Ack… Family!
By: ChickenGoddess
The Game
They arrived at the field and Arnie took a seat on one of the benches to view the game, though everyone could sense that he was clueless as to the happenings before him.
"Great. Arnoldo brought Freakshow to the game." Helga scowled.
"He's family." Arnold sighed.
"Yeah, yeah. All right. You all know where you're going." She dictated. "Let's play!"
The opposing team was a group of fourth graders from downtown. The uptown kids were easy to beat, but the downtown teams seemed to be a step ahead of them. They were evenly matched for the most part. What made a difference in the score was an error on Harold's part. He had bobbled the ball, and in that short time, they had managed to score two runs which set them two ahead. It was not the bottom of the 9th inning, two outs and Phoebe on second base. Arnold sighed as he stepped into the batter's box, facing the opposing pitcher who had managed to get the better of the team, save Helga.
"Hey! Football Head!" She called.
He looked over and she was motioning for him to come over. He approached her, wondering what she could possibly want now. Instead of mocking his batting stance she offered advice.
"Look for the inside heater in the left corner." She said.
"What?"
"Trust me. It'll come on the third pitch. Get some distance on it."
"Hey, Football face! You gonna bat or what?" The pitcher called, annoyance in his voice.
Arnold stepped up to the plate, hearing Helga's advice in his head.
"Look for the inside heater in the left corner" "Trust me""Look for the inside heater in the left corner"
"It'll come on the third pitch."
"Look for the inside heater in the left corner "
"Get some distance on it."
"Look for the inside heater in the left corner"
The ball passed him by twice. He saw the pitcher fire an inside heater in the left corner. Gritting his teeth, Arnold swung harder than ever, and with a powerful 'thunk", the ball flew. He past first base and ran on to second, Phoebe sliding into home plate and beating out the catcher. Helga offered an enthusiastic high five to her best friend before gritting her teeth and gripping her bat. She had a smile on her face, one he read as 'go ahead. I'm ready'. She let the first pitch pass her, deliberately yawning after the strike was called.
'What is she doing?' Arnold thought.
Before he was aware, the ball left the pitcher's glove and was countered with a powerful swing from the girl at bat. It had obviously been a home run, but she ran determined nonetheless. As she crossed the plate, scoring the winning run, the team cheered ecstatically. Even Harold had something nice to say, and if that doesn't tell you anything, than nothing will.
"Hey girl!" The opposing catcher called.
Everyone who met the qualifications turned around.
"You… pigtails."
Helga crossed her arms. "The name's Helga. You can take it up with Old Betsey if you've got a problem."
"No offense…. Geez. Here's the ball." He said, tossing her the beaten object.
"Thanks…." She replied. "Ok. The game ball goes to… Miss Phoebe Hyerdahl!"
Phoebe gasped as everyone started wide-eyed in amazement. "But Helga… you deserve it! You won the game for us!"
"Would we have won if you hadn't gotten a hit and beat out the play to first?" Helga asked.
Phoebe remained silent.
"Catch!" Helga said with a smile as she threw the ball to the small Japanese girl.
Phoebe caught it and a huge grin spread across her face as she studied the object in her hands. "Thank you, Helga! Thank you!" She said, embracing her best friend tight enough to threaten her air supply.
"Pheebs… air…!"
"Sorry…" Phoebe replied, immediately letting go.
"No biggie."
As she started home, Arnold called after her.
"What now, Football Head?" She asked as he came running up beside her.
"I just wanted to know…" He paused to take a breath, "How you knew what he was gonna throw."
Helga looked at him. "It's easy, Hair Boy. I just watched him all game and studied his strategy. He knew you'd never see it coming."
"That's… pretty amazing, Helga." He said.
She looked at him, wide eyed in awkwardness… recalling the only other time he had said that… 'that's a pretty amazing thing to do for someone you claim to hate…' she could tell that he shared her shock… he probably hadn't intended for it to sound like it did. "When you spend as much time as I do watching people, you start to pick up those things."
"Anyway… great game. I'll see you tomorrow." He replied, playing off his nervousness.
"Sure. Bye Football Head."
He watched her walk out of sight, but did not see her dart into the alleyway, nor hear her soliloquy.
"Oh Arnold, fate brings us a step closer together with another day… if only I could let you see past my harsh and inelegant front and into my soul and see my true nature… if only I had the courage to show the gentleness and tender care I feel inside." She sighed.
Immediately flowing her love rant, heavy wheezing was heard from the trashcan behind her. Helga scowled and sent her fist backwards, punching Brainy in the face and sending him unconscious into the metal can.
"Does he ever learn?" She asked herself aloud as she stepped out of the alley.