Ahh, yes, more fluff, as arnold finds Helga's newest poem-and makes a shocking discovery.

So far, I'd like to thank all of you for your kind reviews, and don't worry, I'll finish this story(unlike the two dozen other ones, which are sitting on my harddrive…).

Now, on with the sweetness and the smiles…

Disclaimer: Chrrrr..zzzzz-huh? Wha-´Oh, standard..zzzz…

Reviews: Ah, how me love these!^^

Archive: anywhere, anytime, just tell me.

###########################################

2. Operation 'Flying Poet'

"So, you think it was one of our girls?" asked Gerald, as they rode the bus back home.

Arnold, nodded silently, letting his eyes wander over the poem again and again.

"Yeah, I'm sure, one of them lost it, because it flew into my face, right when everybody was scurrying for class."

"So?"

"So? It's back to the lab, comparing writing styles, pencils, and so on."

"You mean, the same procedure like with the poetry book?"

"Yeah, the same procedure like-"Arnold froze mid-sentence.

"Gerald, that's it! The poetry book! I knew, I knew this writing style from somewhere! As soon as we get home, I want to see if  I'm right."

Two rows behind, Helga banged her head against the front seat in pure frustration. This was plain and simply not happening.

Snarling, she turned to Phoebe and whispered:

"You. Me. Your room in twenty. We've got to stop this!"

"Got it!" rasped Phoebe.

The two sheets of paper had been cut and strapped down on the holder, as a green eye scrutinized each of them thourougly.

"Dr. Gerald, please note: The big 'E', 'I' and 'S' are identical, and there is a nearly 100% match on the letters 'r', 'p', 'v', 'l' and 'z'." The tall-haired boy wrote along, then exchanged looks with his friend.

"You know, what this means, don't you?" asked Arnold. Gerald nodded.

"Yep. The 'Purple Poet' strikes again!"  Ever since the 'poetry book' incident, they had dubbed the anonymous writer with this nickname, due to the purple pen she was using.

Placing the sheet of paper on the table, Arnold reached for the poetry book, when-

"Hey, short-man! Phone for you!" Phil yelled from below. Rolling his eyes, Arnold shouted through the closed doors:

"Ok, grampa, I'll take it!"

Taking of the examination gloves, Arnold trudged to his phone, and, picking it up, motioned Gerald to take a seat.

"Yes?"

"Hey, Arnold, here's Phoebe! Listen, I'm calling because we-that is, Harold, Sid, Stinky, Nadine, Sheena, Eugene and Curly- are here at Gerald field, playing baseball, and we're missing another two players!" chirped Phoebe into her flip phone.

"Uhh, listen, Phoebe, this is really not a good moment, we're kind of busy. Why don't you ask some of the other kids?"

"I did, but you know Rhonda, she would never let any mud touch her original Gabbi sneakers, Lila is busy helping her father, and Helga got into a fight with her father, and is grounded for the day."

Phoebe was happy that Arnold couldn't see her, since she had gone beet red while lying.

Truth was, that Helga was sitting in the alleyway, two streets from the boarding house, waiting for her to phone back and give her the sign to launch her attack, as it were.

In his room, Arnold gave in, telling Gerald the news, and post-poning their tests until later.

"Oh, thanks, guys, I'm sure, we all are going to enjoy this wonderful afternoon of game and fun!" tweeted Phoebe, then excused herself and hang up. Turning towards the others, she announced Arnold's and Gerald's soon arrival.

Some cheers, a couple of  thumbs up and a stray 'boo' where her answer.

"So, Nadine says to Sheena;' but you can't wear that to Rhonda's party! You'll get banned for life!'"

Both boys laughed at Gerald's tale, crossing the street and rounding the corner, never noticing the dark figure lurking behind the trashcans.

Impatently, Helga waited for her flip phone to ring, five, eight, ten minutes, until-

Rrrt-click"Yeah?" she snarled.

"Mighty eagle? Here is Earthworm! Ice cream and Top Hats are melting in the sun!" whispered Phoebe.

"Excellent!" grinned Helga. That was her signal, that both Gerald and Arnold were busy pitching and stealing bases.

"Mighty eagle, over and out!" She rose, let the phone slip into her pocket, then ran all the way to the boarding house, allways making sure, to stay out of sight of anybody, who might have noticed her. Once there, she began climbing the fire ladder, until she reached the roof.

She was so busy avoiding any noise, she never noticed the clouds gather above her, her mind was only on the task of stealing the poem and her poetry book back from Arnold, before he found out, they were hers.

And this time, she swore herself, she would succeed!

Stealthily, she ran from chimney to chimney, until she was standing behind the one closest to Arnold's highlight.

Rubbing her hands, she mumbled:

"Perfect! While these two goons are busy making fools of themselves, I have all the time in the world, to retrieve all evidence of my obsession. My plan is absolutely flawless! Ahahahahahahahahahaaa!"

PLIP! A single drop of water exploded on the tip of her nose.

Helga looked up, only to be hit by a second one in the center of her unibrow.

The soft sound of cascading water made her frown.

"Great", she snarled,"it's raining." Then blue eyes widened in horror, as realization hit her.

"Aaaaaahhhhh! They're going to break up the game!"

Rushing towards the closed window, Helga nearly fainted, when her phone rang. Squeezing it between shoulder and chin, she started fumbling with the lock.

"What?" she yelled, half panicked, half mad. Phoebes faint voice replied hastily:

"Mighty Eagle, here Earthworm! The chicken are coming home to roost! I repeat, the chicken are coming-"

"I know, I know!" screamed Helga, rattling at the glass door-and giving a surprised sqeaul, when it actually opened, and she fell into thin air.

WHOOMP-A! The soft cushions on Arnold's bed stopped her fall, as she hit it with her back first. Unluckily, the springs catapulted her in a front flip off the matress, as she tore off the sheets in a feeble attempt to stop her forwards motion.

With a loud thud, Helga connected with the floor. For a moment, all seemed to wobble, then her eyes focused on the desk.

Or rather, on the Erlenmeyer that was standing next to the edge, and about to topple over.

A loud gasp, a head start and a desperate slide saved the glass from shattering into a thousand pieces.

Sighing, Helga rose and placed the Erlenmeyer back on the table-just before her jaw fell.

Obviously, her left shoe had gone astray whilst her landing, and not only knocked over the numerous test tubes, but also hit the staple of papers and crib notes, spraying them all over the floor.

Hastily, Helga tried to rearrange everything, when she saw her poem sticking out from under another page. Grabbing it, she stuffed it under her shirt, even as her eyes roamed the room for her poetry book. She frowned, when she saw the mess she left on the bed, and quickly started to straighten it out, as good as she could. Just when she was about to finish, she heard the housedoor below slam closed, as two very familiar footsteps came tumbling up the stairs.

Frantically, she looked around for any trace of evidence she might have lost, noticed her left shoe and dashed for it.

There was no time to look for the pink book, so she rushed up the stairs to the roof, fought a moment with the highlight, and fell out on the rainy roof. She sprung up, closed the lock from outside, and shot towards the ladder.

Always taking two steps at once, she slipped and fell two stores down-into the open container.

The lid closed with a loud bang, even as three floors above a door was swung open.

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

Hehehehee, don't you just loove cliff-hangers. Don't worry, I'll be back soon..maybe…^^