Author's Note: The usual, folks. I cannot thank you enough for all of the wonderful reviews, and I apologize for the shortness of the chapter…
Disclaimer- Yeah, I own Hey Arnold. And that is about the best April Fool's Day gag I can come up with right now. I've always enjoyed screwing up every else's pranks so much more… :)
Part 6: Chasing Unknown Dreams
Helga was being irrational, and she knew it. But that did not stop her from walking away as soon as Arnold approached Phoebe and her. As soon as she had seen him coming, the same panic that had caused her to throw the tapioca made her get up and walk to the benches, dragging Phoebe along and sitting on the one on the farthest end of the playground. She sat with her knees tucked up underneath her, watching the cars go by, sending a wave of gray slush behind them. She saw a woman and her dog taking a walk- the dog was wearing little boots to keep its paws clean. She supposed Lila would have found this adorable, but she thought it was rather stupid. A bus rolled past with a few passengers onboard, all of whom where alternating between staring out the window impatiently and at their watches. It was so bleak, so gray and hopeless- where did Arnold find his optimism from? Phoebe sat beside her and kept up a stream of conversation, although Helga was only half-listening. The chatter was pointless, but it filled the strained silence and it carefully avoided sore subjects- such as the blond boy who was watching them and plotting his next move. But Helga knew her best friend- Phoebe would bring up "ice cream" any moment now, when she least expected her to. She'd probably tell her to stop avoiding him. Helga wasn't going to argue with her- she supposed she should just talk to Arnold and move on with her life. Even anger and bullying were less of a waste of time than self-pity. But for some reason, she couldn't seem to get out of the rut she had gotten herself into today. She sighed and pulled her legs out from underneath her, slamming them on the ground.
To her surprise, Phoebe abruptly stopped talking as if she had just been stuck with an idea. She got up and walked back toward the playground, her stride purposeful. Helga was both glad to be alone and wishing she would come back. She wanted to write in her pink notebook- to express what she was feeling, if only on paper. If she had to feel sorry for herself, something good might as well come out of it. She'd even apologize to Arnold for what had happened at lunch. If she said she was sorry and then left immediately, she knew she'd feel better and wouldn't have to worry about letting anything- her deepest, darkest secret, for example, slip. Slip again, she supposed. If she told Arnold she loved him a second time, even if she took it back again, there would be no going back. Yes, she would say sorry and go. The plan seemed logical… but she decided to wait for Arnold to come to her.
Behind her, two figures were talking softly. One was a petite Asian wearing a blue dress, the other a football-headed blond boy. Phoebe talked rapidly, and Arnold listened carefully, nodding his head. Seemingly reassured, Arnold nodded one last time and headed toward Helga. Phoebe watched him for a second, smiled to herself, and headed over to where Gerald was standing, who was watching the whole mess unfold and shooting hoops with Stinky at the same time.