You Don't Know Me, Arnold
Chapter 3: Discovery
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Today was honestly weirder than yesterday.
I had gone to sleep hoping that this whole Helga ordeal was a one day thing.
But boy was I wrong...
Today, she decided to sit as far away from me as possible and took Phoebe and Eugene with her.
She sat next to BRAINY! BRAINY!
I'm starting to think she's avoiding me on purpose.
Gerald seems to notice this too and raises an eyebrow at me, causing me to shrug.
What surprised me the most was the fact that Helga and Brainy were having a jolly time chatting, the boy was cracking more words than he ever had before.
I mean it makes me happy for Helga that she's choosing to be social but why can't she talk to me like that?
Like I'm legitimately curious.
I came to the conclusion that I would ask Helga about it during recess.
"I can't wait Helga, it's going to be so much fun!" Brainy exclaims in excitement as Helga gives him a sincere and sweet smile.
She's never given ME one of those!
Sure she's given me a few smirks but they were usually because she either felt bad about something or she was evilly plotting something.
But why was she giving BRAINY of all people that smile? Where are they going?
Sheesh Helga! When I said you needed to grow up I wasn't telling you to go completely heartless on me!
"Dinoland wouldn't be the same without you Brainy."
THEY ARE GOING TO DINOLAND!? TOGETHER!?
That's it. I've officially broken Helga G. Pataki. Either that or I've woken up in an alternate universe.
The bell rang and I decided to finally take my opportunity.
"Hey Helga!" I exclaim as I approach her.
She flinches and turns to look at me as I approach her.
"Hey, Arnold,"
"Um..." Why do I feel so nervous all of a sudden? "So... I... overheard your conversation with Brainy."
She blinks but shows no emotion, I guess that meant I should continue.
"So, you're going to Dinoland with him?" I ask as I rub the back of my neck.
She raises an eyebrow in confusion, but then lowers it. "Um... yeah."
"Cool, you know, Gerald and I could have happily gone if you needed someone to go with you," I laughed nervously. "I know you don't really like spending time with Brainy," I joked.
Helga looks at me in bewilderment, "I'm sorry Arnold but you're confusing me."
"Huh?" I asked.
"You were the one that told me that the only reason why I didn't have any friends was because I was irritating and mean. Yet now you're contradicting yourself when I'm actually trying to make friends. I didn't invite you and Gerald because you told me to stay away from you. I don't understand..." she asks in utter confusion and a hint of frustration.
Arnold, you are officially the biggest non-sensical idiot Hillwood has ever known.
"Helga... I..."
She shakes her head and dismisses me, "It's okay Arnold. I understand."
And she walks away. She walks out of that door without even waiting for me to explain.
And to tell you the truth, that stung, that really stung.
Helga was right, she has every right to be acting the way that she is...
She was just trying to make friends, and I had completely disrespected her change when I told her about Brainy.
That must have sounded really selfish.
Maybe I am being selfish, I'm so used to Helga giving me all this attention that I guess that fact that she's giving other people a chunk of her attention was riling me up.
Afterschool I had gone to Gerald's house to play video games and I figured it was about time I talked to Gerald about this.
"Yo Arnold, help me out will ya? These aliens are catching up to me," Gerald said as he clicked on several buttons.
"I'm trying!" I said as I clicked on my own set of buttons.
As we finished our level, Gerald bust out laughing.
"What's so funny?" I asked as Gerald held his stomach.
"Remember last year on Halloween when we made that fake alien broadcast and Helga and the others almost got jumped."
I smiled, back then, it was frightening because it looked like Big Bob was seriously going to strangle Helga to death but now - it's something the others and I treasure as a memory.
Besides, things going wrong is all part of the adventure. If nothing ever goes wrong in life, then you'll have no interesting stories to tell. No one finds a story where everything goes as planned amusing.
"Speaking of Helga," I say, taking this as an invitation. "What's your opinion on her new change?"
Gerald stopped laughing and tapped his chin thoughtfully, "I honestly don't see a problem with it. I overheard Mr. Simmons tell Principal Wartz that Helga's new personality is like a gift sent from the universe."
I frowned and looked down at my knees.
"I wonder what caused this sudden change though..." Gerald wondered, didn't I tell him that I totally yelled at her on Friday? "Well, guess it doesn't matter. Trust the process, no reasoning necessary."
"Gerald, I really think I was the reason she drastically changed like this."
Gerald turned to look at me and sighed, "I know my brotha, I had a feeling you were going to bring that up at some point," he said as he grabbed a pair of glasses, a notepad and a pen. "Alright Arnold, go sit on that chair and tell Dr. Gerald what's going on."
I snorted at his impression of a therapist but did as he said.
"Well think about it, she only started acting like this once I told her what I said."
"What EXACTLY did you say Arnold? Because none of us were really there besides you two."
I sighed as I reiterated to Gerald everything I had told Helga.
Gerald winced as he shook his head, "Man Arnold, never thought I'd see the day."
"I feel horrible! And I honestly don't understand why I'm acting so selfish. Every time I see her talking to someone else - like Eugene and Brainy - I start to feel this odd loneliness, like if I was abandoned or something. I've come to the conclusion that it's because I'm so used to her giving me negative attention, and not getting attention from her feels weird."
"Hmmm," Gerald hummed as he pursed his lips. "And what exactly do you want? Do you want her to give you attention orrr?"
"No! I mean... I think I do... or no. Wait yes! Or no... wait..."
Gerald shook his head at my stuttering, "Let us walk through this a little bit slower. What do you feel when she gives you negative attention?"
"Annoyed," I responded.
"Okay, and what do you feel when she gives you positive attention?"
"It feels nice. Sometimes I wish Helga was always like that."
"What do you feel when she gives you no attention?"
I stayed silent, how do I describe that feeling to Gerald? Devastation. Selfishness. Lost. Lonely. CONFUSED.
There are so many words!
"It feels weird," I said as Gerald nodded.
"Hypothetically, if you could live the rest of your life with Helga giving you either no attention or bad attention, which would you prefer?"
"Bad attention," I say almost immediately.
I don't think I can imagine life without Helga, or any of my friends for that matter.
She's my friend, and I care about her.
"Arnold, I have your diagnosis."
"Am I sick?"
"I'm afraid so, you're suffering a serious case of Patakitis."
"What does that mean?"
"It means you miss Helga."
I blinked in bewilderment, me? Miss Helga?
"I don't really think that's the case, I've just been puzzled with her indifference and all the things I've been discovering about her."
Gerald took off his fake glasses and asked, "What things?"
I then went along to tell Gerald about the photo album and how Helga went out of her way to get my hat back; Gerald was clinging onto my every word and it seemed that he was just as confused as I was.
"Are you sure we're talking about the same Helga, Arnold?"
"One hundred percent. Maybe that's why she's been clouding my thoughts, because I never saw her as the kind to do those kinds of things for me, and maybe I just want to talk to her about it."
"I don't think that's the case."
Gerald and I turned to Jamie O who was standing by the doorway while holding Timberly.
"Go away Jamie O! We're having an important discussion!" Gerald exclaimed.
"With YOU as the one giving advice? Arnold is practically screwed."
Gerald narrowed his eyes as Jamie O set Timberly down and sat next to me.
"It seems to me, Arnold, that you are falling for this Helga character."
I widened my eyes as Gerald bust out laughing, "NICE ONE JAMIE O! AND YOU'RE SAYING I'M THE ONE WHO GIVES HORRIBLE ADVICE!"
Jamie O rolled his eyes, "You two are too shrimp to understand. But from what I heard Arnold say, it seems to me that he's slowly heading down that path. This is the beginning stage. But it's perfectly fine Arnold, there's nothing wrong with that."
"Nothing wrong with that!? It's Helga Pataki Jamie O!" Gerald exclaimed.
"So? It doesn't matter, sometimes the best gifts come from the most plainest box."
I blinked in bewilderment at that phrase, where have I heard that before?
"Look, you don't have to come into terms with it now Arnold. This is only the beginning - who knows - you may not ever end up like liking her. But if you do, it will take time and lots of thought," he said as he stood up.
"ARNOLD HAS A GIRLFRIEND! AND HER NAME IS HELGA!" Timberly chanted as she pointed at me tauntingly.
"Timberly!" Gerald scolded as she giggled and left the room.
"Just think about it for now Arnold," Jamie O finished. "I'm gonna go play some ball with my bros."
Gerald turned to look at me and I looked down to stare at my hands.
Is it true? Could I be falling for Helga?
No. I don't believe it! I won't!
"Wanna go for a walk? You look like you need some fresh air, you look paler than usual," Gerald asked as I nodded.
Ah Gerald, knows me so well.
"Wait are you going out?" Jamie O asked as he walked back into the room.
"Yes..." Gerald slowly said.
"Can you drop by Mr. Bailey's office and pick up a document under mom's name? I'm supposed to do it but I gotta take care of Timberly."
"Lazy," Gerald muttered as he and I stepped out the door.
"We haven't spoken to Mr. Bailey since we saved the neighborhood and we did his Christmas shopping, remember?"
"Yeah," I said as I smiled. That was one of the best Christmas miracles I've ever heard of. Mr. Hyunh looked so happy.
We both walked into the building and headed towards his office, we then knocked on the door and he turned to look at us.
"Hello Mr. Bailey, I'm Arnold and this is Gerald, remember us?"
Mr. Bailey fixed his glasses and nodded, "How could I forget? How can I help you?"
"We're here to pick up a document for Mrs. Johanssen," Gerald responded.
"Ah yes, here you go," he said as he gave Gerald the document.
I suddenly felt the urge to ask Mr. Bailey a question that I've been aching to ask for the longest time.
"Mr. Bailey? If you don't mind me asking, um, I'd like to know what happened last Christmas. With Mr. Hyunh's daughter... we wouldn't have found her if it wasn't for you, so... what made you change your mind? About helping me?"
"Oh – well - your little friend convinced me."
I turned to look at Gerald accusingly and he shrugged, obviously being as confused as me.
So, it wasn't him.
"What was their name?"
"Well I don't remember her name, but I remember that she came up to me and gave me a pair of Nancy Spumoni snow boots and begged for me to help you, she even gave me a speech about miracles and kindness - I'll never forget those words - they were a real eye opener."
"You said she, you're saying she was a girl?"
"Yup, very sweet, very kind, and a very loyal friend to you by the looks of it."
"What did she look like!?" I asked, even though a part of me knew the answer.
It couldn't be HER, could it?
"Hmmm, she had blonde hair, she wore a pink bow, and only had one eyebrow," Mr. Bailey said as he turned and began typing on the computer.
Gerald and I automatically turned to each other with wide eyes, obviously not expecting this revelation.
"HELGA!?" We both said in unison.
"AH YES! Helga! That was her name," he said, obviously not noticing the panic attack I was having.
OKAY! FIRST OF ALL! HOW DID HELGA KNOW THAT I NEEDED THOSE SNOW BOOTS TO GET MR. HYUNH TO REUNITE WITH HIS DAUGHTER!
SECOND OF ALL, WHY DID SHE DO IT!?
THIRD OF ALL, WHY DIDN'T SHE TELL ME!?
I needed to have a serious conversation with her.
Gerald had realized that I wasn't going to answer Mr. Bailey and bid him thanks before dragging me out of the office.
"Okay Arnold, breathe."
"BREATHE!? Gerald! Do you not know what this means? Helga was my Christmas angel!"
"Maybe it was another girl with a pink bow and pig tails..."
"You're right," I said. "Let's talk to Mai, only she can confirm this revelation."
Mai had invited us to tea and we both gladly accepted, I definitely needed this after the panic attack I just underwent.
"What did you want to ask?" she softly asked as Gerald motioned for me to ask.
I had grabbed the photo album Grandpa showed me yesterday and I flipped to the page with my friends and the float.
"Mai, so last Christmas I decided to help you and Mr. Hyunh reunite. I talked to a specialist and made a deal with him, stating that if I did his Christmas shopping, he'd help me find you. I got everything on the list - except for one thing - so he broke the deal. The next day I was a bit depressed because I had thought that I hadn't gotten anything for him, but then you appeared. Today we discovered that a girl delivered the last item on the list to the specialist and convinced him to find you. We wanted to confirm if this was the girl," I finished as I showed her the album with the picture of Helga.
"Oh yes!" Mai exclaimed, causing my heart to drop. "That was the nice girl who led me to the boarding house on Christmas Day! She told me not to tell any of you that she had escorted me."
I felt like my eyeballs were going to come out of my sockets.
WHY!?
WHY WAS HELGA SO SECRETIVE!?
WHAT ELSE!? WHAT ELSE WAS HELGA G. PATAKI HIDING FROM ME!?
After Gerald managed to calm me down I decided that it was time to confront Helga and talk to her about my most recent discoveries.
I deserve an explanation, don't I?
Or... do I already have it...
- Flashback -
"Maybe I don't hate you as much as I thought okay? I guess maybe I, maybe I kind of like you a little. Heck I may even say I like you a lot."
"You do? You did this for me?"
"That's right Hairboy I mean, crimeny what else are you supposed to do when someone you love is in trouble!"
"Love?"
"You heard me, pal! I love you! Love you! Who else do you think has been stalking you night and day, building shrines to you in a closet, filling volumes of books with poems about you? I love you! Arnold, I've always loved you ever since I first laid eyes on your stupid football head. And from that moment- every moment since- I've lived and dreamed for you-Dreamed of the moment I could finally tell you of my secret feelings so I could grab you and kiss you and- oh, come here you big lug!"
- End Flashback -
I sucked in my breathe at the memory, a memory that gives me chills.
Did Helga really like like me for that long though?
Does she still like me like me?
Before I knew it, I was dialing her house, I NEEDED explanations.
"Hello?"
This time it was Miriam, her mom.
"Hello Mrs. Pataki, is Helga there? I really need to talk to her, it's Arnold."
"Okay, Helga dear! Someone named Arnold is on the phon... oh wait a second! Is this the Arnold you told me not to take any calls from?"
What...
I suddenly heard the call cut as if someone ended the call.
Helga... she... what...
I then dialed again, only to have the call not go through this time.
I dialed yet again, only to have the call not go through AGAIN!
I'm convinced. Helga was ignoring me.
But why? Why...
Yikes! Poor Arnold and poor Helga too!
What's going to happen?
KEEP READING AND REVIEWING AND FIND OUT!