You Don't Know Me, Arnold
Chapter 7: Revelation
I'm extremely surprised this ended up so liked! Thank you, this really motivates me to move forward!
The first week of November flew by quickly and I was still extremely confused about Helga.
I was cleaning up my room until I accidentally hit my head on my book shelf, causing a pink book to fall onto the ground.
As I went over and prepared to pick it up and put it back I couldn't help but be entranced by it.
Wait - I remember this - it was a diary from a girl who apparently liked me liked me.
I still cringe at the memory of me swooning because I thought it was from Ruth.
Honestly, I don't know what in my right mind made me think I ever had a chance with her.
Granted she's in middle school now, probably getting hit on by older and more attractive guys than me, so it was never really meant to work out.
Oh well, doesn't really matter anymore.
I opened the book and read a few of the pages, smiling.
Man I wish I could show this to Helga, if anyone could dissect poetry - it's her - she could help me find out who thi...
Wait... purple pen? WAIT!
HOLD UP! WAITTTTTT!
"What gives Arnold? It's 11 pm!" Gerald scolded through the phone as I breathed heavily, I felt as if the phone was about to fall with all my shaking.
"Woah man... chill out for a sec, are you okay?" Gerald asked, his annoyance being replaced with concern.
"Helga... pink book... me... discover..."
"What? You need to speak clear Arnold."
"HELGA WAS THE ONE WHO OWNED THE LITTLE PINK BOOK YOU AND I FOUND LAST YEAR!"
"WHAT!? Are you sure Arnold?"
"Positive Gerald, positive."
"How do you know?"
"The writing is in purple ink - Helga always writes with a purple pen - I barely noticed this year."
"Arnold, it could have been anyone who writes with purple ink! It's not a unique color!"
"No Gerald I know it's her!"
"It sounds unbelievable to me Arnold. I mean Helga G. Pataki writing poetry? And about you? The possibilities of Fuzzy Slippers revealing his identity one day are much higher."
Oh, right. Gerald didn't know about Helga's talent for poetry...
"Look Gerald just trust me! I know it's her!"
Gerald took a deep breath and I waited for him to reply, "Alright, let's assume it is her. Which I doubt. No offense Arnold, but why would Helga G. Pataki - your tormenter and bully - have feelings for you?
I should probably tell Gerald about FTi, but for some reason I couldn't bring myself to tell him. That was a secret between me and Helga, and it didn't feel right to tell him.
Gerald sighed, "Arnold. Be honest, what's going on with you and Helga?"
"Nothing Gerald, she hasn't spoken to me remember?"
"That's not what I meant! What's going on emotionally between you two? She's all you think about man! I mean sure at first I thought it was funny to mess around with you about her but now I'm starting to realize that this is more serious than I thought..."
"What are you talking about Gerald?"
"Arnold, my man, I think you're in love with Helga G. Pataki."
"Class! As you all well know, we have our special Thanksgiving play coming up and this year our play will star Arnold and Helga since they were the ones who inspired me to write this story."
I jumped on the seat of my desk, causing my pencil to fall to the floor.
I have to star in ANOTHER play!? Oh boy...
I looked at Helga from the corner of my eye and noticed she was just as stunned as I was.
"The story will be about Arnold and Helga's characters having horrible Thanksgiving experiences and eventually discovering that no matter how your family goes about celebrating Thanksgiving, it is important to treasure your unity and be thankful of your family, no matter how dysfunctional they may be. I was inspired last year, when this event actually did happen to Arnold and Helga."
"Does this play involve kissing again!?" Harold asked as he raised his hand.
"I don't understand why you gave Helga the lead female role, I would clearly make a better lead," Rhonda said as she combed her hair.
I expected Helga to snap back, but she didn't.
She just sat there pretending as if Rhonda never spoke to her.
"I'm ever so sure Helga does a great job when it comes to acting, she did an ever so wonderful job acting as Juliet," Lila noted as Rhonda rolled her eyes.
"I guess she did. I think it's because of how passionate Helga is when she acts, I mean, did you SEE how long she kissed Arnold? It almost seemed too real," Rhonda retorted as I widened my eyes, feeling my cheeks fume.
"Rhonda," Simmons warned.
"What? It's true Mr. Simmons, even YOU were looking at your watch while she was kissing him. She kissed him longer than she should have."
"HELGA LIKES KISSING ARRRRNOLDDDD, HA HA HA!" Harold yelled as he pointed at both of us.
"It's true! Look at her, she's not even saying anything!" Sid added and I couldn't help but look at Helga.
She simply doodled in her notebook, as if what our classmates were saying wasn't phasing her, though I couldn't help but notice that she was red in the face.
"I reckon Arnold liked it too! I mean look at him, the boy looks like a tomato!" Stinky called out as the whole class turned to look at me.
This, of course, caused me to blush even harder.
"HE DOES! ARNOLD AND HELGA SITTIN IN A TREE!" Harold began singing, followed by Sid and Stinky.
I wanted to dig a hole and bury myself in it.
"Knock it off guys!" Gerald exclaimed, coming to the rescue.
Bless that boy, BLESS that boy.
"Yes, this is improper and immature behavior," Phoebe added. "Let's let Mr. Simmons finish talking about his play."
"I bet Gerald and Phoebe are in on Arnold and Helga's secret romance!" Sid exclaimed. "Why so exclusive?"
That seemed to spark Rhonda's interest as she looked at both of us, "Why, I never thought I'd see the day! This is juicy! Nadine, jot this down! Arnold and Helga are secretly in love!"
"Alright everyone settle down! That is enough!" Simmons exclaimed.
"Yes Mr. Simmons continue - as a matter of fact - forget what I said. Helga, you could keep the part, I wouldn't want to get in the way of you and Arnold's... whatever you two have," Rhonda smugly said.
And then something completely unexpected happened.
Helga stood up, turned to look at the class with no sign of emotion on her face.
"I appreciate your concern. But Arnold doesn't like me, he never has, and he never will. I'm irritating and mean. I don't have many friends. As a matter of fact, he told me never to speak to him again. If that's romance for you then be my guest and think what you like. It's all the same to me."
With that said, she sat down and paid full attention to Simmons, no one in the class - not even Simmons - dared to say a word.
Her words stung. THEY STUNG! They hurt so much that I didn't even realize when I had suddenly decided to stand. Nor when I decided to walk toward her.
"I didn't mean any of it Helga! Believe me! I was just angry, it was..."
"The heat of the moment?" she asked with slight coldness in her voice. "Because that seems to be your answer every single time you expect me to forget something that is obviously impossible to forget."
Suddenly, I didn't think we were talking about our argument two months ago anymore...
"Helga I've been wanting to talk to you about that for a long time and you never even give me the light of day!"
"You told me not to speak to you again, I don't understand."
"WELL I TAKE IT BACK!" I suddenly yell. "Besides, you seemed pretty content with not bringing IT up!"
"How did you expect me to react!?" she then yells, standing up and facing me. "How else was I going to hide the pain! What you said hurt Arnold, you completely disregarded my feelings and came up with some excuse to avoid talking about it. I get it okay! You made your point, I know how you feel. Just LEAVE ME ALONE! GIVE ME A CHANCE TO MOVE ON! THIS IS A PROBLEM YOU CAN'T FIX!"
And with that, she left the classroom.
Wait... is that what she thinks? She took what I said to her after we saved the neighborhood and what I said to her in September as a rejection?
No no no! That's not right! That's not right at all!
I wanted to run after her, I wanted to correct her! She has it all wrong!
Suddenly it clicked.
I, Arnold, am indeed in love with Helga G. Pataki.
Gerald made sure nobody came near me for the rest of the school day.
After my argument with Helga, Simmons changed the subject to math and nobody made a scene for the rest of the period.
Phoebe went to go look for Helga and I eventually found out that Helga had gone home, something about a headache.
I could tell my classmates wanted to talk to me... or tease me, all the same.
But Gerald Johanssen was NOT having it, not today. If I had a dollar for all the deadly and dirty looks he gave out today, I'd have enough for a year long Dino Land pass.
I really owed Gerald a big one, he hasn't questioned me at all about what had happened. I'm assuming he's waiting for me to be ready or he simply knew it wasn't smart to talk about this at school.
It was currently after school and I was waiting for Gerald to meet up with me by my locker, until I noticed Sid and Stinky approaching me.
I internally groaned until I noticed Sid and Stinky halt and widen their eyes, looking past me.
I turned around and noticed Gerald standing next to me, glaring daggers at Sid and Stinky.
If looks could kill...
Sid and Stinky got the message and turned around, taking their leave.
I released a sigh of relief and Gerald's expression softened as he turned to me.
"Ready to go Arnold?"
"Yeah, c'mon."
"Arnold wait!" Simmons exclaimed as he ran towards me, holding a few documents.
Gerald and I turned as he took a few breaths.
"Arnold, this is Helga's homework. I want YOU to give it to her."
I widened my eyes, "But Mr. Simmons..."
"Look Arnold, I apologize if I had anything to do with your dispute with her today. But you shouldn't leave something like that alone. You need to talk to her," he said as he handed me the papers.
"But..."
"Arnold," he warned. "You're always the one telling others that communication is key to solving their problems. It's time for you to take your own advice," he said as he turned and left.
I sighed in defeat as I clung onto the documents.
"You want me to go?" Gerald asked. "I could go for you, and by going for you I mean giving the documents to Phoebe so that she can deliver them."
"No Gerald, Simmons is right. I need to talk to Helga."
"Well she won't talk to you, that's for sure," he said in a matter of fact.
And I hated it, because it was true.
"Well," he said as we stood in front of his stoop. "Good luck, talk to me when you're ready okay?" he said as we did our handshake.
I nodded, "Thanks Gerald, for everything you did for me today."
"Well it was about time someone put those fools in their place," he said. "Besides, I like playing body guard."
I laughed as I headed down the sidewalk, giving me time to think about the last few hours.
So - it was settled - my feelings for Helga, everything.
I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders.
But now I'm stuck, Helga is not happy with me and I hate that.
I hate being the reason she's not happy.
But something still doesn't sit well with me.
I would understand why she changed towards me, but why her family? Why our friends?
Why did she change towards them? There HAS to be more to what she told me, and I am determined to figure it out.
I took a whole five minutes hesitating in front of her door, until I finally collected the courage to knock.
Olga opened the door, "Hello Arnold."
"Hi Olga, is Helga home? I have her homework."
"No, I'm afraid my baby sister is at her little friend's house right now, but you are free to go set it down in her room."
"Okay..." I said with slight disappointment.
I walked up her stairs and opened the door to her room.
The whole room had her scent, and I was tempted to fall asleep on her bed. But remembering the task at hand, I headed toward her desk, only to trip on something.
"Huh?" I ask as I look down, noticing a red high heel. A very familiar red high heel.
- Flashback -
"There's one thing I still don't understand..." I said as I held onto her shoe, looking up at her. "Who are you?"
Cecile hesitated, "I... I can't tell you..."
"Why not?"
"I just can't that's all, okay..."
- End Flashback -
As I observed the shoe, I suddenly felt like a piano was dropped on me.
Oh. My. Abner.
I suddenly felt light headed, no...
It couldn't be...
Cecile... was Helga... IN DISGUISE!
STUPID STUPID STUPID! HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO... UGHHHHHHHH!
IT WAS OBVIOUS! THEY LOOKED SO SIMILAR!
I suddenly dropped the shoe and began grabbing at my hair.
I needed to scream.
I was angry, but I wasn't angry at Helga. I WAS MAD AT MYSELF! HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO BLIND!
I quickly got out of there.
I laid on my bed and stared at the ceiling as I thought about what had just happened.
Helga is such a mystery, why would she do this...
I then remembered how Cecile/Helga told me that she liked me liked me and it all kind of started making sense.
Maybe she wanted to spend Valentine's with me and confess her feelings indirectly.
And I must admit, that was an amazing Valentine's Day.
Not because of Cecile or Ruth, but because of Helga...
Man, I can't believe I never realized how amazing she is.
Ugh, I truly am a goner, aren't I?
"Hey Arnold, are you in there?"
I stood up and looked at my door, "Yes Mr. Potts, is everything okay?"
"Your grandma wants all of us to meet in the living room for a Thanksgiving meeting."
I groaned, but I stood up and headed downstairs.
I walked into the room and noticed that all the boarders were already there.
"There ya are Shortman! Take a seat!" Grandpa exclaimed as I sat next to Mr. Hyunh.
"Grandma, what is this about?" I asked as Grandma smiled.
"Well Tex! Last year's Thanksgiving got me thinking and I realized that maybe we should automatically have a traditional Thanksgiving this year, with the fireworks of course! But I want to add one little twist."
The boarders groaned.
"What is the crazy lady up to this time?" Oskar asked, receiving a jab in the stomach by Suzie.
"We are going to make the meal more special and invite another family from the neighborhood to join us! I ran into a very nice girl at the supermarket and we both agreed that a bigger family dinner equals more smiles."
"Pookie! It's bad enough that we have to deal with Kokoschka, now we have to deal with more people!" Grandpa retorted.
"Hey! I'm not that bad, right Arnold?" Oskar asked as he turned to me.
I slightly widened my eyes and stared at him, not wanting to answer the question.
Mr. Potts found that hilarious and slapped Oskar in the back, "See, even the kid knows what's up!"
"Who are the people we're dining with Grandma?" I asked.
"The Pataki's of course!" Grandma exclaimed, causing me to choke on air.
"Wait, is that Miriam Pataki's family? Oh I can't wait to see her again!" Suzie exclaimed.
DO NONE OF THESE PEOPLE NOTICE MY PANIC ATTACK OVER HERE!?
"Well I guess we're spending Thanksgiving with your little friend with the one eyebrow Arnold," Grandpa said, with a hint of tease in his voice.
I glared at him, and suddenly something clicked.
"What about Mr. Pataki? I thought you didn't like him Grandpa," I said in a matter of fact.
"He's actually not that bad Arnold," Mr. Potts responded.
"Yes! He offered to help us bomb Scheck's building!" Mr. Hyunh exclaimed as Grandpa nodded.
"And he has a lot of money eh heh heh," Oskar added, receiving another jab in the stomach by Suzie.
"Well I have to admit that the Pataki character wasn't my favorite person in the world but I've softened up to him."
I sighed in defeat, there was no getting out of this. I'm assuming that Olga and my Grandma were the ones who organized this, and I'm just going to have to deal with it.
But I wasn't ready to face Helga.
I just found out about my potential feelings for her and I needed time to think and really confirm that I did like her like her.
Both Helga and I didn't speak to each other for the next few weeks.
I've stopped pushing her and it's not because I don't want to talk to her, I'm just confused and I need time for myself.
But I think my lack of communication with her made things worse!
Doing the play with her felt so tense, and reciting our lines towards each other was really the only time we got to talk to each other.
I think our situation is so complicated and dull that people stopped talking about us after the first week.
I hope she doesn't think I'm completely ignoring her.
Despite the tense atmosphere, we managed to pull through and execute a good play. It was more popular than last year's that's for sure.
With that said, Thanksgiving Break rolled around which meant nonstop preparations for Thanksgiving.
"...a loaf of bread, gravy, mashed potatoes, and a roasted turkey," I said as I put the shopping list in my pocket.
"Thanksgiving with Helga G. Pataki, now I really have heard of everything," Gerald said as he and I headed toward the supermarket.
"I'm really nervous Gerald, you sure you can't come over?" I asked as Gerald shook his head.
"No can do Arnold, my folks want all of us to be together," he responded apologetically as we entered the store.
"I just don't know what I'm supposed to say..." I said as I grabbed a loaf of bread and put it into the cart Gerald had gotten.
"Make small talk man, like school or hobbies," he said as he put a can of mashed potatoes in the cart.
"I doubt she's going to want to talk to me at all Gerald."
"What if she doesn't even go Arnold? Have you thought of that?" Gerald asked as he began pushing the cart.
He's right! Knowing Helga, she probably won't even go.
Part of me felt relieved but a larger part of me felt... disappointed.
I quickly shook the thought away.
"You're right Gerald. She probably won't go, and if she does, I'll just have to make the best of it."
I love leaving you guys hanging ;D
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