Author's Note: Nadine never got her own episode before, which is kind of unfair since Gerald, Phoebe and Sid had their own. So I decided to write this one up. There are other reasons why I decided to write this one up, mainly I want to expand Sid and Nadine's character development by telling the readers about their past. Nadine's mother made an appearance in this story and she has some lines, because the last time she appeared in the Hey Arnold show was during the Parents Day episode, and she didn't have any lines at all. Also, I needed to write where does Nadine got her love for exotic animals and insects from. She had to get it from somewhere, and making her mother works as a zookeeper might just be crazy enough to work.
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.
Episode 9: Nadine's Journey
I
"Hey Jamie. "
"Yeah, Adam?"
"I heard there's a myth on the Internet that if you write fanfics, you'll be cool and popular."
Both Jamie and Adam looked at one another awkwardly.
"Busted."
"Totally, irrevocably busted."
Then Helga clicked a button on the remote, flicking to another channel. She was in the living room, wasting her idle time by watching television. It was also at night currently, but nobody was home, with the exception of her sister, no doubt on the phone talking to her friend about the Seaside Fair that just started a few days ago. She was very annoyed at her sister currently, walking around the house with the phone on her ears, babbling incoherently to her friend. Helga was hoping that she'd finally find a place to sit away from her, but unfortunately her wish was not granted and Helga then decided to go to her room. Olga then took the opportunity to take the television over from Helga and watch her favorite show.
Upon arriving inside the room, Helga gazed at the calendar, and noticed that it had been three days now since Nadine arrived in San Lorenzo. No doubt in her mind that Nadine and Arnold were fooling, goofing around with one another by now, a thought that really sparked Helga jealousy towards her friend. Then again, it was just a crazy assumption though, since the relationship between Arnold and Nadine was largely platonic and it wouldn't go as far as that. Regular friendship and all that stuff. But if they do cross that line, Arnold would've owe Sid tons of explanation. And nobody wants to mess with Sid. Still, with all these thoughts, Helga remained calm and told to herself that she was just being paranoid. She began to laugh at herself just for thinking that Arnold and Nadine were up to something.
Suddenly, she felt the urge to write a letter to Arnold. Possibly to calm her nerves and to do something productive during her idle time. She then reached a pen and a paper, put them on the table and started to write away.
Hello there Mr. Tourist Guide,
I was hoping to hear from you after Nadine and her mom arrived in San Lorenzo. I guess you got so busy that you've forgot to write to little old me apparently. Hehe, I'm not that bothered about it, really. I bet she must be pretty thrilled to see you after all these years. I mean, when was the last time all of us met?
Helga then stopped writing for a while, reflecting on her words. She let out a weak breath and said to herself, "Wow… has it been that long? Man, I really miss you Arnold…" she said weakly, and her eyes began to brim with tears. But she quickly wiped her tears and shrugged her longing for Arnold away, and tried to remain in character as she continued to write the letter.
You know, I was the first one to know that she was going to San Lorenzo, rather than Rhonda. Rather surprising, huh? Well, it started out like this…
II
"Hey Nadine. Thanks for picking me as your lab partner. Truth to be told, you're my first absolute choice too, really." Helga said as she entered Nadine's room. This actually was Helga's first visit to her house in several years.
"Yeah, likewise." Nadine replied back as she picked up a packet of dried animal food and put them into a tray inside of her turtle cage. Helga just looked at Nadine in amazed wonderment. She really does like animals, a unique characteristic of hers that never diminished even she now was in her teen years. She then went over to her window and snapped up some leaves from a huge tree and put them into her insect cage, literally filled with exotic insects such as a huge beetle and some stick insects to feed them. And apparently, she still does like insects to this day too. But the animal in Nadine's collection that shocked Helga the most was a big, huge dangerous snake that was being cared in a special huge glass container in a corner of her room.
"Isn't that…" Helga pointed at the snake with her visibly shaken hand, "our fourth grade pet snake, uh… what's its name…" Helga tried to remember its name while snapping her fingers repeatedly, "Georgie?"
"Yup." Nadine replied coolly as she climbed up a small ladder to the opening of the container. "Mr. Simmons was kind enough to let me keep him as a pet after we finished fourth grade."
"Mostly likely you're the only person who asked him for that critter." Helga spoke silently to herself as she watched Nadine feed the snake with some medicated raw meat. "Is he dangerous?" she then took a seat on Nadine's bed.
"Well, he has been fed, so it should be okay… most of the time." Nadine replied back as she climbed down from the ladder. "Now on to business. I think have an excellent idea for our assignment." And then she walked up to her desk in searching for a book. Helga on the other hand, still had her mind lingering about the mini zoo that Nadine had in her room.
"Won't these animals kill you in your sleep or something?" Helga asked, as Georgie looked at Helga menacingly while hissing at her.
Nadine rolled her eyes around, starting to get annoyed with Helga's questions. Still, she decided to answer back, in hoping that it'd make her shut up and wouldn't ask her those stupid questions again. "I check their cages twice every week so they'll remain escape proof, so I've got nothing to worry about. Still, there was an incident a year ago where my black widow escaped and bit me."
Helga widened her eyes in shock and alarm, "Were you okay?"
"Of course, duh!" Nadine replied back, "I milked its venom a day before it escaped. So I guess I was kinda lucky back then."
Nadine actually made Helga scared as she looked at her in disbelief. As if all these animals weren't enough, she had to tell Helga that she actually proficient in controlling these creatures. She was one of a kind. "Don't you have any… normal pets? Like a cat or something?" Helga asked good-naturedly, smiling at Nadine.
Nadine chuckled back, in realization that Helga began to warm up with her bizarre collection of exotic animals, "Nah, normal pets are boring. But yeah, I had one once, if you count squirrel as 'normal'."
"Yeah?" Helga smiled at her.
"I called her Sandy. It was a gift from my dad when he was in Texas a few years back. It didn't do much except for chillin' on a sponge all day."
"So what happened to Sandy?" Helga asked back.
Nadine let out a deep sigh, and pointed to Georgie, "Alas, poor Sandy was a cruel victim of nature's grand and wondrous food chain." Then the both of them gave Sandy a moment of silence, as they put both of their head down in respect for poor Sandy.
"All right. Enough with this." Nadine said, after much mourning. "Okay, this is what we're going to do." She said in front of Helga, eagerly want to present her idea. Then suddenly, the doorbell rang.
"Nadine, baby? You're home?" a female voice called behind the closed door.
"Mom?" Nadine said to herself incredulously as she gazed at her alarm clock next to her bed. "It's too early for her to be at home right now. I wonder what she wants." Nadine said to Helga.
"Probably there's a breakout at the zoo or something." Helga guessed randomly. It didn't amused Nadine though, since there actually was an incident in the zoo where a zookeeper was almost killed by a lion several years before.
"Ha-ha, very funny." Nadine replied sarcastically as she walked out from her room as Helga followed her from behind. "Mom?" Nadine said upon opening the door for her mother, "Why you're home from the zoo so soon? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine honey. You know I took my medication before I left home, like I always do." Nadine mom's replied back, and she noticed Helga behind her daughter, "Oh, I didn't know you have a visitor. You're Helga, aren't you?"
Helga gave Nadine's mother a smile and greeted, "Yeah, it's me, all right. Hi Mrs.—" suddenly the cuckoo clock toll, thus making Nadine's family name to be inaudible.
"Well, the boss let me out early today so I can tell you this great news, honey!" Nadine's mom said.
"What is it?" Nadine said, getting excited.
"You still want to go to San Lorenzo?" Nadine's mother asked, and Nadine nodded. Helga was taken aback, and she decided to listen to their conversation attentively.
"Turns out that they still need one more keeper to handle the jaguars, and I just volunteered!" she spread both of her arms and both mother and daughter began to squeal joyfully. Nadine quickly embraced her mom as a mean to say thank you to her for making her wishes come true. Helga just stood there stunned, looking at them with a warm smile. Still she was a bit upset that Nadine was the first person to go there first rather than herself. Nadine then released her grasp from her mom and turned around to Helga.
"Oh. MY. GOSH!" she said joyfully. "I can't wait to see Arnold after all these years!"
Suddenly, Helga felt her heart skipped a beat, and her lung began to collapse. "Oh… my… gosh…" Helga thought dreadfully.
III
Next day in school… in the cafeteria…
"Oh. My. Gosh!" Rhonda said euphorically to Nadine after she told her the good news, "So you're actually going to San Lorenzo to meet Arnold?"
"Well, technically I'll be there to assist my mom with the animal relocation program. If I have some time to spare, I could give Arnold a visit, if I had the time."
"I mean no offence Nadine, but you're not professionally trained for this type of animal. Isn't it ever so risky for you to assist your mother with such a dangerous task?" Lila asked her.
"Lila, what are you talking about?" Rhonda said to Lila, "This is Nadine we're talking about! The only girl I know who isn't squeamish about holding a giant tarantula or handling a huge snake in her hands!"
"And don't forget that she's the only girl who isn't afraid of my frog attack!" Sid said in a complimentary voice. "I remember back when we were in the fifth grade, I threw a frog onto her face, but she awesomely managed to catch it in time and proceeded to stuff it in my pants!" The whole gang laughed, "Boy, did I dance for hours or what!"
"And then… and then…" Stinky said, barely containing his laughter, "You gots dem rashes 'round ya butt for weeks!" and the whole gang laughed again, with the exception of Sid, whose face began to redden in embarrassment.
"All right, that's enough." Sid said, playfully shoving Stinky away.
Still retaining her smile, Nadine gave her explanation to Lila, "While I appreciate the concern, but girl, you don't have to get all worked up about it. Including my mother, there will be a team of several American zookeepers and San Lorenzan vets to help the jaguars out. They will be sedated before the journey and thoroughly checked by the hours until they arrive in The States. My duty is just to document the relocation mission and if possible, help the vets with the jaguars, and that's all to it."
"Nadine:" Sid said proudly, in a subtle attempt to hit on her, "future documentarian for International Geographic." This was actually what Nadine aspired to be when she grew older. Sid knew about her dreams because he developed a liking towards her. There had been hints throwing around between them, but they never actually seem to really respond to them.
"Thanks, Sid." Nadine replied, smiling. "Someday." She hoped. Then the gang began to talk again about Nadine's impending trip to San Lorenzo. Helga was there. She was happy for Nadine, but couldn't help but to feel uneasy about her trip, since there could be a slight, small possibility that Nadine and Arnold would eventually become a couple. Noticing her best friend's typical restless look, Phoebe said to Helga:
"Are you okay, Helga?" Phoebe asked, "You look disturbed…"
"What? Huh?" Helga replied back, snapping out from her paranoia, "Don't be ridiculous Phoebe. I'm not troubled by the fact that Nadine is going to San Lorenzo first rather than me!" But Phoebe narrowed her eyes, and look deeply into Helga's eyes, making her feel guilty about lying to her best friend, "Well… I do… sorta… kinda… have… a bit of uneasiness about she going there."
Phoebe had always known Helga's dark secret since they were in grade school, but never actually talk about it in honesty. It was always subtle, accompanied with analogies and not directly approaching the real subject matter. In order to calm her friend down, she replied, "I think she doesn't pose any… threats, Helga. Oh my gosh. Perhaps I chose the words too freely. 'Threat' is not a good word to describe her as of now."
"Then what word would you choose to describe her?" Helga asked again.
"Intimidation, maybe?" Phoebe chimed back, smiling nervously at Helga.
Helga then clasped her hands over her face and said, "I'm so doomed…"
Later after school…
"You're worried that your girl might fall into Arnold's hands?" Gerald said playfully as he smacked Sid's back. "There's still chance before she left the country, ya know what I'm saying?"
"Dude, you're not even making sense." Sid replied back as he and Gerald disregarded the 'Don't Walk' sign on the traffic light and walked away. "It's Arnold we're talking about here, man. The truest, most honest guy we know."
"Still, technically you're not actually hers, homes." Gerald replied back. "If ya wanna Nadine as your girl, you better do it now. I mean, you've got nothing to lose. Look at yourself man, you've turned soft because of her, that's why you're not involved in lotsa fights nowadays. Heck, she even advises you when you're in trouble. And you, you always been courteous towards her, and that means something!"
"Yeah…" Sid replied, realizing the great potential, "Why didn't I think of it before? We're meant for each other! I'm… I'M…!" he said loudly as Gerald looked at him with a snicker, "I'M GOING TO THINK ABOUT IT!"
Gerald shook his head in disbelief while still had that smile across his face, and said to him, "Careful man, the paranoia will build inside your head."
IV
"Nadine, while you're there in San Lorenzo, be sure to buy me one of those handcrafted sarongs that I heard so much. It'd look great if I wear them along with my bikini." Rhonda said, trying to ignore a giant spider in a cage next to her face. She was in Nadine's room helping her friend to prepare for her trip to San Lorenzo. "By the way, how long you'll be staying there?"
"About a month or so." Nadine replied as she looked at her wardrobe, deciding which clothes she should bring to a tropical country.
"That long?" Rhonda asked back, in disbelief, "Just how long does it take to send a few dumb animals to the US, anyway?"
"Well, it should've been just two weeks actually, but one of the jaguars escaped and another is critically ill all of the sudden."
"Man, one whole month without school, and you're going to a tropical country to escape the coldness of the current weather." Rhonda said back, "What a great vacation you're going to!"
Nadine chuckled softly and turned around to see Rhonda. "Well, technically I'm not going to a vacation since I have some work to do, but hopefully I'll find time to relax at their beach or something. Mom did say this trip should be proven to be an educational experience for me, but I'll probably get myself a tan there rather than doing those… 'educational' stuff." And Rhonda laughed softly. Nadine then brought some of her clothes to Rhonda.
"Have you told Arnold that you're coming?" Rhonda asked, as she put them neatly inside of Nadine's large baggage.
"I just did. I sent him an email last night. Right now I'm just waiting for him reply back." she turned around, and showed Rhonda an article of clothing to her, "Do you think I should bring this with me?"
Rhonda looked at the sort of ugly looking shirt and said, "Definitely… if you want to offend the local people." Nadine scoffed, throwing the shirt back into the closet. She then walked up to her bed and lay down next to her friend. Rhonda looked at her, and noticed a somewhat sad, depressing look on her face, "You're okay? I thought you like going to San Lorenzo."
"Don't get me wrong, Rhonda… I love it. It's just… I dunno… I'm just concerned. With I'm gone for a while, who's going to keep a eye on Sid?"
"Come on, it's just one month." Then suddenly Rhonda realized something. She smiled softly to her best friend. So Nadine finally let her true feelings out to her best friend, whom she had speculated about her relationship with Sid, "You… like him, don't you?"
"I'm his voice of reason, Rhonda." Nadine replied back, getting up, "It always has been that way since we were in grade school. I really fear he'd do something really stupid when I'm not around. I mean, just how many times you hear him got into a fight or mugged a guy when I'm around?"
"I know it's an undeniable proof that you're softening him up Nadine, but just because you two are thousands of miles apart, doesn't mean your hearts are. Look, I don't really like Sid that much, and I don't see him as the same way as you do, but if you really care for him, maybe you should call this off."
"No… no! I can't!" Nadine replied back, strongly opposing the notion. "My mom would be so upset. I practically begged for her to take that relocation job in San Lorenzo, and then the opportunity came… I… I just can't turn back away from her!"
"Then you have to do something. Time's running out and you only got until tomorrow." Rhonda replied back. Then suddenly there was a knock at the door. "Nadine?"
"Mom?" Nadine said back, and her mom opened the door, "Have you finished packing yet?"
"I'm just about finished, thanks to Rhonda." Nadine smiled at her mom along with Rhonda.
"Hi Mrs. —" suddenly there was a loud crash in the alley, where a trash can was knocked down by two fighting cats.
"That's good. You know, all this packing is making me thirsty. You girls wanna come down and have some ice-cream or something?" Nadine's mom asked, and both of the girls agreed unanimously. They then got up and the three of them proceeded down to the kitchen. As Nadine was on her last flight of stairs, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it." Nadine then proceeded to the front door, and to her surprise, it was Sid. "Oh, hey, Sid. What are you doing here?"
"Oh… hey… hi… Nadine…" Sid replied nervously like an edgy schoolboy. Realizing that he was acting like a dork, he calmed his composure down and coolly said to Nadine, "I'm just in the neighborhood and I saw your house. Your big, blue house…" he felt like slapping himself for being stupid. At this time, Rhonda emerged from behind, looking at them at a few distance away.
"This should be humorous…" Rhonda said to herself, smiling evilly.
"The Seaside Fair has just started." Sid said, smiling a goofy smile at Nadine.
"What a coincidence." Nadine smiled back.
"Hey, if you're not doing anything, would you like to take a walk around the pier and have some… I don't know… taffy or something?"
Still retaining her smile, Nadine replied, "Are you asking me out?"
Sid was stunned, and gazed nervously at Nadine for a few seconds before he finally got the guts to answer back, "Yes... I am asking you out." By now Sid was sweating all over.
Nadine contemplated over it, while Sid waited for her answer. Nadine turned around and Rhonda gave an encouragement by giving her thumbs up sign. Then, "Yeah why not." Sid was relieved. "Right after ice-cream."
V
Like any other clichéd, overdone plot device, the evening in the fair began with a series of montage where Nadine and Sid entering the fair holding their hands together. They went to various stalls and stands, trying all sorts of carnival food and games. And since Sid was proficient with guns and all, he won Nadine a huge chicken and penguin plushie. Though neither animals were Nadine's favorite animal, she accepted them sincerely, though she would question how should they carry them back home without anyone staring at them. After a ride at a Ferris wheel, where they could see Gerald and Phoebe at a cotton candy booth, they then walked to the end of a pier, overlooking the brightly lit city with both of the stuffed animals in their hands. After admiring the view without any conversation being exchanged between them, Sid finally got enough courage to talk to her.
"Thanks for going out with me Nadine. I hope it wasn't too abrupt… showing in front of your house unceremoniously and all that."
Nadine chuckled softly, and replied, "Nah, it's cool. Somehow, I was expecting it for some disturbing reason."
"Yeah, I know. I'm creepy." Sid replied back good-naturedly. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"What?"
"The city." Sid replied back. "Hey, I'm no poet. Though we don't usually get a lot of stars in the city, but looking at the skyscrapers basking in light, in all its glory with the moon up above shining the earth with its luminous light, it really makes you feel all warm and cozy and marvel at just how much we've accomplished as human beings."
"I guess." Nadine tended to agree. She questioned herself why a former thug like Sid would talk to her something as soothing as this, "That is, the pollution doesn't get into our heads first." Both Nadine and Sid laughed softly.
"And uh... thanks for inviting me inside for the ice-cream earlier." Sid said, whilst rubbing the back of his head for some reason.
"Oh, stop it. You've been thanking me for that for several times already." Nadine smiled, "I think I'm kind of getting weary of listening to it."
"Hey, I really enjoyed the ice-cream, mind you. Even with your mom looking at me with her cold, glassy, distrustful stare." Nadine then playfully jabbed Sid on his shoulder for making fun of her mom, and the both of them laughed. They resumed watching the beautiful view.
"To be honest with you, Gerald had something to do with me asking you out today."
"Man, I'm so going to kill him for this." Nadine replied jokingly, as she hugged the stuffed penguin tighter, "What did he contribute?"
Sid then looked at Nadine, as she gazed at him back, "Well, he's the one basically made me realize the truth about the relationship between us." he replied, "You're more than just a friend, Nadine. You are my voice of reason, you give me strength, you give me meaningful advises and you care a lot about me, even though I am not much in the eyes of society."
"I disagree, Sid." Nadine replied, gazing deeply into his eyes back, "In these past few years, you've changed a lot. You weren't violent as you used to. You actually stand up for your friends and help them out. You've been kind towards your family. If only you will remain like that…"
Sid then suddenly interjected, and spoke softly to her, "And I will, for you…" as he moved her face nearer towards Nadine.
"Don't break that promise."
"I won't." and they finally gave each other their first kiss. And as soon as they were kissing, fireworks began to shoot up into the sky, dazzling the viewers with their awesome display. It was all ignored by Sid and Nadine, as they wanted to cherish this moment forever.
"Yaaarrr…" Sheena's Uncle Earl growled as he went pass the young couple on his boat, "The both of ye aren't supposed to be doin' that in public, for there be plenty of eyes lookin' at ya."
VI
The day after… in Helga's room…
Helga gazed at the clock on her computer. Anytime now, Nadine will leave for the airport, thus making her first step to San Lorenzo. Helga was getting restless, beginning to enter into a state of chaos. She tried to tell herself repeatedly over and over again that she was just being extremely paranoid, but try as she might she couldn't shake away the feeling that Arnold might confess to Nadine about his feelings about her. Anything could happen in that span of one month. And if Arnold did confess to her, any chance of Helga to confess her love to Arnold will be forever gone. And she didn't want that to happen.
She asked herself, should she come clean to Nadine and admit that she loved Arnold, just like she did to Lila when she was in the fourth grade? She had done that before, and she preferred that she wouldn't want to do that again, ever. But with time running short and she had no idea on how to keep Arnold away from Nadine; she was now left with no other option than to tell Nadine about Arnold. Still, she wished there would be some other way, but as of right now, she couldn't find any other suitable way. She then reluctantly left her house and trudged to Nadine's home and hoped that along the way, she'd find the words that would be subtle enough for Nadine to remain with Arnold as friends and not knowing her deepest darkest secret, or preferably, she could find an idea to skip this whole thing to begin with.
She wished she wasn't as paranoid as this…
Helga rang the doorbell, and waited for the answer. After a few moments, Nadine opened the door, and was somewhat surprised to see Helga at the door. "Oh, hey Helga."
Helga raised and eyebrow. Judging from her appearance, Nadine was about ready to leave for the airport. "Oh, sorry. Did I catch you in a bad time? I can see you all up and ready for the big trip."
"Nah, we're expected to be at the airport no more than two hours before our flight departs, so… I've got plenty of time." Nadine replied back, "So, what up? Look, I'm sorry I had to bail out from the assignment, but—"
"No, no. Not a problem at all." Helga replied, waving her hand dismissively. "It's just…"
"Yeah?"
Helga was very reluctant to tell Nadine about Arnold, as she stared awkwardly at her for a prolonged time, making Nadine confused and uncomfortable at her nervous stare. She tried to say it to her, but the only words that came out from her mouth was just a string of nervous sounded voice that stutters worriedly, "I uh… ya know… and, but… oh…"
"Uh… huh…?" Nadine replied in confusion. She wondered what the heck Helga wanted to say to her.
"I uh…" she suddenly thought up another completely unrelated topic that randomly popped in her mind, and abruptly said to her. "Snakes!"
"Snakes?" Nadine thought Helga had lost it.
"Yeah, Snakes… like Gorgie! Are you going to bring him along too?"
"Huh?"
"I mean, it's going to be like he's on a plane! Like a… snake… on a plane! Get it? Snakes… on a plane? Heh heh…" Helga laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head. "Oh… this isn't going anywhere…"
"Girl… you're scaring and confusing me…" Nadine said, as she slowly tried to make her way into her house without Helga noticing it.
"NO! WAIT!" Helga snapped back, and Nadine stopped, noticing that Helga was serious this time. "I… I just have to tell you something before you leave for San Lorenzo. Sorry for freaking you out."
"Okay…" Nadine replied. "Let's hear it." Nadine then sat on the stoop of her house and invited Helga to sit next to her. Helga complied with the invitation.
After contemplating thoroughly about the future consequences if she told Nadine her secrets, Helga then reluctantly asked, "When you're there, are you staying at Arnold's house?"
"No, not really." Nadine replied back, "Though he did promise me to meet at the airport when I arrive. I think me and my mom will be living in some rented house at Bolivar I think. I'll tell you as soon as we've sort this thing out."
"Bolivar?"
"It's San Lorenzo's capital. There's been quite a scare there since one of the jaguars escaped. I hope nobody there will get hurt."
"Yeah…" Helga replied back, sharing the same sentiment as Nadine does. Then, after much thought, she then decided to tell Nadine her deepest secret, even with her logic strongly opposed the idea, "Nadine, I have something to tell you about me and Arnold…" she said weakly, after putting much emotion into it.
"You do?" Nadine replied, somewhat shocked, "Somehow, I've been suspecting this for a long time."
Helga widened her eyes in shock, "You… do?" Helga said disbelievingly. Did she know her secrets? Did that rat Rhonda told her about this?
"Of course. I know how you feel. Heck, we all do."
"Huh?" Helga replied, realizing that Nadine actually did not know her secret just yet.
"We're all his friends, Helga." Nadine replied back, "Of course we all do miss him from time to time. And I'm really surprised that, for someone who has hated him for so long, you actually do have a soft spot for him." She smiled at Helga.
"Oh… yeah…" Helga laughed weakly in disbelief, "that…"
"It's okay. It shows that you've finally matured and you don't let your blind hatred for him control your life." Nadine said, smiling at her.
"Nadine…" Helga said back. Although she was kind of relief to know that Nadine didn't know her love for Arnold, she was kind of upset that she had to tell Nadine her deepest secret, "I think you've got it all wrong. You see… I… uh, well, I'm… in lo—"
"Hey, it's Sid." Nadine suddenly stood up and waved at him. Helga was angered. She was in the mood and Sid had to spoil it for her. Sid then quickened his pace and ran up to the stoop and finally gave Nadine a passionate kiss on the lips. Helga was getting more and more confused after seeing the display.
"You two?" Helga pointed her finger at the both of them, "But… how? When?"
"It's long story." Sid replied, smiling at Helga.
"No it's not." Nadine replied giddily, "It just happened yesterday!"
"Regardless, it's still a long story." Sid replied back, smiling at his new girlfriend.
"So… you two… finally…?" Helga replied, and a wide smile began to carve on her face, in realization that if Nadine and Sid were actually, officially together, any chance of Arnold falling for Nadine will be unthinkable. Nadine and Sid nodded happily at Helga.
"Hey, that's great!" Helga jumped from her seat and congratulated the both of them. "I'm happy for you two!" And she was happy for herself too. "So what are you doing here, Sid?"
"Hey, can't a good guy like me say to his girl a sound goodbye before she leaves the country?" Sid replied happily.
"Does anyone else know about this?" Helga asked, wanting to know about it herself.
"Other and you and Rhonda, I don't think so." Nadine replied, "Please keep it a secret Helga. I'm planning to tell everyone about this later."
"And how do you want to do that?" Helga replied, smiling at them.
"That's… a secret." Nadine smiled at Sid, and they kissed again. "So Helga, about you and Arnold. What did you want to say to me before?"
Helga had completely forgotten about that. But with this new twist of events, she now can coolly say, "Oh, it's nothing important. Just forget about it."
VII
I'm happy for them, really. And you better not make anything stupid that's going to get Sid mad. But then again, it's you. We all know you well. You're just not going to do it. You're flippin' Boy Scout for cryin' out loud. I think that is the reason why people like you so much. Sure, you can be irritating with your goody two shoes attitude sometimes Football Head, but hey, you're a nice guy – and I'm so glad for that.
Be sure to give Nadine and her mom a tour around the country, and bring them to the village of the Green-Eyed people that you've been telling us so much. I'm sure she'd love to see it. Well, I guess that's that. I hope you're happy now that you've finally see an old friend of yours after all these years.
I want some souvenirs,
Helga.
Helga pondered about whether she should send the mail or not. "Yeah… why not? Just this once." She smiled to herself. She then put the letter in an envelope, write Arnold's address on it and finally she applied a stamp on it. She then walked out and put it into the nearest mailbox she could find. "Mission accomplished."
The next day in school, lunch hour…
"Everyone look! I just got a letter from Nadine!" Rhonda said happily as she showed her friends the letter high in the air. The gang then gathered around her and waited impatiently for her to open the envelope. Inside there were dozens of picture along with letters attached. The first thing that Rhonda took out from the envelope was pictures that Nadine and Arnold snapped, and she distributed them to everyone so they all could enjoy it. Nadine and Arnold looked very happy in those pictures. Mostly it was just the two of them in the pictures, posing with goofy looks and silly faces and whatnot. And some of them contained a picture of various sceneries in San Lorenzo, and there was one with a group picture of Arnold and Nadine with their respective parents.
While the letters, had been noted specifically to its receiver. 'For Sid's eyes only', one letter said. It was obviously for Sid. And everyone started to look at Sid and playfully made some loud hooting noises to embarrass him. Gerald shook his hand and said:
"Welcome to the Interracial Relationship Club my friend!" and the both of them laughed out loud.
'Hey Guys', another letter said. It was a letter from Arnold to his friends. Gerald quickly took it and read it aloud to his friends.
"So that's why he can't use the Internet often…" Eugene said, nodding. "San Lorenzo really needs to upgrade its infrastructure." And as Gerald read Arnold's letter, Helga felt safe in her mind that her beloved Arnold was still, for her alone. And she hoped she'd confess to him on time before anything could happen to jeopardize her future relationship with him. She could say that she was selfish, but as long as Arnold remained with her, hopefully, in the near future, it would be a blissful relationship in the end, in favor to her.
She also wanted to kick herself for being so stupidly paranoid about Nadine and Arnold.
Why Nadine and Sid, you ask? Well, fans (mostly creepy fangirls) have been paired them up together for some reason, and I just follow them, you know, like a sheep. It's amazing why Nadine never had her own episode before, which really blows my mind. Oh well. Thanks for reading and please leave a review.