Arnold brought his body above the ground. Hands above his head. He went back down. He breathed. He went back up and then down again. He was doing sit ups. It was 7:30 and he had the whole day to kill before it was time for karaoke with Helga. He finished his little routine. He grabbed his phone from his bed. He called Gerald.
"Sup, Arnold."
"Hey, Gerald, I wasn't sure if you'd be awake."
"I have work at 12 but I still get up early. You doing that thing with Helga today?"
"Yep. We should have a good time."
"I hope so. Maybe you can put your charm on her."
"I have no idea what you mean."
"Oh come on, you're honorable. You're sweet. I'm sure that can convince her to give you some lovin'."
Arnold chuckled. "Well, I'm going to take it slow."
"Honorable. A knight in hipster's clothing."
"How's your family been?"
"They've been good. My brother is a doctor now. I honestly didn't think he'd make it."
"Good for him."
"I'm proud of him."
"What would you say if we started to do D&D again?"
"Well, I'd have to keep it hidden from the Basketball team but I'd be down."
"I talked to Eugene yesterday and he was interested."
"OK."
"I'll see if I can call him and see what he wants to do."
"Alright. I'll talk to you later, Arnold."
"Later, Gerald."
Arnold hung up the phone and dialed a different number. "Yello?"
"Hey, Eugene. Gerald is interested in doing D&D again."
"Oh sweet, I can't talk right now though. I'm at work."
"Got it, later Eugene."
"Later, Arnold."
Arnold closed the phone and did a few stretches. He left his room and walked down the stairs to where he left his bike. It was gone again. He sighed. He wanted to ride his bike around the neighborhood a few times but now he was going to have to run. He walked down the stoop and stretched his legs. He started to run. It was a hot day. Perfect for exercise. He ran around the block five times. He was sweating. He realized he had forgotten to put on deodorant. He walked up the stairs and went back into his room. He put on his deodorant and laid down on his bed. He closed his eyes and felt his chest rise and fall. The rhythm of breathing was hypnotic. He looked at the long mirror he had in the room. He hopped up from the bed and walked in front of it. He took off his shirt and looked at himself. He took out his phone and took a picture. He wasn't sure what he was going to do with it. He liked how he looked in the mirror. He took out his notebook and looked at what he wrote. He was liking the new stuff in the notebook better than the old stuff. He really felt like he was writing now. At first it was more like cobbling together sentences into a story. Barely an idea forming but the new stuff read more like a real story. He still needed work though. He pulled out his player's handbook and started to read it again. He needed a reminder on the rules. Thaco always confused him. He read it for another two hours. He felt like he had a grasp on the rules but he was missing some of the picture, so he needed to borrow Eugene's Dungeon Master's Guide.
He stood and went downstairs. Grandpa was in the living room watching TV. Arnold had a plan. He sat down on the couch. Grandpa was in the lazy boy. It was currently on commercials. "What's on, grandpa?"
"That show about the hunk again. It's a rerun I missed last week."
"I'll watch some with you." Arnold watched but he was mostly focusing on the hall. Looking for anybody who might come in. He watched for another hour. Then he heard the door. It opened. He heard a bike's chain moving. Arnold got up and walked toward the hall. He saw Oskar hauling his bike inside. "What the heck do you think you're doing, Oskar?"
Oskar looked, his face went red. "I was just bringing your bike back inside for you, Arnold."
He put his fingers up for air quotes. "After you borrowed it?"
"Arnold. I've been needing the bike to get to work and back."
"I also needed that bike for work. You're lucky I'm getting rides now."
"Well, why not donate your bike?"
"You've been taking it without asking."
"I'm asking now, Arnold."
Arnold put a hand over his face. He didn't want to say yes, but he knew he was going to. "Alright. You can use my bike but not on weekends. I know you don't work on weekends."
"You're right."
"What were you doing with it today?"
"I was going to see the zoo. I heard they have a new bear just like from my home."
"Alright. No more of that."
"Understood."
"Now I'm going to bring my bike up to my room."
"Ok, Arnold." Arnold did as he said. He only had a few more hours to kill before Helga arrived. Arnold tried to draw. He drew his character from the first campaign he did with the D&D group. Trelok the Paladin of the Moon's Veil. Arnold wasn't the best at drawing. He looked odd. The veil he wore just sort of looked like lines. His face was not defined, just a weird cartoon face. He had long hair and that also looked funny. He did a few more drawings of the other characters from the campaign, including the villain. Before he realized it it was time. He walked downstairs and said goodbye to his parents. They told him to have a good time and he was out the door. It was 6:10. She was here.
"Hop in. I've been waiting for like ten minutes."
He opened the passenger's side door and got in. "I thought you'd be late, sorry."
"Well, I wasn't." She hit the gas and they sped off. The sun was still in the sky but was threatening to fall below the earth.
