"Helga! Helga Pataki!"
Helga lifted her head amidst a sea of giggles. It wasn't like her, to drift off in class like that. She was strong, straightforward, focused. But something about the new boy… "Yes, Mr. Simmons?" she asked shakily, regaining her composure.
"Are you alive?" More giggles. Though she often forced humiliation onto others, it was a new experience for Helga, and her face grew slightly red.
"As much as someone can be in this dull class," she retorted, still only half restoring her dignity. A few of the kids had stopped chuckling at Helga, instead moving their torment onto Mr. Simmons. Arnold, Helga noticed curiously, was still deep in concentration over his plane, oblivious to the rest of the classroom.
"Just checking." With a quick amused grin, Mr. Simmons returned to the lesson. The gesture annoyed Helga immensely. She aimed to inflict fear, pain, anger…but certainly not amusement. It simply wasn't like her.
Of course, neither was this weird obsession with the new boy. On the subject of Arnold…
"Helga?" With yet another call of her name, Helga quickly came to attention, glad she hadn't gotten too lost in her own mind. Luckily, the voice wasn't that of Mr. Simmons. It was Phoebe. "Helga, you really should pay attention." She gestured toward the board, already crowded with formulas and facts in a blinding white chalk. "There's a test tomorrow."
"I...I am, Phoebe." Helga embarrassedly shuffled her 2 pages of notes, all taken earlier in the week. "I'll get to it." Her eyes refocused on the board, but she couldn't help watching Arnold from the corner of her eye. She inwardly punched herself. Must pay attention. Must forget about some nerdy new kid.
"Yes, Helga," Phoebe responded obediently.
As her pencil absentmindedly scratched at the paper, catching Mr. Simmons' words but not really the content within them, Helga tried to shut off her mind from the world. Thinking really didn't bring her any good, and there was usually little to ponder anyhow. Her parents, eternally captivated by her older sister, usually left Helga to herself, leaving her more responsibility than excitement. Each day, without exception, she would go through the same things, the same thoughts. Life was tedious.
This newest obsession, with the new boy, Arnold, was simply clinging to the hope that things may grow interesting, that she might learn foreign things and emotions. Hope was for people with real lives…for people who knew what they wanted and strived to get it. Helga wanted nothing, loved nothing, and therefore hoped for nothing. She was simply a mindless drone, content to torment others and press on as a mediocre student and human being. "I'm a fool," she scoffed to herself quietly
"No, you aren't," hissed a voice back. Startled, Helga turned to face Arnold, gazing at her with deep concentration. They sat in silence; both curious to what had fueled the other's comment.
With a sharp ring, the bell announced recess, launching the students out of their seats and out the door, as well as gaining a relieved sigh from Mr. Simmons. "Can I show you around the school?" Helga murmured tentatively.
Arnold grinned. "Sure."
Helga lifted her head amidst a sea of giggles. It wasn't like her, to drift off in class like that. She was strong, straightforward, focused. But something about the new boy… "Yes, Mr. Simmons?" she asked shakily, regaining her composure.
"Are you alive?" More giggles. Though she often forced humiliation onto others, it was a new experience for Helga, and her face grew slightly red.
"As much as someone can be in this dull class," she retorted, still only half restoring her dignity. A few of the kids had stopped chuckling at Helga, instead moving their torment onto Mr. Simmons. Arnold, Helga noticed curiously, was still deep in concentration over his plane, oblivious to the rest of the classroom.
"Just checking." With a quick amused grin, Mr. Simmons returned to the lesson. The gesture annoyed Helga immensely. She aimed to inflict fear, pain, anger…but certainly not amusement. It simply wasn't like her.
Of course, neither was this weird obsession with the new boy. On the subject of Arnold…
"Helga?" With yet another call of her name, Helga quickly came to attention, glad she hadn't gotten too lost in her own mind. Luckily, the voice wasn't that of Mr. Simmons. It was Phoebe. "Helga, you really should pay attention." She gestured toward the board, already crowded with formulas and facts in a blinding white chalk. "There's a test tomorrow."
"I...I am, Phoebe." Helga embarrassedly shuffled her 2 pages of notes, all taken earlier in the week. "I'll get to it." Her eyes refocused on the board, but she couldn't help watching Arnold from the corner of her eye. She inwardly punched herself. Must pay attention. Must forget about some nerdy new kid.
"Yes, Helga," Phoebe responded obediently.
As her pencil absentmindedly scratched at the paper, catching Mr. Simmons' words but not really the content within them, Helga tried to shut off her mind from the world. Thinking really didn't bring her any good, and there was usually little to ponder anyhow. Her parents, eternally captivated by her older sister, usually left Helga to herself, leaving her more responsibility than excitement. Each day, without exception, she would go through the same things, the same thoughts. Life was tedious.
This newest obsession, with the new boy, Arnold, was simply clinging to the hope that things may grow interesting, that she might learn foreign things and emotions. Hope was for people with real lives…for people who knew what they wanted and strived to get it. Helga wanted nothing, loved nothing, and therefore hoped for nothing. She was simply a mindless drone, content to torment others and press on as a mediocre student and human being. "I'm a fool," she scoffed to herself quietly
"No, you aren't," hissed a voice back. Startled, Helga turned to face Arnold, gazing at her with deep concentration. They sat in silence; both curious to what had fueled the other's comment.
With a sharp ring, the bell announced recess, launching the students out of their seats and out the door, as well as gaining a relieved sigh from Mr. Simmons. "Can I show you around the school?" Helga murmured tentatively.
Arnold grinned. "Sure."