AUTHOR'S NOTE: Because of what I said in the previous chapter, chapter 5 will be up after a couple of week's time. Moving on to happier things however, I finally revised the rest of chapter four, so here it is. Enjoy!
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"No kidding? You actually got Princess Rhonda over there to help you?" Gerald said, eyes widening in surprise. "I must say Arnold, I'm impressed."
"Yeah well, she only agreed to do it because of that time in the hallway last year when I helped her out. Apparently she still remembered it." Arnold replied.
"You mean the time you told her that she had a "stain" on her white skirt, just after she had walked around for hours, literally displaying it for the whole high school to see?" Gerald asked, stifling a laugh. "Man, oh man! I can still remember the looks on everybody's faces! She does owe you big time for that one, being the resident fashion queen at P.S. 118 and all."
"Gerald…" Arnold sighed, looking at his friend.
"I know, I know. I'm just fooling. But seriously Arnold, you're much better off with her helping you than me."
"Whatever you say, Gerald."
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"Bob! Miriam! I'm going out!" Helga shouted as she ran down the stairs, heading for the front door of her house. She had gotten a part-time job as a waitress in Slausen's Ice Cream Shop as a means of earning some cash for herself. Her parents could no longer afford to give her an allowance, so if she was going to survive, then she'd have to work. Slausen's had been the same place where she sat down to eat with her parents the day before, and today was going to be her first day of work. It almost seemed like the perfect job because the pay was pretty good even though it was part-time and she could go watch a movie after her shift since it was really near the movie theatre. The only problem with it was that-
"No, don't think about it, Helga ol' girl." She thought aloud, remembering that Arnold and the rest of the gang watched movies pretty often in there. She reassured herself that they wouldn't notice her much less recognize her if she played her cards right. And she would.
Helga glanced around from shop to shop as she walked, taking her time in extra-familiar places like Mrs. Vitello's flower shop and Mr. Green's meat shop. They hadn't changed a bit. Not even the paint jobs or the signages were different. She smiled to herself, finding comfort in the familiarity. Maybe moving back to Hillwood wasn't so bad after all.
As she continued to walk, the movie theatre soon came up into view. Slausens was across it, a few blocks to the right. The minute Helga spotted it, she began to jog and worked herself up to a light sweat by the time she arrived at the shop's entrance. She opened the door, relishing the clinking sounds of tiny bells as it swung open. She knew it would get annoying after a few days, but she liked it now, and that was that.
"Hello? Mr. Slausen? I'm here for the job!" She called out to the empty counter.
"Huh? Oh! Hello!" Came a voice from behind the double doors at the back. It swung open to reveal a tired looking Mr. Slausen carrying a box full of ice cream about to be stuffed into the display freezers out front. "Ms. Pataki, right?" He managed to say, clearly out of breath. Helga nodded her head before running over to help him.
"Call me Geraldine." Helga replied, seeing as she'd rather be called by her second name rather than her first one, in case anyone heard him. "But on second thought, Dina would be better, I guess."
"Great. Dina it is, then. I got a few more boxes like this one out back. My other employee, Brainy is already helping me carry 'em in. First thing's first, we gotta get 'em over here and sort 'em before my customers arrive." Mr.Slausen continued, placing his hands on his knees as he got ready to carry more boxes. At the sound of her co-worker's name however, Helga stopped dead in her tracks.
"W-who?" she asked, knowing the answer all too well.
"Brainy. Brainy uh… you know, I have no idea what his last name is." Mr. Slausen replied. "Quiet kid, mostly does all the jobs that don't require socializing with people. Why? Do you know him or something?"
"Huh? No! O-of course not! Whatever gave you that idea??" Helga scoffed, waving her hands in the air. She could feel her stomach sinking at the thought. Brainy? How on earth did she end up working with Brainy?? Even though he wouldn't tell on her if ever he found out her secret (she would make sure of that), she still didn't like the fact that she'd be working with a former classmate for crying out loud.
The doors to the back swung open once more and Helga gasped, hearing that all-too-familiar breathing noise she thought she'd never hear again. The face of the boy was obscured by the large box that he was carrying, but she already knew it was him. The little red tufts of hair that were visible from the top were unmistakable. It was Brainy alright, alive and in the flesh. Helga shut her eyes as soon as the boy began to set the box onto the floor. She'd have to tell him, lest she risk the chance of him telling the others about her if ever he were suspicious about her identity.
"I have to get this over with… I have to tell him." She thought to herself through closed eyes, her hands curling up into tight fists. She immediately opened both afterward, just in time to see the same old punch-able Brainy looking at her perplexedly before smiling and waving a few steps away.
"Nngghhh…. Nnngghhh….. Hey Helga. Nnggghh…. Long time no see. Nnngghh…."
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"Arnold, whatever is the matter? You seem ever so… out of it." Lila asked, placing her hand on his. Arnold blinked, trying to gather up his thoughts before turning to face the redhead.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Lila. I just… have a lot on my mind, that's all." He replied, slowly pulling his hand away before proceeding to eat his lunch again. Lila soon did the same.
"Anyway, Arnold. I was just thinking of what we could do on our date today. I mean, besides having this ever so special lunch over here..." Lila said, in between tiny bites of her pizza. "I think a day at the pier would just be ever so romantic! We could play games and go sailing, and even explore Elk Island together!"
"That sounds great, Lila." Arnold said, smiling. He had originally planned to spend the rest of the day lazing around the boarding house, but a date with Lila seemed much more interesting and to be honest, he was having a lot of fun. He just couldn't get the black-haired girl off of this mind for some reason, no matter how hard he tried.
"Then on the way home, we'd probably be hungry, so I think stopping by Slausen's for some ice cream would be a perfect way to end a perfect day! Is that alright with you, Arnold?" Lila continued, clasping her hands together on her chest.
"Yeah. I haven't had Slausen's in a long time." Arnold replied. "I heard that Brainy works there too. Maybe he could give us a discount." He added, knowing that it probably wasn't going to happen. Still, he needed to save a little bit more money in order to buy a decent gift that he promised for that girl, and a discount could help him a lot.
"Finished?" He asked soon after. Lila wiped the edges of her lips with a napkin before nodding her head. The both stood up in unison. "C'mon, the pier awaits."
"Lead the way, handsome." Lila said, locking her arm onto his. They walked slowly, with her head leaning against his shoulder. Arnold walked on in silence, unable to believe that what was happening was really happening. So many times he had dreamt about situations like this with Lila, the girl of his dreams, but never did he imagine that the real thing would feel so… normal? No, that wasn't the word. Predictable? Boring? No, that definitely wasn't it.
Arnold sighed in frustration. He couldn't quite place his finger on what the problem was, but if he ignored it, his thoughts would just keep going back to the dream he had the night before.
"Maybe I'm just too tired to enjoy myself…" He muttered softly.
"What did you say, Arnold?" Lila asked, lifting her head from his shoulder. Arnold shook his head.
"No, it's nothing Lila."
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: You know what? This story has almost reached the 1000 hits mark, all thanks to you guys! Haha, just felt like sharing. Anyway, I hope you liked the rest of this chapter and don't forget to review if you have the time:)