Chapter Five: Stupid Car!!
(several days later)
"Hey, Arnold," said Gerald, dribbling the basketball.
"Yeah?" asked Arnold.
"There's going to be a party at Harold's house this Friday."
"This Friday? But, today's Thursday!" exclaimed Arnold.
"Oh...yeah. I knew there was something I forgot to mention to you last week. Sorry, man. Do you think you can still go?"
"Definitely. But – ugh. My car's still stuck in the shop, and I don't have any money to get it out." Arnold groaned.
"That sucks," said Gerald, shooting a basket.
***
"Hi Grandpa," mumbled Arnold as he got in through the door.
"Hey Short Man." Arnold couldn't believe that his grandpa still called him "Short Man" even though he was just as tall as him. "What took you so long to get home?"
"I had to walk," groaned Arnold.
"Your car is still in the shop?"
"Yes..."
"And you don't have enough money to get it out? And there's a party tomorrow night that you can't go to because you don't have your car?"
"How'd you know?"
"I know lots of things," he said as-a-matter-of-factly.
"How can I get the money to get it out?" asked Arnold eagerly.
"Oops, sorry! Ate too many Lima Beans. I'll be in my office!" then he zoomed off into his office upstairs.
"Ugh."
"Colonel," said his grandma softly. "I heard you're distressed."
"Yeah. Low on ammo, Grandma."
"How much?"
"Couple of thousand."
His grandma leaded him into the kitchen. "I have a secret place where I hide money, Colonel." She put down her fly-swatter and took out the bottom drawer next to the sink. She flipped it over and Arnold saw a thick envelope. She took it out and handed it to him. "This is just some money I've been saving for emergencies, Colonel. I hope this helps."
Arnold opened the envelope and was astonished to see how many 100 dollar bills were inside. "Wow, this should be more than enough...thank you, Grandma."
"Anytime, Colonel."
Arnold walked out of the kitchen happily. What was in the envelope was more than enough to pay for the repairs for his car AND for extra things. A lot of extra things. Mindlessly, he jumped in his room and picked up the phone and called Gerald.
"Hey, Gerald...you won't believe what I got," said Arnold excitedly.
"What did you get?"
"A lot of money from my Grandma. Over a thousand dollars!"
"Damn! That's a lot! How'd your grandma get that much?"
"She's been saving."
"Let's hope she really did save all that money and that she didn't steal it."
"I know, she may be crazy sometimes, but I don't think she would be so desperate that she needed to rob a bank!"
"Who knows?"
"Well, anyways...can you give me a ride to the Auto Shop?"
"Man, I can't. Jamie-O's got the car. Sorry."
Arnold sighed. "That's alright. Bye."
"Bye," he said. They hung up.
"Who else can I call?" Arnold wondered aloud. Suddenly, without a clear thought in his head, he automatically dialed Helga's number. "Helga?" He asked cautiously.
"Sorry, this is Olga. Hold on while I get Helga please."
Arnold waited a little while and then a familiar voice got on the phone. "Hello?"
"Hey, Helga. It's me, Arnold."
Helga felt a sudden rush of excitement. "H-hi, Arnold. What's up?"
"Um...," suddenly Arnold forgot what he called for. "Nothing, I guess." There was a pause. "And you?"
"Same here..." She said dully. Another pause.
"Hey, why didn't you tell me that Jonathan and Olga are back in town?"
"Oh yeah. They're back in town. Permanently! They came, like, last week."
"No kidding?"
"No kidding. They're bunking here for a while until they can find a house big enough for a family."
"Cool. Jonathan was always so out-going. I always liked him...plus he shoots perfectly."
"That's for sure. So were you able to get your car out yet?"
"No. But speaking of cars, I remember why I called you. Can you possibly give me a ride to the Auto Shop today?"
"Um, yeah. I think Jonathan can take you."
"Okay." Arnold sounded disappointed. "Are you going to go too?"
"I guess..."
"Okay. Cool."
Helga giggled a bit. "Are you going to Harold's party tomorrow?"
"Once I get my car out." He chuckled. "Would you like to go to the party with me?"
Helga's throat dried up. "Um. Yeah. Sure. I'd love to."
"Great...I guess I'll wait for you and Jonathan to come..."
"Okay."
"Okay."
"Bye..."
"Bye..."
They hung up. Helga squealed with joy and pranced around to Jonathan who was watching football with Big Bob.
"Hey, Jonathan...can you take me to Arnold's house?"
"Yeah, yeah..sure...Just wait. It's fourth down!" He said absent-mindedly.
Helga got in front of the TV and folded her arms. "I'm not moving until you get off that seat and take me now."
Jonathan tried moving around his head.
"Jonathan, just take the girl." Big Bob complained. "You can hear about it on the radio..."
Jonathan groaned. "Okay, Helga. You got it." He wearily got up and walked with Helga outside to the car. He drove a Toyota Avalon only because Olga made him buy it...he wanted a pick up truck. But he couldn't argue with her.
They got in the car and began driving to Arnold's house. "So, I'll just be dropping you off at his house?"
"No, actually, you're going to be picking him up so we can go to the Auto Shop. He needs to take his car out," Helga said as-a-matter-of-factly.
Jonathan groaned. "Okay.."
"Don't worry...the Rams win."
"Wait. How'd you know?"
"Big Bob asked me to record it for him YESTERDAY," chuckled Helga.
"Okay, okay, you got me. I'm your personal chauffeur for today."
They drove in front of the boarding house and honked the horn several times. Then out came Arnold with his envelope happily getting into the backseat of the black car. "Hey Jonathan. Great to see you again, Dude."
"Same here. So off to the Auto Shop?"
"Yup."
While they were driving, Arnold and Jonathan had a conversation about basketball. A long and boring one. Helga nearly dozed off. Then (finally) they arrived at the shop. Arnold and Helga both got out and Jonathan drove away because he suddenly remembered he needed to buy a book for his class in the library.
Helga walked inside the room with all the tires for sale and sat down waiting for Arnold. She saw him talking to a man in an oily jumper and give him a big wad of cash. Helga couldn't believe what she saw...but Arnold was a trust-worthy person...he couldn't have stolen it, right?
"C'mon Helga. Let's go," said Arnold.
Helga got up and walked outside and into his car. "Are you sure I'm safe to be around when you're driving?"
Arnold chuckled. "Yes, of course...I've missed this car so much," he sighed, stroking the interior.
Helga laughed. "When you're done hitting on your car, can we go home?"
"Of course, anything for you." He smiled.
Helga looked at him while he was driving. "You know, I still can't believe you go wearing that hat twenty-four seven."
Arnold blushed a bit. "Yeah, well, you can call it my lucky charm." He winked. "I'll pick you up at six tomorrow, okay?"
Helga grinned. "All right. Sounds perfect to me."
"When's your curfew?"
"Oh, eleven I suppose."
"Okay. We'll be home by 11." He smiled. Always so caring. Always watching out for his friends. Always full of warmth. He stopped in front of Helga's house. "Be sure to be dressed for some fun!" He grinned.
Helga got out of the car and waved good bye. Happily, she floated in the house without a care in the world. Suddenly her stomach began hurting again...sharp pains.
A/N: thanks for reading chapter five. If you guys are wondering...something "dramatic" will happen in Chapter 6. Let me organize my thoughts while you click the pretty rectangle below and review! The more reviews I get, the happier I am...therefore I think more clearly...