Chapter 8: I thought it over

The Boarding House

Arnold was poking at his pancakes in the kitchen, not feeling so hungry. Phil pushed his eagerly eaten plate aside and asked "Hey, what's eatin' ya shortman?"

"Nothing grandpa."

"Doesn't sound like nothing."

The troubled boy pushed his plate aside and stared at his folded arms on the table. "It's just that Gerald's older brother stole his money from him."

"Hmm...that's a shame."

"Then Gerald decided to get back at him by selling his brother's weights."

Phil's eyes lit up at the thought and laughed "Ooohhh he's a sneaky thing!"

"Grandpa…"

The elderly man chuckled at his remark and replied "Hehe...sorry shortman. Keep going."

"Anyway, after he showed me the money, I told him that wasn't the right thing to do."

Not surprised by his grandson's need to do the right thing, Phil said excitedly "Of course you did! You're Mr. Goody Two Shoes! Town relies on your good conscience."

"I guess. I think I'll go see him. Hopefully he's not still busy."

After putting his plate in the sink, Arnold headed for the door. The line of pets raced past him as always. Once they made their way down the street, Arnold began walking down the porch steps when he saw someone approaching him.

"Hey Arnold!"

"Oh hey Gerald." the blonde boy said. There he stood, watching his best friend skating towards him in the blades he had wanted all year.

The blades he hoped selling hundreds of crates worth of Wacko Watches would be able to buy him.

Arnold looked down at his friend's new merchandise and could only assume Gerald went back on his plan to return the money to Coach Wittenburg. "Gerald, I thought you were going to get your brother's things back?"

The excited boy continued to skate towards his suspicious friend as he assured him "I did man!"

A perplexed look appeared on the young boy's face, as he asked "How'd you afford the skates then?"

Flashback

Previous Night

Gerald's Room

The tranquil boy walked into his bedroom to see a pair of brand new skates waiting for him on his bed. Gerald rubbed his eyes, feeling they must be deceiving him.

He then heard a voice from behind that said "Good to see you little brother."

Gerald turned to see Jame O standing behind him and said in a shocking tone "Jamie O? Did you get those for me?!"

The sorry teen began to rub his neck as he explained "Yeah. After I saw you took my weights, I thought about destroying something of yours. Then I realized, you had every right to do it. So, I'm going to try to be a little nicer to you. I'm not promising anything though."

"Thanks man. I got your stuff back."

Jamie O glared at his younger sibling for the stunt he pulled and pointed a finger "It better be just like it was last time I saw it."

As he watched his brother head down the hall, Gerald couldn't help but ask "Hey wait! Where'd you get the money for these anyway? I thought you spent it all?"

Jamie O smiled at the memory of his talk with Helga and explained "Let's just say that blonde girl you're always complaining about isn't as bad as you make her out to be."

End of Flashback

The Boarding House

Arnold's signature smile formed on his face after hearing the story. "Guess everything worked out the way you wanted it to."

"Yeah. I'm going to go try them out. Later man!"

"See ya Gerald."

It was too nice a day to go back inside. Arnold assumed if he walked around town, surely he'd find something worth spending the money on.

As he was rounding the corner of the street, he bumped heads with somebody...THUMP!

"ARNOLD!"

The blonde boy looked to see his classmate on the ground in front of him with her hands still held over her heart. It didn't matter how many times they ran into each other. The sight (or even the thought) of him would always be enough to make her heart flutter (no matter how painful the experience).

"Sorry Helga." he apologized, while lending her a hand up.

"I mean, watch where you're going football head! Quit crashing into me!" she scowled with her hands in her hips.

Arnold smiled at what he knew had to be an act she was always putting on. "So, I'm guessing your money's gone?"

Helga cocked her brow at the assumption and asked "What the heck are you talking about?"

"It's the end of the week. Surely you've used it on something." Arnold shrugged his shoulders, with a slight grin on his face, hoping to make her confess.

The nervous girl's eyes widened, knowing he was suspicious about something. After sensing the loose grip forming on her tough act, Helga shook her head and snapped "Hey, just because our idiot classmates can't keep up with their spare change doesn't mean I can't handle mine maturely."

Not fooled by her attempt to play it cool, the sweet boy smiled in an enticing way as he said "I think you handle it very maturely."

Helga crossed her arms at what she felt was becoming a game played between the two of them. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Knowing she was as stubborn as she was giving, he decided to confess for her. "I heard you gave your money to Jamie O."

Helga began tugging at her collar, feeling vulnerable once again. Just because she liked doing the right thing didn't mean she liked everyone else knowing that about her.

"Hey, I was in a good mood, alright?"

Arnold sighed a familiar sigh. The one he released every time Helga was too obstinate to confess the truth.

Acting politely during her last performance as the It Girl

Participating in the Romeo and Juliet Play.

The night she and Phoebe were on his fire escape.

"Whatever you say Helga. I've still got all my money if you'd like to see a movie with me?"

Helga swooned at the offer. They weren't even together, and Arnold was willing to hang out, just the two of them.

After shaking her head, the nervous girl said "Sure...I mean, whatever floats your boat football head."

The two began their walk towards the theater until Arnold noticed how quiet things were between them. Their time spent alone reminded him of when they were at the mall a few days ago, discussing something at the table together.

"Hey Helga?"

"Yeah?"

"Was Phoebe really sick the week the class thought I stole the money?"

While him becoming suspicious of her personal life was nerverecking, his inability to mind his own business was just as annoying. "Oh brother. Would you get your head out of everyone's business and back in the clouds where it belongs? Sheesh."

Whether or not that was true about him, it didn't explain how the lady found him. That is, unless she was even noseyer than he was, and was willing to ask around at every school in the city.

"Well, when that eccentric lady brought me back my bus pass, she didn't explain how she found me. The school's information wasn't written on it. I don't know anyone who already knew her?"

The more he pushed for the information, the more giving in didn't seem like such a big deal, if it meant having the burden of playing 20 questions over and done with.

"Alright fine! It was me! I found the freak and told her where you were. She's no better at keeping her eyes on the road than you are hairboy."

"Whatever you say Helga."

Phoebe's House

The intelligent girl was sitting at the dining room table with her parents, discussing the plans for her money.

"Phoebe dearest, what have you chosen to do with the money you were given?" Kyo was curious to know.

"You and your father could use it to buy new fencing merchandise. We could invite all our friends over to see you!" Reba suggested.

A warm smile formed on the sweet girl's face as she informed her parents. "I've made the decision to open a savings account. It would be a substantial contribution made towards the weeks worth of allowance money I currently have saved up."

Kyo held up his glass, once again impressed by his daughter's wise decision making skills. "Let us toast to such a wise decision!"

"Bottoms up!" Reba acknowledged her husband, just as Phoebe noticed a knock at the door.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Outside

Phoebe opened the door to see her favorite boy waiting outside for her. The sweet girl smiled at her friend and said "Hello Gerald. How are you today?"

"Hey babe. Today was supposed to be your day to pick something fun to do." the cool boy reminded her.

Phoebe stepped outside to explain to her friend "I've actually chosen to save mine in order to prepare for future financial dilemmas."

Not surprised by her decision, Gerald replied "That's cool babe."

"I suppose I could use a bit of it for amusing events every so often however."

A warm smile appeared on the happy boy's face as he asked "Want to get some ice cream? I can go change out of these blades and meet you at Slausens."

Phoebe eagerly nodded her head, just as happy to spend some personal time with Gerald as Helga was with Arnold. "That would be delightful!"

"See ya there."

THE END

THANKS FOR READING

PLEASE REVIEW

I don't think this story turned out much better than the first part. Gerald seemed more like a cry baby than cool, and I just sucked at writing Jamie O. Maybe the episode just wasn't meant to be. Anyway, thanks for reading.

BTW I know Helga's dress doesn't have pockets in it. I was just trying to make the story work. Another reason it sucked lol.