The next day at school, Sue Ellen was still wondering about her strange dream. As she was at her locker, Arthur stopped to talk to her.
"Hi Sue Ellen."
"Hi Arthur" she said, turning to look at him, then gasped in surprise.
Instead of the Arthur she knew, she saw the handsome, muscular Arthur from her dream standing there.
"Are you okay?" the dream Arthur asked, in Arthur's normal voice.
Oh my gosh! Am I in love with Arthur? she thought to herself. How did this happen? I've got to do something, I've got to…wait. What's wrong with being in love with Arthur? He's not very handsome, but he is the nicest, sweetest boy in class.
"Hello, Earth to Sue Ellen, are you there?" Arthur asked, waving his hand in front of her face.
Sue Ellen, realizing he was trying to get her attention, shook her head as if clearing out cobwebs. This time she saw the Arthur she was accustomed to.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yes, I was just worried about the big math test" she lied.
"We have a math test today?" Arthur asked, "oh man, I gotta talk to Brain! See ya Sue Ellen" he said as he rushed off down the hallway.
"See ya" Sue Ellen said, waving goodbye he's even handsome when he runs she thought.
-----
Both kids eventually reached their classroom. Sue Ellen took a seat opposite Jenna & Buster, leaving the seat next to her open.
"Can I sit here?" Arthur asked.
Sue Ellen turned to respond and saw the handsome Arthur from her dream again.
"Sit…you…here" she babbled.
"If you don't want me to sit here, just say so" Arthur said "but the seat's across from Buster and I kind of…"
"Go right ahead" Sue Ellen blurted out quickly.
"Thanks" Arthur replied, ignoring her weird behavior and chatting up Buster. Nobody at her table noticed how nervous she was.
Great, I'm in love with Arthur and he's sitting right next to me! She thought I just have to concentrate on the work, and ignore him completely. How hard can that be?
"Good morning class" Mr. Ratburn said, upon entering the room, "this morning for fun, I thought I'd show a film about the history of dirt."
Everyone groaned.
As the class watched the film, Sue Ellen kept her eyes only on Arthur.
Should I tell him I love him? She thought What will he say? What if he laughs at me? Or worse, what if everyone else laughs at me? I'd be so embarrassed I'd never want to go to school again! I'll have to take this slow.
-----
Later at lunch, Sue Ellen distanced herself as far from Arthur as possible. She sat at a table with the other girls, though she did look over at him from time to time.
Interaction in the halls was also limited. She went out of her way to avoid talking to him and if she did, quickly made up an excuse to leave. Eventually, she went into the girls bathroom, where she was certain she could be alone with her thoughts.
I can't keep living like this she thought Arthur's going to think I'm crazy or something. I have to tell him how I feel about him before he's creeped out by me.
As she stared into the mirror, Fern came out of one of the nearby stalls and began to wash her hands.
"So" she began "how long have you been in love with Arthur?"
Sue Ellen suddenly wished she could spontaneously combust.
"W-w-what are you talking about?" she asked nervously "I'm not in love with Arthur."
"Come on Sue Ellen" Fern said, "I saw you looking at him during class and at lunch. Plus in the halls, I saw you make up an excuse to not talk to him. All the signs point to you either being mad at him, or in love. And since you're not the type to hold a grudge…"
"Okay, okay I am in love with him" Sue Ellen replied.
"How did this happen?" Fern asked.
"I don't know" Sue Ellen said "yesterday at her pool party, Muffy said some insensitive things about me trying to attract boys so I decided to get back at her and have one of them kiss me. I chose Arthur cause he seemed like the best one. It didn't work, so I didn't think any more about it, but then last night I had this fantasy about him and…"
"You had a fantasy about Arthur?" Fern asked, "do I want to know what happened?"
"He saved me from being run over by a train" Sue Ellen explained "and for some reason he was really muscular and had long, flowing hair. Anyway, I realize now that, although I originally wanted to use him to get back at Muffy, all the positive qualities that led me to choose him are why I like him."
"Interesting" Fern added.
"Promise me you won't tell anyone about this" Sue Ellen said, "if our classmates found out, well, you know how they are."
Fern held up her right hand and put the other across her chest "I swear on the name of Agatha Christie that I won't tell another living soul" she replied.
"Good, now let's get out of here, before people wonder what happened to us" Sue Ellen said.
-----
Back in class, as she did her math work, Sue Ellen had another fantasy:
This time she and Arthur were in black and white and wearing old style period clothes.
"Well done Rick & Nola" said a police officer as they arrested Brain "you've successfully recovered the Soap diamond."
"I couldn't have done it without my beautiful and brilliant wife" Rick (a.k.a. Arthur) told the policeman.
"And I couldn't have done it without the help of my handsome husband" Nola (a.k.a. Sue Ellen) added, stroking Arthur's chin.
"Come my darling, we have more mysteries to solve and more crooks to catch" Rick said.
"First solve the mystery of why you haven't kissed me yet" Nola added.
Rick took her in his arms and kissed her while their terrier dog watched with a look of confusion on its' face.
Sue Ellen came back to reality, sighing happily just as class ended.
"Please leave your quizzes on my desk before you leave" Mr. Ratburn ordered.
As she deposited her quiz on the desk and left the room, one thought circulated through her head.
Why did I fantasize about the dog's reaction to our kissing?
Next time, Sue Ellen decides to give Arthur a gift as a sign of her (secret) love. Then, with Fern's help, she sends him a secret admirer note to test his reaction. Will he be interested in having a girlfriend? You'll just have to read and find out.