Sorry this one was a little rushed, but I really wanted to get all the kinda basic character info out of the way and I felt like Gerald would be a good enough bro to tell Arnold everything BEFORE they got to school. So it's short but that's okay, I've got some ideas to run with.

FYI: This will be a continuing story, if I ever decide to end it I will make sure you know but otherwise I plan to update whenever I have time

Chapter 2

"Welcome Back"

"Alright now dude, I'll give you the shake down on all of our classmates so you know what to expect" Gerald said as he and Arnold walked to school.

"Okay, but come on Gerald how much can people have changed? I haven't been gone that long."

"You'd be surprised Arnold, you'd be surprised," said Gerald with a smile.

"Okay so I'll start with the guys because they are the least changed I guess. Harold is a lineman on the football team and that takes up most of his time and aggression so he's really calmed down a bit. He still pulls pranks on everyone but not so much to hurt them.

Stinky and I are the only two freshman that are already being looked at for the varsity Basketball team so you can imagine how tall he is still. Also he's into all that country music and records stuff in his garage I'll take you there sometime.

Sid is probably the most changed, he doesn't take shit from anyone anymore and nothing scares him. He's still as nice as he was but he beat up the Wolf Pack singlehandedly last year, that's Wolfgang's gang of sophomores.

Eugene is still a walking jinx, but he's still Mr. Optimistic. He's in the glee club, drama club, the Mathletes, chess club, and probably a few more.

Brainy kind of disappeared last year, but I've seen him over the summer. I think he sticks with the AV club most of the time.

Curly is in Juvie right now, something about freeing all the animals at the zoo for like the 5th time. He's not dangerous just psychotic as always.

Lorenzo left to some private school, he still likes to come to our functions and hang out though.

Iggy, Park, Peapod Kid, Joey and Robert all do their own thing now, they got a jazz group and man can they play; you'll have to hear them sometime."

"Wow," said Arnold, "I guess a lot can happen when you leave for a few years."

Gerald chuckled, "Yeah and that's just the guys, let's see for the girls we'll start with Rhonda. She's still Miss Rich and Popular but never misses a chance to hang out with all of us. She kind of put the 'I'm better than you' thing away so she's a lot more fun to be around.

She's still best friends with Nadine and the other popular girls don't know why. Nadine is joining the biology club and always brings her latest specimen to class. At the end of last year it was a giant moth, poor Eugene nearly fainted.

Sheena's pretty much a hippie. All flowers, peace signs, and save the Earth kind of stuff. She's in all the same clubs as Eugene.

Lila is still Lila, religious and daddy's little girl. She changed her clothes a lot more than her personality. She's a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl now.

You already know about Phoebe and Helga so I guess that's about it."

"What about Thorvald" asked Arnold?

"He got his GED, last I heard he was going into the Marines."

The two walked in silence for a ways, as Arnold thought about his classmates.

"So who are the couples" Arnold said with a grin?

Gerald laughed out loud, "Well everyone you would expect to be man: Phoebe & I, Harold & Rhonda, Nadine & Sid, Stinky & Lila, and Eugene & Sheena."

"You forgot one Gerald," said Arnold with a smile. When Gerald looked confused Arnold said, "Helga & I"

The two friends laughed together all the way to school.

In front of Arnold was Hillwood High school, the place where students from all over the city came to finish their primary education. It was much larger than P.S. 118, and Arnold could tell it was going to be a whole different life.

Arnold and Gerald stopped at the office to get their locker assignments and were lucky enough to be right next to each other. As they put their things away, Arnold looked at his class schedule.

"So do all freshmen have the same classes?" he asked.

"Mostly, the only option we had was 6th period, P.E. or Home Ec. Most of the guys chose P.E. except Eugene; I think he may get hurt worse in an enclosed classroom though."

They walked down the crowded halls to their homeroom class.

"Wait a minute, room 118 is our homeroom? Kind of an interesting coincidence," Arnold said.

Gerald nodded, "Yep and just wait till you see who our homeroom teacher is," he winked.

They entered the room and were met with a roar of, "Surprise! Welcome back Arnold!"

Everyone was there, patting Arnold on the back, hugging him, shaking his hand. Harold, Stinky, Sid, all of his friends, and someone very special.

"Hello Arnold! And welcome back from what I'm sure was a very special journey in San Lorenzo." It was Mr. Simmons, their teacher from P.S. 118.

"Mr. Simmons here is a high school English teacher now," Gerald said with a smile, "and he volunteered to be our homeroom teacher through high-school."

Arnold smiled and found himself a desk next to Helga, Phoebe, and Gerald. This was turning out to be a very interesting year, and Arnold could only help it would get even better.