Stay Together (Continued)
By Shaun Blankenship
A Hey Arnold! Fan Fiction
CHAPTER 4: Desperate Measures
________________________________________
"Phoebe!"
Helga pounded on Phoebe's front door as if trying to knock it down. "Phoebe, come on!"
Phoebe's father answered the door very disgruntled. "WHat do you WANT?"
"Hi, is Phoebe here? I need to talk to her."
Her dad let out a giant sigh. "Yeah, she's here. Phoebe! Your friend's here."
Phoebe came to the doorway. "What's going on, Helga?"
"Phoebe my parents are divorcing and I'm stuck in the middle. I need some advice!"
"Are you sure you cam to the right person, Helga? I mean, why couldn't you have talked to your therapist or Arn..."
"Listen! I need YOUR help! What should I do? I mean, what'll happen if they divorce? What will happen to me? Where will I live?"
Phoebe thought for a minute. "Which parent would you rather live with?"
"Neither! Ever since they seperated, they're both miserable. My dad's depressed, my mom's psychotic..."
"Well, then you might have to live with a relative like a grandmother or something."
"All of my realtives live in like Florida or Colorado."
"Well, then you'll probably have to move, Helga!"
"Move!" Helga was wide-eyed and shocked. "I can't move! All of my friends are here! Arnold's here, you're here, that store that sells the bags of cherry gummi bears that I love so much is here..."
"Then you need to devise a plan to get your parents reconciled and back together."
"Yeah, right! I'll need a miracle to do that! Or at least worldwide recorded survailence since five weeks ago in a 1984-esque fashion, but both are impossible! What am I supposed to do to get them back together?"
"I don't think I'm the person to answer that."
Helga is now very sarcastic. "Well then, Phoebe. WHO am I supposed to ask?"
"You're parents are divorcing?"
Helga paced in Arnold's room as he sat on his couch. "That's what I said, football-head! They're divorcing and I'll probably have to end up living with my relatives in another state!"
"But I thought you didn't know that part for sure."
"Look, how sure I am doesn't matter, it could happen! With that as a possibility, it's reason enough to get them back together! If I move I'll never see Phoebe or the cherry flavored gummi bears..."
"Helga!" Arnold raises his hand towards her and she stops talking. "Listen, I'll help you get them back together but I can't promise anything. I want you to remember that. You also have to do everything I tell you no matter how pointless it sounds."
"What do you mean 'anything'?"
"I need you to have absolute trust in me. If you can't trust me, this will never work. Do you trust me?"
Helga stands in one spot and thinks for a while scratching her chin. "Yeah, I guess I can trust you. But you have to help me!"
"I'll try. We first have to analyze the situation."
"What do you mean?"
"We have to watch your dad constantly and see if he's telling the truth. If he has been seing the girl from the commercial, he's still seeing her. That's pretty obvious..."
"Why is that obvious?"
"Let me finish, Helga. If we see him still with her, then he did cheat on your mom and it may be a little harder than I expect it to be. If he isn't with the other lady, then we have to find some kind of way to prove that he never was with her."
"Nice plan, but how exactly are we going to do this?"
"This is so incredibly stupid."
Arnold quieted Helga as they hid in a giant bush on the sidewalk across the street from Big Bob's Beepers."Hey, I said trust me." He pulled out a pair of binoculars and watched Big Bob as he atood at the counter of the beeper shop leaning in a daze.
"This is like something out of the Little Racals or something! Can't we put a camera inside the shop or something or plant a bug so we can hear what he's saying?"
"I don't have any of that stuff." He puts the binoculars down. "And Bridget's out of town."
"Well, I am not staying all day in this bush with you!"
"Hey, what was our agreement. You have to do everything I say. No questions asked."
"But I didn't expect this! I mean this is just... hokey! Cheesy! Even childish!"
Arnold sighed and picked up the binoculars again. "Hey, someone just walked in the shop!"
"Yeah, who is it?"
Arnold focuses on the binoculars. "I can't see her face, but it's a lady."
"Well, great! For all we know, that could be dad's little secret but we don't know because we can't see her face or hear what they're talking about!"
"Oh, we can hear what they're talking about and see them."
"What? What are you talking about?"
"When did you put a camera in there? How come you didn't tell me?"
Arnold hooked his camera up to his computer. "I put it in when you hid in the bushes and waited as I used the bathroom. I didn't tell you so it didn't seem like sitting in the bushes was pointless."
"Then why did we sit in the bushes?"
"I only had one hour of tape left. I had to use when it was only necissary. When we were in the bush, I had the camera at a position near the front display window. Nobody noticed it because I put a cardboard advertisement around it. I set it to record with a remote while we sat in the bushes when I saw the lady walk in. Let's look at it." Arnold presses play on the video camera. Bob is on the computer monitor talking to the mystery lady but her face is not facing the camera.
"Well, there she is! Too bad we can't see her face to recognize her."
"Hey, quiet!"
The dialogue on the video tape starts. Bob yells at the lady, "Quit coming around here! Stop bothering me!"
The mysterious lady starts complaining, "I thought we had something, Bob! Are you just going to not talk to me from now on?"
Helga stared at the video oddly. "Hmm, her voice sounds really familiar."
The video keeps going. Bob is infuriated, "I've lost everything because of you! Why do you keep coming here everyday? There was never anything between us!"
"But, Bob, what about after the commercial we shot? I thought we had something..."
"I told you yesturday! Nothing happened on that set! I told you the day before also! Get out of here! Get out! You ruined my life, you..."
A crash is heard in the background and Bob walks to the side of the screen where he can't be seen. He comes back; "Look, I have a crisis on my hands and YOU are just making it worse! Get out of here before I have a Personal Protection Order set against you!"
"Well, you just do that. But I liked to see who's going to help you in getting it."
"Just get out of here!" The mysterious lady leaves the shop. As soon as she leaves, Bob buries his face in his arms on the counter and starts to sob. The tape stops.
Helga stares at the computer screen for a moment. "Maybe he was telling the truth..."
Arnold unhooks the camera. "Yeah, all we need now is some proof."
"Proof? Proof! This tape is proof!"
"This tape is nothing. She doesn't confess anything. This tape just makes it look like Bob's even deeper in denial. We need something coming from HER. Once we have that, we'll have all we need."
"Arnold, what if we're doing this for no reason? What if after we find out my dad didn't cheat, my mom still won't take him back?"
"Then we at least tried. We didn't just sit here and watch it all happen in front of us and let it go by peacefully. We tried to stop it."
Helga starts crying. "What if they divorce and I get sent to my relatives?"
Arnold looks at her blankly. "Where are you getting this 'send to your relatives' stuff? They'd probably only do that if tour mom and dad were unfit. To stop you from moving, they'd probably put you on adoption unless your relatives came to get you."
"But that could happen! It's not about whether it will or not, it could! And if it does, I'll never see you again!" Helga quickly puts her hands over her mouth.
Arnold stares at her confused. "What did you say?"
"Uh-uh-nothing! Nothing! I-"
"You just said you'll never see me again."
"Y-Yeah, so?"
"I've always been under the impression that you don't like me, at least not enough to miss me."
"I won't miss you, football-head!"
"Then how come the first thing that you said you'd miss was me?"
"Because... because... Arnold... I... I..."
To Be Continued...
Ooh, suspense! Ahh, drama. What's to come next? Keep reading.
By Shaun Blankenship
A Hey Arnold! Fan Fiction
CHAPTER 4: Desperate Measures
________________________________________
"Phoebe!"
Helga pounded on Phoebe's front door as if trying to knock it down. "Phoebe, come on!"
Phoebe's father answered the door very disgruntled. "WHat do you WANT?"
"Hi, is Phoebe here? I need to talk to her."
Her dad let out a giant sigh. "Yeah, she's here. Phoebe! Your friend's here."
Phoebe came to the doorway. "What's going on, Helga?"
"Phoebe my parents are divorcing and I'm stuck in the middle. I need some advice!"
"Are you sure you cam to the right person, Helga? I mean, why couldn't you have talked to your therapist or Arn..."
"Listen! I need YOUR help! What should I do? I mean, what'll happen if they divorce? What will happen to me? Where will I live?"
Phoebe thought for a minute. "Which parent would you rather live with?"
"Neither! Ever since they seperated, they're both miserable. My dad's depressed, my mom's psychotic..."
"Well, then you might have to live with a relative like a grandmother or something."
"All of my realtives live in like Florida or Colorado."
"Well, then you'll probably have to move, Helga!"
"Move!" Helga was wide-eyed and shocked. "I can't move! All of my friends are here! Arnold's here, you're here, that store that sells the bags of cherry gummi bears that I love so much is here..."
"Then you need to devise a plan to get your parents reconciled and back together."
"Yeah, right! I'll need a miracle to do that! Or at least worldwide recorded survailence since five weeks ago in a 1984-esque fashion, but both are impossible! What am I supposed to do to get them back together?"
"I don't think I'm the person to answer that."
Helga is now very sarcastic. "Well then, Phoebe. WHO am I supposed to ask?"
"You're parents are divorcing?"
Helga paced in Arnold's room as he sat on his couch. "That's what I said, football-head! They're divorcing and I'll probably have to end up living with my relatives in another state!"
"But I thought you didn't know that part for sure."
"Look, how sure I am doesn't matter, it could happen! With that as a possibility, it's reason enough to get them back together! If I move I'll never see Phoebe or the cherry flavored gummi bears..."
"Helga!" Arnold raises his hand towards her and she stops talking. "Listen, I'll help you get them back together but I can't promise anything. I want you to remember that. You also have to do everything I tell you no matter how pointless it sounds."
"What do you mean 'anything'?"
"I need you to have absolute trust in me. If you can't trust me, this will never work. Do you trust me?"
Helga stands in one spot and thinks for a while scratching her chin. "Yeah, I guess I can trust you. But you have to help me!"
"I'll try. We first have to analyze the situation."
"What do you mean?"
"We have to watch your dad constantly and see if he's telling the truth. If he has been seing the girl from the commercial, he's still seeing her. That's pretty obvious..."
"Why is that obvious?"
"Let me finish, Helga. If we see him still with her, then he did cheat on your mom and it may be a little harder than I expect it to be. If he isn't with the other lady, then we have to find some kind of way to prove that he never was with her."
"Nice plan, but how exactly are we going to do this?"
"This is so incredibly stupid."
Arnold quieted Helga as they hid in a giant bush on the sidewalk across the street from Big Bob's Beepers."Hey, I said trust me." He pulled out a pair of binoculars and watched Big Bob as he atood at the counter of the beeper shop leaning in a daze.
"This is like something out of the Little Racals or something! Can't we put a camera inside the shop or something or plant a bug so we can hear what he's saying?"
"I don't have any of that stuff." He puts the binoculars down. "And Bridget's out of town."
"Well, I am not staying all day in this bush with you!"
"Hey, what was our agreement. You have to do everything I say. No questions asked."
"But I didn't expect this! I mean this is just... hokey! Cheesy! Even childish!"
Arnold sighed and picked up the binoculars again. "Hey, someone just walked in the shop!"
"Yeah, who is it?"
Arnold focuses on the binoculars. "I can't see her face, but it's a lady."
"Well, great! For all we know, that could be dad's little secret but we don't know because we can't see her face or hear what they're talking about!"
"Oh, we can hear what they're talking about and see them."
"What? What are you talking about?"
"When did you put a camera in there? How come you didn't tell me?"
Arnold hooked his camera up to his computer. "I put it in when you hid in the bushes and waited as I used the bathroom. I didn't tell you so it didn't seem like sitting in the bushes was pointless."
"Then why did we sit in the bushes?"
"I only had one hour of tape left. I had to use when it was only necissary. When we were in the bush, I had the camera at a position near the front display window. Nobody noticed it because I put a cardboard advertisement around it. I set it to record with a remote while we sat in the bushes when I saw the lady walk in. Let's look at it." Arnold presses play on the video camera. Bob is on the computer monitor talking to the mystery lady but her face is not facing the camera.
"Well, there she is! Too bad we can't see her face to recognize her."
"Hey, quiet!"
The dialogue on the video tape starts. Bob yells at the lady, "Quit coming around here! Stop bothering me!"
The mysterious lady starts complaining, "I thought we had something, Bob! Are you just going to not talk to me from now on?"
Helga stared at the video oddly. "Hmm, her voice sounds really familiar."
The video keeps going. Bob is infuriated, "I've lost everything because of you! Why do you keep coming here everyday? There was never anything between us!"
"But, Bob, what about after the commercial we shot? I thought we had something..."
"I told you yesturday! Nothing happened on that set! I told you the day before also! Get out of here! Get out! You ruined my life, you..."
A crash is heard in the background and Bob walks to the side of the screen where he can't be seen. He comes back; "Look, I have a crisis on my hands and YOU are just making it worse! Get out of here before I have a Personal Protection Order set against you!"
"Well, you just do that. But I liked to see who's going to help you in getting it."
"Just get out of here!" The mysterious lady leaves the shop. As soon as she leaves, Bob buries his face in his arms on the counter and starts to sob. The tape stops.
Helga stares at the computer screen for a moment. "Maybe he was telling the truth..."
Arnold unhooks the camera. "Yeah, all we need now is some proof."
"Proof? Proof! This tape is proof!"
"This tape is nothing. She doesn't confess anything. This tape just makes it look like Bob's even deeper in denial. We need something coming from HER. Once we have that, we'll have all we need."
"Arnold, what if we're doing this for no reason? What if after we find out my dad didn't cheat, my mom still won't take him back?"
"Then we at least tried. We didn't just sit here and watch it all happen in front of us and let it go by peacefully. We tried to stop it."
Helga starts crying. "What if they divorce and I get sent to my relatives?"
Arnold looks at her blankly. "Where are you getting this 'send to your relatives' stuff? They'd probably only do that if tour mom and dad were unfit. To stop you from moving, they'd probably put you on adoption unless your relatives came to get you."
"But that could happen! It's not about whether it will or not, it could! And if it does, I'll never see you again!" Helga quickly puts her hands over her mouth.
Arnold stares at her confused. "What did you say?"
"Uh-uh-nothing! Nothing! I-"
"You just said you'll never see me again."
"Y-Yeah, so?"
"I've always been under the impression that you don't like me, at least not enough to miss me."
"I won't miss you, football-head!"
"Then how come the first thing that you said you'd miss was me?"
"Because... because... Arnold... I... I..."
To Be Continued...
Ooh, suspense! Ahh, drama. What's to come next? Keep reading.
