You Don't Know Me, Arnold
Chapter 4: Denseness
As I mentioned in the summary, this story takes place before The Jungle Movie. It is Craig Bartlett's job to portray anything that has to do with Arnold's parents, La Corazon, etc. It is MY job to portray everything within Arnold's fifth grade year to build up to that.
When I watched the preview for The Jungle Movie I noticed that Arnold had come into terms with this feelings for Helga. It was sort of sudden and I felt like although Arnold had flirted with Helga in the April Fools episode we were never given an 'Oh my gosh I'm in love with Helga!' moment. And I'm assuming Bartlett won't have enough screen time to portray that.
I think he was just trying to leave that snippet to our imagination, which is why I decided to write this story. Hopefully it's accurate enough to the point where it can correlate with The Jungle Movie. I also noticed in the sneak peak that when Arnold was like "Wow, thank you Helga," and touched her shoulder, she didn't tell him to back off or anything. That was also a bit sudden because normally Helga would've been like "Don't ever touch me again Football Head!" or something like that. This story also serves as a justification as to why she's a little less violent towards Arnold. Well, thank you for reading this long message and enjoy ;)
Helga avoided me for the rest of the week.
She didn't eat in the cafeteria anymore and the only place I could really run into her was during class, but once the bell rang and I got up to talk to her, she made sure to sprint out the door.
Helga never seemed like the kind of person to take things to heart - especially for this long - so why is she acting this way?
Was I really that cruel?
It seemed like she talked to absolutely everyone in our class except for me - and Gerald but I think that's because he's affiliated with me.
She seemed to have gotten awful close to Eugene and Brainy...
Brainy more than Eugene.
I mean I've always had a feeling the guy had a crush on her or something but man do they always have to be together?
I have tried visiting Helga's place a few times but she's either never home or she told her parents to not let me in.
Weeks have passed since my outburst and how much progress have I made? ZERO.
But I'm not going to back down that easily! I've never been a quitter, and I'm not going to give up until I find out why Helga has been acting this way.
So if I'm going to get close to Helga I'm going to have to step into her territory.
Which is why I was currently sitting in Slausen's with Brainy and Eugene.
"Oh, Arnold it is so kind of you to invite us over for ice cream!" Eugene exclaimed as I smiled.
Oh silly, naive Eugene, if only he knew this was all part of my plot.
Brainy didn't say anything as he simply stood there and stared at me, probably observing me or something.
I turned to look at him and noticed his eyes narrow – yep - definitely observing me.
"Well I hardly get to talk to either of you so I thought it would be nice to catch up."
Eugene nodded enthusiastically as Brainy breathed and smiled.
"What do you want to talk about Arnold?" Eugene asked me as I took a sip of my milkshake.
Start small Arnold, start small.
"Well," I started. "Halloween is coming up! Do you two have plans?"
"You're not planning to make up some other alien fiasco to put the city in panic are you Arnold?" Eugene worriedly asked as I shook my head.
"No!" I dismissed him. "I learned my lesson. I was just curious as to what you had planned for this year."
"Hmm," Eugene thought. "Well, Brainy, Phoebe and I don't have plans for now - we were going to come up with something eventually. What about you?"
"Wait, so you guys aren't planning to invite Helga?" I asked, legitimately curious.
Eugene frowned and glanced at Brainy, "Helga doesn't want to celebrate Halloween."
I almost spit out my drink.
HELGA PATAKI!? NOT CELEBRATING HALLOWEEN?
"You have got to be kidding, Helga loves Halloween!" I exclaimed as Eugene nodded.
"I was equally surprised, Phoebe and I tried to convince her but it was no good. Helga has changed a lot this past month, she's even become vegetarian."
"You're lying," I responded in disbelief. "Did she tell you why?"
"About Halloween or the fact that she refuses to eat meat?"
"Both!"
"Well, she said Halloween was childish and that she's not eating meat because she was working towards a good physique. I guess that's okay, it's not a crime to try to be healthy," he said as he sipped on his milkshake.
Okay I think Helga must have taken what I said WAY out of proportion, I NEVER told her to stop being herself. By "grow up" I didn't mean stop enjoying what came to being a kid, she loves Halloween! And I NEVER said ANYTHING about her physical appearance. Everything I said referred to her bullying. I wanted her to stop bullying, not to stop being Helga Pataki!
Or maybe there's more and what I said wasn't the only thing that caused this.
"Arnold?" Eugene asked as I realized that I hadn't spoken.
"Oh, sorry, I just think it's strange. I wonder why the sudden change?"
Eugene shrugged, so I guess he was just as confused as I am.
Then again, Phoebe didn't seem to know anything either.
What is Helga hiding?
Eugene had to excuse himself early because he promised the kid who looked up to him that he'd help him with his homework so I was left with Brainy.
"What's your deal, Arnold?"
I jumped and turned to Brainy who was playing with his drink expectantly. Wow, I was starting to think Brainy couldn't talk.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't act innocent. What's with the sudden interest in Helga?" he asked as he raised an eyebrow. "You never seemed to care about her this much before."
Ouch. Not true!
"That's not true! I've always cared about Helga!"
It was true! I always make sure to be there for her whenever she needs anything, why would Brainy say that?
"How can you care so much for someone you hardly know?" Brainy challenged, causing me to freeze.
I know Helga... at least I think I do.
"W-What do you mean? I know Helga."
Brainy crossed his arms, "Besides the fact that she calls you football head, is sarcastic, never backs down from a fight, has a troublesome home life, and her best friend is Phoebe - what ELSE do you know about her?"
"That she only acts like that because she's putting up a wall and deep inside she is a kind and considerate person that does good deeds for others!"
Woah. Where did that come from? Suddenly I felt a sense of deja vu to the dream I had about Helga and I getting married.
Brainy blinked and had his mouth agape, seems like he didn't expect me to say that. "How... How do you know that?"
I crossed my arms and gave him a challenging look, "I know more than you think, Brainy."
Brainy narrowed his eyes, "Then if you knew that this whole time why did you tell her all those horrible things. And I quote, Helga, grow up, you are irritating and mean which is probably why you don't have many friends."
HOLD THE PHONE! BRAINY HEARD WHAT I SAID!
"How do you know about that?" I automatically asked as Brainy smirked.
"I'm always near Helga. Always. I was hiding behind the trash can when you said that."
I don't know what's worse, the fact that Brainy has this utter obsession with Helga or the fact that he has me cornered.
"Look," I started. "It's complicated. I get it, it wasn't right for me to snap at her like that. I apologized to her already and I've been trying to talk to her for the past month. But she's been avoiding me. I recently confirmed the suspicion that she puts up a front because of the things I've been discovering about her."
"What kind of things?"
"Well for one she gave up her Nancy Spumoni snow boots just so that I can get Mr. Hyunh and his daughter to reunite and she threw herself in a junkyard to get my hat back when I lost it last year."
Brainy chuckled, "You barely found out about those things? Man, you really are dense."
"You knew about it!?"
"I know a lot of things about Helga and the things she's done," he said with a cocky smirk.
"Then you must know why she's acting this way!" I exclaimed almost desperately.
Brainy smirk faded and he shook his head, "Actually that's the one thing I don't know, I'm still trying to figure it out myself. I haven't really followed her anymore now that she actually talks to me."
I groaned and slammed my head on the table.
"Look Arnold, I may not know what's wrong with Helga, but I do know that YOU are the only one who can fix it."
"What?" I said as I looked at him. "Why me?"
"That's for me to know, and you to find out on your own," Brainy said as he got off his chair and left the store.
Okay, I know I'm good at problem solving, but I didn't sign up for this kind of emotional confusion.
Why can't Brainy just tell me what I have to do?
Am I going to back down though? Absolutely not!
Helga needs my help, and I'm not going to give up on her.
I just need to do a little research, and I need to regain her trust.
Next Day
I tried to talk to Helga again, but to no avail.
I think Mr. Simmons noticed and felt bad for me because I'm now finding myself sitting across from him AND Principal Wartz afterschool because they wanted to talk to me.
"Mr. Simmons, what is this about?"
"Arnold, do you know what's wrong with Helga?"
That question caught me off guard as I blinked but then sighed and shook my head.
"Strange, Phoebe didn't know either."
"She's not disrupting the class anymore Mr. Simmons, I would assume you would be happy with her change."
"It's not that Arnold, although the lack of disruptions is nice, Helga simply isn't being herself anymore. Take a look," he said as he pulled out a piece of paper and set it in from of me.
Fruits and Vegetables
By Helga G. Pataki
Fruits are fine
Vegetables are divine
Carrots and Apples
Also pineapples
Eat them up
Health is what's up
"That's... interesting," I said as I looked up at him.
"It's not Helga! Poetry has always been her strong suit, I'm always excited to read everything she writes because she writes with such passion, grace, and emotion. This isn't her! Principal Wartz has also been noticing her strange behavior."
Wartz nodded as he said, "She seems careless now. It's nice that I haven't gotten any reports about her in weeks but she just seems so indifferent about everything now. I see her during lunch and how she eats her salad without a single hint of emotion on her face. No scowl or smile. She's always been a girl full of expressions so this behavior is out of the ordinary."
"We were just wondering if you knew anything," Simmons said as he motioned toward me.
Should I tell them about what I told her? It would probably be the right thing.
So I fessed up and told them about the debacle I had with Helga the Friday prior to her strange behavior and they clung onto my every word. As I finished I looked down with a guilty expression as Simmons rubbed his chin.
"But that still doesn't make sense, Helga has never been one to hold grudges or take things to heart. I think there's more to this that meets the eye."
"That's what I was thinking," I confessed. "This situation has been bothering me Mr. Simmons..."
"I know Arnold, I've noticed. I just don't get it, her poems used to be full of love and passion. It's like she's lost her inspiration."
I gulped, didn't Helga say something about filling volumes of books and poems about me?
Normally any guy would be kinda creeped out by that... and I think I would be too if it were Rhonda or something.
But I wasn't... I actually found it kind of sweet. Maybe it's because it suits her, I don't know.
The next question I asked came out unexpectedly, even I was surprised.
"Mr. Simmons, have you ever been in love?"
Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz blinked in surprise at my question and I found myself blushing and scratching the back of my head.
"Sorry, that question came out of nowhere."
"No, it's alright Arnold - and yes I have - why?" Simmons said as he gave me a soft smile with a hint of amusement, it's like he knew something that I didn't.
"How did you know you were in love?"
Simmons and Wartz looked at each other and then glanced back at me.
"Well Arnold, love is a powerful word. It's when you are willing to dedicate your life to making your partner happy. It's when it hurts when you two quarrel, when they are sad and you want to make them happy. Where you put their happiness before yours."
"It is honor and duty," Wartz added. "Love isn't temporary, it should last forever. It isn't based off looks, but from what is on the inside."
"Take this for example," Simmons said. "A guy meets an individual who is really attractive but isn't really an amiable person, the guy then turns and meets another individual who isn't as attractive but is willing to put in 100% of devotion to the guy. Who should the guy go with?"
"The second one," I responded. "Because sometimes the best gifts come from the most plainest box."
"Exactly!" Simmons explained in excitement. "Or let's take this. A guy meets a girl who comes off as being really rude. She is a bully and only hangs around one person. But she is really smart, should he like like her?"
I paused and then shrugged, "I don't know. That's pretty complicated."
"How is it complicated?" Wartz asked. "She's a bully."
"Yeah but it may just be a front," I responded. "Maybe life at home is the reason she is a bully and she doesn't want to come off as weak, so the only way to maintain a reputation and be respected is by bullying. But maybe deep inside she is a really nice and sweet person who secretly does good things for people. If that's the case then I think the guy should give her a shot and try to get her to stop bullying."
Wartz stared at me as if I were crazy while Simmons gave me a knowing and amused smile. I'm definitely convinced he knows something that I don't know.
"I'm going to add something, let's say the girl only focuses on bullying that guy and one day he yells at her for it and tells her that she is inconsiderate and immature. A week passes and she starts acting different, why do you think what he said had so much affect?" Simmons asked as he raised an eyebrow.
I scratched my head, "I think it's because she liked him. I don't think she would have cared if someone else would have told her something."
Wartz looked completely confused at this point and glanced at Simmons with a quizzical brow.
I honestly liked the questions Simmons was asking me, I felt like I connected with them a little bit. I don't know why, but I do.
"And let's say the guy notices this new behavior, how do you think her new personality made him feel?"
"I think it made him feel guilty. He feels like he's at fault for her acting so different, he probably can't even sleep because of the guilt that keeps eating him up. He wants to make her feel better and fix everything, but she probably won't want to talk to him ever again."
Simmons nodded and narrowed his eyes as if he was examining me, "Let's say her change wasn't harming anybody and it was slightly making everything better because she had stopped her bullying. Why does he care so much? Why does it matter that she changed?"
"Because he loved her just the way she was!" I said in a matter of fact. "Minus the bullying of course."
"I'm officially confused, I'm going to go get myself a coffee," Wartz said as he stood up and left the classroom.
Simmons slightly widened his eyes at me and smiled while nodding his head as if he had just discovered something.
"Let's say this girl was Helga. What do you think the guy should do now that he had come into terms with his feelings?"
I widened my eyes and jumped, I was taken aback with this question.
Was Simmons talking about Helga this whole time? Or more importantly, there was a guy who loved Helga!? Who? Why did that bother me so much!?
Simmons seemed to notice my confusion and uneasiness at this revelation and his smile got wider.
"What should he do, Arnold?"
"I guess... he should just tell her. There's no reason to hide it."
"I completely agree," Simmons said as we both sat there in silence.
Should I dare to ask? Should I?
"Mr. Simmons..." I started. "If you don't mind me asking, who's the guy?"
Simmons chuckled as I stared at him in bewilderment.
What was so funny? I didn't see anything funny about what I asked.
"I think you know who he is Arnold," he said as he smiled. "It's late, you should head home."
I knew that was code for 'go home,' so I nodded and bid my farewell as I walked out of school.
And I walked home, more confused and troubled than I was before.
Who did I know for sure liked Helga?
Sid? No.
Stinky? I mean they dated but I don't think it was serious.
Gerald? I actually kind of snorted, I think Phoebe takes the win for that one.
Brainy? No, I think he just wants to be her friend. At least that's what I hope.
Arnie?
I stopped dead in my tracks. I remember him telling me he was in love with Helga...
Have he and Helga been talking? I wouldn't be surprised, Helga has been talking to people she wouldn't originally talk to.
But why Arnie? The guy collects lint! Does she like him back?
Of course she does! Simmons implied it!
She must have moved on from me and decided to like Arnie!
With a huff, I walked into the boarding house and went into my room, suddenly feeling like a nap was necessary.
I thought this chapter was very cute!
Let's get this up to 35 reviews yeah? We can do it!
I love everyone's feedback, and I'm flattered that you're all liking this!
Stay tuned for Chapter 5! Review!