Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold or any of the characters. Hey Arnold is the property of Nickelodeon and Craig Bartlett.
A Trip Through Time
Chapter 3: Another Football Head?
Earlier
In a suburb
In a nice little suburb, in a nice two story home, a certain football headed boy had gotten out of bed and did his morning routine of showering, brushing his teeth and getting dressed. As soon as he did that, he rushed downstairs to see his mom, sister and baby brother already at the table but his dad wasn't since he was out of town on business.
"Good morning Andy..." His mother said as she fed his baby brother some oatmeal.
"Morning mom...Megan...Henry..."The kid greeted to his family and went to get some oatmeal as well.
"So any plans for today?..." His mom asked.
"I'm going over to Kiara's house..."Andy answered.
"Going on a date with your girlfriend..." Little Megan laughed before making kissing faces.
"Shut up! She's NOT my girlfriend!..." Andy shouted in annoyance.
"Andy and Kia sitting in a twee~..." Megan giggled.
"I said shut up you little brat!..." Andy shot.
"Both of you, knock it off..." Their mother said sternly, silencing the two siblings.
"Yes ma'am..." The two kids said simultaneously.
"So you and Kiara huh, what are you planning to do?..." Mom asked with interest.
"Nothing much, just gonna hang out...Maybe go to the park..." The kid downplayed, not wanting his mom to know the real reason for his trip.
"Well alright, I'll drop you and Megan off..." Mom said, earning a look from her son.
"But mom, I'm ten years old and Kiara lives two blocks from here, I can walk by myself..." Andy said, tired of her overprotectiveness.
"Mommy..." Megan whined a little.
"No "buts" Andy, maybe you think your old enough but Megan is still little... and Megan, if your brother is too young, so are you..." The mother said sternly as she cleaned her baby up.
Andy tried not to roll his eyes. He might be 10 years old but his mom still had to feel like she had to fuss and hover over him like he was helpless as his baby brother Henry!
'Anyway, I have to finish my manuscript for my novel by next Friday, so I have to get on it...I'll leave you both with Gerald and Phoebe and pick you up around 5...Remember that your father is coming home tonight..." Mom reminded.
"Yeah mom..." The boy sighed as he finished his breakfast.
"Just to make sure, you got everything?..." The mother asked.
"Yes mom..." Andy said with a sigh.
"Cell phone? Wallet? GPA app on your phone?Bus pass?..." The listed off.
"Check! Check! Check and Check..." The boy answered.
"I have my stuff two, I got Mimi with me..." The little girl said as she gestured to her favorite doll.
"Alright, I guess we're ready to go..." Mom said as she went to get her purse.
The three children and their mother soon left for Kiara Johansen's house.
At the Johansen's
The family soon arrived and as the mother discussed the arrangements with Kiara's parents and Megan was playing with her best friend Kiki, leaving Andy alone with his best friend since infancy.
Kiara.
Kiara was a ten year old Asian/African American girl with long curly hair tied in a pony tail, she wore a purple sweater, skirt, black leggings and black Mary Janes as well.
"Hey Andy..." Kiara greeted.
"Hey Kia...So we still on for later?..." The boy whispered quickly.
"Sure but I still don't believe in it...I mean, time travel is highly improbable..." The girl repeated to him.
"Come on, it'll be cool and G says he's seen it before..." Andy said with excitement, referring to his great grandfather.
"He's a 105 years old..." Kiara pointed out.
"Come on Kiara, I just want to check the place out..."Andy insisted.
"Fine but after that, you promised that we would go see the new Evil Twin movie..." The girl said.
"Evil Twin's Triplet Terror! I won't forget..." Andy said with a smile on his oblong face.
As the two kids kept talking, Andy's mom came up to him and hugged him from behind.
"Anyway Andy, I'll be back later...Do whatever your godparents say and call me in case their is trouble..." The mother said to her boy.
"Yes mom..." Andy said automatically as his mom kissed him and his sister goodbye before leaving with baby Henry.
"So anyway kids, wanna go on Netflix and watch something..." Gerald asked the kids who shrugged.
"Thanks uncle Gerald but me and Kiara are going out to play and then later to the movies, if that's alright..." Andy said to his god father.
"Well alright but be back before the street lights turn on, if your not here by 5, your mom will kill both of us..." Gerald said with a fake shudder of fear.
Andy smiled. The Johansen's were his godparents and they were a little less protective than his mother was. He loved his mom but he felt she sometimes worried a little too much. The two kids were soon out of the house and smiled to themselves.
Outside
The two kids were now outside, walking and talking as they discussed their plan for today. They technically didn't tell a lie, he told his mom about "maybe" going to the park and he told Uncle Gerald that he was going to go and "play".
"I still don't understand why you are so fascinated by this legend Andy, it is scientifically impossible for time travel to exist…" Kiara said to her best friend.
"Come on Kiara, you have to admit it sounds pretty cool…" The blonde kid said with an impish smile…. "Besides, what else am I going to do tonight, mom still won't let me use the Wi-Fi…" Andy sighed.
"Still? It's been a week…" Kiara said with some sympathy.
"Yeah and it's driving me nuts, it's not like we meant for our go-kart to run through the flower bed…" Andy grumbled.
"Mothers? What are you going to do?..." Kiara said with a shrug.
"Anyway G says the portal comes around every 25 years and I want to see if it's true or not…" Andy said.
"But why are we going now? The anniversary isn't for a few more days?..." Kiara questioned.
"I want to know the route before then…" He answered… "Besides, what's the harm of checking it out, you said it probably doesn't even exist…" Andy pointed out.
"I guess it wouldn't harm to test the theory…' Kiara said reluctantly while her friend grinned.
"Awesome, so let's hurry up… We'll go memorize the route to the spot, then head back for the first showing of Triplet Terror…" Andy said.
"Alright…" Kiara nodded as she followed her male friend.
"Well, well, well…Look at who we have here, the two lovebirds…" An obnoxious voice called out.
Kiara and Andy turned around to see a tall, hulking boy with messy blonde hair and a nasty overbite. It was Wolfgang Wentworth Jr… but everyone just calls him "W.J" and behind him was his dim witted lackey Edgar.
"We're not lovebirds W.J…' Andy said in annoyance.
"Yeah right, like you guys aren't on a date…" W.J laughed raucously.
"Yeah, I mean there's a boy…and a girl…and they aren't with anyone else…so it's a date…" Edgar said slowly.
"We're not on a date! We are here to disprove the theories of space-time quantum's…" Kiara said, making it as complicated as possible since she knew these dimwits couldn't understand half of what she just said.
She always got a kick out of that.
"Space what?..." Edgar asked while he got a small headache.
"Never mind, we got to go…" Andy said, trying to hold on to his patience.
"Whatever loser, it doesn't matter since next week we're still going to cream you during the tournament…" W.J said smugly.
"You talk the talk but let's wait and see if you can play the game…" Any said, not at all intimidated by him.
"It's your funeral loser…" W.J spat before he and Edgar left.
"What's with that guy anyway?..." Andy asked when he was out of hearing range.
"A bad combination of testosterone and a nasty superiority complex…" Kiara theorized.
"You can say that again…Come on…" Andy said as he and his friend left the area.
Later
Near the woods
The two finally arrived to their destination and we're pleased to see that it wasn't that far away from the bay where you could see Elk Island.
"So this is the place…" Andy said as he looked around.
"I still find it highly unlikely that such a phenomenon could occur every 25 years where it could be easily seen but no one has ever documented it…" Kiara said.
"Maybe we'll be the firsts…Picture the headlines "Two plucky fourth graders discover a time travel portal"…I like it…" Andy joked, causing his friend to giggle.
"You are so silly… The headline would likely go like this "Child genius and her partner crack the code of time travel"…" The girl joked.
"Now who's being silly?…" Andy laughed with her.
"BARK BARK!..." Was suddenly heard.
The two kids turned and looked around and saw what looked to be a stray Scottish terrier nearby that was stuck in a bush and was having trouble getting out.
"Oh man…" Andy said in alarm as he went up to the dog with Kiara right behind him.
"Oh poor puppy…" Kiara said in sympathy.
Andy, being cautious of the stray, grabbed him from behind and managed to pull him out free and set him down. The dog was free but turned to Andy with his tail wagging.
"Are you okay little fella?..." Andy asked as he kneeled to eye level with the dog who suddenly licked his face.
"I'll take that as a yes…" Andy laughed as he wiped his cheek. He suddenly got an idea and pulled out some beef jerky he had saved for a snack.
"Want some boy?..." Andy offered the dog who began eating it.
"Aw, he's a cutie…"Kiara gushed as she rubbed his belly.
"And he's friendly too…I think I'll take him with me…" Andy said eagerly as he patted his new pet.
"You sure about that? Remember what happened the last time you brought an animal to your house?..." Kiara reminded him.
"That was in second grade and now I know that raccoons don't make good house pets…besides, it's just a little dog and I'm sure mom won't mind…" Andy said flatly.
"Whatever…" Kiara said before turning her attention to the dog.
"So what are you going to name him?..." She asked.
"I dunno…" Andy said as he eyed the dog. He was a Scottish terrier, with brown fur and big eyes. He was cute and Andy wanted to give him a name that suited him, nothing like "Rover" or "Fido". As if.
"How about Pepper?..." Kiara suggested.
"Why that?...'The boy asked.
"I dunno but he's pretty peppy for a stray…" Kiara said as she pointed out by how the dog was still barking in excitement to them.
"Okay Pepper it is…" Andy agreed as he took the dog in his arms.
Suddenly a big gust of wind came, as well as some lightning.
"Don't tell me that it's going to rain, the weather man said it was supposed to be sunny all weekend…'Andy complained.
The winds became faster and the two kids plus their new dog tried to find some shelter, but oddly enough. The small freaky change in nature ended almost as soon as it started.
"That was weird…" Kiara said as she looked around.
Suddenly a strange whisteling noise was heard and the two kids saw a big flash of light appear almost a mile from where they were, right near the woods. Then everything became silent and still.
"What the heck is that?...'Andy said as he began running in that direction.
"Andy what are you doing? We don't know what the heck that thing was!..." Kiara shouted but was ignored.
"I'm going to go check it out, you stay here with Pepper…' Andy said as he kept running in that direction.
"Andy!..." Kiara shouted but Andy was a fast runner and he was soon out of sight.
"You better get use to that Pepper. When Andy decides to do something, it's a nightmare trying to talk him out of it…" Kiara said to the dog that just remained with her as he awaited for his new master.
Andy soon arrived to where that light appeared and to his surprised, he just saw a group of kids who looked lost and confused as they stared at the view of the town. Since they were all looking in that direction, they didn't notice them.
"What are they looking at?..." Andy thought in confusion as he didn't see anything that could get their attention.
"T-T-This is impossible…"One of the girls stuttered out in a meek voice that almost reminded him of Kiara's.
"Guys, I don't think we're in Hillwood anyway…"A boy said, though Andy couldn't see his face since his back was turned.
"Huh?'Andy thought in surprise and decided to make himself known to these kids who were obviously lost.
"Actually, you guys are in Hillwood…" Andy said, the kids soon turned to him and they looked surprised.
Andy was too but it was only because one of the guys looked a lot like him, even having the same head shape! Sure the kid was a little shorter than him and his hair was wilder but the resemblance was there. He and the other kids looked familiar too, like he has seen them somewhere before….but where?
"What the heck?..."Andy said in surprise, which managed to snap the kids out of their own state of shock.
"Mmmm….Mmmmm…mmmm…..Arnold, this guy sure looks a lot like you…" Gerald pointed out the obvious for them.
"Two Football Heads?! …" Helga exclaimed, too confused and briefly fearing another Arnie thing.
Arnold and the kid Andy merely looked at each other. Both at a loss for words.
"Who are you?..."Arnold asked once he was out of his shock.
"I guess an introduction is in order…My name is Andy…." He said as he extended his hand to the other boy.
"I'm Arnold…" Arnold said as he shook his hand.
Andy's eyes widened and he flinched upon hearing that name but tried to regain his composure.
"Oh man, this is too freaky…This kid has the same name as my-…A new voice interrupted that train of thought.
"Alright Football head, just who is this guy anyway. It can't just be a coincidence that you both are Football Heads…" Helga said in her usual suspicious tone.
"She calls him Football head too…" Andy thought in surprise while Arnold looked annoyed.
"I never seen this guy before and I know all of my cousins and relatives…" Arnold insisted.
"Excuse me but who are you exactly?..." Andy asked the blonde girl who was still looking at him with distrust.
"The name is Helga G. Pataki, don't wear it out…"She said with her arms crossed and raised an eyebrow when the guy was beginning to sweat.
"I am sorry for the rudeness but my name is Phoebe Heyerdahl…" She said politely.
"The name is Gerald man…" Gerald said and began to notice that the kid looked shaky.
"NO WAY!..."Andy thought in astonishment as he was seeing this. He couldn't believe it and a part of him didn't. He had to be sure about this.
"I'm sorry but…could you guys please tell me what today is? Um…The whole date and year included…." Andy asked, his voice still being a little shaky.
"What's with you?..."Helga demanded to know, being weird out by his behavior.
"Please, I have to be certain of something…" He pleaded. Arnold, being much more patient and lenient that Helga, gave his answer.
"It's Saturday, April 15th, 2000…"Arnold answered the boy who still looked spooked.
"What's with this guy?..." Helga thought in suspicion and maybe worry…though she didn't understand that part yet…maybe because he looked a lot like Arnold.
'Either I am losing it or…or…"Andy thought before he finally found his voice… ""I'm sorry but…I'm afraid that it's April 8th…Of the year 2025…" He said slowly, making the four kids eyes widen.
"Wait a minute, are you guys hearing this?..." Helga said, obviously not believing this.
"Listen here Andy buddy. I don't know what you are trying to sell us but last night it was 2000 and unless we pulled a Rip Van Winkle, 25 years has NOT passed because A) We would be adults and B)That's crazy!..." Helga said harshly, causing Andy to blink at her harsh tone and hostility.
"I understand if you don't believe me….I don't believe it either but I can prove it…" Andy said as he pointed to the city.
"Just how many of those new buildings were around in 2000…" Andy said as he pointed to one of the Space Bucks coffee houses that he knew didn't appear until the mid 2000's
"I also have this…" Andy said as he pulled out his cell phone, which earned an interested look from Phoebe.
"What do you have there?..."Phoebe asked, interested in the sophisticated gadget.
"It's my mini tablet, the latest model…Look at the manufacturing date…" Andy challenged.
The three kids saw it and paled when the words said "2025" on the device.
"T-This has to be some kind of trick…I mean…p-people don't just suddenly appear in the future out of nowhere…"Helga said but was obviously shaky now as she tried to figure this all out until-
"The time portal!?...'the four kids exclaimed in shock as they finally realized what happened.
"So the myth is true…Oh man, I can't wait to tell….KIARA! Oh man, she has to see this…Wait here…" Andy shouted and then ran to find his friend.
All the while Arnold, Gerald, Helga and Phoebe were completely flabbergasted.
'The future?..."Phoebe said, feeling a little faint.
"This is like something out of the Twilight Zone…" Gerald said as he felt dizzy from this entire revelation.
"I can't believe this…" Arnold said in astonishment, unable to believe what was happening.
"Me neither…" Helga said in a similar tone but for different reasons.
If they were really in the future, than it was obvious that Andy kid was Arnold's son, though given how dense her beloved is, he probably hasn't picked that up yet. It was obvious since Andy had his head and even the same smile and dimples…but if Arnold was his dad…
Who was his mom?
-To be continued-
Next time on A Trip Through Time
2025
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewers:
Yali Page: Thank you.
Invader Johnny: Yeah they are.
Guest: I'm glad you feel that way.
metalheadrailfan: You took the words right out of my mouth.
Ajay435: Hope you enjoyed it.
:) Till next time beautiful people, remember to read and review :)