Okay, now this is something Arnold will NEVER totally figure out…well, not until Helga's secret is revealed-WHICH IT WON'T BE! (not yet…not until the movie). Anyway…because of his denseness and his lack of knowledge, this will have Arnold TOTALLY confused…and it'll probably have you thinking a little too. I put a lot of thought into this, so, enjoy! J
Chapter 5
There I was. Me. I looked exactly the same. To me, it was as if nothing had changed.
Lila came over to me. Lila was coming over to me--why wasn't I happy about it?! I just sat there, looked up from my book, and smiled at her, then went back to reading the book.
"Arnold, I am looking oh so forward to working on the assignment together."
I smiled, but didn't take my eyes off of my book. "Yeah, it'll be great."
What was I doing?! I mean, this was LILA! Didn't I care? Wasn't I excited? Anything?
Lila walked away, went back to her desk and I looked up from my book with a big, dumb, goofy smile on myself. There! I knew I'd be excited! Wait…now I just look stupid like that…
"Ruth," I said, dreamily. "Ruth, Ruth, Ruth."
I closed my eyes and sighed, clutching the notebook I'd been sketching in. A picture of Ruth McDougal was drawn on the notebook paper.
"WHAT?!" I exclaimed, disbelieving. "I got over her on Valentines Day! Why do I still like her!"
A realization set in. "Wait…Did Helga have something to do with this? Was it through her that I got over Ruth? That I started liking Lila in the first place? But…that makes no sense!"
I began to pound my head against the wall nearest me, trying to hit myself back to reality. But no, I was still here, still in this world, with this life. A world where I still liked Ruth, I only liked Lila, Helga was a shy, quiet girl, Phoebe was a smart, kind of geeky kid, where Mr. Hyunh cried himself to sleep at night, and I…was a total loser!
Okay, a lot to take in. Just breathe, I told myself. Eventually you'll look back and laugh at this.
I looked among my classmates, trying to see what other changes my wish had made.
Gerald was shaking his head, looking at me like I was the biggest moron on the planet.
"Man, Arnold. I've said it before and I'll say it again-Ruth doesn't like you! She doesn't like you, she never has liked you, she's never going to like you. Plus, she's a sixth grader!"
"Hey, it could happen!" I said defensively, then clutched the notebook and sighed.
I gagged, wanting to hit *myself* for such stupidity. Listen to the man!
Okay, so, Gerald seemed a little annoyed with me, but that was about it. Most of my other classmates seemed the same.
My eyes stopped on Stinky. Once Helga had "gone out" with him. I don't know why, or what was up with it, but he'd told me he fell in love with her. From the looks of Helga, I doubted she'd ever had a boyfriend, and I really doubted she'd ever even talked to Stinky much.
It was right in front of me, but somehow it was out of my reach. Why couldn't I understand? What was missing from this puzzle? What hadn't I taken into consideration?
And once again, the bright light--and the woman--greeted me, welcoming me to its presence. I was absorbed into the light, and taken to the place I dreaded to be brought to. But I knew it was important that I see what I was about to see. I let out a deep sigh, and stepped out of the light, back into a dark void…
Chapter 5
There I was. Me. I looked exactly the same. To me, it was as if nothing had changed.
Lila came over to me. Lila was coming over to me--why wasn't I happy about it?! I just sat there, looked up from my book, and smiled at her, then went back to reading the book.
"Arnold, I am looking oh so forward to working on the assignment together."
I smiled, but didn't take my eyes off of my book. "Yeah, it'll be great."
What was I doing?! I mean, this was LILA! Didn't I care? Wasn't I excited? Anything?
Lila walked away, went back to her desk and I looked up from my book with a big, dumb, goofy smile on myself. There! I knew I'd be excited! Wait…now I just look stupid like that…
"Ruth," I said, dreamily. "Ruth, Ruth, Ruth."
I closed my eyes and sighed, clutching the notebook I'd been sketching in. A picture of Ruth McDougal was drawn on the notebook paper.
"WHAT?!" I exclaimed, disbelieving. "I got over her on Valentines Day! Why do I still like her!"
A realization set in. "Wait…Did Helga have something to do with this? Was it through her that I got over Ruth? That I started liking Lila in the first place? But…that makes no sense!"
I began to pound my head against the wall nearest me, trying to hit myself back to reality. But no, I was still here, still in this world, with this life. A world where I still liked Ruth, I only liked Lila, Helga was a shy, quiet girl, Phoebe was a smart, kind of geeky kid, where Mr. Hyunh cried himself to sleep at night, and I…was a total loser!
Okay, a lot to take in. Just breathe, I told myself. Eventually you'll look back and laugh at this.
I looked among my classmates, trying to see what other changes my wish had made.
Gerald was shaking his head, looking at me like I was the biggest moron on the planet.
"Man, Arnold. I've said it before and I'll say it again-Ruth doesn't like you! She doesn't like you, she never has liked you, she's never going to like you. Plus, she's a sixth grader!"
"Hey, it could happen!" I said defensively, then clutched the notebook and sighed.
I gagged, wanting to hit *myself* for such stupidity. Listen to the man!
Okay, so, Gerald seemed a little annoyed with me, but that was about it. Most of my other classmates seemed the same.
My eyes stopped on Stinky. Once Helga had "gone out" with him. I don't know why, or what was up with it, but he'd told me he fell in love with her. From the looks of Helga, I doubted she'd ever had a boyfriend, and I really doubted she'd ever even talked to Stinky much.
It was right in front of me, but somehow it was out of my reach. Why couldn't I understand? What was missing from this puzzle? What hadn't I taken into consideration?
And once again, the bright light--and the woman--greeted me, welcoming me to its presence. I was absorbed into the light, and taken to the place I dreaded to be brought to. But I knew it was important that I see what I was about to see. I let out a deep sigh, and stepped out of the light, back into a dark void…