Explanations
EVERYBODY, LISTEN UP!!!!!!!!! Uh, due to a slight document mix-up, I put an unfinished chapter up as chapter sixteen. (Thanks, Serap and Arnoldfan) So, I've not only posted the rest of it, but I added some things to the fight and made a small adjustment to the first paragraph and other places, as well, so just read the whole thing over. I think it's better than the original. So, anyway, the usual blah, blah, blah of disclaimers, okay, let's do this already!
Helga walked slowly home from Arnold's house. She passed two stopped buses on the way, but she wanted to speak with Connie and think about what had been going on just minutes ago. Well, Connie, when should I kiss him, then? I don't know! All I know is that you had the perfect opportunity right there! I've been in a few other people's brains before, okay? I know my way around. Well, then, explain why you want me to kiss him so badly and so soon? Because, because... Oh, I wish I could tell you, but I can't. There are strict rules on that. Is there like, a guild or something for you consciences? Something similar to that, yeah. Oh, criminy. Only now I'm having second thoughts… Whatever.
Helga sighed when she realized that she had only two houses until she reached her house. She didn't want to here Bob yelling at her and Miriam trying to get him to calm down, half-way agree with him the whole time, and then begin snoring on the couch. Of course, there was no way to escape…since Bob was standing by the door, not the least bit worried, but rather angry.
"Where have you been, little missy? School ending two hours ago! And I know there wasn't a stupid baseball game today, so don't try that with me, girl."
"Honey, where were you this whole time? B, calm down, okay?"
Helga rolled her eyes. Great, just as she thought. Is that how often this happened? "Bob, I was walking home with some friends, okay? The live a couple of blocks away! Can I just go to my room, now?"
"Ooh, no, girl. I want to know what was so important that you almost missed dinner, and I want to know that NOW!" He hit his fist into his hand, very, very, hard.
"What?"
Helga sighed. "Bob, is it such a freaking big deal that I walked home with Phoebe?"
Ring, ring.
Bob stomped to the phone and yelled, "WAIT A MINUTE!"
"But I…"
He set the phone onto the counter and walked over toward his daughter again, who wasn't so far away. "Listen here, girl, I know there is something that you are not telling me, okay? That little Asian girl Fifi doesn't live that far away!"
Helga rolled her eyes. "It's Phoebe. Fine, I walked home with Gerald and Arnold, too, okay?"
Bob crossed his arms and thought on that for a minute. "Are you talking about that Arnold who saved the neighborhood from Scheck the other day?"
It seemed like Bob was calmed down now, so Helga said, "Yeah, we're friends now."
Unfortunately, that really didn't help her case one bit. "I don't want you messing with that kid, or his little friend, okay? They don't have an eye for cooperate development and risked their butts for something that wouldn't really matter, anyway."
Helga felt like yelling, 'You almost lost half of your business, but Arnold saved it for your stupid, cooperate development self!' She thought better of it (slightly), and said, "Bob, we were just having fun, okay? They're my friends, I have a right to…"
"Oh, just having fun, huh? What about your homework? Olga would never do something like this! She would come straight home, forget about walking with friends or baseball games, and do her part of the house."
Helga felt like saying, "Which is being a spoiled brat and annoying perfect girl." Her anger was more protruding that thaht, however, so she yelled, "Well, I'm no Olga, even though whenever you speak to me, you think that I am! That's all you care about is 'Olga would never', 'Olga could do it just like that', or 'Olga never acted like that, she was always the best kid in the universe and our other daughter is just second place!' You don't even know my real name, Bob! You always just call me 'girl', 'missy', or even worse, 'OLGA'! All I freaking am is a comparison to how good Olga is and how horrible and ignorant I am, aren't I? I'm not even a member of the family, just a rejected, nonfunctional beeper!"
Bob was furious. "Olga, you do not speak to your father like that!"
"There you go again! You said Olga! That is not my name, and I'm glad it isn't!"
"Go into your room! You won't be having dinner!"
"Oh, that's just fine with me! Ignore me; act like I'm not even here so you can go on with your great and hailed life as the Beeper King over all other people and me. I don't care!"
Apparently, Bob didn't care either. He just walked into the living room and started watching wrestling. Helga screamed in annoyance and ran up to her room and slammed the door shut.
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Arnold stared at the phone as if it would crumble in his fingers at any given moment. His eyes were wide. Not everything may have been said, but he could tell from everything that had just gone on what Helga's home life was like. He always just thought that Helga exaggerated about her family and that the thing with Olga was just something called sibling rivalry, but it was really a rivalry for her to be noticed, too. Right now, he really understood another reason why Helga wouldn't ever show her true brilliance. Her father acting like that was cruel.
The pit of Arnold's stomach surged as he tried to imagine it all. "Why? Why does Helga have to have a home like that?"
Slowly, after staring at the receiver and not hearing anyone hang up the phone, he hung up. He sat back in his chair and sighed. Connor, what am I feeling right now? I need to know. Uh, let's see here…pity? No, it's not that…are you sorry for her? No, that isn't it. Um…is it anger? Uh-uh, not really. Do you wish Helga had better parents? Close, but that isn't everything…okay, this is confusing. Maybe it's a little bit of all of that. Yeah, but it isn't pity you're feeling. I don't know. It isn't a feeling, it's more like a thought…Oh, I know! You don't think Helga deserves this! You think she deserves better than what she's getting, and that her parents are great big bags of poo. Yeah, I do believe that is it.
He opened the door and leaned against it. She doesn't need people like that to live with! They need to treat Helga better than they presently are. Only, how can we help her? I don't rightly know. Maybe you could comfort her next time you see her tomorrow.
"Hey! Whoa!"
The next thing that was heard was a great, loud THUMP, then a moan of slight pain. Something had fallen on Arnold's bed and then rolled to the floor.
Or maybe now.
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Helga shook her head and grabbed her knee. It was a good thing Arnold was in here when she fell, though.
"Uh, Helga, what are you doing I my room?"
Oops. Yeah, you can't see the door from that part of the window, remember? Well, now I know that!
She rolled over and guiltily smiled. Arnold had just seen the whole thing. "Uh, hey, Arnold, how's it going?" She bent a knee and rested her hand on her head. "Um, I was just in the neighborhood, and, uh…"
Arnold lowered his eyelids and crossed his arms. "Helga, what's wrong? There had to be a reason why you just fell through my ceiling."
"If only you knew how many times I've done that," she mumbled.
"What?"
"Oh! Uh, nothing, nothing at all!"
Arnold walked over to his bed and sat down, never taking his eyes off of her. Come on, man, say something! I'm not going to bring it up…she has to say something first. Good idea…but what will you do after that? Not everything needs a plan, Connor. Right. Good boy.
Helga sat Indian style on the floor and fiddled with her fingers, trying to avoid what she had come here for. Why don't you say something? He has no idea what went on…what always goes on. Come on, just say that you had an argument with your dad and that someone was on the phone the whole time and you're worried whoever was on the phone will tell people.
She sighed. Okay, I'll do this. "Uh, Arnold, the reason I came over here is because me and my dad had this big fight when I came home."
Arnold leaned back and made an O shape with his mouth. See?
"And, uh, someone called early in it and my dad didn't hang up. I started yelling a whole bunch of stuff at him, and whoever was on the phone heard everything!"
Uh, Connor? Yeah, whatever, wait, though.
"I know that whoever called knows us, and if it was one of the kids from school, then I'll just die, do you know why?" By this point she was on her feet and pacing back and forth in distress. "Because then that person will tell everybody in the school about that, then they'll have something else to print in the papers, and I'll either be gossiped on even MORE, or I'll be pitied, and I hate pity!"
You better be glad it wasn't pity you were feeling earlier. Connor? Shut up.
"Helga, Helga, calm down!" Arnold finally spoke. He stood up and put his hands on her shoulders to keep her still. "I don't know if this will make things any better, but I was the one who called you, okay?"
Instead of her calming down, she broke away from him. Her eyes grew wide as she looked at him in shock. She started shaking her head slowly. Um, Helga? He can't know that, he can't know that! He pities me! I just know it! Oh, this is terrible! HELGA G. PATAKI! Look at him!
She did as she was told, and on the face of the person in front of her wasn't a look of apology or pity, but one of knowing and understanding. He took a deep breath and said, "Helga, please, calm down. I don't pity you, okay? What your parents are doing to you is wrong, but I don't think they realize it." On his face was a look of sincerity and genuineness. There was also a look of slight boldness. Helga saw this and smiled. No, Arnold would never take pity on anyone, would he? Well, better him then anyone else.
Then Helga shook her head and her mood changed. "Arnold, it doesn't matter if they know or not, okay? Parents are supposed to care for their children, not just one child! If you lived with them every single day then you would know why I said those things! It's so stressful! Yeah, sometimes they act parent-like, but in a day or so it's all dirt under the blanket! Even after my mom gave that speech after I tried to tell her to quit work (remember that?) the buzz of it stopped after about two weeks."
"Helga, I realize that, okay? They're wrong for treating you like that, okay? You deserve much better! . But tell me, what did your mom do after she told your dad to calm down?"
Helga crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. "Tsk, she stood there for a while, but then she got tired and fell asleep on the couch."
Arnold sat down on his bed and after a moment of silence, Helga sat down next to him.
Arnold kept looking at the floor between his legs with his hands cupped together. "Helga, you know that you really do deserve better than them, right?"
"Yeah, but if I did then why do they treat me like crud most of the time?"
"Most of the time?"
"Yeah, sometimes they care about me and act like real parents, but it lasts for, like, a day. Remember Thanksgiving?"
Arnold looked up at the ceiling as he remembered that day. They both had run from their families that day for different reasons, and Helga's was because her family kept drooling over Olga. When he walked her home, though, her family was completely hysterical about the missing Helga.
"Yeah, I do."
"Well, that lasted until the next afternoon. Then all the spotlight was turned toward the shining star off the family!"
Arnold looked back up to the ceiling. Should I bring it up? Hey, this is your personal life, okay? Go for it.
Helga was looking at Arnold funny. "Arnold, why do you keep looking at the ceiling
or at the floor?"
"Uh, just talking with Connor."
"Who?"
He sighed. "Like Connie."
"Oh."
"Hey, uh, Helga?"
"Yes?"
He took a deep inhale and exhale. "Um, since I know so much, you know, about your, uh, parents and stuff, and since to everybody else," he looked up at Helga's face, "…we're a couple, I think that I ought to, um, tell you about…"
Helga was speechless. She completely forgot about the fact that Arnold's parents didn't live here. Wait. He was going to tell her about them? She'd be the first person to know the story? Well, maybe except Gerald, but… Still, she kept saying 'stupid, stupid, stupid' inside her head. Aw, you're not that stupid. It just reminded him of it. Connie? Shut up.
"Yeah, okay, Arnold," said Helga shakily. "If you want to, I mean, nobody is making you…"
"No," he replied. "I want to."
(A/N: After this, there was absolutely nothing. Everything after this is crucial. **And there's a sweet moment! Ooh!** Phebga! It took me a while to remember what I had here, so, uh, okay!)
And so Arnold began telling Helga about the stories his grandfather told him about his parents' adventures in Central and South America. He told her of how they had met, of plane flights, explorations of rainforests, and even a few mishaps that they had to get themselves out of. He finally told of why they had to leave him on that fateful day, to save a tribe of natives from a deadly disease.
Once Arnold had finished, Helga was lying face-up on the bed with her hands folded on her stomach, looking through the skylight, and he was leaning against the wall where the couch usually was with his hands crossed over his chest, looking down. Helga broke the silence with a dreamy sigh. "Wow," she breathed, "that's an amazing story. Well…" She thought about what she'd said. "I mean, most of it was, but, I, err, you know…"
Arnold looked up from the ground to look at Helga, who was now leaning on her elbow looking at Arnold apologetically. He nodded in understanding. "Yeah," he said. "The ending isn't as good huh?"
Straightening his position, he began wandering around the room, rubbing his hands over things he passed a though seeing them for the first time. "Even so," he said, "I've always wanted to do what they did. You know, explore through the rainforests, do scientific experiments, and have all sorts of adventures. I daydream about it a lot."
Sighing once again, Helga said, "That's a really good dream, Arnold. I guess that I kind of want to do something like that. It'd be some superb stuff to write about."
Arnold glanced up and looked at Helga. "I didn't know you liked to write."
"Tsk, are you kidding?" She smiled. "I want to be an author or poet when I get older, and something like what you were talking about would have been some great material. I really wish I could what you want to do."
Arnold looked down at his feet as an unusual knot tied into his stomach. "If I did," he began, unsure of himself, "wouldn't you want to go with me?"
Just to let you know, Arnold, if I had lips I'd be smiling. Where the heck did that come from, though? What do you think?
Ooh, did he just…? Yeah, and he meant it, I can tell you that much.
Trying to hide her giddy, fantastical smile, she stuttered, "Well, uh, I mean, yeah, I guess I would, I mean, if you wanted me to, I would. Heh, heh." This is so wonderful! I escaped from my prison of a home to hear Arnold say that…to me! I'm, uh, really happy for you! Hey…what's wrong? Nothing! My job to help you is almost done… Hey, by the way, what time is it? Don't ruin the moment, Connie! Look, you do have school tomorrow. Yeah, I know…Oh, shoot!
"Arnold…"
"Helga, you…"
Both stood in front of each other, staring.
"The time?" asked Helga.
"Uh-huh."
Helga groaned and cocked her head back. "Oh, it's past nine thirty! My parents are going to kill me after that little number you heard on the phone! I don't wanna go back home, anyway! And I really can't go to Phoebe's because her mom likes to make arrangements…what am I going to do?!?!"
Oh, boy. You best do something now. Uh, okay.
CALM DOWN! Connie, you know exactly why I'm upset! Yeah, but still, try to tone it down. You're getting a tad over-dramatic. Trying…to…be…
"Helga!"
"WHAT!?"
Holding out his arms to calm her down and in no way phased by her scream, Arnold said comfortingly, "Helga, you know where you are right now?"
"Yeah, I'm in your room…oh, wait. Arnold, you can't be suggesting…"
Arnold nodded. "You can stay here, in an extra room in the boarding house. Just call your house to get some clothes, ask my grandpa, and you can stay."
Crossing her arms, obviously out of her extreme worry stage, she stated blandly, "First, my parents will never allow me to stay here, nevertheless allow me to go home and leave again without yelling at me. Second, your grandpa will never let me stay in an extra room without paying."
!@#$%^&*()_+{}:"?
"Of course we'll let you stay in one of our extra rooms! To top it of, we won't have you pay a rental fee. Let me tell you, barely anyone here does, and when they do, it's rarely on time."
Glancing over to the dumbfounded Helga, Arnold smirked in his small victory.
"Uh, thanks," she said, for some reason uncertain. Hmm, perhaps it was because she was spending the night in the boarding house outside of a closet or the small space behind the couch. She felt awkward.
Arnold's grandpa pointed at Arnold and said, "Arnold, you can show her to her room, I have to go into my office for just a second. Oh, that dab nab it raspberry pie and watermelon."
When Grandpa had opened the door down the hall and closed it, Helga turned to Arnold. "What was that about?"
Arnold shrugged. "I think he's allergic to raspberries or something. They never bother me." He looked like he was about to walk to the room, when he stopped short and said, "Helga, shouldn't you at least call your parents and tell them where you are? You know, so that they won't be, uh, too angry."
Nodding, Helga walked over to the phone. She lifted it leisurely and dialed her home phone number. Oh, please don't yell, oh please, don't yell, oh, please, don't…
"Uh, Hello?"
"YES!"
"Huh?"
"Oh, never mind. Miriam, it's me, Helga."
"Oh, hi, honey. Um, what are you doing?"
"I'm at…uh, I'm at Phoebe's house." Helga looked over at Arnold, who showed a hint of a scowl and a lot of confusion. "Yeah, I decided to spend the night over here."
"Okay, then. That's nice."
"I was just telling you so that Bob didn't blow a gas pipe again."
"Okay, then. Bye-bye, Helga."
"See you."
Seeing that Helga hung up the phone, Arnold walked up to her. "Why did you tell her that you were staying at Phoebe's house?"
Helga rolled her eyes at the obvious…well, at least to her, since she thought of it. "Because," she said as-a-matter-of-factly, "My dad's okay with Phoebe, but for some reason, his mood changed about the FTi thing and he doesn't like you again. Plus, do you really think that my dad would let me spend the night at ANY boy's house? Besides, I have one more place to go before I can stay here."
Turning her back towards Arnold, she dialed another number. She paused and waited for it to ring.
"Hello, this is the Hyerdhal…"
"Phoebe! It's Helga!"
"Oh, hello, Helga. What do you…"
"Listen, Pheebs, um, can you find the duffel bag that I accidentally left at your house and put it on your front porch?"
"You mean the bag that you keep here…I mean the bag you left at my house last time you slept over?"
"That's the one."
"Well, why do you require it?"
"Because I…I just need to use it, okay?"
"Well, all right, Helga. It'll be on my front porch."
"Thanks, Pheebs! You're a lifesaver!"
"Not at all, Helga."
"See Ya, Phoebe."
"Adieu, Helga."
The receiver was placed back onto the phone and Helga looked around at Arnold, who still had about the same expression on with his arms crossed. "You lied to her, too?" he said.
"I didn't lie, Arnold, I just didn't tell her why I needed clothes, okay?"
She speed walked toward the staircase backwards, still talking to Arnold. "I gotta go to Phoebe's house, okay? I'll be back before you can name all of the wrestlers in the Wrestle Mania Federation. 'Bye!"
Arnold uncrossed his arms and gave a short wave to Helga. "'Bye."
Helga turned around and went down the stairs quickly. When he heard the door downstairs open and close, he turned around and headed back up the stairs to his bedroom.
!@#$%^&*()_+{}:"?
This is GREAT! Yeah, it is. You told Arnold about some of the problems in your life, and he told you his. That means he trusts me! That means he really, really, really like-likes me! And he invited me to stay in his house!
Helga made an attempt to squeal through her excessive panting, but it didn't necessarily work. She was smiling while running frantically toward Phoebe's house, her dress hitting against her legs in the warm, late summer night wind.
She turned around a corner, still sprinting, and could see her best friend's house just a few yards down. When she was able to see the stoop, she saw her duffel bag sitting on the cement barrier next to the steps. Sitting above it, however, was…
"Phoebe? Why are you sitting out here?"
Indeed, apparently Phoebe had wondered why her friend requested her clothes this late at night. Sitting out here, she noticed something else. "Helga, the better question is why you came from that direction," she pointed at the path Helga had come from on her right, "when your house is in the other." She pointed to her right.
Whatcha gonna say, Helga? I'm in a hurry, I'll tell her tomorrow or something. "Listen, Pheebs, I'm in kind of a rush, so I'll explain tomorrow, okay?"
Staring at Helga, Phoebe nodded in agreement slowly. "By all means, Helga. I was just curious as to the fact that you aren't home. Which is kind of a big deal, right?"
"You wouldn't believe," muttered Helga. Louder, she said, "Yeah, that's right." She walked up to her bag and took it from its perch. "Anyway, Good night. See you tomorrow."
"Good night to you, also, Helga."
Phoebe watched as Helga turned around and started walking in the other way. She decided that she'd rather walk back to Arnold's house. She got the Phoebe's in record time, so she figured she had time to spare. After all, there were more than a few people who were members of the Wrestle Mania Federation.
Well, there's the ending (at least to this chapter). Hope you guys liked it. Now you can either finish reading the rest if this is your first time reading it, or wait patiently for the next chapter of Explanations! Oh, and just for the record, check out my other stories, like Through the Compact Disc, Valentine's Day II, and others. Until then, I'm out! And I've been forgetting quotes, so here it is:
"Did I mention dramatic irony bites like a rabid monkey?" -Tino Tonitini, very well spoken
Briana LFBH
