"Hey Arnold! Hey Arnold! Hey Arnold!" Arnold groaned as he turned off his
alarm clock. 7am, Monday morning.
"Ugh!"
But he didn't feel too bad. Actually, he felt quite well rested. He had made a decision in his mind about a certain something, and now he could enjoy getting back into his normal routine. And this was the first morning in about a month where he didn't have to worry about the neighbourhood being torn down! That was a nice feeling in itself.
Climbing out of bed, he headed for the bathroom while most of the other boarders were asleep. He took a refreshing shower, dried off and quickly got changed into his regular clothes.
"Morning Grandpa!" he greeted as he entered the kitchen for breakfast.
"Mornin' Short Man! Looks like you had a good night." he smiled, observing a well-rested Arnold enter the room as he held a saucepan over hot flames of the stove.
"Yeah..." Arnold smiled back thoughtfully.
"Nice to get back to the old routine eh?"
"Definitely!"
By 8:15, Arnold boarded the school bus, seeing Gerald and sitting down next to him. Everyone had greeted him and still seemed excited from the events that had taken place the day before. Conversations buzzed all around them.
"...And did you see the look on his face when they arrested him?! Man that was priceless! Ahahahahaa!" Sid's voice rang clear as everyone exploded with laughter.
"Yeah! He was so mad! I bet if he ever got out of jail, he'd be after Arnold and Gerald so fast!" Harold shouted hysterically. Another eruption of laughter filled the bus as the breaks screeched to a halt for more passengers.
Arnold and Gerald looked at each other with worried expressions and fake smiles. They didn't see what was so funny about their friends' conversation!
Because of all the noise, no one noticed the person who stepped onto the bus and stood for a moment, scanning the seats discreetly. She saw her place next to the small Asian girl on the second row and slipped into the empty seat. She'd seen someone else near the back of the bus and really hoped he hadn't seen her.
"Good morning Helga." Phoebe greeted, her tiny voice, barely audible over the laughter. "My goodness Helga, are you alright? You look as though you haven't slept!" Helga groaned in response, sinking down slowly into her seat and putting a hand on her forehead.
"Don't ask Pheebs." she grumbled. "Just don't ask."
After the painfully long bus ride ended, Arnold and Gerald were desperate to get away from all the laughter. Sure it was nice to see everyone so happy about Scheck's demise, but the topic of revenge was becoming increasingly worrying to say the least!
Helga felt relived to leave the loud bus too. Her head was pounding and she felt like she'd been hit by a truck! But she wasn't too keen with the prospect of school either. One word: Arnold. Although, right now that word seemed more like a sentence. She groaned again as she walked up to the school entrance with Phoebe, it's going to be a long day and she knew it!
Everyone filed into the classroom and took their seats. Laughter could still be heard, accompanied by the occasional paper airplane that flew gently through the rowdy children and landed in hair and desks, and eventually, Mr Simmons' face as he entered the room.
"Okay children, settle down. Settle down." No response. Had they even realised he'd entered the room? "Class! I know you're all still excited after the special events that took place yesterday, but I'm going to have to ask you to calm down now. Sid, Stinky, no more paper airplanes! Harold, don't stand on your seat! Ronda, go back to your desk! Curly, what the? Give me that! Please don't tepee the classroom with toilet paper, I've told you before!" He sighed despairingly. Finally the class calmed down.
"Alright, before we begin I'd like to make a special announcement. We have two very brave and special individuals that I'd like you all to give a big round of applause to. Arnold, Gerald, would you like to come up to the front?" Arnold and Gerald looked at each other again and rolled their eyes. This was going to be a long day! They got up and walked to the front of the class, preparing themselves for one of Mr Simmons' 'special' speeches.
"As you all know, thanks to the amazing efforts of these two special boys, our neighbourhood is still standing, and I think Arnold and Gerald deserve a big thank you from all us." He turned to the two embarrassed kids who were blushing profusely and smiling weakly, hating this 'special' treatment. "Well done. I'm so very proud of you two." Mr Simmons smiled and turned back to the class. "Three cheers for our very own special heroes! Hip-hip!" The class looked flatly at their overly enthusiastic teacher. Silence.
"Hip-hip?" He tried again weakly. Nothing. "Erm, o-kay... how about we just give a round of applause then?" He began to clap, soon followed by the rest of the children. Phew! But the noise grew as Arnold and Gerald slipped quietly back to their desks. Once again, Mr Simmons had lost control over the classroom.
Finally, after about 10 minutes of shouting and laughter, the class quietened down and Mr Simmons began a very 'special' lesson of Geography. Not that anyone was really paying much attention as they continued whispering conversations back and forth.
Arnold sat attentively, watching the blackboard and trying not to be distracted by the activities of his classmates. Subconsciously he was preparing to feel the little wet thud of a spitball hit the back of his head, and when it didn't come, he felt as though something was missing. He ignored it, but the feeling kept eating away at him for some reason. He carefully turned his head to what he expected to be a scowling Helga behind him. But she wasn't scowling; she didn't even look as though she was aware of anyone else in the room. Her head was rested on her hand and her melancholy gaze was on the window. Arnold noticed deep purple bags under her tired, distant eyes and suddenly felt a pang of concern for her. Had she slept at all? He would confront her with this concern at lunch, he decided, before turning back to the blackboard.
"Ugh!"
But he didn't feel too bad. Actually, he felt quite well rested. He had made a decision in his mind about a certain something, and now he could enjoy getting back into his normal routine. And this was the first morning in about a month where he didn't have to worry about the neighbourhood being torn down! That was a nice feeling in itself.
Climbing out of bed, he headed for the bathroom while most of the other boarders were asleep. He took a refreshing shower, dried off and quickly got changed into his regular clothes.
"Morning Grandpa!" he greeted as he entered the kitchen for breakfast.
"Mornin' Short Man! Looks like you had a good night." he smiled, observing a well-rested Arnold enter the room as he held a saucepan over hot flames of the stove.
"Yeah..." Arnold smiled back thoughtfully.
"Nice to get back to the old routine eh?"
"Definitely!"
By 8:15, Arnold boarded the school bus, seeing Gerald and sitting down next to him. Everyone had greeted him and still seemed excited from the events that had taken place the day before. Conversations buzzed all around them.
"...And did you see the look on his face when they arrested him?! Man that was priceless! Ahahahahaa!" Sid's voice rang clear as everyone exploded with laughter.
"Yeah! He was so mad! I bet if he ever got out of jail, he'd be after Arnold and Gerald so fast!" Harold shouted hysterically. Another eruption of laughter filled the bus as the breaks screeched to a halt for more passengers.
Arnold and Gerald looked at each other with worried expressions and fake smiles. They didn't see what was so funny about their friends' conversation!
Because of all the noise, no one noticed the person who stepped onto the bus and stood for a moment, scanning the seats discreetly. She saw her place next to the small Asian girl on the second row and slipped into the empty seat. She'd seen someone else near the back of the bus and really hoped he hadn't seen her.
"Good morning Helga." Phoebe greeted, her tiny voice, barely audible over the laughter. "My goodness Helga, are you alright? You look as though you haven't slept!" Helga groaned in response, sinking down slowly into her seat and putting a hand on her forehead.
"Don't ask Pheebs." she grumbled. "Just don't ask."
After the painfully long bus ride ended, Arnold and Gerald were desperate to get away from all the laughter. Sure it was nice to see everyone so happy about Scheck's demise, but the topic of revenge was becoming increasingly worrying to say the least!
Helga felt relived to leave the loud bus too. Her head was pounding and she felt like she'd been hit by a truck! But she wasn't too keen with the prospect of school either. One word: Arnold. Although, right now that word seemed more like a sentence. She groaned again as she walked up to the school entrance with Phoebe, it's going to be a long day and she knew it!
Everyone filed into the classroom and took their seats. Laughter could still be heard, accompanied by the occasional paper airplane that flew gently through the rowdy children and landed in hair and desks, and eventually, Mr Simmons' face as he entered the room.
"Okay children, settle down. Settle down." No response. Had they even realised he'd entered the room? "Class! I know you're all still excited after the special events that took place yesterday, but I'm going to have to ask you to calm down now. Sid, Stinky, no more paper airplanes! Harold, don't stand on your seat! Ronda, go back to your desk! Curly, what the? Give me that! Please don't tepee the classroom with toilet paper, I've told you before!" He sighed despairingly. Finally the class calmed down.
"Alright, before we begin I'd like to make a special announcement. We have two very brave and special individuals that I'd like you all to give a big round of applause to. Arnold, Gerald, would you like to come up to the front?" Arnold and Gerald looked at each other again and rolled their eyes. This was going to be a long day! They got up and walked to the front of the class, preparing themselves for one of Mr Simmons' 'special' speeches.
"As you all know, thanks to the amazing efforts of these two special boys, our neighbourhood is still standing, and I think Arnold and Gerald deserve a big thank you from all us." He turned to the two embarrassed kids who were blushing profusely and smiling weakly, hating this 'special' treatment. "Well done. I'm so very proud of you two." Mr Simmons smiled and turned back to the class. "Three cheers for our very own special heroes! Hip-hip!" The class looked flatly at their overly enthusiastic teacher. Silence.
"Hip-hip?" He tried again weakly. Nothing. "Erm, o-kay... how about we just give a round of applause then?" He began to clap, soon followed by the rest of the children. Phew! But the noise grew as Arnold and Gerald slipped quietly back to their desks. Once again, Mr Simmons had lost control over the classroom.
Finally, after about 10 minutes of shouting and laughter, the class quietened down and Mr Simmons began a very 'special' lesson of Geography. Not that anyone was really paying much attention as they continued whispering conversations back and forth.
Arnold sat attentively, watching the blackboard and trying not to be distracted by the activities of his classmates. Subconsciously he was preparing to feel the little wet thud of a spitball hit the back of his head, and when it didn't come, he felt as though something was missing. He ignored it, but the feeling kept eating away at him for some reason. He carefully turned his head to what he expected to be a scowling Helga behind him. But she wasn't scowling; she didn't even look as though she was aware of anyone else in the room. Her head was rested on her hand and her melancholy gaze was on the window. Arnold noticed deep purple bags under her tired, distant eyes and suddenly felt a pang of concern for her. Had she slept at all? He would confront her with this concern at lunch, he decided, before turning back to the blackboard.