Here's the next episode, known as 'Dangerous Lumber'! Anyway, enjoy!
On Friday evening, we were having our own practice game as I was back to the umpire/catcher's mound on Harold's team. I looked around at the other team members on each team...
On Arnold's team, there was Arnold, of course, along with Gerald, Phoebe, Park, Peapod- I mean, JOE, Lila, Sid, Lorenzo and... ugh... Curly. And on Harold's team was Harold, me, Stinky, Eugene, Iggy, Tucker, Nadine, Sheena and... somebody else. He was always in the back, not really much to go on... I want to say... Grainy? No, that's not his name...
Well, whatever, it didn't matter. Our teams were formed (with a couple of other students on reserve) and Arnold's team was up to bat as Arnold came up first.
Harold laughed as he did his usual trash talk. "Oh, look, Ah-nold's up to bat, I'm so scared!"
"Just ignore him, buddy." I whispered words of encouragement to Arnold as I yelled, "Throw the ball, Harold!"
"All right, I'm getting there!" Harold frowned. "Keep your pants and skirts on!"
Harold frowned as he threw the ball. Arnold swung the bat... and got a hit on his first try as it went... right into Harold's gut, causing him to fall.
"Ooo..." I said as most of us went over to where Harold was.
"Harold, are you all right? Can you hear me?" Arnold said in concern.
"Easy squeezy lemon peasy..." Harold said, dizzily.
"I'm on it!" Phoebe sighed as she went off for a moment and came back with a bucket of water. She looked like she was about to splash Harold with the water... but she only poured a little on Harold's head as Harold groaned.
Harold recovered. "Ugh... did Arnold bean me again?"
"Only in the gut this time..." I explained.
"Ugh... okay, Arnold, I'll let you off the hook, but please be careful!" Harold groaned as he got up. "I'm okay!"
Arnold sighed. "All right..."
I looked over between Arnold and Harold as Arnold went to the outbox. I had to say, I was impressed that Harold SOMEWHAT matured a bit from his old days. He hasn't been doing quite a lot of the bullying he used to do, but some traces were still there.
"Okay, back to the game, everyone!" I called as we got back into our positions.
Later on, in the fourth inning, Arnold was up to bat again as I nodded towards him. Harold nodded towards Arnold as he said, "Think you can control the bat this time?"
"Harold, he's hit balls and sent them off before. What happened was bad luck." I called. "Just throw the ball and get it over with!"
Harold shrugged as he threw the ball... as Arnold hit it again. Harold had the decency to duck... unfortunately, Eugene didn't as he fell to his knees, rubbing his head.
"I'm okay..." Eugene groaned.
"Should we be concerned for Eugene?" Lila said as another timeout was called and we looked at him.
"We could, but Eugene's always been bad luck personified. Besides, he's lived through worse." I said as Eugene sat out and another fourth grader took his place. "Okay, game on, folks!"
It was pretty much like this the next two times Arnold came to bat. When Arnold did it his third time, he beaned Peapod Kid AKA Joe in the bench he was sitting in, and the second time... well...
"Come on, people, you can't blame him for that one!" I frowned as Harold, Stinky, Nadine, Tucker, Sheena and... that other guy, I really don't know his name other than it rhymes with 'zany'... got up from their pile-up as I yelled at my classmates who blamed Arnold for an incident. "You all ran into yourselves and fell down! I hardly see how that's Arnold's fault!"
"Sorry, Rhonda..." Nadine groaned. "But either Arnold has been working on a deadly swing since we last played baseball, or he's out to murder us with a bat and a ball!"
"He's just a little out of practice." I said. "Heck, we're all out of practice..."
"Oh, I don't know... you all are doing pretty well... it's just the small football head that has a problem with his swing..."
We all stopped, cold as we slowly turned to see... Wolfgang's little sidekick, Edmund, watching from nearby. Naturally, we fourth graders (except for Lorenzo and Lila, who... snuck off somewhere, I presume it was to talk about their feelings and where to go for their first date, but they were in the background, so nobody noticed) were ready to run.
"Now, hold on a minute. I come in peace!" Edmund started as he put down his bookbag and emptied his pockets. "See... I'm even emptying everything and I have nothing."
"How do we know we can trust you?" Gerald asked. "You've always been in Wolfgang's shadow!"
"Guys, Wolfgang has been in jail since the mailbox-crushing incident. And trust me, if anything, I'm not at all like Wolfgang. Even if I am a little... well, dumb, I'm not as mean as the other fifth-graders used to be!" Edmund said.
We all turned to Arnold as Arnold smiled a bit. "Edmund seems trustworthy enough."
Pretty soon, we were talking with Edmund as he told us the story on what happened with the fifth graders, since we haven't heard a lot after Wolfgang's arrest. "So, you see, after Wolfgang went into jail, since I was the one who hung around Wolfgang the most, I was made the leader of the fifth grade. However, I didn't want the same pressure that Wolfgang gave to all, so I changed the credo and started to teach everyone to be nicer. There are still a couple fifth graders who rebelled, who still believed in Wolfgang's old style, but other than that, the fifth graders were mostly tamed and calm."
"So, you saw the light?" Phoebe asked as Lorenzo and Lila joined us.
"Yeah... I figured out something that day the minute I got leadership position handed over to me... bullying sucks! Yes, there's times when we get away with it... but what if you don't want to get away with anything because you felt bad about it? It would suck, you know. So, I'm glad Trash Day is gone for good, I'm glad we're not being bullies... and most of all, I'm glad Wolfgang has been put away! He's been a delusional loon, thinking he's better than everyone in the world."
We all noticed Edmund showing some emotions as he took a deep breath. "He wasn't, okay? He just wasn't! All of my life, I've been following in his footsteps... at first, I thought we were friends, but then once he decided to become a bully, he got all the other fifth graders in on it because... well, people respected him and looked up to him. And now that he's gone and in jail, now everybody turns to me... and I'm doing my best to undo the mistakes Wolfgang did... I know all of you won't forgive most of us fifth graders for the things we did to your fourth graders, even from below..."
Arnold looked up to Edmund as he said, "You know, you're right, Edmund. We all can't forgive you for everything you did in the past right away. But keep up redeeming yourselves... we'll find it in our hearts to forgive you."
Edmund smiled. "Thanks. You fourth graders aren't so bad... anyway, that's one reason I came to you. The other reason I'm here is... well, the fifth graders were talking about doing some baseball, and I thought about you guys... and I was wondering if you all would like to challenge the fifth graders for a match... just for fun, nothing too big or major."
We all looked at each other and whispered.
"Should we do it?" Gerald whispered.
"We didn't have our football game with the fifth graders... least we can do is give them an actual match..." Nadine whispered as she glared at Phoebe when the football game was mentioned.
"What? I only did the right thing!" Phoebe whispered back.
"Let's go for it!" Harold smiled. "We could use more teams to play with!"
Arnold smiled as he turned to Edmund. "It's a deal."
"Great! It'll have to be on Friday, though... my friends and I are busy with a few... other things." Edmund smiled as he looked around. "You know, this lot used to belong to an old bully that used to bully Wolfgang and us..."
"I think I've heard of him..." Arnold said. "Ludwig?"
"Yeah, that's the guy..." Edmund nodded. "See you on Friday, then?"
"Sure. Friday it is!" Arnold said as he and Edmund shook his hands.
"You just got yourself a game!" Edmund laughed as he left.
As soon as Edmund left, we all turned and glared at Arnold as Gerald said, "You didn't mention Gerald Field used to be owned by someone else sooner?"
Arnold shrugged as he said, "It used to be a come and go place before Ludwig got arrested. It turned into the dump before we cleaned it up and transformed it."
"You do know that if Ludwig ever gets out of jail, he'll demand the lot back..." I pointed out as Tucker was in thought.
"I know... but it's here while it lasts, so we're making good use of it!" Arnold said as we looked at each other, unsure.
"Still, can you believe it?" Gerald smiled as me, him, Arnold, Tucker, Lorenzo, Nadine, Phoebe and Lila were walking together. "With us challenging a new leaf of fifth graders, your little beaning ability can help us win!"
"But Gerald, I hit basically everyone!" Arnold said, looking down.
"You only hit three people, and that last one was not your fault!" I sighed.
"I agree. You're just a little out of practice, that's all." Phoebe smiled.
"Besides, Arnold, you'll get better in time." Nadine smiled.
"I think what you need, mi amigo, is a little thing called, patience." Lorenzo explained. "I may not play a whole lot of baseball, but even I know that practice makes perfect."
"Maybe you're just a little tense." Lila smiled. "Just relax at home, and take a deep breath. You'll be fine."
Arnold nodded. "I guess you're right..."
We all turned to Tucker as he was still thinking. "Uh, Tucker?"
"Oh, sorry..." Tucker said, getting into attention. "I was just... thinking..."
"About what?" Lorenzo asked.
"Mostly about the lot... you say that this Ludwig used to own that lot, right?" Tucker asked.
"Yeah?" Arnold turned to him.
"Well... has anybody actually BOUGHT the lot? Maybe if one of us bought it, we won't have to worry about losing our lot in the future." Tucker explained.
"You really think that can work?" I asked as we kept walking.
"Are you kidding? If I can tell my mom and dad about the lot and wanting to use it for sports, they're bound to agree to the idea!" Tucker smiled. "I'll talk with them tonight and we'll see what happens..."
We all looked at each other, giving some small smiles. This could be big...
And so, over the next couple of days, we did some practicing... of course, Arnold had to sit out on a couple, because he wasn't sure he was ready to do baseball officially. We hadn't heard from Arnold for a while, which got us worried... but I'm sure he was fine... just needed time to recover... I just hope he came for the game...
It wasn't until Wednesday that he showed up, sighing. "Everybody, I have some news. As of today... I'm quitting baseball."
We all gasped as we ran over to Arnold. "What do you mean, you quit baseball!"
"That's just it, I'm quitting baseball." Arnold sighed. "I tried practicing on my own, but I keep hitting everyone... maybe it's for the best that I quit baseball..."
"But you can't quit, Arnold! We need you for the fourth grade versus fifth grade team!" Gerald begged.
"So you accidently bean someone sometimes! It's not..." I started.
"That's just it! It's not just sometimes. It's all the time! I don't know what happened that's making me hit people!" Arnold said.
"Maybe someone hit you with a religious curse?" Harold suggested, jokingly.
"...Excuse me a second..." Curly was said muttering as he quickly ran off.
We didn't bother questioning Curly as we just continued on, Arnold sighing. "You're just going to have to continue on your own... I can't do it."
"Arnold, yes you can! You just need more practice!" I advised him. "Guys, better take five for the day, me, Gerald, Nadine and Phoebe are going to show him he IS good!"
Everyone else nodded as Gerald took Arnold by the collar and started to drag him. Arnold then asked, "Where are we going?"
"To the one place where nobody minds the accidents that occurs!" I smiled.
"...this is why we don't go to your house, Nadine!" I sighed as I was getting the ponytail off.
"My parents are good people, though." Nadine smiled as Arnold and Gerald were straightening up their hair. "They can't help if they're a little behind in the times."
"Anyway, why are we at Nadine's house?" Arnold asked as we went to the backyard.
"To give you a little practice... to relax and not be so tense..." Nadine explained. "It's where me and my parents usually go when we're tense... we all have a little practice session to find our inner circle..."
Arnold paused as we started to sit down. "All right."
"Now, Arnold, I want you to close your eyes..." Nadine said.
"All right..." Arnold said as we all closed our eyes.
"Now, hold hands together." Nadine said as I grabbed Nadine and Arnold's hand... I could feel myself blushing holding Arnold's hand. I peeked open one eye and noticed Arnold, even with eyes closed, was blushing.
"All right, they're closed." Arnold said.
"I will now go into a trance..." Nadine said soothingly.
We all paused... when all of a sudden, Nadine started making all those weird noises. I opened my eyes at the same time as my friends as we turned to Nadine, as I said, "You don't have to make rude noises!"
"That's all right, I don't mind." Nadine smiled as she continued doing those breathing noises.
"Will you hurry this up?" I asked.
"We're moving on." Nadine said as she got up. "Arnold, do you feel... relaxed?"
"Actually... I do." Arnold smiled a bit.
"All right... now, let's settle down and we'll play some baseball!" Nadine said as we got up. "And you are up to bat..."
"But... I don't know..." Arnold started before I put my hands on his shoulders.
"Buddy... look into my eyes, okay? You can do this! I know you can! If not for your friends, do it for somebody special!" I advised.
Arnold paused... as he frowned in confidence. "Let's play ball!"
Arnold then went up to bat as Nadine was holding the ball.
I looked around and... was that Curly over there, handing over a book over... to Caroline? And they seemed to be talking to each other... I didn't quite get it, but then I turned my attention back to the game as Nadine threw the ball... and Arnold swung it.
Arnold looked up as we watched the ball... go right into Gerald's mitt. Gerald smiled. "You're out!"
"Hey... I didn't actually hit Gerald!" Arnold smiled.
"You see, Arnold? You just needed to relax, that's all!" Nadine smiled as Gerald threw the ball to Nadine as she caught. "Now, why don't we practice a couple of rounds... see if you can hit the ball without US catching it... you'll never get a run if somebody catches the ball."
Arnold smiled. "All right, let's see it!"
When I looked over to where Curly and Caroline once were... they were gone. Just... gone.
"Rhonda?" Arnold turned.
"Oh!" I said as I turned. "I'm ready!"
And so, we decided to practice baseball within Nadine's backyard for the rest of the day...
And when Friday came around, Edmund and his team went good on their word as we started playing baseball against them... for fun, of course. Edmund actually did a good job leading the fifth grade through redemption... and even though they still have a long way to go... Edmund was certainly doing well in maintaining a good team.
We did manage to win, but the fifth graders were pretty fair. I think it would be the beginning of a good school unity front...
And that is episode one hundred and eleven! How was it? Just to let you guys know, updates will not be quite as often since I'm probably going to be using the time this summer to do a lot of things. But that leads to the other thing... do you guys want me to write profiles for the characters of 'Oh Rhonda'? They'd have to be in a forum AND on my Deviantart account, but I think it would be interesting for you guys to read up on the profiles of some of the characters, giving them some differences between the ones you're reading and the canon versions... AND it would be a nice break from the norm! Anyway, I think we're almost done with Arc 3! I would say... four more episodes to go before we conclude Arc 3! Anyway, read, review, criticize and suggest, folks!