-_-_-_-
The small girl walked through the city she had grown up in with a slightly hardened gaze that did not match her yet childish features. Her hands were in the pockets of her jackets and she observed everything around her intently. Her path was familiar to her, and she certainly knew where she was. Several people asked her if she was lost or looking for her mother, but she just continued walking. She eventually reached her destination: Lou's Falafel Hut. She espied her quarry and went in for the kill,
"Hi Helga, I made an educated guess that you'd be here."
A blonde girl looked up at the newcomer from her pastrami on rye,
"Hey Pheebs."
-_-_-_-
Arnold and Gerald were walking to the Falafel Hut when they were joined by Stinky, Sid, Rhonda, Harold,Sheena, Eugene, Curly, Nadine and Iggy who had been lounging around the street.
"Hey Arnold, you missed a wonderful autumn downpour this afternoon. Why did you stay in?"
"Hey Eugene.Well, I figured that the rain would cancel it anyways and I wasn't feeling too good so I stayed in. It was coming down pretty hard."
Harold commented, "Yeah, we didn't even get one inning in, before it started up!"
"Arnold, do you know where Phoebe and Helga were today? They usually never miss a scheduled game!"
Arnold grimaced as he wondered where Helga was right now. "No, I didn't know they weren't there Sheena."
Sid asked, "Hey, where are you guys going?"
"Lou's Falafel Hut, wanna come?"
"Why sure, Gerald. It'd be our pleasure."
The gang headed towards the Hut.
-_-_-_-
Phoebe sat with Helga on the corner, eating her falafel. She wasn't particularly hungry but she felt that she needed to honor this tradition. She and Helga always came down to the Hut, Helga ordering pastrami, and Phoebe a falafel. They now sat solemnly munching their dinner. There was no need to talk, they had said all they needed to say before Helga had left with Julie. Phoebe's face creased with anger when she thought of that woman and her petite frame shook as she took out her wrath on her falafel, tearing a piece out savagely with her teeth. Helga looked over, gulped her present mouthful and cocked her head to the side as she said,
"What's the matter with you, Phoebe?"
Phoebe swallowed as well, "Ohhh! It's nothing. I'm just....never mind."
Helga turned to face her best friend, "You know you can talk to me, don't you?"
"Of course I know that, its just, oh Helga...I'm so angry with her."
There was no need to specify who the woman she referred to was. 'She' was the boogie man incarnate. She deserved all the terrible luck in the world to plague her for eternity, for what she had done to the Patakis. This was the girl's unspoken mentality about this Ms. Tirran.
"Don't talk to me about her, she's insane!"
"What do you mean, Helga?"
"Her apartment looks like some third grader's dream house. Everything's bright and cheerful and annoying. I don't think I've ever seen so much cheesy neon green and orange furniture in one place. It gave me a headache! She only buys health food and she's addicted to the soaps. Plus I noticed there aren't any pictures of her family. There are only pictures of her and some friends. She's definately crazy. I never knew they even made tofu corn dogs, tofu spaghetti meat sauce and tofu roast beef!"
"Maybe she had a troubled past. Maybe she cannot come to terms to some traumatic event in her childhood and she thinks herself a super hero for children that she considers to be in her situation."
"Whatever, I can't stand it there. Phoebe she wanted to play Chutes and Ladders with me. CHUTES AND LADDERS! Get this, we went to her office and she told me that she's a 'girly girl' in way of explaining all the Lisa Frank crap she's got. So I asked her if she thought that ripping kids out of their homes is a real girly girl occupation, she didn't answer me."
Phoebe nodded, "Then something obviously happened to her thats making her behave like this, she's obviously in denial about something but doesn't want whatever happened to her, happen to anyone else. A noble sentiment but unhealthy for someone who won't acknowledge her own problems."
Helga looked up from Phoebe and the girls sat in a comfortable silence. Helga took the last bite of her pastrami and spotted someone that she didn't want to see.
"Phoebe, is that Arnold?"
"I, I believe it is Helga."
"Damn."
-_-_-_-
Arnold and the gang were walking up to the corner when Rhonda said,
"Hey look, there's Phoebe and Helga. Let's go ask them where they were!"
Arnold froze suddenly, he didn't want to talk to Helga. It wasn't that he was mad at her, he just didn't know what he would say. He was Arnold, someone who had an answer to every question, a solution to every problem, advice for every situation. Now he found he didn't know how to tell Helga it was going to be all right, when he didn't know if it was going to be all right. He was an empathetic person, and now he wanted to reassure Helga, to be able to say that everything would work out. He wanted to do something for her, and now he fully realized that he couldn't help her. What's worse was that he felt in some way that he was glad she was away from her parents. Glad that she wasn't in that negative environment; he'd heard the times Big Bob had called 'Olga' instead of 'Helga' and he was happy that she wasn't being ignored anymore. But he knew that didn't mean she was happy.
"Hey Arnold, you coming?"
"Yeah Gerald, wait up."
Harold reached the Hut before anyone else, he ordered his falafel then turned and addressed Helga, "Heyyy, Madam Fortress Mommy, why didn't you come and play with us today, huh?"
Helga turned and faced him, focusing her lusterless blue eyes on him, and said quietly "I was busy pink boy." She got up, offering Phoebe a hand.
She ignored all of their questions and walked off with Phoebe beside her.
The two girls passed the two boys. Arnold stopped in front of her, putting a hand on Helga's shoulder,
"Hey, Helga. I-"
She turned and looked at him, before brushing his hand off and continuing on her way.
Phoebe looked at him meaningfully and walked on as well.
"I told you Arnold, there's no point in feeling bad for Helga G. Pataki. She probably doesn't care that she got taken away. She's probably happy!"
Arnold replied, "How can you say that Gerald? Remember when you moved out of your house? At least you had a choice when you moved out and when you came back. You still felt homesick for your family. Helga might not ever go back."
Arnold quickened his pace, causing Gerald to run to catch up.
"Look, I'm sorry man. Its just. I don't know, she's Helga Pataki. That means something to me, but I guess it doesn't mean that to you."
Arnold shook his head and they got in line to order.
-_-_-_-
Helga crawled in through the window and shut it quietly behind her. Making her way to the television she turned it off and tucked herself in. Lying on her side, she studied the wall for an hour before she finally drifted off to sleep. The clock read 9:30.
-_-_-_-
Bob sifted through the pages of the Journal, in awe of his daughter's writing ability. He slowly read through one poem that spoke of someone's heartache.
'Another night and one more dream
about my sweetheart from above
Hopefully someday he'll deem
me worthy of his love.'
His wife stirred in Helga's bed, "B, what are you reading?"
Bob looked sheepish, "Miriam, I want you to take a look at this."
-_-_-_-
While Helga was walking back, there was much speculation as to why she had been so out of sorts that day. Stinky and Sid led the conversation, not noticing that the two boys who knew what was going on made no effort in joining in the discussion.
"Maybe she's been abducted by aliens, and that was just an alien in disguise."
Sid rolled his eyes, "Stinky, there's no such thing as aliens."
Stinky grinned and drawled, "Well, I don't know about that. My cousin Smelly Pete got abducted once. Besides weren't you the one convinced that I was a vampire just last year?"
The group laughed when they were interrupted by wheezing.
Harold asked, "Brainy? What are you doing here?"
"wheeze wheeze I don't know."
Rhonda rolled her eyes and continued with her answer, "Maybe Olga's back in town! Maybe she could come to school and teach again, that was week so much fun!"
"You're wrong."
Everyone turned to face Brainy, not noticing he never wheezed when he talked about Helga.
"She's been like this since this morning when she was called down the office but you didn't notice. She was taken from her home. She's going into foster care."
They were all frozen in shock. Arnold stood up, addressing Brainy angrily,
"Why did you tell them Brainy?"
"wheeze wheeze I don't know."
"I don't know isn't going to cut it this time, if Helga had wanted them to know she would have told them."
Brainy turned to Arnold, "Then why do you know?"
Sid, now sufficiently recovered, "Yeah, why do you know, Arnold?"
Arnold shrugged, "I asked Phoebe, I asked her because I was worried about Helga."
-_-_-_-
Thank You Time:
Helga 243: thanks for the review, the outtakes are going to be one of the best parts of this story! *hint-LotR* if you don't understand that, you'll have to figure it out, it has to do with one of the outtakes!
Tyme and Destinie: WE'LL SEE IF SHE STAYS WITH ARNOLD WE'LL SEE IF SHE STAYS WITH ARNOLD WE'LL SEE IF SHE STAYS WITH ARNOLD ;-)
The small girl walked through the city she had grown up in with a slightly hardened gaze that did not match her yet childish features. Her hands were in the pockets of her jackets and she observed everything around her intently. Her path was familiar to her, and she certainly knew where she was. Several people asked her if she was lost or looking for her mother, but she just continued walking. She eventually reached her destination: Lou's Falafel Hut. She espied her quarry and went in for the kill,
"Hi Helga, I made an educated guess that you'd be here."
A blonde girl looked up at the newcomer from her pastrami on rye,
"Hey Pheebs."
-_-_-_-
Arnold and Gerald were walking to the Falafel Hut when they were joined by Stinky, Sid, Rhonda, Harold,Sheena, Eugene, Curly, Nadine and Iggy who had been lounging around the street.
"Hey Arnold, you missed a wonderful autumn downpour this afternoon. Why did you stay in?"
"Hey Eugene.Well, I figured that the rain would cancel it anyways and I wasn't feeling too good so I stayed in. It was coming down pretty hard."
Harold commented, "Yeah, we didn't even get one inning in, before it started up!"
"Arnold, do you know where Phoebe and Helga were today? They usually never miss a scheduled game!"
Arnold grimaced as he wondered where Helga was right now. "No, I didn't know they weren't there Sheena."
Sid asked, "Hey, where are you guys going?"
"Lou's Falafel Hut, wanna come?"
"Why sure, Gerald. It'd be our pleasure."
The gang headed towards the Hut.
-_-_-_-
Phoebe sat with Helga on the corner, eating her falafel. She wasn't particularly hungry but she felt that she needed to honor this tradition. She and Helga always came down to the Hut, Helga ordering pastrami, and Phoebe a falafel. They now sat solemnly munching their dinner. There was no need to talk, they had said all they needed to say before Helga had left with Julie. Phoebe's face creased with anger when she thought of that woman and her petite frame shook as she took out her wrath on her falafel, tearing a piece out savagely with her teeth. Helga looked over, gulped her present mouthful and cocked her head to the side as she said,
"What's the matter with you, Phoebe?"
Phoebe swallowed as well, "Ohhh! It's nothing. I'm just....never mind."
Helga turned to face her best friend, "You know you can talk to me, don't you?"
"Of course I know that, its just, oh Helga...I'm so angry with her."
There was no need to specify who the woman she referred to was. 'She' was the boogie man incarnate. She deserved all the terrible luck in the world to plague her for eternity, for what she had done to the Patakis. This was the girl's unspoken mentality about this Ms. Tirran.
"Don't talk to me about her, she's insane!"
"What do you mean, Helga?"
"Her apartment looks like some third grader's dream house. Everything's bright and cheerful and annoying. I don't think I've ever seen so much cheesy neon green and orange furniture in one place. It gave me a headache! She only buys health food and she's addicted to the soaps. Plus I noticed there aren't any pictures of her family. There are only pictures of her and some friends. She's definately crazy. I never knew they even made tofu corn dogs, tofu spaghetti meat sauce and tofu roast beef!"
"Maybe she had a troubled past. Maybe she cannot come to terms to some traumatic event in her childhood and she thinks herself a super hero for children that she considers to be in her situation."
"Whatever, I can't stand it there. Phoebe she wanted to play Chutes and Ladders with me. CHUTES AND LADDERS! Get this, we went to her office and she told me that she's a 'girly girl' in way of explaining all the Lisa Frank crap she's got. So I asked her if she thought that ripping kids out of their homes is a real girly girl occupation, she didn't answer me."
Phoebe nodded, "Then something obviously happened to her thats making her behave like this, she's obviously in denial about something but doesn't want whatever happened to her, happen to anyone else. A noble sentiment but unhealthy for someone who won't acknowledge her own problems."
Helga looked up from Phoebe and the girls sat in a comfortable silence. Helga took the last bite of her pastrami and spotted someone that she didn't want to see.
"Phoebe, is that Arnold?"
"I, I believe it is Helga."
"Damn."
-_-_-_-
Arnold and the gang were walking up to the corner when Rhonda said,
"Hey look, there's Phoebe and Helga. Let's go ask them where they were!"
Arnold froze suddenly, he didn't want to talk to Helga. It wasn't that he was mad at her, he just didn't know what he would say. He was Arnold, someone who had an answer to every question, a solution to every problem, advice for every situation. Now he found he didn't know how to tell Helga it was going to be all right, when he didn't know if it was going to be all right. He was an empathetic person, and now he wanted to reassure Helga, to be able to say that everything would work out. He wanted to do something for her, and now he fully realized that he couldn't help her. What's worse was that he felt in some way that he was glad she was away from her parents. Glad that she wasn't in that negative environment; he'd heard the times Big Bob had called 'Olga' instead of 'Helga' and he was happy that she wasn't being ignored anymore. But he knew that didn't mean she was happy.
"Hey Arnold, you coming?"
"Yeah Gerald, wait up."
Harold reached the Hut before anyone else, he ordered his falafel then turned and addressed Helga, "Heyyy, Madam Fortress Mommy, why didn't you come and play with us today, huh?"
Helga turned and faced him, focusing her lusterless blue eyes on him, and said quietly "I was busy pink boy." She got up, offering Phoebe a hand.
She ignored all of their questions and walked off with Phoebe beside her.
The two girls passed the two boys. Arnold stopped in front of her, putting a hand on Helga's shoulder,
"Hey, Helga. I-"
She turned and looked at him, before brushing his hand off and continuing on her way.
Phoebe looked at him meaningfully and walked on as well.
"I told you Arnold, there's no point in feeling bad for Helga G. Pataki. She probably doesn't care that she got taken away. She's probably happy!"
Arnold replied, "How can you say that Gerald? Remember when you moved out of your house? At least you had a choice when you moved out and when you came back. You still felt homesick for your family. Helga might not ever go back."
Arnold quickened his pace, causing Gerald to run to catch up.
"Look, I'm sorry man. Its just. I don't know, she's Helga Pataki. That means something to me, but I guess it doesn't mean that to you."
Arnold shook his head and they got in line to order.
-_-_-_-
Helga crawled in through the window and shut it quietly behind her. Making her way to the television she turned it off and tucked herself in. Lying on her side, she studied the wall for an hour before she finally drifted off to sleep. The clock read 9:30.
-_-_-_-
Bob sifted through the pages of the Journal, in awe of his daughter's writing ability. He slowly read through one poem that spoke of someone's heartache.
'Another night and one more dream
about my sweetheart from above
Hopefully someday he'll deem
me worthy of his love.'
His wife stirred in Helga's bed, "B, what are you reading?"
Bob looked sheepish, "Miriam, I want you to take a look at this."
-_-_-_-
While Helga was walking back, there was much speculation as to why she had been so out of sorts that day. Stinky and Sid led the conversation, not noticing that the two boys who knew what was going on made no effort in joining in the discussion.
"Maybe she's been abducted by aliens, and that was just an alien in disguise."
Sid rolled his eyes, "Stinky, there's no such thing as aliens."
Stinky grinned and drawled, "Well, I don't know about that. My cousin Smelly Pete got abducted once. Besides weren't you the one convinced that I was a vampire just last year?"
The group laughed when they were interrupted by wheezing.
Harold asked, "Brainy? What are you doing here?"
"wheeze wheeze I don't know."
Rhonda rolled her eyes and continued with her answer, "Maybe Olga's back in town! Maybe she could come to school and teach again, that was week so much fun!"
"You're wrong."
Everyone turned to face Brainy, not noticing he never wheezed when he talked about Helga.
"She's been like this since this morning when she was called down the office but you didn't notice. She was taken from her home. She's going into foster care."
They were all frozen in shock. Arnold stood up, addressing Brainy angrily,
"Why did you tell them Brainy?"
"wheeze wheeze I don't know."
"I don't know isn't going to cut it this time, if Helga had wanted them to know she would have told them."
Brainy turned to Arnold, "Then why do you know?"
Sid, now sufficiently recovered, "Yeah, why do you know, Arnold?"
Arnold shrugged, "I asked Phoebe, I asked her because I was worried about Helga."
-_-_-_-
Thank You Time:
Helga 243: thanks for the review, the outtakes are going to be one of the best parts of this story! *hint-LotR* if you don't understand that, you'll have to figure it out, it has to do with one of the outtakes!
Tyme and Destinie: WE'LL SEE IF SHE STAYS WITH ARNOLD WE'LL SEE IF SHE STAYS WITH ARNOLD WE'LL SEE IF SHE STAYS WITH ARNOLD ;-)