Helga made her way back over to the dock to grab her clothes, still seeming agitated.
"Shit, what the hell?" I heard Helga curse quietly.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"My jacket is gone." Helga told me.
I looked at our little pile of clothing, and Helga's leather jacket wasn't lying there. I was confused of how it could just disappear.
"Someone must've taken it while we were swimming." Helga suggested in irritation.
"That could be the case..." I said.
"How the fuck did we not notice them?" Helga asked in confusion and agitation.
"I don't know... I'm sorry."
"Now I won't look as tough and intimidating in the halls."
"Are you really that concerned with looking tough? And a piece of fabric doesn't determine whether you're tough or not. Who told you it does? You say you don't care what people think of you, but if people don't see you as tough or indimidating, then you do."
My heart rate started to speed up after calling Helga out.
"It's not just a piece of fabric, and I don't tell you how to live your life!" Helga shot back.
"You kind of do, or at least used to. You were quite bossy at one point." I remarked.
"Well, I don't care what you do now." Helga scoffed.
An argument was starting to form, but I wanted to put a stop to it before it got worse. I didn't want to fight with Helga again. I had already fought with her this morning, and I hated arguments. I wanted things to be amiable and peaceful. I had realized this new, brief argument had been stupid anyway.
"I'll look out for your jacket." I told Helga.
I offered to help Helga because helping others was my passion. But something felt a bit more special about helping Helga.
"You don't need to do that." Helga assured.
"I want to, though." I assured her back
"Thanks." Helga said as she put on her clothing.
I had been dried off enough, so I had put my clothes back on as well.
"Can I walk you home?" I offered.
"Whatever floats your boat." Helga replied.
As the two of us left the lake and started walking onto the sidewalk, I felt a comforting and nostalgic feeling. That was because I had walked Helga home a few times when we were in the fourth grade. I felt a sense of comfort in doing it again. But I wasn't sure if it was because it reminded me of my childhood, or because I was with Helga.
The shade of the sky had started to get darker as we walked down the sidewalk of our little Urban neighborhood. Though it still wasn't unlit to the point where we would need a flashlight to get around.
Both of our footsteps stopped in sync once we heard a soft, high pitched meowing noise coming from our right side. We were near the alleyway from earlier in the day.
I peered around the corner to see a tiny figure with pointy ears on top of its multicolored, furry little head.
Helga and I went into the alleyway and there was a calico cat that appeared to be less than a year old. The base color of its fur was white, but it had orange and black stripes blending together onto the white, on its face, back, and tail. Its light green eyes were staring up at the both of us, letting out another meow.
There weren't any houses in the proximity of this alleyway, so I didn't know how the fluffy creature had made its way to our current area. I didn't know if it was a lost cat or a stray cat. I couldn't stand the idea of some person in our neighborhood losing their beloved pet and not knowing where it could've run off to. I also couldn't stand the idea of this cat not having an owner due to someone abandoning it.
Before I could do something, Helga gently picked up the multicolored kitten and started petting its fluffy fur as she held it tenderly.
"I'll take this kitten home until we find its owner." Helga said.
A warm smile crept on my face at her kind action. It immediately shifted into a smirk because I had just caught her in the act of doing something that contradicts her bold words.
"What? Why are you smirking this time, football head?" Helga asked in a flustered tone.
"See, you are caring and you sure do nice things." I answered, tilting my head slightly with a smile.
"Okay, but if you tell anyone I did something caring like this, you won't like it." Helga warned.
"I thought you didn't care what others think." I went on.
"I don't." Helga insisted.
"Well, I won't tell anyone."
Helga was about to say something, but the feline in her arms meowed before she could get a word out.
"I think the cat wants us to get going." I said with a chuckle.
Helga and I walked on the sidewalk until we made it to her residence. Most of our stroll to the area in question, Helga held the kitten she was going to be taking care of. I got a turn to tenderly hold the calico for a few minutes too.
We walked side by side down the sidewalk until Helga's triplex consisting of three attached buildings of the same house, two orange, one purple, came into view. I gave Helga back the unnamed calico cat that she had decided to take care of.
I stayed on the pavement while Helga walked up the small flight of stairs leading to her middle door. Helga turned her head around momentarily and waved goodbye at me with the hand she wasn't holding her new furry friend in. I returned the gesture before walking back to the boarding house of my residence.
About ten minutes later, I arrived at the boarding house. I was greeted by my energetic pet pig, Abner, who was waiting for me on my stoop. I happily pet the pink bundle of joy which was my pet. I was glad that Helga decided to take the cat we found, since I didn't know if it would get along with Abner.
Once I opened the door leading me into the foyer, I was greeted by my grandpa
"Hey, Shortman! Why are you home so late?" My grandpa greeted me. I probably would've suspected him being mad at me if it weren't for his mellow tone of voice.
"I was with Helga." I cut to the chase.
"Your girlfriend with the one eyebrow?" Grandpa asked curiously and enthusiastically with widened eyes.
"She's not my girlfriend. We're just friends." I corrected, opening up a small bag of potato chips I had grabbed from the kitchen.
"Did you find out how she feels about you at least, Shortman?" Grandpa asked.
"No, it's only been two days. I can't just ask someone like her something like that." I said. "And besides... I'm not spending time with her in hopes of her confessing secrets to me. I'm spending time with her because I want to, and I like it."
What I said was true. Sure, I was trying to figure out Helga's complexity. But it wasn't something that felt like a chore. Spending time with her today was something that came naturally.
"Whatever you say, Shortman. Good luck!" Grandpa exclaimed.
After I ate, it was roughly 6:30 in the afternoon. I was sitting on my bed, twiddling my thumbs in boredom. I turned on my television in hopes of finding something good to watch. After going through a few channels, I didn't find anything that really interested me. Then, I heard my cellphone ringtone play, which was Back In The Swing by Dino Spumoni. I still had appreciation for his music despite new music coming out over the years.
I set down the TV remote on my table to answer the incoming call.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Hey, football head." Helga's voice uttered.
I remembered that I had given Helga my phone number during detention yesterday.
"Hey Helga." I greeted. "Why are you calling?"
"Am I not allowed to call you? You gave me your phone number for a reason, y'know." Helga remarked.
"Of course you can call me, I was just asking, sheesh." I replied.
"I was just messing with you. Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on the cat."
"What's up with the cat?"
"I don't have cat food at my house, but I will go to the pet store to get some tomorrow. For now, I just gave her some leftover chicken. Betsy loves it."
"Betsy?"
"Yeah, it's a girl and I named her Betsy. Most calico cats are girls anyway."
"Isn't that what you called your fist in elementary school?"
"That was Ol' Betsy. The cat's name is just Betsy. I couldn't think of anything else, so I thought, why don't just reuse an old name?"
"Well, Betsy is adorable and I'm glad she is doing well."
"She's really playful, but she's calming down."
Helga and I talked about Betsy for a few more minutes. The update was pretty basic, but I was really glad to hear Betsy the cat was doing okay.
Damn, what a day. This day was such a roller coaster.