"So, Helga, say something nice about Arnold," Mr. Simmons said with a smile, moving out of the way so Helga could see the football-headed boy across the room from her. He smirked at her, his eyes falling half-lidded, and he laid his head down on his hand, propping his elbow on his desk. She could pretty much hear him flirting with her like their minds melded and he was feeding her his thoughts, and her cheeks heated up at the possibility of having to pour out her guts in front of another person. (Not that it had been the first time, but it would be the first time with the entire class' eyes purposefully glued on her.)
"S-say something nice? A-about Arnold?" she stuttered, pulling at her collar, and averting her eyes. She knew she was a blushing mess, and she knew Arnold was probably laughing at her, but she just couldn't bring herself to lift her gaze to look at anybody else.
"Don't get her started, she'll probably never stop," Rhonda heckled loudly, rolling her eyes over to Nadine, who smiled sheepishly, though did nothing to contradict Rhonda's statement.
Helga wanted to glare, but the unwavering attention on her flustered her into silence. All the other kids were practically choking on air, trying to stifle their laughter as Helga fumbled for something to say, some jab back at the Princess for jabbing her. Ultimately, however, she just shoved revenge to the back of her mind, (to be tended to later), trying to focus on the task at hand. The sooner she complimented her favorite football head, the sooner all the attention would be off of her. But, if she were to be honest with her classmates, she would be gushing about how perfect she thought Arnold was well into tomorrow, but she didn't want anybody but Arnold to see her in such a state of near delirious romance, so she bit her lip tightly, trying to think of something to satisfy the new teacher's needs.
A savior came in the form of Arnold, who cleared his throat, drawing the attention over to him and his lovesick gaze. "If I can interrupt, Mr. Simmons?" he asked politely, shifting his gaze to the wonderfully oblivious fourth grade teacher.
Mr. Simmons smiled wide, (pleased that at least one of his students seemed to appreciate his activity), nodded, and said, "Of course, Arnold. The floor is yours."
"Thank you." He turned back to Helga, who had her eyes locked onto his as she anxiously waited for whatever embarrassment he was about to induce. "Helga, I think you're a great person with a great heart. You're funny, kind, independent, and strong. I admire everything about you, from your beautiful smile, to your quick wit and ability to think fast in situations that I would be a bumbling idiot in." He lifted a hand and discretely reached for her, as if silently asking her to hold his hand, (a movement that neither Helga, nor Mr. Simmons missed), but he otherwise stayed in his seat. "This might be the one time I'm happy you and I don't sit next to each other in class, because I never would've been able to compliment you and make you smile and blush had you and I not been placed opposite each other in the circle..." He sighed warmly. "Yes, you're one in a million, Helga G. Pataki."
The fourth graders were too stunned to even laugh at such a romantic speech, but Helga was more than capable of reaction. The second the last syllable left his mouth, she whined softly in embarrassment, (before quickly disguising that as an amused chuckle), and she twiddled her thumbs as she glanced down at the A+H she had carved onto her desk in a heart. "D-didn't Simmons say o-only one thing, Football Head?"
Feeling extremely lovesick, Arnold sighed obliviously, (as if he'd completely forgotten about the fact that the entire fourth grade class was witnessing the whole exchange), and drank in the sight of her being all shy and modest and flustered, blushing pink and twisting her lips into a soft smile. "Well, yeah, but I like a lot of things about you. It just seemed like a good time to remind you."
The entire class got over their momentary stupor, and then they burst into laughter, some mocking, some sweet. But if you asked Helga, it was laughter all the same, and her previous blush turned from one of delighted embarrassment, to one of anger.
"What are you chuckleheads laughing at?" Helga spat, folding her arms over her chest and leaning back in her desk. "Crimeny, it's not like this is the first time you're hearing any of this!"
"Aww," Mr. Simmons cooed over the laughter, interrupting Helga's sudden explosion, leaning against his desk and folding his arms over his chest. "That's sweet! Do we have a little couple in here?" His gaze flicked between Arnold and Helga, his constant smile growing all the more when he saw their matching blushes.
"Yeah, so what if we do?" Helga asked defensively, matching his posture, but instead slapping a frown on her face. "You got a problem with that?"
"Not at all," Mr. Simmons said with a kind shake of his head. "It just means that now I know to pair you two together more often."
The class' laughter finally died down, some kids wiping tears from their eyes and others just taking deep gulping breaths to get their air back. The masses missed what Mr. Simmons had said, but Arnold and Helga were very much aware of the fact that their teacher just told them that he was going to let them work together more frequently than normal. The two stared at each other in awe, unbelieving that they had scored such an amazing teacher. After a few seconds of silence, broad grins broke out on Arnold and Helga's faces and they started to laugh. Mr. Simmons watched them kindly, the rest of the class watched them in confusion, (having missed Mr. Simmons' announcement), but Arnold and Helga could hardly keep their eyes open, so thick was their laughter.
"Oh, man, Simmons," Helga said through chuckles, wiping a tear from her eye when her and Arnold finally calmed down. "I think you and I are going to get along just fine."