Chapter 6: Let's Make A Deal
The next morning Arnold was sitting in the kitchen going through his photo album when Phil walked in the room.
"Morning shortman! Whatcha got there?"
"Hey grandpa. I was thinking about what you said, and thought maybe I could find something to show everyone that would make Helga feel better about herself."
The elderly man took a seat beside his grandson watching him flip through the photos. "Well ya got quite a selection! There's that goofy sweet team you were on. You in your Bruce Lee ninja outfit. Something tells me Pookie was just looking for an extra set of hands to make her watermelon dinners with. Ooohh here's a good one!"
Arnold looked up to see his grandpa chuckling at the photo of him in his bunny pajamas. Yes, it was guaranteed to get a few laughs from everyone (just as it had before). Would embarrassing himself stop Wolfgang from continuing to walk all over Helga however?
Helga's House
"I've written your entry. If you want a decent amount of customers attracted right away, we'll need an amusing picture to clip to the ad. One that will grab everyone's attention."
As Bob was listening to Jordan fill him in on the remaining information needed, the two heard a knock at the door.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
"For crying out loud! Who could that be?" Bob stood to answer the door, not thrilled about the idea of having his work interrupted.
The businessman answered to see his daughter's classmate waiting outside. "Who are you?"
"Hi Mr. Pataki. I was wondering if Jordan was here?"
"Yeah, what's it to ya?" Bob snarled, not looking to have his business interrupted.
Arnold stepped back a bit, hoping not to upset the businessman. "I was just wondering if I could ask him a question?"
After rolling his eyes at the request, Bob sighed "Fine, but be quick would ya? I haven't got all day!"
While Bob headed for the kitchen to grab himself a Yahoo from the fridged, Arnold raced into the dining room to see Jordan sitting with his new ad.
"Hey Jordan."
The writer looked over to see his brother's school acquaintance and replied "Oh hey Arnold. How are you?"
"Fine. I was just wondering if you have any pictures of Wolfgang?"
Jordan lifted an eyebrow, finding it to be an odd request. "Well yeah, he is my brother. I haven't taken any recently though. Most of the ones I have of him are from two or three years ago, before he started acting annoyed with me."
Arnold looked to see Jordan flipping through the saved pictures he had of his brother on his phone. In a way, they reminded him of Helga. The teen had the same pessimistic facial expression in every picture. All except one that is…
Jordan looked to see Arnold's eyes widen at the last picture saved on his phone. A warm smile came to his face as he explained "That's my favorite picture of my brother. It's not easy to get him to smile, but when he's happy, there's no stopping him."
An almost evil thought came to Arnold's mind as he asked "Would you mind sending it to me?"
Being the credulous person that he was, Jordan didn't hesitate to agree to Arnold's request.
Gerald Field
While a few of the students were busy with their own activities, most of the team was spending the beginning of the day getting as much practice in as possible.
"Ya reckon we got a fair shot at winning?" Stinky wondered, taking into account they hadn't heard from Helga and Arnold wasn't at practice.
"If not, it's back to playing in the street for us." Sid reminded the gang.
"This is highly absurd. I did not spend that Saturday afternoon cleaning this area just to watch those horrendous teenagers steal it right out from under us!" Rhonda sneered.
Copy Stop
Gerald was walking towards the field to meet with the gang for practice when he noticed someone inside the copy store. The tranquil boy stopped inside to see what was going on.
"Hey Arnold!"
The blonde boy turned away from the copy machine to see his best friend standing behind him. "Oh hey Gerald."
"Hey man. What's going on?"
Arnold wasn't the vindictive type, therefore a part of him didn't feel right explaining this. On the other hand, he was standing up for his girlfriend's dignity and the class' sport space.
The oblong headed boy then held up the picture Jordan had sent him, along with the written entry Arnold had also asked for a copy for.
Gerald's eyes widened in disbelief when he witnessed the image in front of him. "Arnold! Where'd you get that?"
"Wolfgang's brother is working with Helga's dad on a new ad for the store."
"And this helps us how?" Gerald shrugged his shoulders, not knowing what Bob Pataki's business had to do with their baseball game.
Helga's House
The pigtailed girl sat on her bed, contemplating what would happen if she showed up at the game. If she went, she would be made fun of by Wolfgang and all her classmates. If she didn't show up, the class was likely to lose the game along with their after school spot.
She had been embarrassed before. The whole point of her tough attitude was to not allow anyone to know when something did embarrass her.
When Olga taught their fourth grade class
When her nanny made her dress up for school
Whenever her dad did something to upset the city
Walk
"Those pre-teens are going down!" Wolfgang laughed as he and Edmund headed towards the field.
"Hehe yeah! We'll show them who's boss."
"Shut up you idiot."
Gerald Field
The gang stood watching the eighth graders anxiously approach the field. Arnold, Gerald, and Helga were all still missing, not sending much hope to their class.
"I reckon this is it y'all." Stinky sighed.
"Yeah. We should just forfeit now." Sid agreed, not having the slightest bit of faith things would turn out well.
"Hey seventh graders! Where's your wussy captain?" Wolfgang shouted, as his team began taking their places on the field.
The seventh graders watched themselves becoming outnumbered by the team that was sure to claim the field as their own.
Before anyone could respond, the gang heard "Who are you calling wussy, dingus?!"
The crowd turned to see Helga marching towards the field with a familiar scowl on her face. She marched up to Wolfgang with her hands on her hips, attempting to refrain from showing any form of weakness.
"Well, well. You decided to show up after all." the malicious teenager grinned.
"Well doi! Now are you here to play or what? I didn't come out here just to waste my Saturday listening to you talk." Helga pointed a finger.
Crossing his arms, feeling unthreatened, Wolfgang asked "Where's football face then?"
Before anyone had time to think, the field heard "Hey you guys."
Everyone turned to see Arnold and Gerald approaching with a stack of papers. No one seemed curiuos to know what was in Arnold's hands. They were just anxiuos to know how the game would end.
Wolfgang watched the blonde boy approach him and said "I'm shocked your girl here decided to show her face after what happened yesterday. I figured that picture would be enough to run her out of town."
While Helga blushed profusely, rubbing her arm harshly, Arnold began to smile. "Funny you should mention the picture."
A glare formed on Wolfgang's face as he crossed his arms and asked "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Your brother finally finished the ad for Mr. Pataki's store. The only thing missing is a picture. I asked for a copy of the ad and printed several copies with a picture on it."
Wolfgang snatched the ad from Arnold to see a picture of himself in bunny pajamas. The eighth grader's face froze, not knowing what to do in this situation.
Arnold and Gerald smiled at each other, knowing they had their enemy right where they wanted him.
"Now, I've got three hundred copies here. More than enough to either pass out at school Monday, or give to Mr. Pataki for his store. After all, Jordan said the best way to earn customers is with something that will grab their attention."
Edmund leaned over his friend's shoulder, staring at the picture and said "Wow! You sure look goofy Wolfgang! Haha!"
"Shut up you loser!"
After seeing the petrifying state the teenager had been put in, the devious smile remained on Arnold's face as he said "All you have to do is stop trying to take the field, and I'll get rid of them. If you threaten us again, they're getting passed out."
The angry eighth grader stormed off the field, unhappy not only about the picture being shown, but also about basically meeting the demands of a younger student.
After the eighth graders were gone, Gerald held out his fist and said "Way to go man!"
The class came over to look at the fliers the boys were holding. Sid read the business ad below the picture of Wolfgang in his bunny pajamas and asked "Is Big Bob really going to use that picture in his flier?"
Arnold glanced to see the annoyed facial expression his girlfriend was carrying and replied "No Sid. We'll find him another one. In fact, why don't we all go take a picture in front of the store together?"
Arnold looked towards his girlfriend for her approval, assuming she'd be okay with it.
Shrugging her shoulders, Helga scoffed "Fine, but ten percent of his profit that comes the customers attracted by this flier is going to me."
"Whatever you say Helga."
THE END
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