the game, I'll be shouted at and get a bad reputation!"
Helga gave a crooked smile. "I know he'll do well today. Because, well, he didn't want me to tell you this, but yesterday he went to the doctor's right before practice. And he needed to be numbed - a lot - so the numbing didn't go away yet. That's why he was so out of it."
"What did he need to be numbed for?"
"He had a...um...infected...something in both of his arms, so they had to numb him and get him tested for something." Helga lied.
"Wow. Poor Arnold," he replied stupidly.
"And the only way he'll get better is if you let him play today!" She glanced at a paper on the bleacher that had the name of the starting players. Stinky was going to take his place.
"I'll see about that." The Coach said. Helga smiled and ran off.
"You won't regret it!"
Now Helga had to look for Stinky. She saw him outside, sitting under a tree, looking at the birds. He was always a really country type boy.
Helga couldn't believe he even made the Varsity team, couldn't
even believe he was good enough to take Arnold's place. "Hey Stinky!"
"Hi Helga." Stinky said, getting up.
"Stinky, my friend...I have a proposition for you." She
put her arm around him. "I'll give you something if you can, oh let's say,
pretend to get hurt and not play in tomorrow's game?"
"Look Helga, I'm not as stupid as I was before. You're going to really
have to give me a good reason..."
"I'll give you six Mr. Nutty bars!" Helga interjected.
"fifteen."
"Ten."
"Eleven."
"Ten."
"Nine!"
"Deal." She shook his hand and took out a few dollars for him to buy the Mr. Nutty bars. She walked away and while Stinky was counting his money, he slammed into a tree.
***
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE INJURED, STINKY?!" The coach screamed in the
locker room.
"It just plain means that my leg is broken. See coach?" Stinky pointed. "And a broken nose." He pointed at his nose.
The Coach growled and crumbled up a piece of paper. "Now who can take his place?"
"I can!" Arnold said.
The Coach looked at Arnold suspiciously. "Are you sure? You're not numbed or anything?"
"Uh...no sir." Arnold raised an eyebrow.
"If you mess up out there, I'm dead, got it?!" The Coach stomped his foot. Arnold nodded.
"Alright, don't let me regret this. GO OUT THERE AND KILL 'EM!"
Arnold helped Stinky get out to the gym as he held all his Mr. Nutty Bars with him. "How'd you get so many Mr. Nutty bars?" Arnold asked.
Stinky told Arnold what Helga did.
"Helga actually did that?"
"Yup, Arnold. I reckon she musta had really good reasons to go all that way."
Arnold smiled goofily. "Helga's really something, isn't she?"
"Yeah, I reckon."
In the gym, people were roaring with excitement and there were banners
everywhere. Arnold looked around for Helga. Then he saw her with Phoebe
cheering the team on.
The game was intense. Arnold and Gerald made most of the shots. At the fourth quarter with one minute left, the team was behind by one point.
The Eagles made another two-pointer, then Arnold got fouled. He stepped at the line, bouncing twice and shot. It rolled around the rim and…YES! It made, the second shot made as well. Now they were tied with twenty seconds left. The Eagles were in posession of the ball. Before they made it backcourt, Gerald stole the ball from one of the other team members. Arnold ran up to him. Gerald passed him the ball. He quickly dribbled down to the key and then the buzzer rang just a millisecond after Arnold let go of the ball. Slowly the ball went around the hoop and fell in.
Everyone cheered! For the first time ever, the school had beat the Eagles!
Everyone cheered for Gerald and Arnold. Once everyone got to shake their hands, the coach congratulated them and said sorry to Arnold for not letting him play before. Gerald walked off with Phoebe and Arnold saw Helga walking towards him slowly, smiling.
"I see the coach let you play," Helga said slyly.
"Yeah, with the help of an angel." Arnold hugged her. "Helga, I'm
sorry for making you tell me that you liked me. It was wrong of me…you were
entitled to keeping your secret. I just yanked it out of you."
"That's alright, Arnold." She grinned.
"And Helga…"
"Yes?"
"Will you go to the dance with me?" He asked softly. Helga nearly melted.
"Of course, Arnold. Of course." She looked at him and
smiled.
After another few days, the dance came. Arnold and Helga dressed up as Romeo
and Juliet, since when they were doing the play, it was the first time she
actually got to kiss him. "You know, Helga," said Arnold as they danced to the
music slowly.
"Yes Arnold?"
"I haven't realized it until last week…but then…the truth is, I've always liked you. For the longest time. I just couldn't admit it, or let myself believe it. Well, what I'm trying to say is that I love you, Helga."
Helga smiled and was almost about to cry. "I love you too,
Arnold." She put her hands on his neck and pulled him to her lips. As they
shared their first REAL kiss.
ThE END!!!!!!