And here's chapter 12, FINALLY.
"Hey Arnold, Hey Arnold, Hey Arn-" Arnold's alarm stopped after Arnold accidentally knocked it off the shelf, causing the potato to split in two. Feeling groggy, he rose to a sitting position and looked at the potato on the floor.
Gross...
The potato, split apart in the middle, had some rotten stems and unidentifiable green and black bruises veining out towards the outer skin of the potato. Well, he thought, I've been using the potato since fourth grade. It only makes sense.
He quickly brushed his teeth and put on an old, worn out pair of khakis and a blue shirt, and walked down the stairs for some breakfast. He had to get to the school gym for some last minute preparations, and Gerald had agreed to help him out before they got back home and got ready for the dance. Opening the fridge, he smiled to himself as he thought of Helga. He hadn't asked her as his date. He almost had, had fright and nervousy not taken over him. He hoped Helga didn't have a date either...
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Around 6:15 pm that day, a frantic Helga was running around her room crazily. It was a casual dance, not a big deal, so she had decided to wear something fun, maybe flirty, but not anything too girly. Finally, she had decided to wear a green top with thin straps and a straight black skirt till the knees, with a little slit on one side. Running the brush one last time through her hair, she tossed it on her bed and twirled around to admire her reflection. Her infamous frown marred her pretty face as she thought of Arnold. "That moron," she murmered affectionately. "Why couldn't he ever ask me to the dance, why, WHY?"
Helga walked out of her room, down the stairs, and out the door to her dad's slightly run-down car. The only other car available was the jeep. Oh yeah, that would look real nice, Helga thought, driving a military jeep to the dance. Starting the car, Helga sighed. She should have just asked him herself. What's the worse that could happen, him saying no? And even if he did say no, so what? Helga had always managed to twist the situation around to suit her. He's probably asked some dumb, perfect girl to the dance anyway, she sneered to herself. Ten minutes later, Helga arrived at the school. After parking the car, Helga checked to see if what little make-up on her face was alright. She got out of the car and walked towards the gym, wondering how Arnold thought she looked.
Inside the gym, an anxious Arnold looked around the dim, warm room. Tossing the empty paper cup into the trash, he leaned against the wall, his eyes fixed on the gym entrance. Gerald sauntered up, placing an arm on his shoulder. "C'mon Arnold, grab somebody and dance already. Doesn't look much fun, standin' there doin' nothin'," he said.
"Huh? Oh hey Gerald," Arnold replied. Glancing at the doorway one more time he said, "Nah, I have enough punch, thanks" he said.
Gerald raised an eyebrow. "You okay, man?" he asked, slightly concerned.
"Yeah, why do you ask?".
Gerald shook his head.
"So, why aren't you dancing with Phoebe?" Arnold asked, trying to change the topic.
Gerald laughed. "Who knew that girl could dance? She's got me sweatin'. She's over by the DJ, talkin' to Rhonda and Nadine,". He pointed to where the trio stood, engrossed in deep conversation.
Arnold smiled. Phoebe looked beautiful, in a navy sleeveless, knee-length dress, and her hair swept up and tied in place with two chopsticks (that's it, right?). She had lost the glasses and had on contacts, which were reserved for special occassions like these. Arnold himself had taken pains to decide what to wear. Finally, he had decided on a pair of khakis and a navy shirt. Normally he wouldn't spend this much time on clothes but he wanted to make sure he looked good enough for Helga.
Arnold felt a jolt in the heart. Why on earth did he want to impress Helga? The girl had always picked on him and still does. She probably hates his guts. And he was never too fond of her either. So what's wrong now?
As if on cue, Helga walked in. And as Gerald watched, Arnold's mouth slowly hung open. He raised his eye brows again. Then he looked where Arnold was gaping and he too found himself staring.
This can't be Helga, Arnold thought as he watched the gorgeous girl glide gracefully into the big room. Some of the kids had stopped talking a minute to admire the way she looked, but that was all. As he watched with admiring disbelief, Helga spotted Phoebe and walked towards her friend. She passed Harold, Sid, and Stinky when Sid accidentally stepped back from the wall and bumped into Helga.
"Watch it, you bunch of chuckleheads!" she hissed, waving her fist. Arnold grinned. That was more like it. Her threat didn't sound as menacing as it might have a few years ago, but she had the same fierce expression that's for sure. Sid held up his hands in mock surrender, and the three snickered.
As the group of four girls started chatting, Arnold grabbed Gerald's arm and shook him a little. "Gerald, do you think you could dance with Phoebe for a while and get rid of Rhonda and Nadine?" he asked, still staring at Helga.
"Huh? Oh sure, buddy," Gerald replied slowly, eying Arnold suspisciously. The two walked over to the girls and Gerald started smooth talking with the ladies. After a while Nadine walked off to talk to Sheena and Rhonda danced with Curly. Phoebe grinned at Helga and made off with Gerald to the dance floor. Arnold stood alone with Helga.
"So... you look nice," Arnold started.
Helga smirked. "You don't look half so bad yourself, Bucko," she said.
"Yeah. So I was wondering. Doyouwannadance?" Arnold spoke out quickly before he could stop himself.
Helga stared at him a few moments and burst out laughing. "Dance? With YOU?" Shut up, you moron! she mentally scolded herself. This is your chance. He's asking you to dance with him, idiot! Say yes, say yes!
Her ego got in the way, unfortunately. "I wouldn't dance with you if-"
Fortunately for her, Lila walked up swaying her hips. She wore a curve- hugging one piece short strapless satin dress that looked as if she might burst out any second. Flipping her messy, bedroom hair, she stared sexily at Arnold. "Hey honey," she drawled. She glanced sideways to Helga and muttered, "Helga," before turning back to Arnold. She placed a hand on Arnold's shoulder, moved closer and traced a line with her finger on his chest. Arnold grabbed her wrist and roughtly yanked it away from his body. Lila snatched her hand back, slightly annoyed. "Why, whatever seems to be the matter, Arnold?".
"I distinctly remember Arnold telling you to get away from him, LILA" Helga said though her teeth.
"Stay out of this bitch, Arnold's mine tonight," Lila spat back.
"Lila," Arnold began, finally losing his temper. "Why don't you-".
"Doesn't seem that way to me," Helga interrupted and laughed bitterly. "Arnold just asked me to dance with him," she continued, taking Arnold's hand. "So I'm afraid he's MINE for tonight,". The two walked towards the middle of the dance floor where Helga placed her hands on Arnold's shoulder with a smug grin. Arnold, quite amused, slipped his hands around Helga's waist, and the two started swaying with the music.
"I thought you didn't want to dance with me," Arnold said.
"Well, I didn't want you to dance with her," Helga said, slightly nervous.
Arnold leaned closer. "Why?".
"What do you mean, why? I don't want my friends hanging aroudn that slut!" she fumed.
"Am I a friend, then?".
"Doi, why else do you think I snatched you away from LILA?" she asked. "It's not that I WANTED to dance with you. But now that we are, we might as well continue it,".
"Whatever you say, Helga," Arnold smiled. He pulled Helga a little closer. He noticed that Helga kept averting her gaze to the other couples on the dance floor. She seemed to be avoiding looking into Arnold's face. He, on the other hand, was looking intently into her lovely face.
"Are you afraid of me, Helga?"
She just snorted.
"Seems like you're hiding something from me," he whispered.
"Well, Arnoldo, I don't have to tell you EVERYTHING, do I?" and she laughed.
"No but if you ever want to tell me anything, you know I'll always-".
"I have Phoebe for that, Bucko,".
Arnold rolled his eyes. "I give up,".
"Well," Helga began. "There is something. But I'd rather not say it to your face," her voice became soft.
"Alright then," he pulled her even closer, till their bodies almsot touched. Helga rested her head on Arnold's shoulder as they moved to the music. "Better?".
She laughed. "Yeah.". They continued to move slowly to the music. "Well, the thing is...". She hesitated.
"Yes, Helga?".
Should I tell him? I mean, he probably knows already, especialyl with the way we're dancing. Then again, he might be thinking I have some kind of problem and he's being all nice and stuff so I'd tell him what's 'bothering' me, she thought. Yes, that must be it. I have to find out if he likes me just as much. She nodded her head slightly with determination.
Helga purposefully missed a dance step, letting Arnold accidentally step on her toe. It didn't hurt much but she became really dramatic about it anyway. "Criminy, football head, can't you dance right without stepping all over my foot? Ow!".
Arnold's eyes widened. "I'm sorry Helga, but you... I... uh,".
"Oh, yeah, sure, blame it on me! Now help me sit in that chair and get me some punch, will ya?". Helga pretended to limp.
Putting an arm around her waist, Arnold helped Helga into the chair. Slightly amused, he walked over to the table, receiving some stares and snickers. I don't know what's Helga's deal, he thought, but she'll fall for me soon.
"Hey Arnold, Hey Arnold, Hey Arn-" Arnold's alarm stopped after Arnold accidentally knocked it off the shelf, causing the potato to split in two. Feeling groggy, he rose to a sitting position and looked at the potato on the floor.
Gross...
The potato, split apart in the middle, had some rotten stems and unidentifiable green and black bruises veining out towards the outer skin of the potato. Well, he thought, I've been using the potato since fourth grade. It only makes sense.
He quickly brushed his teeth and put on an old, worn out pair of khakis and a blue shirt, and walked down the stairs for some breakfast. He had to get to the school gym for some last minute preparations, and Gerald had agreed to help him out before they got back home and got ready for the dance. Opening the fridge, he smiled to himself as he thought of Helga. He hadn't asked her as his date. He almost had, had fright and nervousy not taken over him. He hoped Helga didn't have a date either...
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~
Around 6:15 pm that day, a frantic Helga was running around her room crazily. It was a casual dance, not a big deal, so she had decided to wear something fun, maybe flirty, but not anything too girly. Finally, she had decided to wear a green top with thin straps and a straight black skirt till the knees, with a little slit on one side. Running the brush one last time through her hair, she tossed it on her bed and twirled around to admire her reflection. Her infamous frown marred her pretty face as she thought of Arnold. "That moron," she murmered affectionately. "Why couldn't he ever ask me to the dance, why, WHY?"
Helga walked out of her room, down the stairs, and out the door to her dad's slightly run-down car. The only other car available was the jeep. Oh yeah, that would look real nice, Helga thought, driving a military jeep to the dance. Starting the car, Helga sighed. She should have just asked him herself. What's the worse that could happen, him saying no? And even if he did say no, so what? Helga had always managed to twist the situation around to suit her. He's probably asked some dumb, perfect girl to the dance anyway, she sneered to herself. Ten minutes later, Helga arrived at the school. After parking the car, Helga checked to see if what little make-up on her face was alright. She got out of the car and walked towards the gym, wondering how Arnold thought she looked.
Inside the gym, an anxious Arnold looked around the dim, warm room. Tossing the empty paper cup into the trash, he leaned against the wall, his eyes fixed on the gym entrance. Gerald sauntered up, placing an arm on his shoulder. "C'mon Arnold, grab somebody and dance already. Doesn't look much fun, standin' there doin' nothin'," he said.
"Huh? Oh hey Gerald," Arnold replied. Glancing at the doorway one more time he said, "Nah, I have enough punch, thanks" he said.
Gerald raised an eyebrow. "You okay, man?" he asked, slightly concerned.
"Yeah, why do you ask?".
Gerald shook his head.
"So, why aren't you dancing with Phoebe?" Arnold asked, trying to change the topic.
Gerald laughed. "Who knew that girl could dance? She's got me sweatin'. She's over by the DJ, talkin' to Rhonda and Nadine,". He pointed to where the trio stood, engrossed in deep conversation.
Arnold smiled. Phoebe looked beautiful, in a navy sleeveless, knee-length dress, and her hair swept up and tied in place with two chopsticks (that's it, right?). She had lost the glasses and had on contacts, which were reserved for special occassions like these. Arnold himself had taken pains to decide what to wear. Finally, he had decided on a pair of khakis and a navy shirt. Normally he wouldn't spend this much time on clothes but he wanted to make sure he looked good enough for Helga.
Arnold felt a jolt in the heart. Why on earth did he want to impress Helga? The girl had always picked on him and still does. She probably hates his guts. And he was never too fond of her either. So what's wrong now?
As if on cue, Helga walked in. And as Gerald watched, Arnold's mouth slowly hung open. He raised his eye brows again. Then he looked where Arnold was gaping and he too found himself staring.
This can't be Helga, Arnold thought as he watched the gorgeous girl glide gracefully into the big room. Some of the kids had stopped talking a minute to admire the way she looked, but that was all. As he watched with admiring disbelief, Helga spotted Phoebe and walked towards her friend. She passed Harold, Sid, and Stinky when Sid accidentally stepped back from the wall and bumped into Helga.
"Watch it, you bunch of chuckleheads!" she hissed, waving her fist. Arnold grinned. That was more like it. Her threat didn't sound as menacing as it might have a few years ago, but she had the same fierce expression that's for sure. Sid held up his hands in mock surrender, and the three snickered.
As the group of four girls started chatting, Arnold grabbed Gerald's arm and shook him a little. "Gerald, do you think you could dance with Phoebe for a while and get rid of Rhonda and Nadine?" he asked, still staring at Helga.
"Huh? Oh sure, buddy," Gerald replied slowly, eying Arnold suspisciously. The two walked over to the girls and Gerald started smooth talking with the ladies. After a while Nadine walked off to talk to Sheena and Rhonda danced with Curly. Phoebe grinned at Helga and made off with Gerald to the dance floor. Arnold stood alone with Helga.
"So... you look nice," Arnold started.
Helga smirked. "You don't look half so bad yourself, Bucko," she said.
"Yeah. So I was wondering. Doyouwannadance?" Arnold spoke out quickly before he could stop himself.
Helga stared at him a few moments and burst out laughing. "Dance? With YOU?" Shut up, you moron! she mentally scolded herself. This is your chance. He's asking you to dance with him, idiot! Say yes, say yes!
Her ego got in the way, unfortunately. "I wouldn't dance with you if-"
Fortunately for her, Lila walked up swaying her hips. She wore a curve- hugging one piece short strapless satin dress that looked as if she might burst out any second. Flipping her messy, bedroom hair, she stared sexily at Arnold. "Hey honey," she drawled. She glanced sideways to Helga and muttered, "Helga," before turning back to Arnold. She placed a hand on Arnold's shoulder, moved closer and traced a line with her finger on his chest. Arnold grabbed her wrist and roughtly yanked it away from his body. Lila snatched her hand back, slightly annoyed. "Why, whatever seems to be the matter, Arnold?".
"I distinctly remember Arnold telling you to get away from him, LILA" Helga said though her teeth.
"Stay out of this bitch, Arnold's mine tonight," Lila spat back.
"Lila," Arnold began, finally losing his temper. "Why don't you-".
"Doesn't seem that way to me," Helga interrupted and laughed bitterly. "Arnold just asked me to dance with him," she continued, taking Arnold's hand. "So I'm afraid he's MINE for tonight,". The two walked towards the middle of the dance floor where Helga placed her hands on Arnold's shoulder with a smug grin. Arnold, quite amused, slipped his hands around Helga's waist, and the two started swaying with the music.
"I thought you didn't want to dance with me," Arnold said.
"Well, I didn't want you to dance with her," Helga said, slightly nervous.
Arnold leaned closer. "Why?".
"What do you mean, why? I don't want my friends hanging aroudn that slut!" she fumed.
"Am I a friend, then?".
"Doi, why else do you think I snatched you away from LILA?" she asked. "It's not that I WANTED to dance with you. But now that we are, we might as well continue it,".
"Whatever you say, Helga," Arnold smiled. He pulled Helga a little closer. He noticed that Helga kept averting her gaze to the other couples on the dance floor. She seemed to be avoiding looking into Arnold's face. He, on the other hand, was looking intently into her lovely face.
"Are you afraid of me, Helga?"
She just snorted.
"Seems like you're hiding something from me," he whispered.
"Well, Arnoldo, I don't have to tell you EVERYTHING, do I?" and she laughed.
"No but if you ever want to tell me anything, you know I'll always-".
"I have Phoebe for that, Bucko,".
Arnold rolled his eyes. "I give up,".
"Well," Helga began. "There is something. But I'd rather not say it to your face," her voice became soft.
"Alright then," he pulled her even closer, till their bodies almsot touched. Helga rested her head on Arnold's shoulder as they moved to the music. "Better?".
She laughed. "Yeah.". They continued to move slowly to the music. "Well, the thing is...". She hesitated.
"Yes, Helga?".
Should I tell him? I mean, he probably knows already, especialyl with the way we're dancing. Then again, he might be thinking I have some kind of problem and he's being all nice and stuff so I'd tell him what's 'bothering' me, she thought. Yes, that must be it. I have to find out if he likes me just as much. She nodded her head slightly with determination.
Helga purposefully missed a dance step, letting Arnold accidentally step on her toe. It didn't hurt much but she became really dramatic about it anyway. "Criminy, football head, can't you dance right without stepping all over my foot? Ow!".
Arnold's eyes widened. "I'm sorry Helga, but you... I... uh,".
"Oh, yeah, sure, blame it on me! Now help me sit in that chair and get me some punch, will ya?". Helga pretended to limp.
Putting an arm around her waist, Arnold helped Helga into the chair. Slightly amused, he walked over to the table, receiving some stares and snickers. I don't know what's Helga's deal, he thought, but she'll fall for me soon.