A/N: I'm in a good mood because the Atlanta Braves' opening day is tomorrow, so I figured I would write. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, it makes my day to read them, and it also makes me want to write more, so keep it up. Anyways, chapter five is here. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I still don't own Hey Arnold, but I'm working on it ^_^
Where to Begin
Chapter 5 – Let's Make a Deal
"Welcome back, everyone!"
Helga glared at Mrs. Chadwick as she sat on the cold floor of one of the many practice studios at the Omni Theater. Callie was sitting on her right with a similar expression on her face. After a particularly grueling practice she was not in the mood to learn how to properly walk or talk or whatever else they were going to try to teach her.
"I'm glad you all are so eager to get started," Helga and Callie exchanged you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me looks. They were not the only ones. Many of the other girls looked like they would rather be at the dentist. She continued on. "Today we have a few men here who specialize in prepping young ladies like yourselves for pageants just like this one. They will here everyday working with you on everything from interviews to talent to how to move with grace and ease." She motioned to four middle-aged men. Helga was trying to remember if she had ever seen anything so pathetic in before in her life. Chadwick looked at her clipboard. "Let's see. Miss Pataki, Miss DiMauro, Miss Verducci, Miss Amonte, and Miss Hayeworth can go with Mr. Samson. That's the man on the far right. He will take you to your rehearsal studio. Miss Venable—" Helga blocked the older woman's annoying voice as she followed Mr. Samson out of the room and into another room that looked just like it. Samson appeared to be the youngest and least pathetic of the group, but that really was not saying much. He was average height with sharp gray eyes and jet black hair. He was dressed in black pants and a green polo shirt. His eyes stared coldly at the girls who were sitting up against one of the side walls when he finally spoke to them.
"First off, I am not gay. I am happily divorced and I have two kids."
"That doesn't mean anything," Callie whispered.
"Second of all, I don't normally do this. I am vice principal of a finishing school in Seattle. I am doing this as a favor for Mrs. Chadwick's husband. However, I am determined to make you into posed and elegant pageant contestants, not because I care, though, but because the other men and I have a bet on who gets the most girls into the top five."
Helga smirked. This guy thought he was hot stuff, but he was just a bitter middle-aged man who had nothing better to do with his life then tell people how to drink tea. He turned to her and looked at her sharply. "Did I say something funny Miss—"
"Pataki. Helga Pataki. And no, you were extremely straightforward with no humor at all."
He eyed her intensely yet without interest. "What school are you from?"
"West Hillwood."
"Year?"
"Junior."
"I see." He looked thoughtful for a moment, his hand on his chin. "Stand up."
She stood up. "What's my next challenge, oh great teacher?"
He gazed even more coldly at her. "Walk across the room."
"Are you serious?" she asked, not moving.
"Miss Pataki, do I look like a man who likes to joke? When I tell you to do something, you do it. Now walk across this room."
She glared at him as she walked to the other wall and back to the group of girls. "Again," Samson commanded, his arms crossed across his chest. Helga growled slightly, still in a state of disbelief that she was wasting her time walking in front of a group of brainless girls (minus Callie) and a power-hungry little man, and repeated the task. "Look, Mr. Samson," she started as she walked.
"Don't call me that. You will call me Dan. Mr. Samson makes me sound old."
"You are old," she said. His lower lip curled in disgust. "Again, Miss Pataki," he ordered. She started across the room again, her patience wearing thin. "Girls, it is very evident that Miss Pataki had never been in a beauty pageant," he said when she was halfway to the other side. "Am I correct?"
"Yeah," she said, stopping. "Why?"
"Because you walk like an ape-girl who doesn't have an ounce of grace or elegance in her whole gangly body." Helga turned around. He was glaring coldly at her while the other girls laughed. Callie shrugged at her, but was laughing just as hard as the other three. Mr. Samson, or Dan, walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Miss Pataki, how tall are you?"
"5'8''."
"Well, many girls would kill to be that height, so use it. That means do not slouch. Ever. Now, always walk with your head up. People want to judge you by your beautiful face," he said sarcastically as he lifted her chin, his icy gaze matching her own. He walked around her and stood behind her. "Shoulders back." He pulled her shoulders hard. "And lastly, don't stomp when you walk. I don't care what kind of person you are or what kind of life you have, but the judges want to see a happy, carefree girl who seems to walk on air. Please try again." She did as she was told, but her anger prevented her from stepping lightly. He followed her. "I said glide!" he yelled, slapping her on the ass.
Stunned, Helga covered about ten feet in two seconds as she moved away from him. "What the hell are you doing, you ass—" she shouted, but apparently he could move just as fast as she could. He clamped his left hand over her mouth, stifling her outburst before she could finish. He seemed to look straight through her, as if trying to read her thoughts. "Miss Pataki, pageant winners do not speak like that to anyone, especially someone who can help them in their pathetic quest to be number one. Let's get this straight now. While you are in my guidance, you will treat me with respect and you will do whatever I say!" She wrenched his hand off of her face, and walked the rest of the way to the girls, who had been watching with a great deal of interest. She moved as lightly and elegantly as she could.
"Miss Pataki?"
"What?" she snapped.
"What are you doing for the talent portion of this wonderful competition?" he asked as she neared the finish.
"I don't have a talent yet," she said, immediately regretting her choice of words. She knew what was coming next.
"Truer words my ears have never heard." She stopped momentarily, took a deep breath to calm herself down and to keep herself from killing the man, and continued on. "That's enough for now, Miss Pataki. You may sit down. You, Miss Amonte I believe, please come here. Yes, that is very good. Remember, chin up. . ."
Helga sat down beside Callie, red with anger and embarrassment. Her pride was nearly crushed. "It's okay, Helga. The guy's an asshole." Callie said in attempt to cheer Helga up. She said nothing. She watched quietly as the other girls practiced. Samson's verbal abuse was much more subdued with them than it had been with her. Anger boiled up inside her during her next turn. Mrs. Chadwick had come in to see how the girls were doing. Samson had switched into coach of the year mode and gave only constructive criticism. After the other girls went through again, he worked with them on their talent performances while the others continued to practice walking. Callie and Helga glided in the back while Charlotte Amonte and Mackenzie DiMauro practiced near Dan, who was currently watching Sabrina Verducci perform her Pointe routine. Callie, who had done well when she worked with Dan, was over exaggerating everything he told her. She kicked her leg back as she stepped with the other, and was swinging her arms as far as she could, wrists bent in effort to look graceful. Helga could not help but laugh, so Callie began to twirl while continuing her strut.
"Miss Hayeworth! What are you doing?"
"Gliding, Sir!" she yelled and she moved faster.
"Well, relax on it. You look like a retarded dodo bird. You will give Pataki the wrong idea, and she needs all the help she can get."
Callie stopped and looked at Helga, who had also stopped and was glaring at him. "Miss Pataki, I don't believe I told you to stop."
She growled and continued on. Callie did so as well, but she walked normal. The two continued walking back and forth in silence until eight-thirty when he released them. "We will continue tomorrow. Miss Pataki, please come here. I would like to talk to you."
Callie gave her a sympathetic look as she left. Helga walked over to him. "Yes?"
"Miss Pataki, I don't give a damn about you. I won't to get that point across before I say anything else."
"Look, I'm not stupid. I already figured that one out, so just save your breath," she said walking away from him.
"I wasn't finished."
She turned around and walked back. "Okay. Continue."
He glared fiercely at her. "I don't give a damn about you. You can make a complete fool of yourself for all I care. However, I can tell that deep down you want to win for some reason, my guess is the money, otherwise you would have told everyone to go fuck themselves, and you would have gone on your merry way. I can help you, but you have to be willing to do whatever I tell you to do."
She eyed him carefully. "Why aren't you telling any of the other girls this?"
"Because you are the only one here who has enough determination bottled up inside of them to win."
She continued to stare at him. "Miss Pataki, you can do this. Keep that temper of yours in control, and you'll mop the floor with the rest of the girls. I can help you do it, but I will only help you if you really want it. Don't waste my time." He left her standing alone in the room, bewildered. Well, that makes two people who think I can do this, she thought.
¤ ~ ¤ ~ ¤
Helga walked to her locker after school feeling extremely sluggish. She had been up until one the night before finishing homework and thinking about the pageant, and all she had to look forward to was practice until six, pageant prepping, and more homework. She was angrily jamming books into her bag when a voice suddenly called, "Helga, dear, there you are!"
Helga moved her locker door and looked into the blue eyes of Rhonda Wellington Lloyd (blue from colored contacts. Rhonda's eyes were naturally gray). Though she had some sort of a friendship with Rhonda, the girl was not one whose sudden appearance made Helga want to jump up and down, especially in this mood. "What do you need, Rhonda. I need to get to practice."
"Oh, Helga, I just had the most charming conversation with Lila." Helga snorted. Rhonda and Lila hated each other, so she bet the conversation was anything but 'charming'. Rhonda continued. "Anyways, the dear girl seems certain that she is going to win the Miss Hillwood Pageant."
"So? That's old news. Let Miss Perfect live in her dream world. What does this have to do with me?"
"Well, Helga, I would much rather see you win then Lila."
Helga shut her locker and observed the brunette in front of her. "What are you getting at?"
"Helga, I would like to help you with the pageant."
Helga's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. "Oh no. Rhonda, we barely get along as it is. You want to spend that much time with me? We'll kill each other."
"You do want to win, don't you?"
"Well, yeah, but—"
"Well, I can help you," she interrupted. "Arnold thinks it's a good idea as well."
Helga looked past Rhonda at the blonde boy who was trying without much luck to look like he was not listening to the two girls. "Is that so?" she asked. Arnold ignored her and kept getting his stuff ready to go. She turned back to Rhonda. "What do you have in mind?"
"Well, I can help you with your clothes and hair and makeup and that sort of thing, and how to respond properly during an interview and help you with your talent. What is your talent, anyway?"
"I don't know yet."
"Well, I can help you with that as well. Please, Helga."
"You really don't want Lila to win, do you?" Rhonda nodded. "Fine. You can help."
"Yes!" she cried, hugging Helga. "Rhonda, please, let me go," Helga chocked. Rhonda let go. "I know you'll win with my help, Helga."
"Right," she said. "I have to go. Hey Football Head?"
"What?"
"Wanna walk me to practice?"
"Sure. Bye, Rhonda."
"Good-bye, Arnold. Good-bye, Helga," she said and left merrily, bouncing down the hall. Helga glared at Arnold. "So this was your idea?"
"No, it was Phoebe's and Rhonda's. I just thought it made sense."
"Phoebe was in on it too?"
"Yeah, she wants to help as well. Helga, we all want you to win."
"You want me to win, or you want me to beat Lila?"
He blinked. "Aren't they the same?"
"Sure," she said, too tired to continue arguing. Practice, practice, homework. Isn't my life exciting, she thought.
¤ ~ ¤ ~ ¤
"Girls, today we have a choreographer, Miss Sheltie, and a few of her assistants here to help you learn your routine for the pageant. As you all know, the contestants perform together twice, once at the opening and again later on in the show. This year, because of our sponsor MJAZZ and the popular movie Chicago, you will be dancing to "All that Jazz," one of the popular songs from the musical."
All the girls gasped and a few shrieked. Helga just sat dumbstruck. I have to dance?! Callie actually looked excited. "You actually like this idea?" she asked.
Callie nodded. "Yeah. I used to be in dance, and I liked it. I also love that song. Hey!" she said as Helga rolled her eyes. "You could try to like something about this, you know."
"Yeah, I could, but I won't."
Callie just shook her head. Mrs. Chadwick continued. "Okay, girls spread out. Miss Sheltie is going to show you a few moves, and you will try to do them yourself. The others will be watch so they can decide who will have solos and will be in the front. Girls, it is okay if you don't do well right now. I know not all of you have studied dance, but we will be practicing a lot, and you will do just fine. Please don't get discouraged. Okay, Miss Sheltie. They're all yours."
Miss Sheltie was a woman in her early thirties who was tall, blonde, and rail thin. However, she could dance, and she began teaching a mini routine. Helga did not really mind too much. The real problem was that there was a mirror in the front of the room and she could see how much better everybody else was. The assistants were walking around looking at everyone. Lila was doing really well, as was Callie and Sabrina, the Pointe girl. One of them, a young girl, stopped in front of Helga. "You're pretty good. How long have you been dancing?"
"For about fifteen minutes."
The girl smiled. "I mean, how long have you been studying dance?"
Helga continued on dancing, this time trying to master a difficult turn. "I told you, fifteen minutes."
"Wait, you've never danced before?"
"Not like this."
The girl called over two other assistants. "Hey, this girl's never danced before."
"You're kidding," one man said. "You're a natural." He paused. "Can you sing?"
"A little," she answered. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you all watching me?"
"Because you are one of the best in here," the girl said as she walked away. Callie winked at Helga. "See, it's not so bad, is it?" Helga was very confused. All she could do, however, was try not to look like a complete fool.
"Okay, that's enough for now," Miss Sheltie said after forty-five minutes. She turned to her assistants. "Who did you like?" They pointed to Lila, Callie, Sabrina, Isabella Rivas, and Helga. "Those were the best, though the rest were good too. You're lucky. Nobody's bad in here."
She nodded and pasted out music sheets to the girls. "Let's see if you can sing." She went to the piano and practiced.
"Miss Sheltie?" Sabrina asked.
"Yes?"
"I would prefer to just dance, if you don't mind. I can't sing very well."
Miss Sheltie nodded. "That's fine, dear. Anyone else?" she asked. Helga was about to speak up when Miss Sheltie spoke again. "Okay. You in the green tank top, you're up first." She began to play and Lila sang along. She did pretty well and looked very smug afterwards. Isabella went next, but she was not as good as Lila. Callie followed. She did all right, but Helga could tell she would be a better singer with a different type of song. "Okay, Blondie. Your turn," Miss Sheltie said to Helga. Helga swallowed hard and began to sing.
"C'mon babe, why don't we paint the town? And all that jazz.
I'm gonna rouge my knees and roll my stockings down. And all that jazz.
Start the car I know a whoopee spot,
Where the gin is cold but the piano's hot.
It's just a noisy hall where there's a nightly brawl.
And all that jazz.
Slick your hair and wear your buckle shoes. And all that jazz.
I hear that Feather Dip is gonna blow the blues. And all that jazz.
Hold on hon, we're gonna bunny hug,
I bought some aspirin down at United Drug,
In case you shake apart and want a brand new start,
To do that jazz."
Every pair of eyes in the room was on Helga. Miss Sheltie smiled. "We have our Velma." Everyone clapped at Helga, who was speechless. "Good job, Helga! I knew ya had it in ya," Callie said, hugging her new friend. Lila stood behind everyone, glaring at Helga. Maybe this won't be so bad, Helga thought. I have a solo!
¤ ~ ¤ ~ ¤
While Helga was discovering talent she never knew she had, Arnold was discovering that he was not as patient as he thought he was. Maybe I'm hanging around Helga too much, he thought as he looked at his fighting crewmembers. They had been sitting on the stage arguing for an hour. Josh had been quiet the whole time. Arnold had tried to get a word or two in, but he had given up a half hour ago.
"I think we should build a big bridge, with lots of lights, and we can have an actual river running through the stage."
"That's dumb. How are they supposed to perform?"
"Somebody say something else. All these ideas are lame."
"Why don't you suggest something?"
"I'm doing my nails."
"Well, maybe if some people actually were awake they could say something." SMACK.
"What the hell? I was awake!"
"So? You deserve it."
"Why?"
"Because! Who wears sunglasses inside?"
"Who goes around smacking people up side the head because they don't like what somebody's wearing?"
"People who dress in normal attire!"
"Yeah, like that's normal. You look like a bag lady."
"Why I oughta. . ."
"Will you please shut up?" Arnold shouted. Fifteen pairs of eyes stared at him, stunned. He was surprised at himself. "I mean, stop arguing." Nobody said anything. He sighed. "Look, no one wants to really do this, right?" Everyone remained quiet. "Okay then. We should do something simple so we won't end up spending a lot of our time doing something we hate. We'll make it look good, but sometimes less is more, right?"
"Yeah, I guess," Ryne said. "Do you have an idea?"
"Well, no, but I am sure we can think of something."
"I have an idea," Josh said.
"Great. The dumb jock has an idea," Kathryn muttered.
Josh stood up, ignoring the snotty girl. "Here are the plans I came up with," he said, handing the papers to Arnold who placed them on the floor so everyone could see. "We can build a small staircase for them to come out of," he motioned to the back of the stage, "We'll leave the stage floor as is, and I was thinking about three water fountains on the stage, but on platforms so we can move them around when we need to."
Everyone nodded. "Maybe we should have a small staircase leading into a bigger staircase, like the pageants on TV. There is a lot of room on stage, so we shouldn't have a problem taking up their performing space," Allison said.
"It's a jazzy theme, right? So maybe we could get it to look like the club in the movie The Mask. You know, big staircase with lots of lights, and a band playing on the side," Reese added.
"Yeah, that's a good idea because they're having a band play," Louis said. They continued throwing out ideas as Chloe wrote everything down. Arnold smiled. It was not going to be as simple as he first thought, but at least they were finally working together, and it seemed like it was going to be an awesome set.
¤ ~ ¤ ~ ¤
"You really saved us back there, Josh."
"No problem. Somebody just had to get the ball rolling." He smiled at Arnold. "Way to take control. I didn't think you had it in you. I have to admit, I was a little scared of you."
Arnold laughed. They were walking into the lobby, feeling pretty good. He knew that things would get better, and once everybody had stopped fighting Arnold could see that most of them were really nice and creative. He could not wait to work with them. He was about to leave when he heard a voice behind him. "Arnold! Hey Arnold! Wait up!" He turned to see Helga running towards him, a very attractive brunette behind her. The girl looked to be about four inches shorter than Helga. Her honey brown hair was in long ringlets, and she was extremely curvy, but still slim. As she and Helga stopped, he looked at her pretty face, which was highlighted by bright green eyes that revealed that she was a girl who was ready to start trouble when need be. "Hey, Helga," he said, not noticing that beside him Josh's face had lit up.
"Arnold! You will never guess what just happened to me! I got a solo for the dance number in the pageant!" she exclaimed, not pausing for him to guess.
"That's great, Helga." He raised an eyebrow. "You can dance?"
"I guess. But I'll be singing too! Can you believe it? Me!"
Arnold smiled. It was good to see Helga happy for a change. Maybe this was the confidence boost she needed. "I'm sure you'll do great."
"Thanks," she said, her smile a mile wide. "Oh, I forgot. Arnold, this is Callie. And that is—" she said, nodding towards Josh.
"That's Josh. He's my co-crew chief. Nice to meet you, Callie,"
"Nice to meet you too, Arnold, Josh," she turned to Helga, not noticing the flush that had appeared on Josh's face. "I have to go, so I'll see you tomorrow. "Oh, I love my life, and all that jazz!" she sang as she left. Helga laughed. "You ready to go?"
"Yep. You coming, Josh?"
"Yeah." The two boys followed Helga out to the parking lot. Arnold noticed Josh had a goofy grin on his face. Well, goofier than normal. "You okay?"
"Do you know who that is?"
"Who, Helga?"
"No, Callie. She's Callista Hayeworth. I meet her a party earlier this year, and I've been crazy about her ever since."
Arnold laughed. "Well maybe this is your lucky day."
Josh's face lit up even more. "Hey! I have an idea. You can help me with Callie, and I can help you get together with Helga."
Arnold stopped. "What? No, no, no, Helga and I are just friends. I don't like her like that."
"Really? Well, I have to go. My car's about a hundred feet that way. See ya, Arnold."
Arnold watched him go. What was Josh implying? Do I act like I like Helga? he thought. "Hey, Football Head! Some time this century!" Helga yelled from her car. He shook his head. No, I couldn't like her, could I?
A/N: I actually enjoyed writing this chapter, though it took a while. The updates won't be coming so frequently because break is over and I have to go back to school tomorrow ¬_¬. I am hoping to get at least one new chapter up a week. On a good note, I have outlined the first part of the story and I can tell you that this is going to be a long story, which means I either have a lot of chances to make this a great fic or a lot of chances to screw it into the ground. Anyways, next chapter is "Follow the Bouncing Ball." Later days and go Braves!!