Here's the next episode of this series, which is 'Cool Jerk'! Anyway, enjoy!
The next day, over at the playground, the PS 118 third grade students along with myself were playing a round of dodgeball, school having been ended some time ago. We were having a lot of fun... of course Harold had to grow a little bold as he kept bragging about how he was the best in throwing dodgeballs, when in reality, he has not hit a kid once.
"You guys are the worst nuclear ball players I've ever seen!" Harold laughed.
"Like he's one to talk." I rolled my eyes towards Phoebe as she giggled.
"Don't you guys know that you are facing ME, Harold, the greatest thrower of balls who ever lived?" Harold bragged.
"Hey, Harold, if you're so great, how come you've never hit one of the kids with these balls during the game!" Phoebe riffed as we chuckled.
"Good one!" I smiled to Phoebe.
Harold glared at us before saying, "Just watch this, oh doubtful one!"
Harold then picked up a dodgeball as he was looking over the targets from the other side. "Hold still Arnold, I'm beaning you!"
My eyes widened as I then glared at Phoebe. "You had to say something to Harold, didn't you?"
I then turned back to see Harold throwing the ball. Luckily, Arnold ducked as the ball hit the wall, and ricocheted back to Harold, beaning him in the nose, causing him to fall. In concern, we all gathered around him as Sid asked, "Harold, Harold, you okay man?"
Harold was rubbing his nose as he started to cry, "I hurt my nosey!"
I rolled my eyes. "Oh big baby, you're fine. All it was was a dodgeball that you threw too hard and came back at you and hit you in the face."
"I am not fine, I am hurt bad!" Harold started whining like a baby.
"Big baby." I muttered to Phoebe.
"I'm gonna kick Arnold's butt! I don't care IF he's crazy!" Harold growled.
"Harold, how was this in any way Arnold's fault?" I tried to explain. "All he did was duck. You threw the ball and did that to yourself."
Harold unfortunately didn't listen and went over to a yelping Arnold as he grabbed him. Unlike last time when people were supporting the two to fight, they were all trying to calm Harold down and trying to separate him away from Arnold. Reason being is that Arnold knows ninjutsu, and could like defend himself. The fight would have begun straight away as I whispered to Phoebe, "Come on, we better convince Harold to leave him be..."
When we heard the sound of a motorcycle approaching. Phoebe and I turned to see an older kid with a black leather jacket, a white shirt, blue jeans, black boots and a large helmet riding a red motorcycle with flames tattoed on them. This guy sort of looked like the Fonz from Happy Days.
"What are ya doin'?" The "Fonz" said.
Everyone else turned as Harold said nervously, "Uh... d-doin'? We weren't doin' nothing!"
Everyone then started to awe and talk in delight about the "Fonz", whose name is Frankie G... what did the G stand for, 'Get a Job'? Phoebe and I turned towards each other, "Frankie G... my parents told me about him... he's a school drop-out, bad news city. People thrive to be him, but I don't trust him. Rumor has it he joined up with a group of thugs who like to beat up and steal from people."
"If he's bad, why is he helping Arnold?" Phoebe asked.
"Some say that's how he starts luring good natured kids. He gets one kid, often bullied or really gullible, to join him on a ride, he takes them to a few good places, then he starts making kids bad influences." I explained as I whispered, not paying attention to what was going on as Frankie G was berating Harold.
Me and Phoebe turned back to the action as Frankie G smiled to Arnold. "Come on kid, I'll give you a ride."
"And it starts." I whispered.
"Should we tell Arnold?" Phoebe whispered.
"We'll wait until he comes back from his trip. We don't want to interfere." I whispered as Frankie G gave Arnold a helmet shaped like his head, (okay, now I KNOW he specifically had an eye on Arnold if he had a football shaped helmet!) as they drove off into the distance.
"I better tell Gerald so he knows too! He IS Arnold's closest friend." Phoebe said. "He might be able to sway him!"
"Good idea." I nodded.
"Frankie G? A school-drop out who joined a gang?" Gerald laughed at us as we were walking with him. "Get real."
"Gerald, I know this sounds crazy, but parents and sources never lie to you." I explained. "Ask any adult on the street, or take a look at Arnold's behavior after he hangs with Frankie G as often. Frankie G may look cool, but he's actually a manipulator! He wants KIDS to think he's cool, but he's actually a bad influence."
"Come on, girls." Gerald laughed.
"Okay, but once Arnold says Frankie G is more cool than you, come to us." Phoebe rolled her eyes as Gerald stopped.
We walked together, then looked back as Gerald seemed to be pondering. "Guess we did get him thinking."
"We'll know our results tomorrow." Phoebe said. "Come on, we better meet up with Nadine. She said she's at the mall."
"Great!" I sighed in relief. "I need to meet up with Sharlene! She just told me there's some cool mittens that's the hottest item right now!"
"You with mittens?" Phoebe paused as she started to think. "It's not winter."
"You can never be too careful." I said to my friend.
The next morning, when Nadine, Phoebe and I were sitting down for lunch, Gerald suddenly came over as he panted. "Girls, would you mind if I sat with you? We need to talk."
Me and Phoebe smirked as Nadine nodded. We already told Nadine about Frankie G, so she's aware of what is going on. As Gerald sat down, he said, "You may have been on to something with Frankie G! I went to my man, Fuzzy Slippers, yesterday and he told me what you told me, that Frankie G is bad news!"
"Glad you're finally seeing the light." I said. "Let me guess, Arnold ditched school to hang out with Frankie G?"
Gerald nodded.
"Then after school, we better meet Arnold at his house and hold an intervention, try to convince Arnold that Frankie G is just using him, making him a thug." Phoebe nodded.
"After all, we're his friends. And friends always help those in need." Nadine said.
"Then it's settled." I nodded. "After school, Arnold's house!"
All four of us nodded as Gerald said, "Thanks, girls."
We were sitting on the steps of the boarding house, waiting for Arnold to return. It wasn't until five o'clock when the motorcycle containing Arnold and Frankie G pulled up.
"See you tonight, Frankie!" Arnold smiled as he got off the motorcycle and walked towards us. The motorcycle drove off with Frankie G on it.
"Hello, Arnold." I said with my friends. "How was your day?"
"Oh, it was great!" Arnold smiled. "I had the best time, you guys! I met Frankie's friends and we hung out! And guess what? We have the same taste in music!"
"Oh God, it's starting." I groaned. "Arnold, I hate to break your heart, but... Frankie G and his "friends"... they're a street gang who spy on kids to find out their tastes!"
"Street gang? Get real!" Arnold rolled his eyes.
"Arnold, we are your FRIENDS! We're telling the truth." Gerald frowned. "I mean, for goodness sakes, you skipped school!"
"Well, Frankie wanted me to go with him and I just went." Arnold said.
"You could have just said no, that you had other plans." Nadine frowned.
"Yeah, but Frankie is a nice guy, I wouldn't want to disappoint him!" Arnold said. "Besides, he's my friend."
"Arnold, Frankie G is a BAD influence!" I explained. "Besides, we don't trust him!"
"She's right, Arnold. I was talking to my man, Fuzzy Slippers, and he says that Frankie G is bad news." Gerald explained.
"What do you mean, bad news?" Arnold said, frowning.
"We mean he's a school drop-out, a thug, a member of a street gang! They steal things and manipulate kids!" Phoebe said as she started to pause. She suddenly went into deep thought.
We decided to continue our intervention as Nadine said, "Arnold, as your real friends, your true friends, we need you to stop trusting Frankie G. He may look cool, but he's really a manipulator!"
"They're right, Arnold!" Gerald frowned. "If you're smart, you'd stay away from him!"
Arnold frowned as he turned towards Gerald. "You know Gerald, you're lucky! You always had a big brother to hang out with! I haven't. And for the first time in my life, I've got somebody older to look up to!"
"Somebody OLDER to look up to?" I said. "What about your grandpa? Your grandma? The people in the boarding house?"
"Well, that's different, Rhonda. They're sort of like family!" Arnold frowned. "Anyway, Frankie G is somebody that likes me even though I'm just a kid! I thought that you, of all people, would be happy for me... instead, you... all of you... are just jealous!"
I frowned. "Call us jealous, we call it looking out for your well being! And at least Gerald's older brother didn't drop out of school and join a street gang!"
Arnold just frowned as he walked inside the boarding house, not wanting to hear anymore. Phoebe then got up. "Excuse me, I need to see somebody!"
As Phoebe started to run off, Gerald sighed as he looked down. Me and Nadine paused as we turned to Gerald. Nadine said, "Gerald... don't worry. We'll snap Arnold out of it! We're going to follow him tonight! Maybe then he'll see what a bad influence he is..."
"But just in case..." I said as I pulled out my cell and dialed a number. "Hello, police? Yes, I like to report a kidnapping that's about to happen. Kidnapper? Frankie... G."
Pretty soon, behind a back alley, me, Nadine and Gerald were inside a police car with a female officer with brown hair and a green police uniform. The woman smiled as she said, "We're glad you called us as soon as we could. We've been trying to catch Frankie G for two years. Rumor has it, he's kidnapped kids around the neighborhood, and erases everybody's memories of the kid so that they barely remember said kid... any form of evidence that said kid exists wiped out of existence with the exception of a few items."
"How could a kid be wiped out of existence out of our memories?" Gerald asked.
"It has happened quite a few times." The officer said. "But sometimes, we officers are pretty sharp. We had a report of one missing Tucker Wittenberg a few months ago, but when last asked a couple days later, the parents were confused."
Me and Nadine looked up in shock. Did she just say 'Tucker Wittenberg'? We looked at each other. This was REALLY something to keep in mind... we had to tell Phoebe... unless... did she figure it out too?
We saw the motorcycle driving past with Arnold and Frankie G as I whispered, "There it is."
"Right." The officer smiled as she started the car and followed the motorcycle as far as possible, without Frankie G detecting it.
It arrived at a little shop called 'Gene's Hi-Fi' as Arnold looked up at it. He then proceeded to follow Frankie G into the back alley. "There he goes."
"Don't worry kids. Officer Pudney, that's me, will handle this." The female officer said. "Stay close behind me."
Gerald, Nadine and I nodded as we quietly followed Officer Pudney. We eventually made our way to a back alley where Frankie G and his thugs were talking as Arnold just looked up in shock. Frankie G then took Arnold to the side as he whispered to him. I didn't quite make out the conversation, but I knew that Arnold was realizing that we were right.
"Rhonda, when I give the signal, push this button on the remote." Officer Pudney said as she gave me a remote with a button. "I already called my fellow officers with the location, they're currently on their way."
"Looks like they're stealing something from this store..." Nadine whispered as she noticed a ladder leading up to a ledge shaped window. "And it seems Arnold's head was a perfect fit."
"Of course, that's why Frankie G was SO interested in Arnold." I whispered.
"Okay, wait for it..." Officer Pudney said as we watched Arnold being grabbed by Frankie G. "Wait..."
We watched as Frankie G tried to shove Arnold inside.
"Now, now!" Officer Pudney said as I pushed the button.
Sirens started as the gang jumped.
"The cops! Let's cheese it!" One of the gang members said as they started to run off.
"So long, sucker! Later days, triangle face!" Frankie G said as he started to run out to the main area... but not before seeing about ten police cars surrounding the place as the four yelped.
Officer Pudney smirked as she walked out, a few cuffs in hand. "Frankie G, you and your gang are busted!"
"Sorry I didn't listen to you guys before." Arnold said as we were walking home, Officer Pudney taking Frankie G and his gang in for questioning. "You were right about Frankie G. He was a bad influence."
"And?" I raised an eyebrow.
Arnold sighed. "And I should have listened to you while I was away from him."
"AND?" I raised an eyebrow.
"And I should have known better than to trust a complete, random stranger." Arnold said.
"AND...?" I raised my eyebrow as far as I could.
"And..." Arnold smiled. "You four, and Phoebe, are the best friends I could ever ask for. Will you ever forgive me?"
"Arnold, of course we do. You just went on the wrong side." Nadine said.
"It just goes to show, crime does not pay." I smiled.
"And as I've said, Fuzzy Slippers tells no lies, man!" Gerald said.
"You were right... and fellas, do me a favor?" Arnold said.
"What's that?" I asked.
"Next time I do something stupid like that again, drop a piano on my head." Arnold said.
We knew he was joking, but we laughed as I said, "You have our word. See you tomorrow, Arnold, Gerald."
We all nodded as we went our separate ways. As soon as Nadine and I were alone, we heard our phone ringing. I picked it up as I saw it was Phoebe. "Hey, Phoebe. You left in a big hurry as soon as Arnold went inside."
"Sorry, I was just pondering the mystery of Tucker Wittenberg!" Phoebe said.
"We know. We think Tucker may have been kidnapped by a street gang and is being held hostage somewhere, we assume Frankie G's doing." Rhonda said. "Don't worry, Frankie G is in for some GOOD questioning, AND we'll have answers when we get tomorrow's paper."
"I hope so. Hopefully we can find out what happened to Tucker..." Phoebe said. "I went over to Curly and asked him about the possibilities as well."
"And what did the crazy boy say?" I sighed in annoyance.
"He said, 'it's a huge possibility, and it's also a good fact. He says with the abundance of street gangs walking around, it may be possible Tucker and his sister had been kidnapped by a street gang and being held by a bigger source." Phoebe said through the phone.
"Really?" Nadine said as she leaned towards the phone. "Who?"
"Who knows?" Phoebe said. "But I think there may be a REALLY big reason behind Tucker's disappearance... it's not just Tucker... it's a kid every three months starting from two years ago! If we hadn't interfered, Arnold may have been next."
"But who would kidnap kids and wipe out everyone's memories of the kid?" I asked.
"Who knows?" Phoebe sighed through the phone. "Who knows?"
Me and Nadine looked at each other. This mystery was getting close to being solved... yet it may unfold even more!
And there is the nineteenth episode! How do you like it? Anyway, read, review, criticize and suggest, folks!