Chapter 4:"A Morning with Helga"

Red and orange filled the sky, setting the sky a flame. The sun's golden beams streamed into the room of Helga Pataki. It warmed her back, but despite the gentle kiss of the sun on her face, she grunted and pulled the covers over her head.

A knock on the door sounded through her room. "Helga? Are you up, Sweetie?" said the tired voice, which belonged to her mother, "Your going to miss the bus." Indeed, the bus came at 7:30 and the time at hand was 7:15.

Helga threw the covers off on her and growled, "Okay! Okay! I'm getting up! Crimany!" She moved her legs over the bed and stretched. Alright, Helga G. Pataki, Today's the day, she thought as she walked towards her closet, Today, you start your long a vigorous journey to be as kind as you can possibly be…you will no longer be an irritable, domineering, bully towards anyone, especially Arnold.

As Helga thought her most precious of thoughts, she did her regular morning routine. The Arnold shrine was always the first item on the agenda. Yes, her shrine. She has loved Arnold 2/3's of her life and by the time she turned 5 she had shrines of her beloved, scapulars that came in all different sizes and all different materials. From wads of his used gum, to the most simplest and recycled materials, Helga had shrines to last the ages. But the most unusual of all her shrine is so large that she needed to move her worshiping spot to the attic. There it beheld a massive shrine, whose body was once a bear, an armadillo, and an eagle. They have combined themselvesa long with baseball eyes and a horse shoe noseto form a likeness of Arnold. Here, in the sacred attic, Helga worshiped Arnold, every morning. If it was either writing poems, speaking to it in chant, or other things that are too numerous to describe.

After she did her morning ritual, she changed into her regular clothes and went down stairs.

"Great! I'll sign the papers tomorrow and the deal will be all settled," said her hulky voice father, which came from the kitchen. He continued on with his business as Helga grabbed her lunch box from on top of the counter. Of course, it was empty, so she went to the refrigerator and took out a sandwich that she had the day before. As she went to put the sandwich inside her lunch Big Bobas they would call himtook her only lunch, still talking to his business partner. "Hey, thanks Olga," he said as he took a bit from Helga's sandwich, "What? Oh, no, I was only talking to the girl. Anyway…" Helga gritted her teeth in disgust while her Dad walked out with her only source of food.

Sighing, she went to one of the drawers and reached deep inside it. There was a secret compartment in that drawer and it contained a 20 dollar bill. I only use this for emergencies, but I really don't want to starve today, thought the girl as she looked at the crumpled dollar. She shoved it inside her dress pocket and walked out of the kitchen.

"How's it going, Miriam," she mumbled as she walked past the living room.

A head pocked out with ratty hair and yawned, "Wha-Oh, Hi Helg-"and past out on the couch.

Helga shook her head and walked out the house. The world looked wonderful outside the Pataki household. It seemed to comfort the pigtailed girl in a peaceful manner. A Tree swayed in the coolness of a near by zephyr, and birds soared through the sapphire sky. She smelled the air and thought, Wow…I never thought the morning air could smell so nice. It smells like, sunshine! Like grass, morning dew, and sunlight…. As she walked down the street, she saw the bus at the end of the corner. She walked towards it, thinking about the days coming events.

Finally, she made it to the bus. A door swung open and Helga marched up the bus stairs.