Swept Under The Rug
by Angela Marcisak
DISCLAIMER:(You know the drill!)I do not own Hey Arnold,and have nothing to do with owning it!This is just a harmless fanfic written by me,a harmless obsessed fan,so please,don't sue me!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Please don't harass me for making my chapters shorter!(If you notice,I apologize.)I just haven't have a lot of inspiration lately.Ever since 9/11's incident with the WTC and Pentagon,inspiration hasn't exactly came fluent lately.I'll try to lengthen the chapters as much as I can for now.Thanks!
CHAPTER 3-The Conversation
Helga walked up the stairs leading to the double doors of Hillwood Medical Center.Sitting on the stoop for a moment,she eyed the paper Mr. Rydell had given her to give to Dr. Bliss.It read,"Helga is having problems in school and with her manners.Please talk to her and try to help solve the problem.Mr. R""Heh,"Helga quietly chuckled to herself,shredding the note into tiny pieces of confetti."She doesn't need this.She practically knows me inside and out.Why does he think I can't tell her myself?This is what I'm here for,duh!"Helga walked inside the small building and soon found herself inside the office of her child psychologist,Dr. Bliss.She had been telling her her life story ever since she was nine,and couldn't believe she still had appointments.It had been four years total since the day she confessed to her her love for Arnold.Do I have THAT many problems?Helga thought to herself,shaking her head.
"Hello,Helga!"Dr. Bliss merrily beamed.Well,at least one of us is in a good mood today,Helga thought to herself once again."Come sit down,you look tired.Is there something wrong?"Man,this lady can read me like a book...."Well,I'm tired,if that's where you're aiming..."Dr. Bliss sighed,shaking her head.She knew something was wrong with Helga.She didn't exactly look like she was just tired.There was something else going on,and who better to pick on it than Dr. Bliss?
"Well,I can't exactly tell,Helga.How about talking to me instead of giving me a blank expression?"Helga sighed loudly,raising her hand to slap her face.She knew blank expressions wouldn't work with someone who prys into your business half the time."*sigh*Okay,it's been a strange day.Arnold kept staring at me weirdly,and--"Before she could continue,Dr. Bliss cut her off."Arnold stared at you?Maybe he likes you."Helga rolled her eyes,annoyed."No,not that kind of stare,the kind of stare you give the new kid when he walks in your class for the first time.""Oh,that kind....hmm...It seems kind of odd for Arnold to give you that kind of stare.You're no new kid,either.He's known you since preschool!"Helga looked at Dr. Bliss bluntly."No DUH."She looked at Helga with a bit of a mean look,a little offended by the reply."Well,Helga,I'm afraid I can't help you on this one.This kind of behavior leaves even me clueless."
Helga looked surprisingly at Dr. Bliss.How could she not know?In Helga's eyes,Dr. Bliss knew everything.Well,not everything,but she usually knew her inside and out.Helga let out a deep sigh and laid on her back,staring blankly up at the ceiling."I'm sorry,Helga.It's just too puzzling for me to figure out.Even though I'm a psychiatrist,I don't know every person's behavior inside and out.Well.....except for you."Dr. Bliss gave off a small grin as Helga replied with a smirk.
About an hour later,Helga's appointment was up.It wasn't much of a session at all that day;as a matter of fact,all Helga did was gripe about teenyboppers with Dr. Bliss and stare at the ceiling half the time.For some reason,the skies had turned dark since the topic of Arnold.It seemed like kind of a strange occurence to Helga,but she didn't think too much of the whole thing.She had outgrown the concept of superstition a while back,and she seemed to notice it was a stupid thing to worry about.After all,almost every day she would walk under a few ladders and pick up a few black cats to give to Arnold's grandma for her collection.Other than that,she really didn't suspect anything too weird about the weather.
Dr. Bliss looked down at her watch,which read 3:00 PM."All right,Helga.Your session is over.It's time to go."Dr. Bliss escorted Helga to the front door of her office and handed her an umbrella."Here,you might need this."She smiled back at Helga and patted her on the shoulder.Helga smiled meekly back at Dr. Bliss and walked out of the building.
As soon as she was outside,Helga walked down the sidewalk,peering up at the smoke-gray sky.She could feel several raindrops pelt her nose,and soon the light drizzle became an enormous downpour.Dragging her umbrella down the sidewalk,she arrived at a dark damp alley with a fence on the opposite side.*shivers*Man,it's cold....How was I supposed to know I should've brought a raincoat?They never said anything about a storm,unless 'sunny and no clouds' means something different....Oh well.I better whip out the old umbrella.Helga was just about to open her bright yellow umbrella when a brown dog ran up to her and began to bark loudly.Geez...for some strange reason,this seems awfully familiar...Helga thought.Before she knew it,the dog grabbed one end of her umbrella and began to yank it hard."Whoa!"Helga yelled,lunging forward,trying to maintain her balance and her umbrella as well.Sadly,her actions had failed,and she went flying forward into a giant puddle of mud.The dog ran off into the darkness of the alley,kicking water at Helga as it walked.She struggled to get up and start walking,not wanting to slip and fall into the puddle again.Finally,Helga stood up and walked out of the alley,her clothes splattered with huge blotches of mud and water.Stupid mutt...She pulled out a comb and began to run it through her hair when she felt something...different.What the...?Something's not right here...Helga pulled out a mirror and gasped at what she had saw.
Her hair was no longer pink.The rain had drained her hair of all the dye,and the remains of it were dripping fuchsia all over the flooded sidewalks.Criminey....I knew that dye was cheap.....What happened next made Helga sink to her knees in shock.Her now shoulder-length blonde hair was parting into what seemed like even pigtails.Oh..my...gosh...what the....?W-why do I have pigtails all of a sudden?This is too weird...Helga reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled garment of clothing.Her pink bow!Didn't I get rid of this?I probably had a spare....but still,I thought I had gotten rid of all my bows....Oh well.Might as well wear it,I look like a moron without it....Helga tied the pink bow to her hair and walked gloomily down the sidewalk.
Man,has this been a lousy day!First,some dumb mutt comes along and steals my umbrella,and then I get mud all over my nice new outfit,and finally,all the dye comes out of my pink hair!I don't want to look like a little schoolgirl again....Helga sighed loudly,pulling out her mirror and staring deep into her reflection."What do I see?"she said aloud to herself."I see a lonely thirteen year old girl with no friends except Phoebe.A girl who never outgrows the color pink.A girl who's had the same crush for four years in a row.I see a bully,yet a shy sensitive being underneath a shield.I see....me."Helga stared back at her reflection,tears running down her face.Slowly,she could see the image of her 13-year old self turn to the nine year old she was back then.Putting down her mirror,sniffing loudly,she gasped at who stood in front of her.
It was Arnold.Had he heard all I said?I hope he doesn't have a clue who I'm crushin' on....oh,who am I kidding?He's still the same dense boy I've known all my life,and probably always will be."Helga?"Arnold tapped her on the shoulder,a bright blue umbrella in the other hand."Huh?"Helga shook her head,clearing her mind of any previous thoughts that occupied it."You looked like you spaced out.Are you okay?""Y-yeah,I'm fine..."Helga slapped herself for being such a fool.Nice job,bonehead!Arnold held his blue umbrella over Helga and himself."You look nice with your bow.How come you never wear it anymore?"Helga thought to herself,"Now I know I've heard of this scenario before!If only I could remember..."Oh,I don't know.Guess I just got used to shorter hair,seeing when I was ten,Bob shaved it short."Arnold winced a bit at the thought of the subject."Yeah,I remember that....well,do you wanna go for a walk?I'm kinda bored.Grandma's piano is rusty,so I can't really play any songs."Helga stood there for a moment,trying to make up her mind whether or not she should go with him.Of course you should,doy!It's not every day your crush asks you to go for a walk....Okay,that sounded kinda stupid....Helga shrugged her shoulders and nodded her head."Sure,I guess so.I'm pretty bored too.It's always good to have some company around."Helga and Arnold walked together down the road and passed a few roads for what seemed like an hour,talking about their separate days.They went on and on chatting about their families and things of that sort.It seemed like the longest conversation to ever commence between Helga and Arnold in their history of knowing each other.
A little while later,the two arrived at the front of the Sunset Arms boarding house."What are we doing here?"Helga asked,a little clueless of why Arnold would ever bring her over to his house."I'm just going inside to get another umbrella for you to use,so each of us can have one.Wanna come in?"Helga knew this was a good opportunity for her to open up a little and have some fun around Arnold for a change.Fun really wasn't something that occured often in Helga's world."Sure,what the heck."Helga followed Arnold up the stairs to the front door.As Arnold opened it up,tons of loud noises erupted from within the household,dozens of confetti bags falling from the ceiling;all of this nearly knocked Helga off her feet and onto the sidewalk."SURPRISE,HELGA!"the tons of people shouted merrily from the boarding house hallway.Helga stepped inside,totally clueless as to why people whould throw her a party."W-what's going on?"she meekly asked the crowd of guests.The whole PS 118 gang was present,including the boarding house members(Mr. Hyunh,Ernie,Oskar,Suzy,Grandma,and Grandpa)and even Helga's parents,all wearing decorative party hats for the occasion."Why are you guys throwing me a party?What's happening?"Helga was pushed to the limit of curiosity,and stood frozen,wondering what the ruckus was all about.
"Oh,Helga,dear...don't you know?"Miriam sleepily added,a pina colada resting in her left hand.
"Don't know what?"Helga asked.
"Helga...we've got great news!!!"Bob shouted excitedly.
"What?!?What IS IT??"Helga yelled at the top of her lungs,nearly bursting with ideas crowding her mind.
Bob and Miriam smiled at each other,then turned to Helga and began to speak.
"We're moving!!!"
Helga stood,temporarily paralyzed,at the words she had heard spill out of her parents' mouths.She turned to look at Arnold,tears slowly welling in her eyes.And there it was.The stare.The whole crowd had fell silent watching Helga on the verge of bawling her eyes out.Yet Arnold just stood,staring at Helga the whole time.The same stare he had on his face the day before.A tear rolled down his eye as Helga ran up to him and held him in a tight embrace.All that could be heard for the next few minutes was the soft crying of Helga as she continued holding Arnold.And,all the while,he held her as well.
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END CHAPTER 3
by Angela Marcisak
DISCLAIMER:(You know the drill!)I do not own Hey Arnold,and have nothing to do with owning it!This is just a harmless fanfic written by me,a harmless obsessed fan,so please,don't sue me!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Please don't harass me for making my chapters shorter!(If you notice,I apologize.)I just haven't have a lot of inspiration lately.Ever since 9/11's incident with the WTC and Pentagon,inspiration hasn't exactly came fluent lately.I'll try to lengthen the chapters as much as I can for now.Thanks!
CHAPTER 3-The Conversation
Helga walked up the stairs leading to the double doors of Hillwood Medical Center.Sitting on the stoop for a moment,she eyed the paper Mr. Rydell had given her to give to Dr. Bliss.It read,"Helga is having problems in school and with her manners.Please talk to her and try to help solve the problem.Mr. R""Heh,"Helga quietly chuckled to herself,shredding the note into tiny pieces of confetti."She doesn't need this.She practically knows me inside and out.Why does he think I can't tell her myself?This is what I'm here for,duh!"Helga walked inside the small building and soon found herself inside the office of her child psychologist,Dr. Bliss.She had been telling her her life story ever since she was nine,and couldn't believe she still had appointments.It had been four years total since the day she confessed to her her love for Arnold.Do I have THAT many problems?Helga thought to herself,shaking her head.
"Hello,Helga!"Dr. Bliss merrily beamed.Well,at least one of us is in a good mood today,Helga thought to herself once again."Come sit down,you look tired.Is there something wrong?"Man,this lady can read me like a book...."Well,I'm tired,if that's where you're aiming..."Dr. Bliss sighed,shaking her head.She knew something was wrong with Helga.She didn't exactly look like she was just tired.There was something else going on,and who better to pick on it than Dr. Bliss?
"Well,I can't exactly tell,Helga.How about talking to me instead of giving me a blank expression?"Helga sighed loudly,raising her hand to slap her face.She knew blank expressions wouldn't work with someone who prys into your business half the time."*sigh*Okay,it's been a strange day.Arnold kept staring at me weirdly,and--"Before she could continue,Dr. Bliss cut her off."Arnold stared at you?Maybe he likes you."Helga rolled her eyes,annoyed."No,not that kind of stare,the kind of stare you give the new kid when he walks in your class for the first time.""Oh,that kind....hmm...It seems kind of odd for Arnold to give you that kind of stare.You're no new kid,either.He's known you since preschool!"Helga looked at Dr. Bliss bluntly."No DUH."She looked at Helga with a bit of a mean look,a little offended by the reply."Well,Helga,I'm afraid I can't help you on this one.This kind of behavior leaves even me clueless."
Helga looked surprisingly at Dr. Bliss.How could she not know?In Helga's eyes,Dr. Bliss knew everything.Well,not everything,but she usually knew her inside and out.Helga let out a deep sigh and laid on her back,staring blankly up at the ceiling."I'm sorry,Helga.It's just too puzzling for me to figure out.Even though I'm a psychiatrist,I don't know every person's behavior inside and out.Well.....except for you."Dr. Bliss gave off a small grin as Helga replied with a smirk.
About an hour later,Helga's appointment was up.It wasn't much of a session at all that day;as a matter of fact,all Helga did was gripe about teenyboppers with Dr. Bliss and stare at the ceiling half the time.For some reason,the skies had turned dark since the topic of Arnold.It seemed like kind of a strange occurence to Helga,but she didn't think too much of the whole thing.She had outgrown the concept of superstition a while back,and she seemed to notice it was a stupid thing to worry about.After all,almost every day she would walk under a few ladders and pick up a few black cats to give to Arnold's grandma for her collection.Other than that,she really didn't suspect anything too weird about the weather.
Dr. Bliss looked down at her watch,which read 3:00 PM."All right,Helga.Your session is over.It's time to go."Dr. Bliss escorted Helga to the front door of her office and handed her an umbrella."Here,you might need this."She smiled back at Helga and patted her on the shoulder.Helga smiled meekly back at Dr. Bliss and walked out of the building.
As soon as she was outside,Helga walked down the sidewalk,peering up at the smoke-gray sky.She could feel several raindrops pelt her nose,and soon the light drizzle became an enormous downpour.Dragging her umbrella down the sidewalk,she arrived at a dark damp alley with a fence on the opposite side.*shivers*Man,it's cold....How was I supposed to know I should've brought a raincoat?They never said anything about a storm,unless 'sunny and no clouds' means something different....Oh well.I better whip out the old umbrella.Helga was just about to open her bright yellow umbrella when a brown dog ran up to her and began to bark loudly.Geez...for some strange reason,this seems awfully familiar...Helga thought.Before she knew it,the dog grabbed one end of her umbrella and began to yank it hard."Whoa!"Helga yelled,lunging forward,trying to maintain her balance and her umbrella as well.Sadly,her actions had failed,and she went flying forward into a giant puddle of mud.The dog ran off into the darkness of the alley,kicking water at Helga as it walked.She struggled to get up and start walking,not wanting to slip and fall into the puddle again.Finally,Helga stood up and walked out of the alley,her clothes splattered with huge blotches of mud and water.Stupid mutt...She pulled out a comb and began to run it through her hair when she felt something...different.What the...?Something's not right here...Helga pulled out a mirror and gasped at what she had saw.
Her hair was no longer pink.The rain had drained her hair of all the dye,and the remains of it were dripping fuchsia all over the flooded sidewalks.Criminey....I knew that dye was cheap.....What happened next made Helga sink to her knees in shock.Her now shoulder-length blonde hair was parting into what seemed like even pigtails.Oh..my...gosh...what the....?W-why do I have pigtails all of a sudden?This is too weird...Helga reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled garment of clothing.Her pink bow!Didn't I get rid of this?I probably had a spare....but still,I thought I had gotten rid of all my bows....Oh well.Might as well wear it,I look like a moron without it....Helga tied the pink bow to her hair and walked gloomily down the sidewalk.
Man,has this been a lousy day!First,some dumb mutt comes along and steals my umbrella,and then I get mud all over my nice new outfit,and finally,all the dye comes out of my pink hair!I don't want to look like a little schoolgirl again....Helga sighed loudly,pulling out her mirror and staring deep into her reflection."What do I see?"she said aloud to herself."I see a lonely thirteen year old girl with no friends except Phoebe.A girl who never outgrows the color pink.A girl who's had the same crush for four years in a row.I see a bully,yet a shy sensitive being underneath a shield.I see....me."Helga stared back at her reflection,tears running down her face.Slowly,she could see the image of her 13-year old self turn to the nine year old she was back then.Putting down her mirror,sniffing loudly,she gasped at who stood in front of her.
It was Arnold.Had he heard all I said?I hope he doesn't have a clue who I'm crushin' on....oh,who am I kidding?He's still the same dense boy I've known all my life,and probably always will be."Helga?"Arnold tapped her on the shoulder,a bright blue umbrella in the other hand."Huh?"Helga shook her head,clearing her mind of any previous thoughts that occupied it."You looked like you spaced out.Are you okay?""Y-yeah,I'm fine..."Helga slapped herself for being such a fool.Nice job,bonehead!Arnold held his blue umbrella over Helga and himself."You look nice with your bow.How come you never wear it anymore?"Helga thought to herself,"Now I know I've heard of this scenario before!If only I could remember..."Oh,I don't know.Guess I just got used to shorter hair,seeing when I was ten,Bob shaved it short."Arnold winced a bit at the thought of the subject."Yeah,I remember that....well,do you wanna go for a walk?I'm kinda bored.Grandma's piano is rusty,so I can't really play any songs."Helga stood there for a moment,trying to make up her mind whether or not she should go with him.Of course you should,doy!It's not every day your crush asks you to go for a walk....Okay,that sounded kinda stupid....Helga shrugged her shoulders and nodded her head."Sure,I guess so.I'm pretty bored too.It's always good to have some company around."Helga and Arnold walked together down the road and passed a few roads for what seemed like an hour,talking about their separate days.They went on and on chatting about their families and things of that sort.It seemed like the longest conversation to ever commence between Helga and Arnold in their history of knowing each other.
A little while later,the two arrived at the front of the Sunset Arms boarding house."What are we doing here?"Helga asked,a little clueless of why Arnold would ever bring her over to his house."I'm just going inside to get another umbrella for you to use,so each of us can have one.Wanna come in?"Helga knew this was a good opportunity for her to open up a little and have some fun around Arnold for a change.Fun really wasn't something that occured often in Helga's world."Sure,what the heck."Helga followed Arnold up the stairs to the front door.As Arnold opened it up,tons of loud noises erupted from within the household,dozens of confetti bags falling from the ceiling;all of this nearly knocked Helga off her feet and onto the sidewalk."SURPRISE,HELGA!"the tons of people shouted merrily from the boarding house hallway.Helga stepped inside,totally clueless as to why people whould throw her a party."W-what's going on?"she meekly asked the crowd of guests.The whole PS 118 gang was present,including the boarding house members(Mr. Hyunh,Ernie,Oskar,Suzy,Grandma,and Grandpa)and even Helga's parents,all wearing decorative party hats for the occasion."Why are you guys throwing me a party?What's happening?"Helga was pushed to the limit of curiosity,and stood frozen,wondering what the ruckus was all about.
"Oh,Helga,dear...don't you know?"Miriam sleepily added,a pina colada resting in her left hand.
"Don't know what?"Helga asked.
"Helga...we've got great news!!!"Bob shouted excitedly.
"What?!?What IS IT??"Helga yelled at the top of her lungs,nearly bursting with ideas crowding her mind.
Bob and Miriam smiled at each other,then turned to Helga and began to speak.
"We're moving!!!"
Helga stood,temporarily paralyzed,at the words she had heard spill out of her parents' mouths.She turned to look at Arnold,tears slowly welling in her eyes.And there it was.The stare.The whole crowd had fell silent watching Helga on the verge of bawling her eyes out.Yet Arnold just stood,staring at Helga the whole time.The same stare he had on his face the day before.A tear rolled down his eye as Helga ran up to him and held him in a tight embrace.All that could be heard for the next few minutes was the soft crying of Helga as she continued holding Arnold.And,all the while,he held her as well.
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END CHAPTER 3