Author's Note: Thanks so much for the reviews, everyone! By the way, I'm flipping back to third person perspective for the next chapter… And, as I promised, the plot starts moving again in this chapter. Does anyone know when the April's Fools Day episode is going to be on?

Disclaimer- (Insert witty remark here) I don't own Hey Arnold, or any of the characters used in this story, just the plot.

Part 5: Boy Howdy!

From the perspective of Sid (whose last name has never been mentioned, as far as I know…)

Boy howdy!

Last time I said that around Helga, she rolled her eyes and told me that it was as cheesy as my boots. Well, I love my boots, and Helga is wrong. If I ever stopped saying boy howdy, it would be like Stinky never saying, "This really bites!" again. He just has to say it, because he's Stinky, and he wouldn't be Stinky unless he did. I wouldn't be Sid without boy howdy. It's the most perfect phrase in the world. It can communicate everything- good, bad, angry, excited, anything! So, now that we're all squared away…

"Boy howdy, Arnold! I thought Mr. Simmons would never stop yakking. How long were we in that classroom? 20 years?"

"Two hours, Sid. That's how long it is between lunch and recess, remember?" Arnold seems to find this funny, although he looks a little distracted, like his mind is on something else. I'm ball monitor this week (which was a little scary- although this time Curly did not end up in Wartz's office with my kickballs), and Arnold offered to help me carry the balls out. Arnold's a pretty great guy. You can always count on him to never lie or rat you out, and he always helps people and gives them advice. Maybe it takes awhile for us to listen to it, but Arnold always seems to end up being right in the end.

Helga walks past us, with Phoebe following her closely, but they aren't talking. I don't know what is going on with Helga today, but she's in a really, really bad mood and it's kind of scary. I tend to steer clear of Helga when she gets like this, but not Arnold. He has to try and help her out. Personally, I wouldn't. I mean, Helga's teased him for as long as I can remember- why would he want to even talk to her, much less try to make her feel better? But I guess Arnold helps everyone. And look where that gets him- he has a huge stain on his shirt from tapioca pudding. The funny thing is, he doesn't seem too mad at Helga- you'd think every guy would have a breaking point, but no… Well, he was pretty mad at Iggy after that whole bunny pajama thing, but he's forgiven him now. Like I said, Arnold is a pretty great guy.

So why does Helga want to bug him so much? Helga wants to bug everyone, but him the most, it looks like. I mean, there are plenty of mean, insensitive people for her to fight with, like Big Patty for instance. Maybe she bugs Arnold because she knows he won't fight back. That makes me kind of mad. Like I want to go up to Helga and show her just what I think about her bugging the nicest kid around…

…If I weren't so afraid of her.

But Helga's never actually hurt someone. She threatens and waves around Old Whatever-She-Calls-Her-Fist, but I don't think she's ever actually used the fist on anyone. Still, it could always happen, so I try and stay on her good side. If she has one. I guess Arnold thinks she does, because he looks like he's going to go talk to her now. She and Phoebe are sitting on the swings and talking. As soon as Arnold and I set the bag down, he shoots toward the swings where Helga and Phoebe are without a word or even a glance at me. I wonder what Arnold wants to tell her so much. It must be pretty important, because I don't know why else Arnold would want to talk to her when she's this mad. Then Helga sees him coming, and she and Phoebe get up and walk away, although Phoebe doesn't look like she wants to. Arnold sits down where Helga was sitting, dragging his toes in the rocks.

Boy howdy! This is getting kind of complicated.