Explanations

Hey, guys, how's it going? Hope you guys like this chapter! So, how's everyone's summer been? Mine has been boring so far, but expect quicker updating for Valentine's Day II and Time to Switch, and who knows, I think I'm going to pull Arnold's Surprise Guest from slumber, too. This is extremely long, and that's because I'm at my aunt's house and I'm really rather bored, so I just kept on typing with no place to stop! Well, anyway, here we go.

Disclaimer: Lawyers expect for all of us fans to say chapter after chapter, story after story, that we don't own something that we are fans of. Apparently lawyers aren't as credible as we all like to think. ~Winces~ I meant not ALL lawyers, okay? Don't sue me for saying that, please? Fine, I'll be formal again. I do not own Hey Arnold's characters or "Somewhere Out There", okay?



"Hey, Arnold! Hey, Arnold! Hey, Arnold! Hey, Arnold! Hey…"

Arnold lifted a hand and pressed it on the miniature figure made in his likeness to stop the calling of his name. Of course, as soon as it was turned off, a digital alarm clock started playing the radio. "Somewhere Out There" started playing at Volume 8.

"Down here in the atmosphere, there's garbage and city lights. You're gonna save our tired souls; you're gonna save our lives. Turn on the radio…"

Groggily and reluctantly, Arnold lifted himself from the comfort of his blue blankets and walked over to his closet, not bothering to turn off the radio. He really liked this song. He pulled out his usual garments of clothing, and as he was buttoning up his red plaid shirt, he heard a voice.

Man, Arnold, you must be really tired! Wake up your mind, boy!

The shock of hearing another person in his room caused him to almost rip his shirt as he bolted his eyes upward to look around the room. "Hey! Who's there? Who…Oh, I'm sorry, Connor." Ah, no worries, Arnold. You have a real problem with remembering things in the morning, don't you? Yeah. Kind of. Sorry, my head sort of went there for a second. So…it's another day of school, huh? Don't remind me. Man, having Helga to deal with is what I thought was bad, but this is just unbelievable. I mean, what's so bad about me like-liking her? Nobody knows what went-Arnold; do you remember that discussion we had about you not like-liking her, but something deeper? Look, okay, I might love her, but I'm only nine-almost-ten, okay? How am I supposed to feel to feel that strongly? I might in the future okay? Helga seems to love and not like-like you. Yeah, well, that's her. Look, okay, I don't know still! I just found out about this whole thing just over a week ago! I'll let you work it out on your own, okay? I can tell that you appreciate my help, but sometimes I bother you. That's not it, man. Look, I'm inside your head, boy. I don't get all of them, but I am getting some signals. It's totally understandable. You kind of get to understand human emotions once you're in enough people's heads. I can tell…look, I still have to finish getting dressed.

!@#$%^&*()_+{}:"?

Helga Geraldine Pataki, WAKE YOUR BUTT UP!

Helga jumped up so suddenly she fell off of her bed. Her heart raced about one thousand, three hundred and two miles per hour and her breath wouldn't stop trying to catch up. Once she calmed, she furrowed her brow and growled, "Connie, don't ever do that to wake me up again!"

Sorry, but I had to wake you up somehow. Unless you didn't remember, school is on again for the second time.

Helga untangled herself from the covers and stood from the floor. "How on earth could I forget? Another day of black torture." She walked over to her duffel bag and pulled out a fresh dress and a pair of socks. Thankfully, Phoebe's mother had washed the spare clothes she had forgotten at their last sleepover. "Look, Connie," she said aloud; "you may have to tune my nerves down or else I'll end up doing more than talking back." Don't worry, I'm used to it. Huh? What are you talking about? Well, why do you think all you ever do is threaten? I've put some morality in you before this occasion, you know. Oh, yeah? Well, how come you let me punch Brainy out all the time? Hey, I'm not perfect! Except for that one time after that first session with Bliss… Point taken, all right?

She walked over to a small nook in the apartment and undressed and redressed. She walked out of the nook jumping on one foot and pulling a shoe on the other. Putting her foot down she sighed and jumped onto the bed. "Oh, why must such a momentous period of my younger childhood be wasted on the thought of my leaving this, to a comparison of my other home, utopia and facing a more brutal obstacle in life that is the torment setting in from my classmates?"

Your poetic side? Yeah. Wish I had packed my pink notebook. If Arnold saw that, wouldn't he… Stop making me think, all right? I'm trying to have it soak in before it ends, okay? Yeah, but don't forget about why it must. What time is it, anyway? I guess it must be somewhere around the time the…

OH, CRIMINY!

!@#$%^&*()_+{}:"?

Arnold lowered and jogged down the retractable staircase that led to and from his room. He was making his way toward the next set of stair down the hall to make his way toward breakfast…

"Oof!" "Hey!"

…When a large weight fell on his stomach and blew the wind out of him.

"Helga," he said hoarsely. "Can you get off of me, please?"

The source of the weight, namely Helga, scrambled up to her feet, breathing heavily. "Sorry…Arnold," she puffed out. "I…I just remembered…about school…"

"Yeah," said Arnold, thinking he knew what Helga was saying. "It's gonna be tough just like yesterday, huh?"

Helga rolled her eyes. "No! I mean yes, but it's gonna be even worse now!"

Arnold lifted an eyebrow and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Helga grabbed Arnold by the shoulders. "Arnold, I'm not at my house, I'm here, in your house. Do you know what that means?"

Oh, man, why didn't you tell me, girl?

Okay, that is bad. Very bad. Huh?

"Why would that be…?" Arnold started to say. Then realization dawned on him. "Oh, man!" He put his hands on his shoulders, where Helga's hands were, and said, "Helga, look, ok, we can just…" But he stopped when he saw Helga.

Helga let go of his shoulders, closed her eyes, and opened them, a sense of panic now residing in them. "This is just perfect! Everyone is going to see me walking to the bus with you, and they're either going to think I walked over here just for you, or what's true, spent the night! This is just going to give more stupid freaking material to Rhonda and Harold and Sid and…it was bad yesterday, but now!"

Great, now what am I supposed to say? Look, um, try to calm her down. Just what I was thinking. Then why did you ask me? I got the vibe from you, I think. Smarty pants. "Helga, look, okay? We can just tell them why you are over…"

"That's not gonna work, Football Head!" She grabbed her hair in stress. "It'll just make it worse. I can hear it now! 'Look, Helga was so angry and sad about the way her parents treat her that she had to run away to hide behind her crush!' And I bet that I don't have enough time to get to my house! Only two days into school and my life is officially ruined!"

Arnold bit his lip and looked at Helga. She was right, of course. He had missed that detail because of his far-sightedness. He gave a go at helping, anyway. "Look, Helga, it's not that big of a deal." After an intimidating glance from Helga, he said, "Okay, so it kind of is, but it'll die down, okay, just like that thing with Iggy, me, and the bunny…uh, pajama thing."

Helga stared at Arnold and his slightly feeble attempt to change the subject. "Yeah, I stopped making comments on that after a few months. On Iggy's part and yours. I'm sorry about that." Uh, Helga, what were you talking about? I know that, Connie, just shut up, all right?

"So," she said, shrugging her arms. "What are we going to do?" Just then, something came to her mind. "First, what you're not going to do is tell Gerald why I'm here, okay? I know that I may as well consider him my friend but he isn't going to know how my parents treat me sometimes, okay?"

Nodding his response, he started walking in the direction of the staircase again. "Come on, Helga," he said to her. "Let's eat breakfast first and then we can worry about it. Just think about what you can do with Connie."

Looking at her beloved, she obeyed and sighed. "I guess you're right, Arnold. But still, it is a problem. Just be prepared for some bad mocking, okay? It should be way worse from anything I've done to you."

He smiled to himself as he turned around. "I know that already," he muttered just loud enough for him to hear.

!@#$%^&*()_+{}:"?

"Why on earth did your grandpa have to bring up me falling through the kitchen ceiling?" Helga asked Arnold as they walked down the stairs.

Arnold just stared at Helga. "You were the person my grandma thought was Eleanor Roosevelt? Why were you having breakfast with her that day?"

"Let's change the subject, okay?" she answered, remembering her sleepwalking predicament. She didn't want to think about that. Helga walked in the direction of the nearby bus stop and instinctively placed her hand on her shoulder; she felt nothing there. She hit her head and moaned, "Man, I forgot my backpack. All of my notebooks and pencils are in there."

"Don't sweat it, Helga," replied Arnold, who did have his backpack. "Concentrate on what you are probably about to face. Rhonda's always on the bus before I am." Her? What about you? Be prepared for intense interrogation buddy. I know that, but she needs to be ready so she doesn't deck anyone.

"Thanks for reminding me, Arnold," said Helga. "Exactly what I want to look forward to in my day." He's right, though. Get ready for some fierce interrogations, girl. You don't think I know that? I said I don't want to, not that I don't have to. Cool your jets! I was just saying.

Then, suddenly, the four of them heard the unmistakable sound of a large vehicle, AKA the bus, approaching its destination. Both of the young adolescents breathed heavily and straightened their posture as the bus came, bracing them for unknown mental torture. (Okay, maybe not that bad, but still, it's bad.)

!@#$%^&*()_+{}:"?

"ARNOLD? HELGA? Excuse moi, Helga, but don't you live a few blocks and streets from this particular bus stop? Did you make the long trip just to be with your precious Arnold? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

Rhonda's taunting was heard, undoubtedly of course, all around the bus. But for some reason, there was less laughter than yesterday. Of course, Helga and Arnold didn't notice; all they heard was laughter and that annoyed them.

But Rhonda noticed; she noticed very well indeed. "Uh, hello?" she said to the people on the bus. "Helga lives far away, but she's at Arnold's house, and they came on as a couple? Does anyone here find that really weird?"

Murmurs followed her less than noble speech.

"I thought so." She looked maliciously at the two that separated to seat with their best friends. "Why are you guys together at this hour, hmm? Were you lovebirds just so distressed without the other that you just had to see each other as soon as possible?" she asked mockingly. "Are you two under some sort of cosmic spell where your hearts pain for the others company?"

Helga's blood was boiling. Why can't that egotistic popularity queen shut up? Helga, don't do anything drastic. Grr… shut… the… freak… up!

"CLOSE YOUR GAPING TRAP, RHONDA-LOID, BEFORE I STITCH IT UP FOR YOU! Why is it such a big deal to you that I like him, huh? Huh? Be quiet about stuff that you don't understand, Princess, or it might just come out and bite you, and it'll be my teeth!"

Or go ahead and yell at her if you want. Whatever.

Silence stretched across the bus. Rhonda stared at Helga for a while, and then silently sat back in her seat next to Nadine. Nadine leaned over and whispered something in her friend's ear. Rhonda shook her head and gave her a look.

The muteness went on until the bus driver broke saying, "Uh…no yelling on the bus."

Conversation went on as usual…for the time being.

"Helga, I can't help but wonder why you were at this bus stop myself, especially since it is at the very corner of Arnold's block, and it could mean that you were at-"

"Look, Pheebs, it's a long story, and I need to cool off, okay? All my anger that was at her just blew up, so can I explain later?"

Phoebe nodded. "Agreed."

Helga rolled her eyes. Okay, she'd tell Phoebe now. She leaned close to her and whispered, "Look, Arnold called me on the phone and heard Bob and me having a fight. I didn't know it was Arnold, so I said some things about the way Bob and Miriam treat me and he heard the whole thing. I, uh, kinda sneaked into his room again and I found out he heard the whole thing, we started talking, it got late, and Arnold let me sleep in one of the boarding house apartments so that I wouldn't have to go home."

Phoebe smirked. "I supposed that's why you wanted your clothes."

As we turn to a different part of the bus…

"Okay, Arnold, I'm kind of wondering why Helga was at your house, too, so 'fess up."

Arnold bit his lip. He really wanted to tell at least someone so the questions would lower a bit, but…Remember what Helga said?

"Sorry, Gerald, but I promised Helga that I wouldn't tell anyone, you included. Let's just say it's personal to Helga, okay?"

Gerald shook his head. "Whatever you say, man, just get ready for a bunch of rumors."

With a sigh, Arnold leaned back in his seat. "Tell me about it."

!@#$%^&*()_+{}:"?

About everyone in the fifth grade class had asked Arnold and Helga why she was at Arnold's house. When they would tell anyone anything, they moved to their best friends.

"I'm telling you, I DON"T KNOW!"

"Come on," pushed Sid, "you've gotta know something! Arnold had to tell you at least one thing."

"Sid," said Gerald, "this is going to far. I do not know anything about this, okay? I know about as much as you guys do."

Harold, Stinky, and Sid surrounded had Gerald on all sides. Harold wanted something to pick on Arnold about, while Sid and Stinky were just plain curious.

"I bet he does know something," said Harold. "He's just hiding it."

Stinky tried his shot at it. "Come on, Gerald, we won't tell nobody anything 'bout this."

Rolling his eyes, Gerald responded saying, "Harold, I'm definitely not telling you, and Stinky, you and Sid can't keep a secret for beans. Remember the Iggy and the bunny pajama incident?"

"Come on, Gerald," begged Harold. "You have to tell us something…or I'll pound you!"

"Hold up there, big boy, don't go that far."

"Then tell us something! We're your friends!"

"Yeah, well, Arnold's my friend, too, and I wish I knew, too, but Arnold isn't speaking to me about, okay? Now don't bother me anymore! I need to go to lunch!" Gerald stormed off in the direction of the cafeteria.

Sid looked at his friends. "Look, maybe we should lay off of Arnold and Helga for a while. I mean, they look like they've been under enough stress over the last two days."

Stinky nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Harold, why do you have to go off and pick on Arnold anyways?"

"Because Arnold and Helga is just wrong! There's got to be something going on with those two that they aren't telling anyone," pondered Harold. "I say we keep pokin' at Arnold until he tells us why, and you guys better do it with me."

"Ya know…" started Stinky, "Now that it's been going on for a while (like for a few days), I guess there might be somethin' to those two likin' each other so much."

"Yeah, Harold, maybe we should just lay off for a while and see how it goes. I'm not sure it'll work, but we don't have-"

"Look, I'm the boss," interrupted Harold, "and I say we're doing it! If you aren't gonna do it, then leave!"

Sid and Stinky turned around to, as Harold said, leave.

!@#$%^&*()_+{}:"?

Rhonda looked down the hall and grabbed Lila's wrist. She pointed at someone. "Come on, Lila. She ought to know something about it."

Lila bit her lip. "Gosh, Rhonda, I don't think you should…"

"Let's go get the dirt!"

Rhonda practically dragged her friend down the hallway by the arm. When they reached the person she wanted to talk to so badly, she let go, but only to corner this new person. "Hello, Phoebe. How's it been going for you today?"

Phoebe turned around from the inside of her locker and looked up at Rhonda's face. She placed a forced smile on her face. "Relatively well." She closed her locker and asked, "Is there something you'd like to ask me, Rhonda?"

Her eyes lit up. "Why, yes, there is. I was wondering if Helga has talked to you lately."

Phoebe narrowed her eyes. "And why, may I question, do you ask that?"

Shrugging, Rhonda said, "You know, I'm just curious, I mean, Helga is the center of the talk around school right now, isn't she?"

"I don't know anything about Helga being at Arnold's house," lied Phoebe.

"Come on, Phoebe, you must know something! You're her best friend! There has to be a reason why Arnold and Helga were at the bus stop together!"

"Rhonda…"interrupted Lila; she was ignored.

"I'm sorry, Rhonda, but I will not betray my friend's trust."

"So you do know something!" exclaimed the Gossip Queen. "Tell me, please, Phoebe."

"Why are you so enthralled in the Arnold and Helga event, anyway? You didn't go in so deep when Arnold liked Lila. Sorry, Lila."

"None taken," she answered quietly.

Rhonda straightened herself and closed her eyes, and said as-a-matter-of-factly, "Because Arnold and Lila are perfect for each other. I mean they're so nice, good, and sweet, and Helga is just so mean and cruel, and if I don't mind saying so, a bit on the ugly side. It just doesn't seem like a good match to me."

"Does it really matter what you think, Princess?"

Phoebe smiled at the irony of what just happened. You see, someone was listening from behind Rhonda's back most of the time Phoebe was asking this…. Of course, she just now noticed it. But then she flinched inside at the thought of what she might do.

Helga strode up next to her best friend and looked coldly at Rhonda. Whatever you do, just don't punch her. I know, Connie. I know. "It's none of your concern why I was at Arnold's house, and it isn't you who decides whether or not I should like him, too. Butt your powdered nose out of my social life, and I'll keep my fist away from your jaw, deal?"

Rhonda scoffed and turned on her heal. "Come on, Lila, we're leaving that little ingrate and her friend."

Watching as her friend walked off, Lila figured Rhonda wouldn't miss her while she pouted. Instead, she turned to the two girls who were also looking at the leaving Rhonda. When they turned to her, she sighed and frowned. "I'm ever-so sorry about the way Rhonda has been acting. She sees good gossip and she dives for it."

Phoebe smiled and said, "It's quite all right, Lila."

"Yeah, yeah, thanks," said Helga, but then said, quite nicer, "Yeah, thanks Lila. I appreciate it."

Lila smiled her sweet smile.

"LILA!"

"Coming, Rhonda!" She took one last look at the two girls and walked off.

Once Lila was out of hearing range, Helga sighed and turned to her best friend. She said, "Come on, Pheebs, let's go get some food."

Smiling and adjusting the book that was under her arm, Phoebe responded, in her usual chipper tone, "Going." With that, they headed in the direction for the cafeteria.

!@#$%^&*()_+{}:"?

Helga and Phoebe left the lunch line, carrying trays filled with Salisbury steak, corn, tapioca pudding, and milk, one chocolate and one regular. Helga started heading for the two's usual table, but Phoebe hesitated. Biting her lip, she turned to look at a different section of the cafeteria. When Helga noticed that her friend was no longer accompanying her, she turned and saw her staring back and forth from one side of the cafeteria and back to the table they ordinarily used, as if trying to decide something.

"Phoebe," said Helga questioningly, "what are you looking at?"

Being jerked out of her thoughtful stage, she looked at Helga. "Um, Helga, don't you think we ought to…"

"Ought to what?" Helga looked in the direction Phoebe was looking at. "Ooh, no you don't. I'm not stirring up anymore…"…

!@#%^&*()_+{}:"?

"What are you guys doing here?"

"What's it look like, Hair Boy? Never mind, Phoebe talked me into sitting here…not that I wouldn't mind, Arnold."

"Didn't think it, Helga."

"Wait a minute, I'm Tall Hair Boy, Arnold's Hair…hey, what am I saying?"

"She got you, Gerald."

Phoebe giggled. Helga laughed out loud.

"Ugh…"

Yes, Phoebe was indeed thinking about sitting at the other end of the cafeteria, where Arnold and Gerald were sitting. According to Phoebe, it would 'save us from Arnold yelling across the room again'. The girls didn't share this thought with the boys, though.

"Hey, Arnold," said Gerald, taking a sip of milk. "You know what? Sid, Stinky, and Harold tried to tell me why Helga was at your house. I told them I didn't know, of course, since you didn't tell me, but I was wondering…" He took a quick bite out of his steak, "Have people stopped bugging you about it?"

Arnold thought for about two-point-three seconds, but before he could speak, someone interrupted.

"Rhonda did the very same thing to me, Gerald," spoke Phoebe, leaning forward in her chair. "She cornered me at my locker and started pressuring me for an answer. In fact, I kind if made her speak badly about Helga in front of her on accident."

"As I was going to say," said Arnold after Phoebe finished, "yes, they are kind of. Guess they got the hint that we weren't telling, huh, Helga?"

"I'd definitely say so." Helga leaned back, taking a sip out of her chocolate milk. "I don't think Rhonda's going to give up, though. If Phoebe and Gerald don't cave in-"

"How am I supposed to cave in if I don't know anything about it?" exclaimed Gerald, leaning over in his seat, looking square at Arnold and Helga. ""Helga, are you ever going to tell me?"

Helga smiled mischievously and playfully. "What do you think?"

Gerald winced, equally playful. "I'm thinking," he said, "that you probably won't tell me until my dying day. Great, huh?"

Helga laughed loudly again. "Look, Gerald, I'll tell you when I'm ready, okay? The only reason I let Phoebe know…"

"You told her and not me?"

"Think about it, Gerald, she's my best friend, I only even started befriending you yesterday! Anyway, the only reason I let Phoebe know is because she already knows the backbone of why on the first place. As I was saying, if you two don't cave in, then her and Harold will most likely start going drastic. Maybe not Harold, he's not as hard-push as Rhonda is… I'll bet you anything she'll start stalking all four of us if she takes it to far."

After the short little speech, Gerald said, "You know, about the Sid, Stinky, and Harold thing (I never did finish talking about it), after I left, I stopped at the corner to tie my shoe. I swear that I heard Sid and Stinky actually sticking up for you guys. They didn't exactly believe you two would work out," he added quickly, seeing the extremely shocked faces of Arnold, Helga, and Phoebe, "but they did think that they should lay off for a while."

Phoebe smiled. "Perhaps acceptance is approaching our friends quicker than we expected, hmm?"

The other three looked at each other and shrugged. "Yeah, maybe it is," they all said in unison.

!@#$%^&*()_+{}:"?

About five minutes ago…

Nadine and Lila walked to their table where Rhonda was already sitting, whispering to each other.

"Lila, I really think we should. You know, for their sake."

"I know, Nadine, it's just that it's going to be oh too difficult."

"Come on, at least we can try. You said it yourself that it will most likely work out between them."

Lila smiled guiltily. "Yeah, I guess I did, didn't I? Well, I guess so, for their sake."

"Good. Thanks, Lila."

"What are you two whispering about?"

Nadine and Lila bolted their heads up to find themselves at their table. "Nothing," they said together as they took a seat on either side of Rhonda.

To make the fact that they were trying to do, well, what they wanted to do, a little less obvious, they passed the time by eating and listening to Rhonda talk about some pair of shoes she wanted to buy.

"Nadine? Nadine!"

"Huh?" She jerked out of her intense stare at the mesh she made from her potatoes.

Rhonda looked at Nadine like she had a really bad haircut, then continued. "I asked you if bell bottoms should be in season or out. It's really quite an arguable subject."

Nadine squinted as if Rhonda were giving of an extraordinary light. "Oh, um, in I guess?"

Rhonda smiled as if she had just won a great big, stuffed teddy bear. She turned in her seat to face Lila. "What about you? I'm thinking of starting a poll on the Internet." Before Lila could answer, however, Rhonda shifted her gaze and her eyes fell upon a certain table. "Oh, it makes me sick to think that anything could end up that way, doesn't it? I know I've said it before, but I think Arnold could do much better than that."

Suddenly, both girls became more aware of what Rhonda was saying. Smirking, Nadine looked where Rhonda's gaze had landed. Gerald was making hand movements at Helga, then stopped, looked surprised, and everyone at the table started laughing. "I don't know, Rhonda…" Nadine started to say, looking at the foursome and then back to Rhonda. "It looks like those four are pretty good friends. Maybe it's not as weird as you think that those two like-like each other, hmm?"

"Nadine!" Rhonda exclaimed, looking overly shocked. "Seriously you can't think that there must be something going on that we don't know about!"

"Actually, Rhonda…" said Lila, waiting again for her friend to look at her. "Nadine is right. I mean, it started during summer vacation, right?" She waited again for Rhonda to nod, then continued. "There's a ton of stuff that could have happened, even in that short time that we didn't see him very often."

"Lila, that was one week. How could anything like this happen in one week!"

"Let us finish," said Nadine. "Look, we see Helga everyday, right? Well, maybe, since she tends to be a bully that's usually all we really care to see. Ever think of that?"

"If, and that's a big if, you're right, then that still doesn't explain why Arnold is so infatuated with her. So Helga might be different. That doesn't mean Arnold should like her so much. So what, she's still mean, stubborn, and utterly unfeminine. Sure that last trait may have been okay for when we just turned nine, but now we're ten, okay? Arnold's supposed to like pretty and always nice girls, like Ruth and Connie and Lila. This just doesn't make since to me."

Lila cleared her throat. "Rhonda, like Helga said earlier, it's just ever-so not concern, really. You can ponder it all, but I'm certain that you pestering them because you don't understand won't make it all right for what you think is orthodox. It's just oh-too wrong for you to make fun if them when all they've done is like each other, like you used to like Har-"

"Shush!" Rhonda jumped and covered Lila's mouth with her hand. "Not out loud."

Nadine and Lila looked at Rhonda in expectation. Rhonda rolled her eyes and sighed. "Look, what you two are saying may be true, and I guess I should lower the gossip…a little bit. But I swear, I will find out exactly how this all happened if it takes me all year. What you guys are saying is pretty unbelievable…maybe you are wrong."

Sighing, Lila and Nadine looked at each other. Perhaps what they did didn't make Rhonda become a saint towards the two in question, but at least they knew, even if she didn't flat out admit it, that she was considering the thought.

!@#$%^&*()_+{}:"?

The lunch bell rang and the fifth and sixth graders exited the cafeteria.

On the way back to Mr. Packenham's class, Arnold, Helga, Phoebe, and Gerald were walking and, for one of the first times for the two days, they didn't meet up with anybody trying to get something out of them. (If it wasn't people picking on them, it was someone trying to get information on how it happened.) But they did, however, meet with two girls they knew quite well.

"Hey, Nadine. Hi, Lila."

Lila smiled. "Hello, Arnold. Helga, Gerald, Phoebe."

Nadine frowned and walked up to where she was slightly in front of Lila. "Guys, listen. We, that is, Lila and I, we thought that we could try to convince Rhonda to stop poking in on the whole Arnold and Helga deal."

Arnold looked at Nadine pleadingly. "Please tell me that you guys didn't get into a big argument and that you guys are still friends." Is that really important? Um…no.

There was a second and a half pause.

"Never mind."

Gerald looked at the two who had just walked up. "Really? What did she say about that?"

In doubt, Helga narrowed her eyes a bit, but said, "Yeah, what did she think about it?"

Lila thinned her lips and thought for a moment, as did Nadine. After a few seconds, Lila said, "Well, she said that our attempts to convince may be true, and that she might lower the gossiping, but she's determined."

"And you know Rhonda when she's determined," broke in Nadine. Everyone took a moment to think on that. It was true. When Rhonda wanted something, she usually did whatever necessary to get it.

Phoebe looked at her watch. "Girls, it's distinguished that Rhonda is considering, but if we don't leave now, going up to the second floor will take us beyond the five minute maximum…"

"We're going to be late," interrupted Helga, grabbing her friend's hand and running in the direction of the closest staircase. Gerald, then Arnold, Nadine, and Lila followed shortly after them.

Well, saved by the bell, I guess, again. The story alone without the credits was 5,190 words. Dang, that's long for a chapter for me. Anyway, how'd you like it? Give me your thoughts in a review.

GUYS, HELP! Whenever I look at chapter 16, it ends at "No," said Arnold. "I want to. Tell me people if it's like that on others, too, because there' a lot I have to type if it is. (I kind of deleted it). Tell me, it's urgent, half the story's after that. If I'm yelling for nothing, tell me. Thanks! Bye!

Briana LFBH