Author's Note: Just what the title said, Rhonda has gone totally ballistic. Again, sorry for the very short chapter. I promise, chapters will be much more longer after this.
Legal junk: I don't own Hey Arnold, but Nickelodeon does and Mr. Craig Bartlett created it. But this fic belongs to me. Clear? Good.
Chapter 3: Rhonda snaps.
Next day inside the school library, Arnold, Gerald, Rhonda and Nadine were just about to finish discussing their project after gathering much sought information about bugs at the public and school library. They sat at a round table with books and information regarding about insects and arachnids piled on top of each other on the table. As the only bug enthusiast in the group, Nadine contributed some pictures that she took during her visit with her parents to a tropical country some several months ago.
"So, this is a picture of me when I was in the Kinabalu National park in some state they called Sabah. Heh, the weird part was, there were no such thing as a Malaysian Beetle –I must've listened to it's real name incorrectly when I was a kid I guess. There was no such thing. But I did take a lot of pictures of millipedes and centipedes when I was there. You guys wanna see it?" she asked as she handed out some pictures of the said bugs to Rhonda. "Pass it around."
"Ugh, gross." Rhonda said with disgust. "Do you like, have something more pleasant to look at? Like a butterfly, or a ladybug, or something?" she said as she handed the pictures to Gerald.
"I'm glad you asked Rhonda. When I was in Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur I had the opportunity to visit a butterfly park there. Here they are."
"Holy crap! Hey Arnold, take a look at this centipede. It looks just like Helga's monobrow." Gerald cackled silently.
Helga was inside the library too along with Phoebe and Lila sitting at a table next of them discussing about their health class assignment. "Don't think I didn't hear that, Geraldo!" Helga threatened silently, shaking her fist (Infamous Five Avengers!) at him. Lila was one of the most popular girls in school, due to mostly of her ever so excellent grades, one of the friendliest girls to hang out with and her innocent cute look that drives the guys crazy about her. She replaced her pigtails with her auburn hair trimmed to a chin-length, wearing a modest looking blouse and ankle-long skirt, and you guessed it; green in color. Yep, she's the Miss Perfect Honors Roll student that all the other girls love to hate. However, she was not perfect enough. She was slow to take a hint and very naïve, but thankfully not that gullible.
Helga was extremely unwilling to do the assignment with Lila, but after Phoebe talked to her into it, she gave up. Whatever, better her than that pompous, stuck up, arrogant rich snob Princess Rhonda. Nobody had exactly known when they hated each other, although most assumed it started at middle school. Helga's attitude towards Lila had become quite warmer ever since Lila's lukewarm relationship with Arnold was over, although that's not saying much. Phoebe and Lila were the most bitter of all rivals, but only in academic excellence. Other than that, they were okay with each other.
"Gerald…" Arnold said in a warning voice.
"He, he. Lighten up, man. I was just goofing around."
"Ohh, this one is beautiful. This is definitely going with the project." Rhonda said referring to a green and black winged butterfly, with a beautiful pattern embedded on it.
"Okay, I think that wraps up all of it. I suggest all of us should start gathering information about the bugs we just selected after school. And since we have about ten minutes left before the bell rings, I think I have plenty of time to show you guys my pictures when I was at the capital. You guys wanna see it?" she asked.
"Yeah, why not? I haven't heard much about this country Nadine, apart from they used to have the tallest building in the world." Gerald said.
"Here's the picture of it," Nadine gave out the mentioned picture to Gerald. Arnold and Rhonda got closer to Gerald to examine the picture.
"Wow, they look like rockets." Arnold commented.
Rhonda continued, "Yeah, they --"
"Oh my sweet beautiful angel, there you are! I've been looking all over for you!" Curly interrupted and called Rhonda lovingly from the library's entrance. A librarian shushed him to be quiet, but he shrugged it off and headed straight to Rhonda merrily. The librarian was actually a volunteer, and to be more descriptive, it was the Campfire Lass; a year younger than the gang, although nobody called her that anymore since she quitted the brigade when she entered middle school. Mostly everyone called her the Librarian Lass now, since she was a volunteer at the library and also a bit of a bookworm.
"What… Curly?" Rhonda replied back in reluctance dryly, in hoping for him to go away and leave her alone. "May I remind you that we are in the library, and we're like, supposed to keep quiet?!" Rhonda said with her teeth clenching, trying desperately to keep her temper down.
"Yes! YES! I will keep quiet for you my angel!" he said with great felicity. Other people in the library tried to hush him down.
"Curly, you're not listening…" she responded as her eyes twitched, already about to explode in anger.
"Nonsense, my sweet. My ears are open just as big as my love towards you!" he exclaimed proudly.
And from those words, she began to quiver and got up from her seat, gnashed her teeth, shook both of her fists and pounded them onto the table. Miss Rhonda Wellington Lloyd finally snapped. "That's it! I HAVE HAD IT! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!" she shouted loudly, and her voice echoed through the library. She then grabbed Curly by his shirt collar, hauled him across the library and pinned him to the wall aggressively. She then slapped his face violently, drawing gasps from some of the people inside the library.
"Oh, God… she finally snaps…" Nadine spoke softly in discontent as she looked down at the floor and rubbing her forehead. Arnold, Gerald, Helga, Phoebe, and Lila, fixed their eyes at Rhonda and Curly, shocked at her sudden twist of emotion. Other people inside the library took notice of Rhonda's shout, and they turned their faces and fixed their eyes on them. Eager faces strained around bookshelves and pillars just to take a good look at the two people.
"Listen to me, you pathetic ugly little douche bag; ever since the second grade you have been following me around, pestering me, flirting with me, and heck, you even tried to harass me. WELL, I'M NOT GOING TO PUT UP WITH YOU ANY MORE, ASSHOLE!! You know Curly, I hate you. I've always hated you. I regretted saying you're an okay kid when we were in grade school! And from that moment on, you seemed to love to annoy me to no end! You're never an okay kid to begin with! In fact, you're the reason why my life is imperfect! You're the thorn, the scourge, the plague, the pestilence of my life; a FREAKING virus, and I want it to be removed. And just how will I intend to remove it? Well, let me tell you this Mr. Gammelthorpe!" she raged furiously, without stopping for breath.
After been asked by the head librarian (the stereotypical old lady with glasses), the timid Librarian Lass went over to Rhonda, tapping her shoulder nervously, "Uh, M-Miss Lloyd… I-I'm afraid I'll haff to ask ye t-to leave the library…" she interrupted her in a much shaken, edgy voice, with her fake Scottish accent waning off a bit.
She violently spun around, "SHUT UP!" she yelled back, nudging her finger at the Lass. "I'll be out in a minute, just as soon as I'm through with this retard!" she continued. The terrified, trembling Librarian Lass now backed away from her, seeing that she can't be controlled any more.
"Now where was I…?" she grabbed his shirt collar again, "I want you out of my life, away from me as far as possible. Yes, it is impossible, seeing that we're in the same school and all that, but please do try, and make a mental note at what I am trying to say. I don't want to see you outside the school grounds, and if-I-see-you, I will run you over, and you will become yet another road kill statistic." She threatened. "Don't you ever talk to me, be in the same room with me, walk on the same road with me, eat and drink on the same table with me and even ride on the same bus with me! YOU GOT THAT!? HUH?! BUDDY?!" She screamed loudly in front of his face. The shaken and frightened Curly could do nothing but to nod feverishly at her fuming rant.
"Good boy!" she then released him roughly and walked away from him.
"Ms. Lloyd, for creating a ruckus in the library, I will see to it that you will get detention for two weeks." The head librarian said from the counter.
"As if I care, bitch!!" Rhonda yelled back irately at her.
"Make it two months detention," she muttered to herself angrily.
As she walked pass Helga, she teased her with a sarcastic incendiary remark. "Hey Princess Lloyd, what's got into you? Did your PMS come in early this month?" she said mockingly. Upon hearing that, Rhonda turned her face at Helga and growled angrily at her, as if she were an angry lion.
"Yeesh!" Helga startled, darting her body slightly back agitatedly. Criminy Rhonda, I was just joking!" she said in defensive. Rhonda gazed at her in intense fury for a moment, and stormed her way out of the library, shoving the Librarian Lass away in the process. Nadine ran over to her best friend to talk her down.
"Phoebe, Helga, I reckon we should do something," Lila said. The partial southern drawl influence in her vocabulary was a direct result of hanging out with Stinky too much.
Phoebe concurred, "I'll have to agree with you, Lila. With her emotionally stressed as that she needs comfort from her colleagues more than ever."
They both got up from their seats, but Helga didn't seem to bother. "Helga, would you like to join us in helping Rhonda?" Lila asked her.
"Nope, why the hell should we help her anyway? She's the one who snapped, not Curly." she retorted.
"But Helga, I'm ever so certain--"
"Didn't you just hear what I said, Ms. Perfect?" she pointed at her own face, "does this face look like 'I give a shit' face to you?" she questioned her with an annoyed tone.
"It's bad enough I'm stuck doing this stupid project with you, little turd…"
Phoebe just sighed in disappointment, shaking her head, "Lets go Lila. At this point, it's pointless to argue with her, considering the history between her and Rhonda is never always pleasant." Lila nodded disappointingly, and exited the library alongside with Phoebe. Helga watched them went away while spinning a pencil on her fingers as she scoffed in disbelief.
Arnold and Gerald quickly ran to Curly to help him out. Now curling into fetal position and trembling, he couldn't control himself anymore and tears begun to form in his eyes.
"Poor guy needs help." Arnold said. Suddenly Curly got up and fled away from them and ran outside.
"Curly, wait!" Arnold shouted.
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