Monday, February 5th 4:37 PM
"Hey Arnold!" Arnold heard Gerald yell from across the basketball court. "Pay attention, man!"
Arnold snapped from his daydream. He came back to the pickup game he and Gerald where in; Along with Stinky and Sid. "Oh yeah, sorry," Arnold said as he looked down and realized he had the ball in his hand.
It was a mildly cool and sunny afternoon. Arnold finishing up his daily routine was on his way to Ali's when Gerald stopped and asked him to join the three of his friends so they could get a game going. Arnold obliged, missing the days where he could catch a quick game of his now third favorite sport. Arnold began playing as he snapped out of his trance. Arnold dribbled the ball as the taller Stinky ran to him to cover.
Arnold continued his dribbling, moving in one direction and swiftly changing direction to trick his defender into the wrong movement. Allowing him to drive the basketball to the hoop. Sticky was fast. Stinky continued on the basketball team after Arnold had left. Well into their senior year, Stinky distinguished himself as a talented player. Aided by his natural height, Stinky was a fierce defender.
Arnold knew Stinky's playing style, aggressive short distance defense. Paired with his elongated arms to take the ball out of the air when a player attempted a shot. Creating space to shoot might not be the best idea since any shot might be blocked by him. Arnold attempted again to out dribble Stinky only to be stopped again. Arnold seeing an open Gerald, passed the ball as he was easily able to shoot the ball over Sid's head. The ball hit the rim and rebounded back towards Arnold. Arnold seeing the opportunity jumped at the ball, catching it. Arnold passed the ball out to Gerald to clear the court for the next play.
Arnold ran over next to Gerald and the two locked eyes. Gerald drove the ball to one side of the court, while Arnold ran down on the other side of the hoop. Gerald quickly passed the ball to Arnold, who was running on the opposite side of the hoop. Arnold saw an open lane and passed the ball back to Gerald. Able to easily outrun Sid, Gerald grabbed a hold of the ball, dribbling his way towards the hoop. Gerald leapt off the ground as if he were shot from a cannon, dunking the ball down the net. "Nice Gerald!" Arnold shouted from the side of the hoop.
"Now THAT's what I'm talkin about!" Gerald yelled out loud. "Alright, ten up. Last point wins," Gerald said to the sweating teenagers. They all nodded in agreement. Sid went to the top of the key to check the ball with Gerald. Sid dribbled the ball, and seeing an opportunity passed the ball to Stinky. Arnold quickly intercepted the ball running towards the top of the half court.
"Dammit!" Sid yelled.
Arnold now dribbling the ball crossed over Stinky. Seeming confident Arnold went to shoot the ball. The ball fell hitting the very back of the rim and rebounding out across the court. Stinky quickly capitalized, grabbing the ball form the air. Arnold, vision impaired by his overconfidence, was too slow to realize he had missed. Allowing the pass to Sid, who shot from the three point line, A perfect swish of the net, and the game was over.
"Yeah!" Sid exclaimed running to Stinky. Stinky only too happy to oblige bumping chests with the smaller boy. Sid jumped into a high five, as Gerald bowed his head and started to shake.
"You really suck, Arnold!" Stinky said in his southern drawl. As he and Sid celebrated.
"Thanks Stinky, you're a… you're a true friend," Arnold said smiling and breathing heavily. Gerald came over and put his hand on Arnold's shoulder, trying to comfort him.
"He's right brotha, you do suck," Gerald said laughing at Arnold, punching him playfully in the chest. Arnold responded by pushing his friend playfully. Gerald pushed back provoking a shoving match between the best friends. Arnold laughed out loud as Sid jumped on his back.
"Dog pile on Arnold!" Stinky yelled as he vaulted onto Arnold shoulders. Gerald adding his own weight, made for a three person pile. Arnold's knee buckled as he struggled to stand up with the weight of his childhood friends on him. Arnold finding his balance, extended his legs squatting the weight and lifting his friends up. Arnold stood erect with all three grown boys on his shoulders and back.
"Boy howdy Arnold! You suck at basketball but you're a beast," Sid said.
Arnold's smile flipped as he stepped twice in one direction then another, losing his balance. The tower of teenagers tumbled to the ground. The group started laughing at their own nonsense. Arnold trying to get up from the tangled mess only slipped twice as his friends helped him up. "Thanks," he said, dusting himself off.
The group went to sit on the bench on the side of the court. As another group quickly moved onto the court. Sid waved a blue bottle in Arnold's face. "No thanks," Arnold said waving off the sport drink. Arnold went into his bag grabbing his large water bottle. He took a long drink and tilted his head back. "I miss these games," Arnold said out loud.
"We miss you coming to them, where the hell do you go after school?" Sid asked looking at Arnold and drinking from the blue bottle.
"I just go and… watch movies usually," Arnold fibbed.
"Whatever man, you do you. I just think it's a waste for a specimen like yourself," Sid said.
"He's too busy with his lady friend," Stinky said punching Arnold in the arm.
Arnold smiled at this. He had been spending all his free time with Helga. Although that was not the cause for most of his absentee afternoons. "Well yeah, I have been spending a lot of time with Helga these days," Arnold said.
"You're a lucky man, Arnold," Sid said.
"Sid, you said you hated her," Gerald interjected.
"I do, but that's because she's a psycho," Sid said. Arnold scrunched his eyes at Sid. Sid smiled sheepishly. "I mean she's crazy and I'd never go near her. But she's got a slamming body!" Sid emphasized. Arnold once again narrowed his eyes at Sid. Sid smiled devilishly again. As Arnold began to lecture Sid, Stinky cut him off.
"She has grown to be quite the exquisite beauty," Stinky said out loud. "I suppose you are a lucky man," Stinky said. "She's also real smart, so I bet it's an experience having a conversation with her. She's always writing in her pink books so you know she's got plenty goin on in that head of hers. She takes all those advanced classes where you read the stuff I don't understand. She seems quite the interesting lady," Stinky opined. "Plus she loves her a good fight," Stinky leaned forward turning his head towards Arnold. "I bet you're never bored with her. You two are a good match," Stinky said. The group caught off guard by Stinky's observation, all turn towards him. "What?" Stinky asked.
"I didn't know you were into Helga," Gerald said. Arnold sitting next to Stinky unsure about how to react.
"Well, there was a time in which I thought I might ask Miss Helga to let me take her to a nice dinner and let me tell her how her hair looks like someone spun pure gold into hair. That day passed and I never did. I just watch from afar now. She pays me no mind and I don't pay her none back. I do see though. You are indeed a lucky man Arnold," Stinky finished.
"Yeah, I am," Arnold said smiling, taking in what Stinky said. Arnold looked into the sky. He wondered if she was looking at the same sky he was looking at. Arnold sat back and took another long drink from his water bottle. He grabbed a towel from his bag and wiped the sweat from his brow. Arnold smiled again thinking about Helga. His mind wandered into the latest development in their relationship. Arnold smiled, again turning pink recalling their last date. Arnold's mind went a question he had been wondering. "Something she said," Arnold thought to himself.
"Hey guys," the group turned to Arnold in anticipation. "This is gonna sound crazy but…" Arnold trailed off. "Are there any weird rumors out there about me?" The group exchanged looks and all looked away. No answer came.
"Come on man, we don't pay attention to rumors. That's chick stuff," Sid said averting Arnold's eyes. Each one of them looking in a different direction. "You know we should go check out Mighty Pete, see if that tree house can still support us," Sid quickly said, trying to change the subject.
"You know I don't listen to Rhonda's nonsense," Gerald said leaning back.
"Yeah I just stare at her tits," Sid said. The group all turned to him at his admission.
"Come on man, enough," Gerald chided. "This is why women hate you," Gerald said.
"Oh like you don't stare at tits," Sid responded indignantly.
"I do but I don't talk about how I do it constantly," Gerald said throwing up his arms. He leaned back and shook his head. "Arnold, stop looking at your phone!" Gerald said. As Arnold took his phone out for the third time since they sat. "She hasn't called you," Gerald finished.
"I wasn't looking to see if she called. I was checking the time," Arnold said. He pocketed his phone, hoping Gerald didn't suspect his fib.
"Oh please, you do it constantly. If you're not talking to her, or texting back and forth with her, you're looking at your screen hoping she called. It's pathetic!" Gerald said.
"The boy's in love, leave him be," Stinky said.
"Yeah Gerald. You sound like you're jealous. Are you mad someone else is banging Arnold?" Sid asked with a wide grin. Gerald ground his teeth, as if her were wondering about the quickest way to get to Sid's throat.
"No, I'm just sayin. You're a perv and he's hopelessly in love. Between the two of you, I can't deal," Gerald leaned his head back and Arnold put down his phone and joined his sky watching.
"You'll always be my first, Gerald," Arnold said with a sly grin painted on his face. The group laughed as Gerald shoved Arnold. Arnold shoved him back.
"Shut up man. And you too damn big to be shoving people!" Gerald said laughing under his breath.
A few moments passed. Arnold took out his phone one more time. Earning an explicit eye roll from Gerald. He looked at his screen seeing only the wallpaper with no new notifications. Arnold looked at the empty screen. Hoping a new message might came as he looked. Arnold, unable to will a message to appear on his screen put down his phone. "Alright," he said out loud. "Maybe I am a little, obsessive about it. I can't help it Gerald. It's like, I've known her my entire life. But now, I'm seeing the entire person. Under the anger and isolation, I can see her fun side. She's like my best friend. I love being around her. She makes me feel… alive. She make me want to try things I've never done. I love hearing what she has to say next. I like when she makes fun of my tee-shirts. I like when she calls me an idiot. Gerald, I can be exactly who I am around her. I feel like I'm my best self, and I think it's because of her," Arnold said. He trailed off as he looked across the court.
"Man you got it bad. She's right to make fun of you though. You're definitely kind of dork," Gerald said as he took a swig from his own water bottle.
"Didn't you guys date though? Like years ago," Sid asked.
"If you can call holding hands and going to movies dating. We kissed a couple times," Arnold said.
"Well that is dating at that age," Stinky interjected.
"Yeah, I bet you hadn't even had your first erection by then," Sid said looking off into the sky. "I did by eleven. Just sayin," Sid finished.
"Jesus, Sid. Put away the libido please," Gerald chided again.
"Well it's different now," Arnold started. He stood up and started pacing the space in front of the bench they were all siting on. His friends following his pacing and gesticulations with their eyes. "We have these long conversations about bands we like. She has this encyclopedic knowledge of music from 1962 to 1998. It's crazy how long we can talk about indie bands. That's not all either. We can talk about anything for hours. We'll go from music, to movies we like. She's not big on movies other than monster movies or scary movies. She loves Kaiju movies. She can mouth most of the lines from any Godzilla movie. She loves wrestling, I'm not really a fan but she makes me want to go to one of those matches they do downtown sometimes. Just so I can see how excited she gets! Then we'll switch subjects, and we'll talk about politics. She can out debate anyone on political issues. I've never talked to anyone so passionate about what they believe," Arnold continued. He looked down at his phone again and smiled, then broke into laughter. "Then she makes fun of me, or someone else. She makes me laugh. And when she laughs, it's like…." Arnold trailed off, unable to finish.
"Music?" Gerald asked in response.
Arnold looked at Gerald as if they were one mind. "Yeah, it is. It's like really good jazz. Exciting, and intricate. Complicated, and improvised but everything adding to the melody," Arnold said, as he stopped pacing.
"Yeah, I hear you. I know the feeling," Gerald said. Gerald stood up and stepped towards Arnold. "It's a good feeling isn't it? Being in love?" Gerald said. Arnold nodded his head and smiled. Gerald held out his clenched fist and they performed their ritual handshake they had shared since childhood. "I'm happy for you man. Really," Gerald said as Arnold smiled back at him. "Go ahead, man. Call her. You know you want to," Gerald said as he moved to sit back down.
Arnold looked down at his phone once again, and opened his phone application eager to hear her voice. He called the number at the very top of his favorites list. He listened to the phone ring and ring with no answer. "She's not picking up. I'll send her a text," Arnold said looking over at Gerald who offered another eye roll. He typed out his message, Is it weird that I can't stop thinking about our discussion about appropriate mayonnaise levels in tuna? I kept thinking about it during English. I have a ton of new thoughts. Call me when you get a second. Arnold sent off the message laughing as he recalled their last conversation. Arnold put his phone in his pocket and walked back to the bench. He sat and exhaled. His phone started to vibrate, and he quickly pulled out his phone. The picture of Helga he had taken without her knowing adorned the contact picture icon. Arnold slide along his screen to answer his phone. "Hey there, so I was thinking," Arnold began when he heard a voice that did not belong to Helga cut him off.
"Arnold! It's Phoebe!" she said, her voice distressed.
"Phoebe? You alright? You sound like you're panicking?" Arnold said growing concerned at her inflection. The other boys looked up. With Gerald shooting to his feet hearing his girlfriend's name.
"Arnold, it's Helga. I'm with her. Something happened!" Phoebe said into the phone.
Arnold stomach dropped as his voice grew more anxious. "What happened? Is Helga alright? What's going on, why can't she come to the phone?" Arnold asked
"She's been …. She's been in an accident. I'm with her and her mom at the hospital," Phoebe said. "I thought you should know," Phoebe said.
"I-i-i-s she alright? Is she awake?" Arnold said his voice tipping into hysterics. As he made his way over to his bag and started to manically put away his things. "Which hospital, where are you?" Phoebe told him the name of the Hospital. "I'll be right there!" Arnold said as he threw his bag over his shoulder. He hung up the phone and faced his worried friends.
"What happened man? Is Phoebe O.K.?" Gerald asked.
"She sounded alright but Helga's been an accident and she's down at the hospital I gotta go," Arnold didn't hear the question Gerald yelled to him as he sprinted towards the school parking lot. He dug into his shorts pocket as he rushed, looking for his keys. He skidded to a halt in front of his car. He yanked open the door, and threw his bag into the back seat. He started his car and quickly pulled out of the parking space.
He found the exit to the parking lot as she slammed his foot into the gas pedal, rolling down the street at an ever accelerating speed. "Oh god, please be alright.," Arnold kept repeating to himself. Arnold's stomach felt as if it were being ripped from inside him. Arnold felt himself welling up, imagining the fate that could be awaiting Helga. Arnold prayed to himself for the first time since his last trip to church at eight years old. "Please please please let her O.K.," he repeated to himself yet again.
Arnold cut the wheel sharply at the turn off for the hospital. He saw the parking lot where he could put his car. He parked and ran towards the entrance. Arnold entered the lobby whipping his head around looking for the information desk. Arnold found his destination and hurried over to the desk. The women at the desk had a kind voice. Arnold's eyes full of tears, could not fully make out what she looked like. "How can I help you young man?" she said.
"Please, Helga Pataki! She was brought in a little while ago I was t-t-told she was here," Arnold said in a panic.
"Alright, one second," she said as she looked at her computer screen. "Ah yes, she was brought into the emergency room, now she's on the second floor. Room 2502" she said.
"Thank you," Arnold yelled over his shoulder. He had been off the second he heard a room number. The people around him where a blur. Arnold registered nothing as he ran into an orderly, and kept walking yelling he was sorry over his shoulder as he hastened towards the room. "Please be alright. Please be alright. Please be alright. Please be alright," he kept repeating. The terrifying feeling in his stomach only grew as he made his way down the hallway.
The trip to the room seemed to never end. Arnold only grew more anxious as he felt the familiar dizziness right before a panic attack. Arnold powered through the feeling determined to make sure Helga was alright. He got off the elevator and bounded into the hallway. Looking up at the signs on the wall trying to find the hall with number 2502. He found it and ran down the hallway full speed. Arnold came to an abrupt stop as he barreled into a cart knocking it to the floor and falling face first on to the floor. Arnold did not skip a neat as he bolted up and walked towards the door. He lightly knocked on the door and turned the knob expecting the worst. His eyes grew wide upon the scene. His eyes full of tears staining his face. His confusion only feeding his panic. "…Helga"