Chapter 8 - The Rules Of Bets And Baseball

The heavy feeling in Helga's stomach didn't leave her at all for the rest of the day. By the time she got home that evening she was just about ready to pass out. She forced her dinner down her throat as she knew she had better eat something or else she really would faint. She listened with half an ear to her dad yammering down his cell phone while simultaniously shoveling spaghetti into his mouth.

"Yeah, I know Nick... yeah I made sure I read the contract this time... it is Nick... yeah, the only reason I keep you on board is because you're such a weasel... hey hey, there are ladies present... what..? what kind of a problem..?" Bob stood up and wandered out of the room, still holding his fork.

After dinner Helga slumped in an armchair and flicked through the television channels. She had homework to do but she was too preoccupied with Rhonda and her evil schemes to even try and concentrate. Part of her wanted to know what she was up to, but the other part of her wanted to run away and hide under a rock in case it was something truly terrible. She heard a knock on her door and dragged herself heavily to her feet.

Stinky and Sid were standing on her stoop, mischevious grins on their faces. Helga's suspicions were immediately aroused. "Yes?"

"Uh, hi Helga," Sid said, not able to hide his faint smirks, "you coming to the baseball game?" Helga wanted to know what they were laughing at. She opened her mouth to argue, but then Stinky made a very over-the-top and showy act of slipping down her steps. As far as Helga could see he didn't actually hurt himself at all. She rolled her eyes and wondered where the prank was.

"Oh my!" Stinky drawled, clutching his shin but still grinning like a maniac, "Oh my poor leg!" Helga raised an eyebrow and looked at Sid.

"Don't look at me!" he said quickly. "I'd help him but I can't, er, bend. Bad back." Helga sighed and trudged down her steps. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Gerald leaning around the corner, spying on her. So this is a test, she thought. She took one of Stinky's hands in hers and despite her sweet disposition she could have sworn she saw him flinch.

"Up you get Stinky," she said, her back twinging a little as she pulled at him. Getting Stinky up was, however, proving to be quite a difficult task. He squirmed and bent and wailed but he would not get to his feet.

"Oh! Oh my! It's mighty painful on account of the fall!" Helga shook her head and let go of Stinky.

"Do you want me to go get you an ice pack or something?" she said offhandedly.

"Um, sure Helga, that'd be great," Sid said quickly. Helga knew when someone was trying to get rid of her but she didn't argue and went back into her house. As she rooted through her freezer a thought occured to her. If Gerald was around the corner then Arnold was sure to be close by. He had seemed strange around her, avoiding her almost, on the bus home. She thought it was weird that she would notice something like that as she and Arnold usually gave each other a wide berth anyway. She bundled some ice cubes into a towel and went back outside to Stinky, almost forgetting what she was doing and why she was doing it.

"Here ya go Stinky," she said, holding it out to him, her head a million miles away.

"Could you put it on my knee for me please Helga?" he asked in a simpering voice. Helga felt herself involuntarily twich. "It'd be awful nice of ya," he added smoothly, emphasising all the right words. Helga sighed and got down on her knees, pressing the ice against Stinky's leg. Behind her she heard the thumping sound of shoes on concrete, but before she could turn around to see what was happening she felt something slimy slam against the back of her head.

She immediately pushed herself to her feet and watched Sid as he ran off around the corner where Gerald was hiding. The slimy mass slithered over her shoulders and all over her dress. She ran her hand through her hair and looked at what she scraped off. Her hand was soaked in what she immediately recognised as red paint, charcoal dust and tapioca pudding. She closed her eyes, humiliation running through her every vein. This quickly turned to anger when she saw that Stinky was miraculously cured and standing before her, laughing. Suddenly all Helga could see was red, and all Helga knew was that Stinky was closest.

WHAM!

Stinky stumbled backwards at the force of Helga's push. Helga was determined not punch him but as he fell butt-first into the garbage can by her stoop she couldn't help but think that maybe she should have. Like a swarm of bees her classmates were around her, pointing and yelling and declaring her the loser. Once again Helga wiped the gooey mass out of her eyes and glared at them. Rhonda was the first to step forward.

"Well, that was rather easy," she said evily. Helga narrowed her eyes at her, and tried her best not to punch her prissy hair out of place. Instead she just stood perfectly still and said nothing.

"I guess you just don't do nice, huh Helga?" Park said. Still Helga remained silent.

"You're just a mean old bully with stupid billy-goat ears," Harold said, laughing hysterically and turning pinker by the second. Helga still kept quiet. Gerald stepped forward.

"But you were provoked..." he mused, wiping a finger over her dripping shoulder and inspecting it.

"That doesn't matter!" Rhonda protested. "There was nothing in the rules that said we couldn't push her a little." Rhonda narrowed her eyes at Helga. Helga said nothing.

"There were no rules at all Rhonda," Gerald said truthfully. Rhonda looked like she wanted to argue, but for once she had nothing to say. "The bet stands, but now I'm laying down some rules!" Gerald declared. The class were all ears, looking at Helga as though she were on trial. Helga couldn't speak, she felt caged.

"Firstly," Gerald began, "like baseball, Helga will get three strikes. And then she's out."

"This counts as a strike, right?" Rhonda urged, pointing at Stinky. Gerald mused for a while.

"Yes, it does," he said finally. Rhonda punched the air triumphantly, and Helga muttered under her breath. She didn't know how they could all stand around and debate her fate as though she weren't there like this. She started to wonder why she was so desperate for them to remember her. She looked around the crowd. Phoebe looked most upset, she kept throwing Helga sympathetic looks which she wasn't catching. Arnold was just staring from Gerald to Rhonda, obviously thinking this was something he need not get involved in... yet. Some of the kids obviously saw this as a game and thought no more or less of her, like Harold and Sid and even Stinky, despite being trapped in a bin. In fact, it was only Rhonda who appeared to be out for Helga's blood, which Helga thought on the whole wasn't bad.

"Secondly, Rhonda will be Helga's tormenter, seeing as she's already taken up that role. This means she can aggrevate Helga until she snaps or until the bet ends. If Helga wins, Rhonda forefeits." Rhonda looked smug. Now she could openly try to take Helga down, it was her role in the game. There was no doubt in her mind that she would suceed. There were protests at this rule, and much talk of it being kid's stuff, but Gerald just waved his hand impatiently and reminded them they were kids.

"Thirdly, I will be judge of naughty and nice," Gerald said, winking at Phoebe although only Arnold saw this. "And fourthly, we're gonna need a confidant."

"A what?" exclaimed several of the kids.

"A confidant. Someone on Helga's team, seeing as Rhonda can enlist whoever she wants to try and break Helga down. Someone for Helga to take her rage out on in private as it were... well no, maybe I'm not explaining it right." He took a deep breath. "Someone in debt to Helga, someone to take the blame once or twice, a safety net, a get out of jail free card, a... oh for the love of, I can't explain it really." He looked defeated. Arnold stepped forward.

"Someone to remind her that no matter what her tormenter throws at her she isn't alone." Everyone looked at him. "I've played this game before," he said simply.

"Precisely!" Gerald said to Arnold, but he was looking at Helga and she at him. Helga snorted. This is the way he does things, she thought. Someone's in trouble and he leaps to the rescue. Ah well, it'll be nice for the little shrimp to hang around with me for a while-

"Phoebe?" Gerald asked, snapping Helga from her trance.

"Of course," Phoebe consented. Helga felt like sinking to her knees and screaming at the sky, but still, she said nothing.

"Then it's settled," Gerald continued. "There are proper rules now. Helga, you're one strike down with two to go and the rest of you? You're scouts, making sure Helga sticks to the rules. Now lets play ball!" He held his baseball bat above his head like a sword and they all started toward Gerald field. Helga wondered when her say in all of this had disappeared into the abyss, but she knew she had had plenty of chances to speak up. She smiled faintly and decided to properly get started. Only two people saw Helga turn around to apologise to Stinky and help him out of the bin. Stinky, of course, and Arnold.