"Excuse me! Everyone! May I have your attention please?" Rhonda hollered above the loud music that was soon turned down to accommodate the teenager's demand.
As the party quieted down to confused murmurs that underscored Rhonda's announcement, a devious smile spread across her glossed lips. It was a smile that Helga recognized; a smile that she had seen many times in her young life.
Rhonda Wellington Lloyd was up to something.
And whatever it was, it was juicy.
"Maybe we should go outside or something—" Helga attempted while reaching for Arnold's wrist to yank him with her, but Rhonda was already halting them from moving any further.
"Uh, uh, uh," she voiced with a delicate wag of her finger. "You two lovebirds wouldn't want to miss our little activity, would you?"
"Lovebirds?" Helga scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "I would ask where you got such a ridiculous notion, but I don't actually care all that much, so I think we're just going to—"
"If you don't care, then why not stay, hmm?" Rhonda interjected with a glimmer underneath her gaze. "It's just a little… middle school game. What are you so afraid of, Helga?"
As the two girls stared at one another, Arnold leaned over to whisper in Helga's ear. "C'mon. It's fine. I'm sure it won't be that bad."
Glancing over her shoulder at the football-headed boy, Helga huffed out a sigh and released his wrist that she had been gripping tightly. "Fine," she stated before crossing her arms tightly across her chest. "It's your funeral, Hair Boy," she then grumbled, though her irritated complaint went unheard as Rhonda spoke up once more.
"I propose that we make this party a… a little more interesting, n-est-ce pas?" A light chuckle escaped her lips as her hands found their way to her hips; her weight cocking to her right side as she did so. "I think that any true back-to-school bash has excitement, drama, and—of course—romance."
Helga's breathing hitched at the word as flashbacks from seventh grade's spin-the-bottle game came hurling towards her—images of Lila and Arnold's kiss attacking her senses. Heat began to rise in her body before pooling in her chest making the young woman feel as though she may pass out or begin screaming in utter rage. Despite the emotions that were building inside of her, Helga remained still as though frozen; Arnold's eyes locked on her as he tried to figure out the thoughts that were obviously consuming her.
"So," Rhonda continued with a small smirk, "I am instituting a game that I'm sure you all have heard of—one that exudes all of these qualities. Seven Minutes in Heaven."
Chatter rose through the crowd at her declaration as the group of anxious teens began to gossip at this new development. Before anyone could volunteer, Rhonda continued without a moment of hesitation.
"And… as host of this soiree, I shall be choosing the first couple to participate. I think that's only fair, don't you?" She asked the group before her, though she wasn't looking for an answer. "In the spirit of renewal and, quite frankly, a hope that I'll be providing the start of our schoolyear with a real bang, I nominate none other than the star-crossed lovers of the eighth grade: our own Arnold Shortman and Helga G. Pataki!"
Rhonda immediately began to clap, the others following in her steps as roaring applause rang out through the space of the Wellington Lloyd's large living room. Helga's eyes dodged around in her head as she looked around at those who cheered her on—one set of eyes staring back at her in alarm: Phoebe.
Silently, she begged her best friend for help—a desperate plea that her smart sidekick could find a way to escape the situation she had been plunged into. Unfortunately for Helga, she watched as Phoebe leaned over to whisper something in Gerald's ear as he nodded his head with a twisted expression on his face. Helga had no idea what she could have possibly said to him. All she knew was it appeared that nobody was going to rescue her from what lay ahead.
Thinking fast, Helga tried to wiggle her way out by herself. "Nobody wants us to go inside of some closet for seven minutes, Princess," she said with a false nonchalance in her tone. "Only one of us would come out alive and I'm pretty sure we all know who that would be."
"Now, now, Helga. You don't mean to say that you won't play along? I mean… you wouldn't want to be a party poop, would you?" She shrugged her shoulders while emitting a sinister giggle. "What a way to start the eighth grade!"
A few laughs chuckled with her as Helga glared out into the audience of her peers. Gently, she felt the warmth of Arnold's hand as he reached out to touch her upper arm. "Helga, it's fine, okay? Nobody says we have to do anything in there anyway."
"Arnold's right," Rhonda agreed. "The whole point of the game is complete solitude for seven whole minutes." Leaning in, she then whispered, "I'm doing you a favor here, Pataki. You should be thanking me."
"Thanking you?" Helga repeated with a humorless laugh. "Please. Why would I thank you for forcing me to hang out with this dweeb in your coat closet?"
"Fine, Helga," the Queen Bee said with a tired sigh. "If you're too chicken to stand in a closet for seven whole minutes, then I guess—"
"Hey, hey, hey," Helga soon argued with a new ferocity in her voice. "Helga G. Pataki is no chicken, okay? You want me to waste everyone's time with the hope that something will happen for you and your cohorts to gossip about for the first week of school? Fine. No sweat off my back." Grabbing Arnold's wrist once more, she pulled him to follow her towards the closet she knew was in question—the one that was directly behind them underneath the elaborate staircase.
"You got a timer, or what?" Helga sneered as her free hand met the cool temperature of the doorknob.
"I most certainly do," Rhonda replied while holding up her cellphone that was already on the stopwatch screen prepared to begin timing the pair once they entered the small room. "I'll start it as soon as you close the door."
"Welp," Helga said as she yanked open the door, "I hope you fools enjoy disappointment." And with that, Arnold and Helga entered the small space as the door slammed shut to trap them both inside.
TWO HOURS EARLIER…
Helga had no idea what she was doing.
How had she allowed herself to be convinced in going to another one of Rhonda's stupid parties? That Arnold… He always managed to get her roped into the worst situations and the butterflies that flew laps around her stomach insisted that this party held nothing but disaster inside.
Although her intuition feared what the party held in store for her, Helga continued on her lonely walk in the direction of the Wellington Lloyd mansion.
She assumed that Phoebe and Gerald were already here. Once she'd told her friend that she planned to attend the big bash, Phoebe immediately offered for Helga to join both herself and Gerald, though the young blonde wasn't exactly up for being their third wheel.
"Really, Pheebs, it's fine," she had explained over the phone. "Honestly, I'd rather go by myself anyway. Who knows what that party will be like. And besides, I'll probably want to ditch out way sooner than you two. You might as well go without me and I'll meet you there or something."
"Alright, Helga," Phoebe had agreed with hesitation. "If you're sure."
"Oh, I am, Phoebe. Believe me."
Although, she hadn't been. In fact, Helga had been anything but sure of her decision. While she knew that she didn't want to barge in on her best friend's relationship, Helga also knew that there were significant risks in attending the party by herself.
Arnold would find her.
He always did, didn't he?
They'd be forced to talk, and Helga feared that their conversation would lead to a further heartbreak that she just didn't have the strength to deal with. After all, she'd spent the entire summer avoiding the boy with the hope that she could find peace in their decision to be apart. What would happen should they begin talking at this party? Would their love be rekindled? Or worse, would another argument ensue that would only serve to destroy any chance they had left at getting back together?
Helga had no clue, and as she opened the door to enter the large house that was booming with music and teenage voices, she still had no plan as to how she would escape such a conversation.
"Helga!" The familiar voice of Eugene sang as she walked inside. "Boy, I'm surprised to see you here!"
"You and me both, Eugene," She answered while shutting the door behind her. "I see that Rhonda has yet another excellent turn out for tonight's event."
"Does she ever," Sheena squeaked from where she stood beside the short red-haired boy. "I even hear that there are some high school boys here! 10th graders!" Her squeal made Helga flinch before nodding her head with a forced smile.
"Goodie," she replied before looking past the pair to search through the crowd of bobbing bodies. "Have you two seen Phoebe and Tall Hair Boy at all?"
"Phoebe and Gerald?" Eugene repeated before turning to look at Sheena as she twisted to point behind her in the direction of the large room just next door.
"I think I saw them getting punch in the living room a few minutes ago," Sheena said loudly to overpower the hubbub around them. "They only got here right before you did."
"Oh, Helga, you have to try the pâté that she put out," Eugene boasted, though Helga was already walking away as he called after her. "She's really outdone herself this year!"
But Helga hardly registered his comment as she was on a mission. Helga figured that if she made the rounds, she could manage to disappear from the party before Arnold had the chance to spot her. If she was successful, she could avoid the certain doom that had been looming over her shoulder since she'd agreed to go to this lame shindig.
As she pushed her way through the group that acted as a sea that she had to swim upstream, Helga soon made it to the next room where a significantly smaller group of people had congregated to talk in lieu of dancing. Scanning the area, her eyes zeroed in on a tuft of black hair that rose above her classmates that hardly registered her existence.
"Hey, Geraldo!" She shouted in an attempt at getting the boy's attention. The pillar of hair shifted to begin moving toward her; Phoebe surely following in his footsteps as they met Helga at the archway leading into the room.
"Wow. You were right, Pheebs," Gerald said to the short girl who stood at his side. "I really didn't think she'd show up."
"Why not?" Helga asked while crossing her arms loosely. "I told her I was coming."
"Yeah, but I didn't think you were actually going to come… I mean, this party—" he said while shifting to look around himself before returning his attention, "—it doesn't really seem like your scene."
"My scene, huh?" Helga repeated with an almost unnoticeable shake of her head. "As if you know what my scene is, bucko. If I were you, I'd start listening to your girlfriend, a-k-a, the smartest girl in the grade. Pretty sure she knows me a heck of a lot better than you do."
"To be fair, Helga, I too had my doubts about your attending the party tonight," Phoebe explained to her friend before taking a sip out of the red plastic cup she held gingerly in front of her. "Although, I had hoped you would come. I was certainly more positive about such an outcome than Gerald was." A small laugh escaped her as Gerald smiled in response at her comment.
"She really was. I told her that you'd chicken out," Gerald said with a shrug before shoving a handful of popcorn into his mouth. "But Helga Pataki isn't a chicken."
"Damn right, I'm not," Helga concurred with a solitary nod of her head. "I said I would be here, and I am. So… now I'm going to be leaving if you don't mind me—"
"Mm mm MM," Gerald hummed with a smirk. "There it is! What did I say, Pheebs? I told you that she'd leave the second she got here. She's trying to avoid my man Arnold, aren't you?"
"Pssh," Helga waved off the remark though she knew it was the truth. "That football-head is the least of my concerns right now, okay? I just… don't think my staying here is going to enhance anything, that's all. I'm not a big fan of the stereotypical teenage party. I like to, you know… break the mold, not be a part of it."
"Sure, you do," Gerald responded skeptically; Phoebe taking a different approach at the conversation.
"You aren't planning to stay and try the food Rhonda put out?" She suggested before gesturing towards the long table they had just come from. "She has those finger sandwiches you often talk about."
Raising her brow, Helga peeked behind her friend to eye the snacks that had been carefully laid out. "Wait… the little pastrami ones?"
"If I do recall," Phoebe continued with the hint of a smirk, "you nearly ate the entire plate when she offered them at the gathering that she held in fifth grade—"
"The End-of-an-Era Bonanza," she instantly remembered. "Yeah, yeah… I know exactly what you're talking about."
Smiling up at Gerald, Phoebe returned her gaze towards her best friend. "I simply assumed that, as she doesn't often have them, you may want to partake in a couple before the night is over."
"Yeah," Gerald agreed while popping a few more kernels into his mouth from the small plastic plate he held, "I also saw that Harold was eyeing them and I don't need to tell you that he'd be happy to eat yours for you."
"Okay, I got it already," Helga groaned while dropping her arms to her sides. "I'll stay for two sandwiches, alright? Criminy!" She exclaimed while tossing her arms in the air and leaving the couple in pursuit of the snack table.
She knew what they were up to. If they were so keen on getting her to stay, it meant that Arnold was definitely wandering around somewhere. If she wasn't careful, it would be only a matter of minutes before they found him and gave away where she was… over by the snack table hogging all the pastrami.
Typical Helga.
But she didn't care.
As much as she wanted to avoid Arnold for fear of ruining their fragile friendship, she also knew that whoever catered Rhonda's events were the best pastrami on rye artists in the entire city of Hillwood. And while she wasn't sure if it was the homemade bread, the smoky taste of the cheese or the thinly sliced mountains of meat that were pinned inside by a fancy toothpick, these finger sandwiches were her vice.
Knowing Rhonda, it had all been planned strategically which made Helga even more anxious to leave the party before anything more could happen. Who knew what the Queen Bee of Hanson Middle School had planned for the evening if it included Helga's one true weakness?
Her one true weakness, and a certain football-head, that is.
"We're just going to have a couple sandwiches and then we are out of here, got it, Helga?" She muttered to herself before at last approaching the table lined with sweets and snacks of all varieties.
Eugene was right—Rhonda really had outdone herself this year.
Laid out in stylish fashion were foods of all categories. While the typical fancy foods like the pâté Eugene had raved about were within sight, Rhonda had seemingly learned from parties of the past to play to her audience. In addition to the artisanal creations of her own liking, new additions of junk foods like cheese puffs, pretzels, chips, and the popcorn Gerald had been snacking on filled the numerous crystal bowls on the table.
As Helga's eyes danced across the many options before her, it didn't take long before her focus transitioned to the food she had been searching for—a row of sandwiches on a silver platter that called her name from the end of the table.
"Come to mama," Helga said to herself as she moved to the edge of the banquet before her; her hands quick to grab a plate and begin loading it with the sandwiches she intended on taking home with her the first chance she had.
Helga had no intentions of staying… not if there were plates that she could fill to the brim and leave with before being seen by Arnold P. Shortman.
Little did Helga know that it wasn't Arnold she should be afraid of… it was her own impatience and daydreaming that would eventually give her away.
But she continued to place sandwiches and other snacks onto her plate before moving on to grab one of the Yahoo Sodas that were being chilled in a fancy brass holder next to the buffet. As she twisted the lid off, she turned her body to face the group of students surrounding her as they talked to one another. Taking a sip from the bottle, Helga watched the faces of her childhood while they mingled in mindless conversation.
"How was your summer?"
"She said what?"
"I can't believe school is already starting next week!"
"Who did you get for English?"
The simple pleasantries of endless topics filled the room in a cacophony of chatter that Helga couldn't decipher from one person to the next. Many people were paired off or standing with others in circles that separated themselves from the cliques that were pre-determined by their seventh-grade year. Bouncing from section to section, Helga continued to sip her soda while her mind wandered to useless thoughts about those who made up the different factions at the party that she found herself at.
Figures that Harold has gone off to join the sports dorks, Helga thought to herself as she watched him playfully punch another of his football friend's arm. She had seen that he made the Varsity team, which was practically unheard of for an eighth grader, though Helga guessed that it helped he had been held back.
Drifting to the next group at the left of the football players was Rhonda, whose eyes were continually glancing between those around her and Harold. Helga knew that it was only a matter of time before Rhonda publicly came out as Harold's official girlfriend—she'd been waiting for her moment to strike when it was socially acceptable for the two to become a couple.
On Rhonda's right was Nadine who seemed to be engrossed in conversation with a girl Helga had never seen before. She could only assume that this was the mysterious new girl Arnold had mentioned to her during their digital conversation. Looking downwards, Helga eyed Nadine's hand as it limply held onto Peapod Kid's—the two not interlocking their fingers the way most couples' did. Of course, it wasn't unusual to see the lack of genuine affection between middle school classmates, especially those as popular as Nadine and 'Carson.'
Over to the right of Harold's group was that of Sid and Stinky. Helga was less than surprised to see that the once inseparable trio had drifted since Harold's upgrade to superstardom. Despite his sudden departure, the two friends didn't seem bothered by his absence; both of them happily conversing with one another as Lila looked on happily beside them.
Lila. The name echoed like a siren in Helga's mind, even though there was no reason for it to do so. It appeared that at this point, Helga hated the red-haired girl because of sheer conditioning. After all, she had never truly done anything to Helga… at least not really.
Even so, she couldn't help but hold her glare on the girl as she smiled up to the boy that she maintained a strong handhold to. Their fingers intertwined with one another's flawlessly—a second nature that Helga had once experienced herself and missed dearly.
Just as Helga glanced upward, her blue eyes met with Lila's and though she tried to look away before her unwanted friend could notice, it was simply too late. Within moments, Lila had politely excused herself and meandered over to where Helga stood awkwardly with a plate of sandwiches and a half-empty bottle of soda in her grip.
"Helga," Lila called with a small wave, though the recipient attempted not to notice. "Helga, I'm just ever so happy to see you here, tonight."
Sighing rather dramatically, Helga realized the jig was up and there was no pretending or ignoring that would work on Lila Sawyer at this point. "Lila. A pleasure, as always." There was acid in her tone, though the girl refused to acknowledge the lack of enthusiasm.
"When did you get back into town?" Lila asked as she side-stepped to stand directly in front of her unwilling audience. "Did you have a good time with your sister over the break?"
"Oh yeah," Helga answered in a false tone of interest at the conversation Lila was making. "It was just a splendid time. Me and my big sis, you know."
"I certainly do," she answered peppily. "Olga is just oh so much fun. I'm ever so certain she enjoyed having you in her company for such a long time." Her brows scrunched together for a brief moment as she inspected Helga and her counterpart matched the facial expression with irritation.
"What," she scowled in her direction.
"It's just… your hair," Lila said thoughtfully. "It almost looks as though there is—"
"There's what?"
"Why, there's pink in it."
Helga grinned proudly and took another swig of her soda before answering. "There sure is. I think it looks pretty badass, don't you?" She emphasized the swear word in the hopes it would scare Miss Perfect off, though to her dismay it had no effect as Lila smiled wholeheartedly in response.
Clasping her hands together in front of her chest, Lila said, "I think it looks just ever so lovely." With a few nods of her head, she then added, "It suits you."
Scoffing at the lack of reaction she received, Helga looked away from Lila to stare out into the sea of students beyond where they stood. "Yeah, well… thanks. I guess."
Silently, Lila stood at Helga's side as they observed their peers around them. Though Helga felt a tenseness between them, Lila remained at ease while contently watching the action ahead of her. When her eyes caught Stinky's from across the room, he offered her a wink that she returned with a kiss that she blew in his direction. As he dramatically caught it, Sid laughing in his friend's direction, Helga turned to look at Lila while setting her now-empty bottle of soda on the edge of the table filled with food beside her.
"I uh," she started before clearing her throat and picking up one of the many sandwiches on her plate. "I see you and Stink-O are still going strong, huh?" Helga couldn't find a reason that she was making small talk with someone she thought she despised, but there was a comfort in talking to Lila that she may never admit but knew was mutually felt.
"Oh yes," Lila answered while continuing to look out at the crowd. "Stinky is just ever so wonderful. I'm just ever so lucky." She then twisted to shift her gaze onto Helga directly. "Helga?"
Not meeting her eyes, Helga hummed a response to the worried intonation of her name. "Hmm?"
"I want… I want to apologize to you."
Helga snapped her head over to face Lila. "I'm sorry, you what?"
"I'm afraid that I owe you an apology," Lila repeated while looking down to her clasped hands as she began to mindlessly pick at her thumbnails. "I didn't mean to get between you and Arnold at the school dance last year."
"Oh," Helga said softly before taking in a deep breath and huffing it out.
"I suppose I was afraid, just ever so frightened that you would…" her voice trailed off and Helga watched from her peripheral vision as Lila seemed to struggle with the sentiment she was trying to express. "Well… that you would tell Stinky before I was ready or, if I'm being quite honest, that you might bring back that terrible, terrible nickname."
"Ahh," Helga voiced with a nod as Lila continued to speak; her words speeding up as if in a hurry to escape her mouth.
"I suppose I was just so afraid of what would go wrong that I was being selfish," she admitted with a shake of her head. "I was selfish, Helga, and I'm just ever so sorry that I allowed my narcissism to make you fear the worst." At long last, Lila looked up from her hands to meet Helga's eyes once more. "It wasn't fair to you or to Arnold. I just hope that you can forgive me."
The two watched each other as Helga considered a response. Should she let her have it? Should she shout and holler at the poor girl for ruining the best (and only) relationship of her entire life? Should she agree and tell her how wrong it was that she forced Arnold to secrecy for her own selfish reasons?
No, a voice from deep within told her as she stood staring at the worried red head. "No," she finally said aloud. "You uh… you weren't being selfish, Lila." Letting out a shaky breath, Helga strayed to look down at the plate of sandwiches she held; her appetite suddenly lost as she stared at the pastrami that spilled out from inside the bread. "I should have trusted Arnold because… you're right, you know."
"I-I am?"
"Yeah," Helga nodded before she turned around to dump the plate of sandwiches back onto the silver plate that she got them from. "I would have done that to you. I'm not particularly proud of it, but I probably would have. I would have misinterpreted it either way because… well… I guess I have kinda trained myself to hate you."
"To… to h-hate me?" Lila repeated in a nervous voice. "But why, Helga?"
"Oh, don't act all surprised, Sawyer," she spat out before sighing in defeat and softening her tone. "I don't know, okay? I was over it after the San Lorenzo trip and then last year that spin-the-bottle thing happened and I just—"
"Right," Lila mumbled weakly just out of Helga's earshot.
"—lost it I guess. I couldn't stop thinking about how he had such a thing for you and it always made me so angry, because—"
"Helga?" Lila tried, though she was once again unheard.
"—what did you ever do for him, you know? I was the one who helped him save the neighborhood back in the day. I was the one who was always secretly looking out for him behind trashcans and from rooftops and back alleyways. I mean, criminy—"
"Helga?" Lila attempted with more volume.
"—it was me who freakin' got the kid to the jungle and saved his stinkin' parents, wasn't it? But I figured you were jealous that he finally wanted me for once over you and I—"
"Helga!" Lila practically shouted though Helga was the only one who seemed to notice over the sound of the party. "Helga, Arnold has never wanted me."
Staring at her in shock, Helga soon dismissed her claim with a scoff. "Ha. Yeah, okay, Lila. Then what do you call him trying to be your boyfriend through the back half of elementary school, huh? I'm not stupid, okay?"
"I'm not either, Helga," Lila said firmly. "You see, when you told me during Romeo and Juliet that you like-liked Arnold, I started to wonder what it was that I could do to prove that I was uninterested in his affection."
"Wait, you what?"
"And as I considered this," she went on without missing a beat, "I also wondered what it was that made Arnold like-like me to begin with. It was then that I realized the big mix-up of it all. Arnold only like-liked me because he thought that I like-liked him but I only like-liked him because I thought that he like-liked me when in reality it was neither of us that like-liked the other."
"Annnnnd you've lost me," Helga said definitively with a shake of her head.
At this, Lila reached out to softly touch Helga's arm and looked up with a smile on her lips. "Boys are silly, Helga," she stated after a moment. "And Arnold, well, he means well but I'm sure you know as well as I that he's—"
"A dunce? A dweeb? A dork who can't figure out his feelings?" Helga offered, though Lila merely shook her head.
"Shy."
Helga let out a laugh before she realized that Lila wasn't making a joke. Allowing her chortle to fade off, she cleared her throat and blinked a few times in confusion. "What… what do you mean he's shy? Lila, where on earth are you getting all of this nonsense from, huh? You got some kind of degree in teenage boys or what?"
"You may not know this, Helga, but I'm an observer," Lila said before dropping her hand to her side and looking ahead at nothing in particular. "You see, I've moved a few times in my life and when you do that, you often have to watch others to… to find your place. Although I'll admit, I've never felt more at home than I do here in Hillwood."
"Okay…" Helga dragged out the word before Lila took a step to stand in front of Helga and direct her attention towards her.
"And when I watch Arnold with others, it is obvious to see how shy he is, just ever so shy. In fact," Lila continued thoughtfully with a furrow of her brow, "the more I thought about his actions around others, I came to the conclusion that there are only two people that he seemed to genuinely feel comfortable around."
Interested at where Lila was headed with her delusional observations, Helga sighed. "Alright, I'll bite. And who are these two people, Lila?"
"Gerald, of course," she said, and Helga nodded while trying to coax the remainder out of her.
"Sure, they're best friends, doi," she said without surprise before Lila finished her statement.
"…and you."
Pausing to absorb what she had just said, Helga eyed her curiously. "Me?"
"You, Helga," Lila said again before expanding on her thoughts. "Of course, Arnold has his friends and our classmates, but he has always seemed to genuinely care about you. He would seek you out when you were having a bad day—"
"He does that to everyone," Helga argued.
"—he would stand up to you when you were picking on him which he rarely does with others—"
"I've been teasing the kid since pre-k, Lila. I'm sure that's just second nature—" Helga said, unimpressed.
"—but most importantly, Arnold has always stood up for you in defense of others."
This caught Helga off-guard. She knew that Arnold was a good guy and she suspected that he had done such after San Lorenzo, but beforehand? Well, Helga had never considered that. "Always as in… since the jungle thing, right?"
Shaking her head, Lila solidified her argument. "As far as I could see, I was never the object of his affections. Whether either of you knew it or not, I could tell that he really liked you, just oh so much."
"Well," Helga huffed out with a shrug of her shoulders while digging her now-empty hands in the pockets of her jeans, "That's cool and all, but if you haven't noticed, Arnold and I aren't really a thing anymore and I don't know if we ever will be."
"I think you will," Lila said assuredly. "I know that you don't like me very much, Helga, but what happened at the dance was a simple misunderstanding. I'm just ever so certain that Arnold still cares for you."
"Me too," Helga said softly before swallowing the hard lump that was growing in her throat. "But he doesn't want to screw up our friendship. He uh…" she took in a deep gulp of air before letting it out with her next series of words. "He doesn't want to risk anything between us so… it is what it is. We're just friends. That's all he wants."
As Helga stared out blankly to the crowd, Lila glanced over her shoulder with a hopeful smile growing on her lips. "I wouldn't be so sure about that, Helga…"
"What do you—" Helga began to fight back but was immediately stopped at the sight of the blonde boy walking in her direction. "A-Arnold," she muttered to herself before he made it to her side with a grin.
"Hey Helga," he greeted her cheerfully before turning to face the happy red head. "Hi Lila."
"Hello, Arnold," she said with a nod. "Helga and I were just talking about her Summer vacation, weren't we?"
"Uh… right. Sure. My Summer. Yeah." The words stumbled out of Helga's mouth in a disjointed fashion as her blue eyes locked on Arnold's; his own returning a gaze that matched in intensity. It was the first time the pair had seen each other face to face in months and it was clear to Lila that they needed a moment to themselves.
"I'll let you two be, I'm just oh so certain that you have some catching up to do," Lila declared, though Helga barely seemed to register her words. "It was nice seeing you, Helga. Arnold." With a final nod in their direction, she left the lovestruck teens alone by the table towered with food at the back of the large room.
"It's good to see you," Arnold said with a smile. "Seems weird not to have seen you for months."
"Yeah, I know," Helga agreed with a sheepish grin of her own. "I'll bet you didn't know what to do with yourself without me ragging on you every day."
The boy shrugged his shoulders as his eyes diverted from hers to glance down at his feet. "I was able to keep myself busy," he admitted; memories of the hours he spent locked in his room decoding her lost yearbook entry flooding his mind. "How was Olga's?"
"Oh, you know," Helga stated plainly. "The woman has practically made a commune cult type deal down in the city what with all these extra kids living with her. They worship the ground she walks on like everyone else in this world but…" she sighed with forcing out her next series of words. "I had a pretty good time, actually. She let me dye my hair—"
"I see that," Arnold replied as blush began to fill in his cheeks. "It looks good. I like it."
"Thanks," she replied as heat began to swim through her veins in pursuit of her face. "It was either this or a nose piercing, so I guess Olga figured it was the lesser of two evils."
"A nose piercing, huh?" He asked with a curious raise of his brows. "What makes you want that?"
"I don't know," Helga answered while looking away from Arnold to fixate on her feet below as they wiggled in her shoes. "Just something different, I guess. Nobody in our grade has that going for them these days."
"Piercings?" Arnold asked before nudging his head in the direction of Rhonda's group a few feet away. "That new girl has a few. Have you met her yet?"
Looking in the direction of Arnold's gesture, Helga inspected the mysterious girl that he was referring to.
The girl seemed nice enough. Her dark brown hair cascaded down to her shoulders in effortless waves that were highlighted only by the half ponytail made up of two braids at the back of her head. Arnold was right about the piercings—she seemed to have quite a few in both of her ears and a small golden hoop lay directly under her nose. At the base of her chin was the accent of a mole; something Helga was sure she would be self-conscious of, but the girl seemed unphased by. It stood out on her face though she seemed to wear it with pride—an accent that only added to her features rather than distracted.
Looking down from her face, Helga noted the girl's unique flavor for clothing. She looked as though she'd stepped out of the 90's with her long multicolored floral-print skirt and strappy sandals. Wearing a crop-top that just barely exposed her midriff, a jean vest with various buttons and patches added to her ensemble. The girl clearly had a style all her own and Helga chewed on her lip briefly while sizing her up.
"She seems like a character alright," Helga said without much inflection. "Have you met her yet?"
"Not really, no," Arnold replied before reaching behind to take a precariously placed cookie off of the smorgasbord of food next to them. "Rhonda has been spending the most time with her based on her CamGram posts."
"Figures," she commented with a sigh. "She probably sees potential at adding yet another disciple to her clan of cosmetic cretins. Poor Nadine, though. I'm sure she's been kicked to the curb already."
"Doesn't seem like it," he noted with a scrunch of his brows. "Every time I've seen them together, she's usually talking to Nadine over Rhonda." Arnold shrugged his shoulders before taking a bite of the cookie he held. "I'm sure that we'll learn enough about her once school starts."
"Yeah, especially if Rhonda has anything to do about it." Helga smirked at her thoughts before voicing them aloud as her eyes continued to hold their gaze in the new girl's direction. "She'll be marketing her like a paid sponsorship." Just as the words left her lips, Helga's stare caught that of the Queen Bee's and they shared a long look that sent shivers up her spine. It was as though she could see a plan formulating in the girl's heavily made-up eyes—a plan that felt more like a threat than anything.
As she looked away with the hope that Rhonda would forget they ever made eye contact, instead she grabbed the new girl's hand and pulled her to follow in her high-heeled footsteps. Within moments the pair had made their way to Arnold and Helga's side.
"Well, well, well," Rhonda greeted them with a sly smile. "If I'm not the luckiest host in the world. Helga G. Pataki has graced my little get-together with her presence."
"Rhonda," Helga flatly said with a narrow of her eyes. "A pleasure, as always."
"And Arnold," Rhonda nodded in the football-headed boy's direction. "Aren't we looking rather dapper tonight!"
Looking down at himself, Arnold furrowed his brows in confusion at the comment. "I'm wearing the same clothes I always wear…"
Without registering his reply, Rhonda went forward with whatever plan it was she had calculated from across the room. "I assume you two have yet to meet Miss Addison Reeves, yes?"
"Addie," the girl corrected with a soft smile. "I'm not a big fan of Addison."
"Right, right, right," the popular girl breathed out with an almost annoyed quality to her voice. "Addie." Clearing her throat and shifting her tone back to one of excitement, Rhonda continued with her introduction. "She moved all the way here from Minnesota, isn't that just wild?"
Helga let out a humorless laugh that she followed with a heavily sarcastic response. "Oh, just wild, Rhon. Absolutely crazy."
Rhonda glowered in her direction, though the girl who now had a name seemed not to notice the clear animosity being shared by the two girls.
"My mom got a new job," she stated simply. "Dad still lives there so I get to visit during holidays and stuff."
"Your parents are divorced?" Helga blurted out; a deep red hue coloring her cheeks the moment the question left her mouth.
"Since I was a baby, yeah," Addie answered. "Why?"
"Oh, uh," Helga began to struggle as her eyes nervously looked away to focus downward. "I uh, nothing. No reason. Just uh, just curious. I don't know."
Arnold looked over quizzically at Helga as she tried to shake off her interest in such a topic. Stupid, Helga, stupid! She silently chastised herself. We aren't dropping that bombshell on Arnold tonight. On anyone, actually. Especially not on some random new girl and Rhonda of all people.
"It's certainly a surprise to see you two together again," Rhonda then said, and it became clear to Helga just why she had shown interest in them in the first place. "Do I smell a romantic reunion of our grade's most controversial couple?"
"Controversial?" Arnold repeated curiously.
"Reunion?" Helga intoned with surprise.
Shifting her eyes between the pair, Rhonda's lips upturned into a wicked half-smile. "I see," she stated before pausing a moment as if to collect her thoughts. "Well, I hope you two have had significant time to catch up before we begin the activity for the night."
"Activity?" Helga once again repeated with a nervous laugh. "It's a party Rhonda. Who plans activities at a party?"
"Why, an exceptional host, of course," she responded in a humorous tone. "What fun would a get-together be without something to intrigue the guests?"
"Beats me, Princess," Helga muttered, though she could feel the nerves beneath her skin begin to act up in a frenzy at the direction their conversation had suddenly turned.
"Excuse me!" Rhonda called out above the roar of her party. "Everyone! May I have your attention please?" She demanded loud enough for all to hear—the bumping of the music suddenly quieting to accommodate her command.
A familiar feeling of uncertainty screamed at Helga from inside as her intuition insisted that she take Arnold and leave the party as soon as humanly possible. "Maybe we should go outside or something—" She tried with a grab of Arnold's wrist. Despite her best efforts at escaping whatever was to come, Rhonda was sure to halt them before they could disappear from her sight.
"Uh, uh, uh," she said with a delicate wag of her perfectly manicured finger. "You two lovebirds wouldn't want to miss our little activity, would you?"
Danger! Danger! The little voice inside Helga's head hollered, though her body remained frozen in place as she managed to say, "Lovebirds? I would ask where you got such a ridiculous notion, but I don't actually care all that much, so…" Attempting to inch out of the room in a quiet exit, Helga once again tried to excuse herself without little success. "I think we're just going to—"
"If you don't care, then why not stay, hmm?" Rhonda interrupted with ease as a determined glint shone from underneath her gaze. "It's just a little… middle school game. What are you so afraid of, Helga?"
There was plenty to be afraid of.
Helga could tell that whatever it was Rhonda had planned wasn't going to end well, or rather, Rhonda certainly hoped that it wouldn't. Connecting the dots from her previous statements, Helga could safely assume that the activity she had planned involved both her and Arnold and—like the notorious spin-the-bottle episode from their past—it most likely involved a situation she preferred not to be in.
Arnold and she had only just resumed their friendship. Who knew what would happen should they be pushed to do something they weren't ready to embark on? Arnold was right to fear ruining their relationship, after all, they had already destroyed their first attempt. The last thing they needed was another audience to witness a round two at a messy argument that threatened to ruin everything they had worked so hard at building.
There was plenty to be afraid of, as far as Helga was concerned. Although her fears were justified, Arnold on the other hand stood stoically at her side as the wheels began to turn from the inside of his football-shaped-head.
Something told the boy that whatever Rhonda had cooked up, it was necessary. Call it fate or destiny, but Arnold knew in his heart that he had to allow whatever was happening to take place. Maybe this was his chance, his golden opportunity to finally confront Helga about the very thing he had thought about nonstop all summer long. Maybe this was the moment he had been waiting for to at last get the answers he craved surrounding the reasons why she had once again backed up into the corner with her rather than tell him once and for all in the vulnerable state that he knew she hated to reside in.
In a bold move, Arnold swallowed hard and quietly whispered to Helga, "C'mon," he said reassuringly. "It's fine. I'm sure it won't be that bad."
Unsure at how he could have possibly come to such a conclusion, Helga turned to look with confusion in his direction. After a moment, she let out a heavy sigh and released his wrist that she had unknowingly been holding onto with the strength of a thousand men. "Fine," she said with a hint of anxiety. "It's your funeral, Hair Boy," she grumbled, and Arnold knew he had agitated her with his encouragement though he hoped it would all pay off.
It was the only thing he could do, hope. He had to trust that whatever the universe (and Rhonda) had planned, it would all work out in his favor. As his eyes looked out into the crowd that murmured to one another about Rhonda's announcement, his gaze caught that of his best friend's who nodded once in silent support.
"I propose that we make this party a…" Rhonda paused as though looking for the right sentiment. "A little more interest, n-est-ce pas?" As the Queen of Hanson Middle School let out a light chuckle, Helga began to inwardly panic at what was inevitably the most terrifying suggestion Rhonda had made since her last party game suggestion in the seventh grade.
"I think that any true back-to-school bash has excitement, drama, and—of course—romance."
Arnold watched as the color drained from Helga's face—images of a bottle spinning haphazardly in endless circles of anxiety and alarm from inside her head. Though he tried to decipher just what she was feeling, Helga stiffened her back as she tried to push away the fears at the green monster of jealousy returning to consume her thoughts and kill whatever chances remained at being with Arnold Shortman once again.
As the pair stayed lost in their thoughts at Rhonda's side, she continued to voice her latest plot to the captivated crowd of their classmates. "So, I am instituting a game that I'm sure you all have heard of—one that exudes all of these qualities." Pausing to build the suspense that was already palpable from inside the Wellington Lloyd Manor, a sneer spread itself over Rhonda's painted lips. "Seven Minutes in Heaven."
It didn't take long for the room to erupt in unintelligible chatter with rumors of the infamous game the group had never partaken in before. The rules were known by all from the whispers in the halls at what was rumored to be played by only the most mature of teenagers. Rhonda felt no need to explain the activity further as she opted to continue with her latest ploy at stealing the spotlight and securing her position as the head honcho of Hanson Middle School.
"And… as host of this soiree, I shall be choosing the first couple to participate. I think that's only fair, don't you?" She posed the question to the crowd without the expectation of an answer. Despite her lack of care at a response, her peers nodded their heads in agreement as they continued to whisper to one another at who she planned to choose for the great game.
Helga and Arnold, however, didn't need to wonder.
They knew.
And while Helga shivered in her shoes at what this would mean for her and the beloved boy she had longed for since her tender toddler years, Arnold on the other hand was anxious for other reasons.
Seven minutes. Seven whole minutes he was about to have with Helga to finally say all of the things he had practiced saying to both Gerald and the mirror in the bathroom at the boarding house. From across the room, his eyes once again found his friend's who offered a sly wink and a knowing grin.
"In the spirit of renewal, and, quite frankly, a hope that I'll be providing the start of our school year with a real bang," Rhonda dragged out the announcement both Helga and Arnold knew was coming, "I nominate none other than the star-crossed lovers of the eighth grade: our own Arnold Shortman and Helga G. Pataki!"
Helga watched in horror as the collection of students followed Rhonda's burst of applause—clapping soon filling the room in both encouragement and hope that whatever was about to happen would lead to a juicy story that could be talked about for weeks to come.
Searching the crowd, Helga spotted Phoebe's alarmed eyes that sent her nothing but concern for her friend. As Helga silently begged for a savior she desperately needed, she instead watched as Phoebe leaned towards Gerald to whisper something into his ear. As she waited in anticipation at his reaction, Gerald merely nodded his head while scrunching his face into an expression that Helga couldn't read.
It was over. It was all over. Nobody is going to rescue me from this insane situation, Helga found herself thinking. Not Geraldo. Not even my own best friend, for cripes sake! The words screamed themselves in her head as she scrambled to come up with a way out of seven minutes that she was sure would be filled with the most uncomfortable conversation she could ever imagine.
I gotta get out of this, she told herself as her eyes dodged around the room in pursuit of something that would get her out of this mess. I'm not about to let Rhonda Wellington Lloyd destroy the only chance I have left at getting Arnold back on his terms. I'm not about to let her dictate my life.
In a moment of fast thinking, Helga quickly said, "Nobody wants us to go inside of some closet for seven minutes, Princess. Only one of us would come out alive and I'm pretty sure we all know who that would be."
Her lackluster threat of violence fell on deaf ears as Rhonda replied instantaneously. "Now, now, Helga. You don't mean to say that you won't play along? I mean… you wouldn't want to be a party poop, would you?" The master of manipulated popularity let out a laugh one used after hearing a hilarious joke. "What a way to start the eighth grade!"
Her reaction made a few others join in at laughing and Helga shot a glare out into the audience that could have killed, though nobody seemed to notice or care. As Arnold watched her play the final card she had left in her hand, he opted to reach out and lightly touch her arm with the hope that she would relax and trust in him for once.
"Helga," she told her softly, "it's fine, okay? Nobody says we have to do anything in there anyway."
Even though she knew he was right and that he was trying to soothe the fears she was obviously exhibiting, Rhonda was quick to ruin any solace she could feel from his words.
"Arnold's right," she agreed while crossing her arms over her chest with a smug expression on her face. "The whole point of the game is complete solitude for seven whole minutes." At this, she then moved in to add in a quiet voice, "I'm doing you a favor here, Pataki," she insisted before saying, "You should be thanking me."
"Thanking you?" The words came out in a growl that was followed by a humorless laugh. "Please. Why would I thank you for forcing me to hang out with this dweeb in your coat closet?" Her anger shone through the false tone, but Rhonda remained unthreatened.
"Fine, Helga," she delivered with a knowing look plastered on her face. "If you're too chicken to stand in a closet for seven whole minutes, then I guess—"
Rhonda was challenging her with the only thing she knew was a foolproof way at getting Helga to cooperate. Her insinuation sent rage boiling through Helga's body as, once again, one lone word angered the tall blonde to her very core.
"Hey, hey, hey," she soon spat out, "Helga G. Pataki is no chicken, okay?" She insisted just as Rhonda had known she would. "You want me to waste everyone's time with the hope that something will happen for you and your cohorts to gossip about for the first week of school? Fine. No sweat off my back."
At that, Rhonda knew her challenge had been accepted as Helga swiped Arnold's wrist in one swift motion and began pulling him in the direction of the nearest closet that lay just under the elaborate staircase leading upstairs. "You got a timer or what?" she asked with a fiery tone that could have incinerated the entire room and everyone in it.
Proud of what she was surely accomplishing, Rhonda held up her smartphone that was already on the stopwatch app set at seven minutes. Her plan was in motion and she knew that whatever was about to happen was going to be good. "I most certainly do. I'll start it as soon as you close the door."
Helga could feel her palms beginning to sweat as she maintained her grip around Arnold's wrist. While she worried at what the small room she opened the door to held, Arnold tried to prepare himself with a silent pep talk he hoped would encourage him to proceed once they were alone.
You have to bring it up, he told himself as Helga yanked open the door with ease. You're a bold kid, he repeated the words that his best friend had told him time and time again throughout their childhood. You can do this.
You can't do this, Helga's wildest fears whispered. If you aren't careful, you'll screw this all up and then there will be no hope left for you and Arnold. You have to be smart, Helga ole' girl, she told herself. You have to be smart and follow his lead. Just be calm—
Just be calm, Arnold silently said. Be cool—
Be cool, Helga reiterated the words she unknowingly repeated from Arnold himself.
It'll all work out, they both inwardly hoped in unison.
"Welp," Helga shakily said as she pulled them both into the dark closet filled with fur coats and other extravagant things hidden away for the summer, "I hope you fools enjoy disappointment." With her words left behind them, the door soon closed to leave the pair alone in the silence of the small room.
As the tension grew between the teenagers while the clock ticked away outside, Helga shifted to try and waste their seven minutes on inconsequential conversation. "So, uh…" she murmured before clearing her throat and saying with unearned confidence, "let's just run out the clock by talking about our summers, I can tell you my school schedule that you've been pestering me for, and by the time that door swings open, these seven minutes will just feel like—"
Unwilling to waste even a moment of the few minutes they had been given, Arnold uttered out words he didn't know he had the courage to say as bluntly as he did. "Why did you rip out that page from my yearbook last year?"
Helga stared at the darkness ahead that she knew masked the familiar football-head she adored. As her heart began to speed in her chest, she finished her sentence quietly, "—nothing."
There were no other moves left for her to play.
She was trapped.
Breathing out a sigh, Helga waited in silence to follow the dance that Arnold was now leading. As much as she hated to admit it, Helga was now at the mercy of the game Rhonda had thrust them into, and she had no idea what the next seven minutes held for their future.
"Helga," Arnold said from the blackness ahead, "Why did you rip the page out?" His voice was firmer this time and she knew that there was no avoiding answering his question.
Softly closing her eyes, Helga took in a deep breath. As her mouth opened to answer his question, she officially accepted his invitation to embark on the difficult discussion that lay ahead; their delicate dance of exposing secrets officially beginning.
Hey everyone! Sorry I'm late... again. I know you're all probably frustrated with me. I sincerely lost track of time and forgot that I had planned to post on the 5th, so it may be a week late, but it's EXTRA long and hopefully that makes up for my tardiness ;) I am really working to shoot for DECEMBER 26th as next posting day. I'll keep y'all updated on my twitter so you know what's up... be sure to follow the #HelgaUnbound for the latest news!
Also, please, PLEASE let me know what you think of this chapter! I'm excited to finally begin introducing my OC Addie. I love her dearly and I can't wait to tell you more about her as the story progresses. In the meantime, enjoy this juicy cliffhanger and I will see you soon! Stay tuned!