Next episode is 'Friday the 13th', and no, I don't mean Jason Voorhees! Anyway, enjoy!
The next day, over at the bus stop, I saw Nadine, Phoebe and Lila coming over as I nodded towards the girls. "Hello, girls."
"Hi, Rhonda." Phoebe smiled. "Lila just told us you invited her to a little double date?"
"Yes, yes I did." I nodded.
"I have to say, me and Phoebe feel a bit insulted you didn't consider inviting us." Nadine frowned a bit.
"Yeah, sorry... but I have this perfect idea, and my finishing school teacher gave me the coupon, so..." I started.
Nadine laughed a little as Phoebe smiled, Nadine saying, "Relax, Rhonda, we're just kidding. We know you, Lila and your little dates will have a great time!"
"Thanks." I said as we entered the school bus. "The only thing I need to learn is sophistication and the whole biz. Lila, you're good with sophistication."
"Indeed I am." Lila smiled. "I've always been pretty good at sophistication."
"Well, think you can help me out with a few pointers?" I asked. "I'm going to need all the help I can get... not just for finishing school, but..."
"For our double date?" Lila asked as we sat down.
"Pretty much, yes." I nodded.
Lila giggled. "I can give you a few pointers... but we're going to have to wait until we get our dates set up. Now, are you sure this'll work?"
I nodded. "No, I'm not sure. I KNOW it'll work."
"Okay..." Lila paused. "Not saying I don't trust you with this..."
"Hey..." Nadine put a hand on our shoulders. "Good luck with Phase One of the plan."
I nodded. "Thanks, Nadine."
Once we arrived at the school, me and Lila waited nearby as we saw Lorenzo's limo coming in. I nodded as I ducked down. "Okay, Lila, go ahead and do your thing."
Lila nodded as she came over, watching Lorenzo come out of the limosine and saying good-bye to his mother before the limo departed.
I carefully hid and peered my eyes as I watched Lila coming up to Lorenzo. "Lorenzo!"
"Hey, Lila!" Lorenzo smiled as both of them hugged and gave a slight, quick kiss on the lips. "What's going on?"
"Well... Rhonda has this 'dinner for four' coupon for a French restaurant, and she wants to bring me along, along with a friend. Rhonda hasn't quite decided on her next friend yet, but... I really want to bring you along." Lila smiled.
Lorenzo looked down nervously. "I don't know, Lila... this is a very secret relationship we're in right now... are you sure this is a good time..."
"That's the best part, we won't have to reveal the relationship to everyone! Lorenzo, I need you to ask Rhonda out, she's likely to say yes." I smiled. "That way..."
Lorenzo snapped his fingers. "I think I know where you're going with this. You want me to ask Rhonda out, but I'm not dating her... you'll ask someone random, and we both come in... but secretly, we are seeing each other."
"That's right." Lila smiled as she hugged Lorenzo.
"Lila, you are a genius!" Lorenzo smiled as he hugged her back... but then Lorenzo paused. "There's just a flaw... won't Rhonda and whoever the person you're bringing is catch on that we are dating?"
"Don't worry, I'm bringing along the most dense person that'll never see us as a couple." Lila smiled.
I nodded, hearing enough as I decided to go in the school.
Inside, I just saw Arnold getting his things, so I waited near the corner, enough so that Arnold could clearly see and hear me.
I waited near the other corner as I saw Lorenzo and Lila coming in. I looked back to see Arnold looking between his books as I took a deep breath. This was going to be tough. I watched Lila walk past me as I waited, eying my own coupon, which I pulled out of my pocket.
"Hola, Rhonda." I heard Lorenzo say.
"Hey, Lorenzo." I nodded towards him. "What's going on?"
"Not a whole lot." Lorenzo said to me. "Listen, I heard from Lila you have a coupon for a dinner for four for a French restaurant."
I looked at the corner of my eye as I noticed Arnold was stiff a little, looking up towards me and Lorenzo. Okay, so far, so good. "Yeah, I may have something along the lines of that."
"Well, I was curious, are you using it for all your friends?" Lorenzo asked.
"Well, me and Lila so far. Nadine's going with Tucker to a natural reserve for bugs, and Phoebe has plans with Gerald for a small study session." I explained.
"To study what?" Lorenzo asked.
"I hardly know. I just think they're studying." I said as I looked towards Arnold, who was trying to look at the math book he had, but I knew he was listening to me and Lorenzo talking.
"Well, I was wondering, if it was okay with you..." Lorenzo said nervously.
"You want to ask me out on a date to the French restaurant, is that it?" I asked.
I looked towards Arnold, who seemed to be sweating nervously.
"You took the words right out of my mouth. So... would you mind if..." Lorenzo started.
"Sure, Lorenzo. I can take you with me to the French restaurant tomorrow night." I smiled.
SLAM.
That was the sound of Arnold dropping his book. That was a definite attention-grabber.
"All right, cool." Lorenzo smiled as he took the book. "I'll see you on..."
"Saturday night." I said.
"Saturday night!" Lorenzo smiled.
"Don't worry, me, you, Lila and whoever she's bringing... we'll have some good fun." I smiled as Lorenzo and I parted ways... or rather, Lorenzo walked the other way as I hid beneath a corner as I watched Arnold looking all broken inside... before his eyes lit up, wondering if there was hope. Nearby, he saw Lila coming over to him.
"Hi, Arnold." Lila smiled as she looked over to him. "Are you okay? You look like you just got your heart stomped on."
Arnold sighed. "Remember my crush on Rhonda I told you about?"
"Yes, Arnold, I believe I remember." Lila nodded.
"She was just asked out by Lorenzo! On a date!" Arnold groaned. "And she accepted it!"
"Oh, Arnold, I'm ever so sorry..." Lila patted him on the back. "She told me about the dinner for four, and invited me along. I had no idea she would invite Lorenzo too. You'd think she'd invite Nadine and Phoebe..."
"Unfortunately, they have other dates..." Arnold sighed.
Lila smiled. "Arnold, I think I may know of a way for you to get close to Rhonda."
"You do?" Arnold asked... then paused. "Wait, are you trying to ask me out on a date?"
"Well, after hearing from you that Rhonda is inviting a boy over, I think I should make it fair." Lila smiled. "Besides, we won't be dating, I'll just help you get close to Rhonda. This could be your big moment!"
"I don't want to feel like I'm stealing..." Arnold started.
"Arnold." Lila looked at Arnold straight in the eye. "This is an opportunity here. Get brave! Go with me, convince Rhonda you're the one!"
Arnold looked a little hesitant... before taking a deep breath. "All right... I'll do it."
"Great!" Lila smiled. "I guess we'll see each other on Saturday night, then."
Arnold nodded. "All right. I'll see you then, Lila!"
Lila watched as Arnold picked up his books and left. Lila then ran up to me as I nodded.
Lila and I then laughed as we did a fist bump, I said, "Part one of our little mission... completed!"
"How about after school at my place, I'll give you some sophistication lessons?" Lila asked as we walked over to our lockers.
"Sounds good." I smiled as I looked up at the ceiling. This was going to be a fun weekend.
"Clever trick." Helga chuckled in my mind. "A risky trick, but a clever one."
"Thanks, Helga." I nodded.
"Just don't make the same mistake I did, and we'll be golden." Helga said in my mind.
"What do you mean, same mistake?" I asked in my mind.
"Let's just say... I screwed up majorly on a double date with me, Arnold, Gerald and Phoebe." Helga explained. "If push comes to shove, just have Nadine on standby with her cockroaches."
"What cockroaches?" I asked.
"You'll see..." Helga said as I got my books out of my locker.
I just shook my head. Helga's... really mysterious...
The next day, when we arrived at the school, I noticed something was strange as I looked around. Nadine, Phoebe, Arnold and Gerald, who happened to be with me at the time, noticed my odd look-around.
"Hey, what is wrong with you, girl?" Gerald asked.
"Have you ever had the feeling people were missing?" I asked as I turned to them.
Phoebe groaned as she whispered to me, "Not this again..."
"Not that type of disappearance. I mean... like a couple students have been missing for the past couple of days." I said.
Arnold frowned. "You're not into those superstition things like Grandpa and Grandma are, are you? Rhonda, it may be Friday the Thirteenth, but that doesn't mean anything!"
"Are you kidding, man?" Gerald asked. "Maybe there is something suspicious with this Friday the Thirteenth stuff. My mom wouldn't even let me take the bus over because there was a number thirteen... and she gave me this lucky rabbit's foot..."
As Gerald said that, he pulled out a small rabbit foot trinket to show us as Nadine shivered. "Please tell me a rabbit wasn't actually killed to make that..."
"Relax. It's just some fluff." Gerald said.
I snapped my fingers. "Ah, I know! Curly and Caroline! I haven't seen them since Wednesday!"
"They could probably be sick." Arnold said. "There has been a bit of a flu bug going around."
I paused. "That's true... but you never know with those two..."
"Why do you care about those two anyway?" Phoebe asked. "We all know you hate both of them, so why be bothered?"
"Something's just off, okay?" I sighed as we saw Edmund walking past. "Hey, Edmund."
"Hey, kids." Edmund nodded towards us as we went on.
"Look, don't worry about it. They'll be there when they will be." Arnold said. "Let's just relax..."
"I know... but still..." I sighed as we continued walking inside.
It was mostly a normal day at school, nothing too out of the ordinary. Arnold's grandfather was doing pretty well the last two days he was in our fourth grade class, he had himself moved to the fifth grade, which was good progress so far. Indeed, just a regular day.
As I was getting out of class to prepare to go home, I noticed Olga was on her cell, concerned. I looked over to Olga. "Something wrong?"
"Sharlene's just not picking up her phone." Olga sighed. "I think she may have caught that flu bug that's been going around."
"Oh, that's a shame." I sighed. "Hope she feels better."
"Yeah, I hope so, too." Olga sighed. "We have a bit of a friendship date tomorrow, just the two of us, and I want her to at least feel better."
"Can't you go over to her house and send her best wishes today?" I asked.
"I would, but Sharlene doesn't like visitors at her house, especially when she's sick." Olga explained. "In fact, I have never even EXPLORED Sharlene's house."
"Never?" I asked. "What about Sharlene's parents, have you met them?"
"I want to say I did... but I really don't remember actually seeing her parents." Olga sighed. "I hear them a little bit when I was younger when I met up with Sharlene to go to school, but other than that, I've never personally met them."
"You don't think Sharlene is ashamed of her parents, do you?" I asked.
"If she is..." Olga sighed. "I wish I had her courage to do such a thing and just leave them."
"Olga..." I sighed as I looked at her. "You know you can't live with your parents forever."
"I know..." Olga sighed. "But I just have to... I know there's still a family to work with, I just know there is!"
"Olga, look at me." I grabbed her body as she turned to me. "I know it's tough right now... but I need you to pull through... if there is a point... if ever... that your parents are too far beyond to redeem themselves... move out. Live a new life!"
Olga looked up to me. "I don't know..."
"Just think about it, okay?" I asked as I decided to walk off. "I'll see you on Monday, Olga."
Olga nodded as I started to go off.
A little later, over at finishing school, another lesson was just wrapping up as Madame Parvenu was giving out our next set of results. I read mine.
'A vast improvement since last class, Rhonda Lloyd. Keep up the good work. By the way, don't forget to do your extra-credit assignment, and report to me on Monday.'
I nodded as I went out and took a deep breath as I was about to go off. As I went out, I noticed a lot of black cats walking around the neighborhood. I smiled a bit as one rubbed against my legs.
Maybe I should consider getting a cat... maybe I can ask my parents for one.
Either way, I noticed my parents were coming in as I walked in the car. My father turned to me and asked, "So, how was your day, sweetheart?"
I sighed. "Just another regular day... and a nice, good one at that."
There's episode one hundred and twenty-one! How'd you like it? I realize not much related to Friday the Thirteenth actually happened, but with Wolfgang in jail, the least I can do is make a few set-ups for some plot elements! Well, anyway, read, review, criticize and suggest, folks!