Chapter 3: You Won't Believe It

Rhonda's Room

Happy to not be losing her home and rich lifestyle, Rhonda was in her room gazing at her pretty face in her dresser mirror. After brushing her hair, she turned to her friend and practically shouted "You will not BELIEVE what I saw last night Nadine!"

Nadine sat with a perplexed look on her friend's bed. She couldn't imagine anything being more dramatic than the neighborhood being on the verge of being torn down.

"What was it Rhonda?"

Flashback

Walk

Rhonda was walking down the street with a few bags of clothes from her favorite stores in her hands. While the thought of having a mall put up was exciting, there was no guarantee she would approve of what was being sold. Let alone if it even came close to comparing with the Pre-Teen Miss merchandise she was always so boldly wearing.

If this mall does not have up to date clothes, I am writing a serious complaint letter to the mayor!

The stylish girl continued thinking these thoughts to herself until she glanced up above. Not only did she forget about the clothes, but dropped the bags out of her hands.

End of Flashback

Rhonda's Room

After hearing Rhonda's story, Nadine's eyes lit in astonishment as she replied "You saw Helga kissing Arnold?!"

Rhonda grinned as she gave her friend a more than assured nod and replied "Yes...it was disgusting!"

Being the thoughtful person she was, Nadine asked "Do you think anyone else knows (or should know) about this?"

Rhonda rolled her eyes, knowing Helga would never let news such as this slip. Her reputation for brutality was just as important to her as Rhonda's virtue of style was to her.

Then an idea came to mind…

Boarding House

"I'm going to baseball practice grandpa!" Arnold yelled, while running out the door with his glove and bat.

After the flock of pets past him, Arnold saw his best friend waiting and listened to him say "Well, we did it man! We saved the neighborhood!"

Arnold smiled at the thought until he listened to his friend say "Pataki's dad owes us big after saving not only the neighborhood, but his company to go along with it."

Hearing this made Arnold gulp. When he heard the name Pataki leave Gerald's lips, he immediately thought back to his moment with Helga on FTI. Although he was serious about pretending it never happened, that didn't mean she wouldn't at least mention it to someone.

After all, Gerald was always saying "You know there's no secrets between us man." How long would he be able to keep this from him?

Helga's House

After not having gotten any sleep, Helga sat in the closet that morning, staring at the new shrine she had made of her beloved. On the one hand, she was given the opportunity to take back what she had always considered to be perhaps an idiotic move.

On the other, she finally found the guts to do it, only to have him suggest they pretend it never happened. Was that a good or bad thing? Sometimes Helga forgot how overly dramatic and exceedingly emotional she was.

It was always HER poetry read in class. Never once had she heard another girl speak about a boy the way she felt about Arnold. She knew girls develop quicker as far as emotions went, and did confess in quite an astonishing way (during an incredibly inconvenient time). She couldn't be too hard on him for being as shocked as he was.

She pondered this until she heard a knock at the door

KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Hey Helga!"

The emotional girl gritted her teeth as she screamed back at her father "WHAT?!"

"Your little friend Fifi's waiting for you downstairs."

Helga's eyes lit with anticipation when she suddenly remembered they had baseball practice. While she scurried to get ready, Phoebe stayed downstairs to wait on her friend.

Downstairs

"It's wonderful you get to keep your home and full credit of your business Mr. Pataki!" the sweet girl said to the cranky man.

"Yeah, yeah, great. You know any customers?" Bob didn't hesitate to ask.

"Well I…" Phoebe sat there unprepared for the question, until she heard "Okay Pheebs let's hit it."

Helga pulled her friend out the door, not caring to say good-bye to her parents, anymore than they cared to see her leave.

Walk

"I don't think this is such a good idea Rhonda. It's one thing to have fun with your friends like we're about to do, but this just seems like exploiting them." Nadine insisted, while the two of them made their way to practice.

"Oh hush now. When you think about it, I'm actually doing them a favor. If they're not willing to come out on their own, why not give them the push they need?"

Gerald Field

"I sure am glad me and Sid got to keep our 'Sid and Stink' hand prints!'" Stinky said, while tossing the ball around with the other boys.

Sid caught the ball from his friend and replied "Yeah, losing that and the week I spent trying to stay away from germs were the two scariest moments of my life!"

"What about Trash Can Day? Or the day we were on the lam? Or…

"Or the time Helga and I got left behind at the chocolate factory!" Harold interrupted.

"Yeah, what were you guys doing, anyhow?" Sid asked.

"Eating chocolate! I had been looking forward to that trip since kindergarden!" Harold grunted.

The boys looked at each other just as the rest of the crew was showing up. Everyone, except two people that is.

Copy Stop

Nadine watched her best friend eagerly make copies for a party she intended to throw for the entire class. One she was going to say was just to celebrate saving the neighborhood, although her intentions were much deeper.

"What if they don't come? They may not want to see each other so soon." Nadine pointed out to her overly anxious friend.

Rhonda continued staring at the decorative coping that were printing out and replied "It's a party Nadine! No one is going to pass up the idea of attending such an event."

Gerald Field

After waiting thirty minutes for their last two classmates, Arnold said "I guess we can just get started. Something must have happened."

Helga placed a hand on her waist with a scowl on her face and sneered "Oh how will we ever survive without them."

She then took her place as catcher, and all was well. That is, until her beloved came up to bat. The poor girl couldn't help what he was thinking, or if he WAS even thinking about the incident that took place. As people grow, girls tend to mature quicker than boys. That didn't mean the memory of the situation would leave his mind forever however.

"Hey Helga! Heads up!"

After Helga had ignored the pitch from Harold, she dropped the ball, giving Arnold the chance to safely make it to first.

Everyone on field snapped at Helga and her constant inability to stay focused. Everyone that is, except for Arnold. Helga lifted her mask and looked over at him, not realizing she was blushing.

They were about to continue the game when they heard

"Sorry we're late everybody."

The crew turned to see Nadine and Rhonda holding a stack of invitations.

"What are those for?" Sid asked.

"They happen to be for a party I will be throwing, in honor of saving the neighborhood."

Gerald lifted an eyebrow and looked at his best friend "She says that like SHE was the one who saved it."

"Here you go Helga." The snooty girl reached out, as the tomboyish one snatched it; knowing there had to be some sort of catch to it.

Whether or not there was, seeing the rest of the class paying their full attention to the invitations was her excuse to sneak away from practice.

Arnold couldn't help but glance up and notice Helga running away. Was she leaving because he thought she was, or because she really did have something else to do. I suppose he'd find out at the party. Would anyone else before then?