Chapter 7: "A broken trust..."
He came to school late the next day, after missing the bus earlier. His dad was too busy with his new job to drive him to school, and his bike was still in storage, so he had to walk the three miles. Bummer. When he got there, Mr. Simmons' class had gone to the rear blacktop.
Mr. Simmons: "Silas! Well, you're a little late, but I suppose since you're a new student, I can make an exception."
Silas: "Thanks Mr. Simmons. I would have gotten a ride from my dad, but you know he has a lot on his mind right now."
Mr. Simmons: (nods) "We were just taking a little break from setting up for the reenactment of the battle we discussed in class yesterday. If you'd like to take your place as a defender over there, we'll start again in a few minutes."
Silas started walking over to the right side, where Helga, Gerald, Rhonda, Sid, Sheena, and Eugene had set up a wooden barricade roughly painted like the front of a building. Helga was glaring at Silas as he walked over to help them out. She moved away as he dropped his stuff next to the school wall.
Helga: "Mr. Simmons, I've decided to move over to the other side. Call me a traitor if you must, but they were short a person anyway." She walked over to the other side as Mr. Simmons went over the battle plans.
Silas looked around at everyone. Nothing seemed amiss yet, until he noticed that one person was missing, and he knew he saw his bike out in front.
Silas: "Where's Curly?"
Gerald: "As far as the teachers know, he hit his head on his bedpost this morning. He's in the nurse's office for the black eye that Helga gave him."
Silas: (covers his eyes) "Great! Just great!"
Gerald: "I'd be saying that too if I knew what Helga was going to do to you after school today. She's pretty mad." Silas pulled him over to the side.
Silas: (whispering) "No one believed him, did they?"
Gerald: "Nah. You know how it is. A rumor is a rumor, until it deals with Helga and Arnold. And anything about them that involves them being nice to each other is not to be believed at all. Besides, Helga nailed him before he said much. Just be sure not to say anything to Arnold. He wasn't there, and I don't think he knows."
Silas: "Oh man. What am I going to do? She'll kill me!"
Gerald: "Don't sweat it man. I saw you stand up to her on your first day, and you didn't even know her then. You'll do fine."
Silas: "She won't let this go that easily this time. This wasn't a baseball game. You know about everything that happened, don't you?"
Gerald: "At this point, I wish I didn't know anything about it! The only people I've heard talking about it are Lila, Phoebe, and Nadine. But you were just trying to help, right?"
Silas: "I tried. I just wanted her to be nice for a change. I didn't expect it to get this out of hand."
Gerald: "Ahhh, it'll blow over in a day."
Then Mr. Simmons came out into the middle to continue the instruction. Eugene got tangled up in the netting they were using with one of the virtual siege engines in the reenactment, but luckily they got him free before it sent him flying over the wall.
Afterwards, the bell rang for lunch, and everyone left, except for Silas, Arnold, and Gerald.
Arnold: "Hey Silas. Helga seemed pretty mad at you this morning."
Silas: "Yeah... Huh huh. Nothing I can't handle, I think..."
Gerald: "See? I told you."
Arnold: "What was all that about? I heard she punched Curly for something."
Silas: "No! He hit his head on the bedpost."
Arnold: "But..."
Silas: "I said, he hit his head." He grabbed up his stuff and ran inside.
Arnold: "What's the matter with him?"
Gerald: "Maybe he's just a little nervous... He got in pretty deep with Helga lately..."
Arnold: "She seemed fine yesterday... She didn't seem too mad when he threw us all in the mud at least..."
Gerald: "Don't worry about it. He can handle it. I think we should sit on the other side of the cafeteria today."
Arnold: "Why?"
Gerald: "No reason... Uh, I just thought, you know, it's always nice for a change... Heh heh..." They went inside.
Silas approached the cafeteria door cautiously, peering through the window before opening the door. He saw Helga and Phoebe sitting together at their usual table, but niether of them were talking at all. Helga was scowling more than normal, and Phoebe was simply eating her lunch, trying not watch. None of the others seemed to notice anything about her, nor did they even say anything about what had been said that morning. Silas breathed deeply, and walked in.
He sat down at Arnold and Gerald's table after getting his lunch, and was quiet as he simply watched her expressions out of the corner of his eye. He turned as Arnold and Gerald came in, but was silent as they passed his table and went to the far side of the cafeteria. Silas understood their thinking, to avoid Helga. Once or twice she caught his eye, and growled at him, but never said a word. After a while, they all left the cafeteria after the bell rang, but Silas remained alone. A few minutes later, he started out of the cafeteria, but was knocked back in as the door smashed open, hitting him in the face. He fell backwards into a table, but regained his footing.
Silas: "Helga! Um... Shouldn't you be in class? The bell rang..."
Helga: "Oh, I think I can afford to be late today..."
Silas: "Now listen to me. I know you're mad..."
Helga: "Mad? Why should I be mad? You only gave away everything to the entire school!"
Silas: "No I didn't! Curly did! He was in the nurse's office because of it!"
Helga: "Oh please! Where do you think he got it? He even told everyone that it was you who told him about it!" She was walking slowly toward him, and Silas was backing away just as slowly, moving chairs and tables to the side as he did.
Silas: "Come on, I didn't really tell him! It was an accident! It could have happened to anyone!"
Back in class...
Gerald looked around quickly. Helga and Silas weren't here... He knew what was happening, and swiftly fell out of his chair.
Mr. Simmons: "Gerald? Are you alright?"
Gerald: "Oh yeah... I just got a little dizzy there for a minute. Can I go get a drink?" Mr. Simmons nodded, and Gerald left in a hurry. After getting out of the class, he started running towards the cafeteria.
Silas: "Hey, listen to me! Calm down, Helga! Give me a break! I almost got mugged last night anyway!"
Helga: "What? Oh please! I trusted you not to tell anyone! You promised you would keep it a secret!"
Silas: "I said it was an accident!" He backed up against a vending machine. "I didn't know he was listening! It's just like when I first found you in that alley!" Helga lunged toward him, and he ducked underneath her arms and ran towards the doors. He almost made it, but tripped when Helga jumped at him and grabbed his legs. "Hey! Let me go!"
Gerald: (runs in) "Helga! What are you doing?"
Helga: "Get out Gerald! This is between us!" She tried to pull him back, but Gerald pulled Silas up.
Gerald: "Come on Helga! Get a grip! What did he do that was so wrong?"
Helga: "You were there! You heard what Curly said! This was all Silas' fault!"
Gerald: "So what? No one believed him anyway! Only Phoebe and Lila knew about it. No one else cares!"
Helga stood up and brushed herself off.
Silas: "Yeah! No one else cares about it. And Arnold still doesn't know!"
Helga: (pauses) "You're right. He still doesn't know." She went into another spell. "Oh Arnold, the secrets of my affection are finally revealed and you still can't acknowledge them... Oh why must it be this way? Is our love ever to be?"
Gerald: "Oh brother." Silas was silent.
Helga: (shakes herself back into reality) "Are you two still here? Fine Silas. I won't kill you. You broke your promise to me. I never want you near me again!"
Silas: "But--!"
Helga: "If you so much as say another word to me about anything, you'll regret it! And don't think you can stand up to me next time! This isn't baseball anymore bucko!" She walked out of the cafeteria, knocking over a few chairs on the way.
Silas: (wipes his brow) "Whoa, that was close."
Gerald: "Yeah. You'll make it. You only have about, what, eight more years around her without ever being able to say a word... No sweat!"
Silas: "Yeah..."
Gerald: "What?! You don't think that's a blessing? Now you won't have to listen to her call you names, and she probably won't throw spitwads at you, or glue your pants to your chair, or anything! I'd trade places with you if I could."
Silas: "You don't understand. I think I'm going to... miss her."
Gerald: "Are you crazy? You two never got along in the first place!"
Silas: "That's not the point! She was one of a kind... I don't understand it... But I think I was starting to... like her..."
Gerald: "Whoa, man. You can't be serious! Helga? You mean just like a friend, right?" Silas shook his head. "Oh man! I wish I hadn't heard that..."
Silas: "There's got to be something I can do. I can't just let this go! I've got to tell Arnold."
Gerald: "But you heard her! If you say anything about this, she'll beat you up so hard, there won't be anything left!"
Silas: "If he hears it from someone else, he'll think it's just a joke! I was talking to him earlier... He thinks Helga's playing some sort of trick on him, like when we went to the park yesterday... If someone else tells him, then he'll start avoiding her, and then she'll get mad, and start tormenting him again... You know that, right?"
Gerald: (holds his head) "Man, I don't know how you come up with this stuff without a major headache... But if you need my help..."
Silas: "Thanks Gerald. Call him to the arcade tomorrow at about three."
Gerald: "Sure. We'll be there." The both went back to class.
Mr. Simmons: "Well, where have you two been?"
Gerald: "Oh, I found him coughing by his locker when I went for a drink, Mr. Simmons... I think there's something going around..."
Mr. Simmons: "Oh dear, I think you're right. Helga was giving the same symptoms as you Gerald. Well, let's hope it doesn't get any worse. If you need to go to the nurse, then go ahead."
Silas: "Nah, I think we'll be fine."
He came to school late the next day, after missing the bus earlier. His dad was too busy with his new job to drive him to school, and his bike was still in storage, so he had to walk the three miles. Bummer. When he got there, Mr. Simmons' class had gone to the rear blacktop.
Mr. Simmons: "Silas! Well, you're a little late, but I suppose since you're a new student, I can make an exception."
Silas: "Thanks Mr. Simmons. I would have gotten a ride from my dad, but you know he has a lot on his mind right now."
Mr. Simmons: (nods) "We were just taking a little break from setting up for the reenactment of the battle we discussed in class yesterday. If you'd like to take your place as a defender over there, we'll start again in a few minutes."
Silas started walking over to the right side, where Helga, Gerald, Rhonda, Sid, Sheena, and Eugene had set up a wooden barricade roughly painted like the front of a building. Helga was glaring at Silas as he walked over to help them out. She moved away as he dropped his stuff next to the school wall.
Helga: "Mr. Simmons, I've decided to move over to the other side. Call me a traitor if you must, but they were short a person anyway." She walked over to the other side as Mr. Simmons went over the battle plans.
Silas looked around at everyone. Nothing seemed amiss yet, until he noticed that one person was missing, and he knew he saw his bike out in front.
Silas: "Where's Curly?"
Gerald: "As far as the teachers know, he hit his head on his bedpost this morning. He's in the nurse's office for the black eye that Helga gave him."
Silas: (covers his eyes) "Great! Just great!"
Gerald: "I'd be saying that too if I knew what Helga was going to do to you after school today. She's pretty mad." Silas pulled him over to the side.
Silas: (whispering) "No one believed him, did they?"
Gerald: "Nah. You know how it is. A rumor is a rumor, until it deals with Helga and Arnold. And anything about them that involves them being nice to each other is not to be believed at all. Besides, Helga nailed him before he said much. Just be sure not to say anything to Arnold. He wasn't there, and I don't think he knows."
Silas: "Oh man. What am I going to do? She'll kill me!"
Gerald: "Don't sweat it man. I saw you stand up to her on your first day, and you didn't even know her then. You'll do fine."
Silas: "She won't let this go that easily this time. This wasn't a baseball game. You know about everything that happened, don't you?"
Gerald: "At this point, I wish I didn't know anything about it! The only people I've heard talking about it are Lila, Phoebe, and Nadine. But you were just trying to help, right?"
Silas: "I tried. I just wanted her to be nice for a change. I didn't expect it to get this out of hand."
Gerald: "Ahhh, it'll blow over in a day."
Then Mr. Simmons came out into the middle to continue the instruction. Eugene got tangled up in the netting they were using with one of the virtual siege engines in the reenactment, but luckily they got him free before it sent him flying over the wall.
Afterwards, the bell rang for lunch, and everyone left, except for Silas, Arnold, and Gerald.
Arnold: "Hey Silas. Helga seemed pretty mad at you this morning."
Silas: "Yeah... Huh huh. Nothing I can't handle, I think..."
Gerald: "See? I told you."
Arnold: "What was all that about? I heard she punched Curly for something."
Silas: "No! He hit his head on the bedpost."
Arnold: "But..."
Silas: "I said, he hit his head." He grabbed up his stuff and ran inside.
Arnold: "What's the matter with him?"
Gerald: "Maybe he's just a little nervous... He got in pretty deep with Helga lately..."
Arnold: "She seemed fine yesterday... She didn't seem too mad when he threw us all in the mud at least..."
Gerald: "Don't worry about it. He can handle it. I think we should sit on the other side of the cafeteria today."
Arnold: "Why?"
Gerald: "No reason... Uh, I just thought, you know, it's always nice for a change... Heh heh..." They went inside.
Silas approached the cafeteria door cautiously, peering through the window before opening the door. He saw Helga and Phoebe sitting together at their usual table, but niether of them were talking at all. Helga was scowling more than normal, and Phoebe was simply eating her lunch, trying not watch. None of the others seemed to notice anything about her, nor did they even say anything about what had been said that morning. Silas breathed deeply, and walked in.
He sat down at Arnold and Gerald's table after getting his lunch, and was quiet as he simply watched her expressions out of the corner of his eye. He turned as Arnold and Gerald came in, but was silent as they passed his table and went to the far side of the cafeteria. Silas understood their thinking, to avoid Helga. Once or twice she caught his eye, and growled at him, but never said a word. After a while, they all left the cafeteria after the bell rang, but Silas remained alone. A few minutes later, he started out of the cafeteria, but was knocked back in as the door smashed open, hitting him in the face. He fell backwards into a table, but regained his footing.
Silas: "Helga! Um... Shouldn't you be in class? The bell rang..."
Helga: "Oh, I think I can afford to be late today..."
Silas: "Now listen to me. I know you're mad..."
Helga: "Mad? Why should I be mad? You only gave away everything to the entire school!"
Silas: "No I didn't! Curly did! He was in the nurse's office because of it!"
Helga: "Oh please! Where do you think he got it? He even told everyone that it was you who told him about it!" She was walking slowly toward him, and Silas was backing away just as slowly, moving chairs and tables to the side as he did.
Silas: "Come on, I didn't really tell him! It was an accident! It could have happened to anyone!"
Back in class...
Gerald looked around quickly. Helga and Silas weren't here... He knew what was happening, and swiftly fell out of his chair.
Mr. Simmons: "Gerald? Are you alright?"
Gerald: "Oh yeah... I just got a little dizzy there for a minute. Can I go get a drink?" Mr. Simmons nodded, and Gerald left in a hurry. After getting out of the class, he started running towards the cafeteria.
Silas: "Hey, listen to me! Calm down, Helga! Give me a break! I almost got mugged last night anyway!"
Helga: "What? Oh please! I trusted you not to tell anyone! You promised you would keep it a secret!"
Silas: "I said it was an accident!" He backed up against a vending machine. "I didn't know he was listening! It's just like when I first found you in that alley!" Helga lunged toward him, and he ducked underneath her arms and ran towards the doors. He almost made it, but tripped when Helga jumped at him and grabbed his legs. "Hey! Let me go!"
Gerald: (runs in) "Helga! What are you doing?"
Helga: "Get out Gerald! This is between us!" She tried to pull him back, but Gerald pulled Silas up.
Gerald: "Come on Helga! Get a grip! What did he do that was so wrong?"
Helga: "You were there! You heard what Curly said! This was all Silas' fault!"
Gerald: "So what? No one believed him anyway! Only Phoebe and Lila knew about it. No one else cares!"
Helga stood up and brushed herself off.
Silas: "Yeah! No one else cares about it. And Arnold still doesn't know!"
Helga: (pauses) "You're right. He still doesn't know." She went into another spell. "Oh Arnold, the secrets of my affection are finally revealed and you still can't acknowledge them... Oh why must it be this way? Is our love ever to be?"
Gerald: "Oh brother." Silas was silent.
Helga: (shakes herself back into reality) "Are you two still here? Fine Silas. I won't kill you. You broke your promise to me. I never want you near me again!"
Silas: "But--!"
Helga: "If you so much as say another word to me about anything, you'll regret it! And don't think you can stand up to me next time! This isn't baseball anymore bucko!" She walked out of the cafeteria, knocking over a few chairs on the way.
Silas: (wipes his brow) "Whoa, that was close."
Gerald: "Yeah. You'll make it. You only have about, what, eight more years around her without ever being able to say a word... No sweat!"
Silas: "Yeah..."
Gerald: "What?! You don't think that's a blessing? Now you won't have to listen to her call you names, and she probably won't throw spitwads at you, or glue your pants to your chair, or anything! I'd trade places with you if I could."
Silas: "You don't understand. I think I'm going to... miss her."
Gerald: "Are you crazy? You two never got along in the first place!"
Silas: "That's not the point! She was one of a kind... I don't understand it... But I think I was starting to... like her..."
Gerald: "Whoa, man. You can't be serious! Helga? You mean just like a friend, right?" Silas shook his head. "Oh man! I wish I hadn't heard that..."
Silas: "There's got to be something I can do. I can't just let this go! I've got to tell Arnold."
Gerald: "But you heard her! If you say anything about this, she'll beat you up so hard, there won't be anything left!"
Silas: "If he hears it from someone else, he'll think it's just a joke! I was talking to him earlier... He thinks Helga's playing some sort of trick on him, like when we went to the park yesterday... If someone else tells him, then he'll start avoiding her, and then she'll get mad, and start tormenting him again... You know that, right?"
Gerald: (holds his head) "Man, I don't know how you come up with this stuff without a major headache... But if you need my help..."
Silas: "Thanks Gerald. Call him to the arcade tomorrow at about three."
Gerald: "Sure. We'll be there." The both went back to class.
Mr. Simmons: "Well, where have you two been?"
Gerald: "Oh, I found him coughing by his locker when I went for a drink, Mr. Simmons... I think there's something going around..."
Mr. Simmons: "Oh dear, I think you're right. Helga was giving the same symptoms as you Gerald. Well, let's hope it doesn't get any worse. If you need to go to the nurse, then go ahead."
Silas: "Nah, I think we'll be fine."