AN: Thanks so much guys, for the reviews and favorites! It means a lot :)
The next day arrived and everyone headed to another day at school.
"Okay class," Mr. Simmons said, "Time to take attendance!"
Mr. Simmons called out their names and finally reached Helga.
"Hmm, that's funny, this is the second day Helga had been absent. It's not like her to miss school, let alone two days. Has anyone seen her?"
"No, Mr. Simmons," Phoebe replied.
The rest of the class chattered about Helga's absence. Mr. Simmons decided to head to the office to call Helga's parents.
The phone rang for a while, but eventually Miriam picked up, "Oh, hello?"
"Mrs. Pataki? This is Mr. Simmons. I was calling to see why Helga wasn't in school today."
"Helga? I thought she left for school already…" Miriam thought for a second, "Wait now, Helga wasn't home last night. I think she was staying at a friend's house."
"None of the kids in class have seen Helga and Helga wasn't in class yesterday either. I'm afraid I think Helga is missing."
"Oh dear! You don't think something happened to her do you?" Miriam suddenly became alert.
"Mrs. Pataki, I'll alert the school officials that Helga is missing. Maybe someone knows something or can help track her down."
Later that day, everyone in the school had heard that Helga was missing. The kids were sure that they hadn't seen her at all that day or the day before. Nobody had any idea where she could be.
"Oh, this is just ever so terrible. Poor, poor Helga, out there somewhere by herself all alone," Lila remarked.
"This is quite unlike Helga," Phoebe added.
"Maybe she's just been playing hooky," Gerald suggested.
"But she's been gone for two days," Stinky said, "A kid doesn't play hooky for two days. I couldn't even stay away from home or school for one day. I'd miss my mom's cooking too much to stay away two days."
Helga had meant to play hooky, but not for this long. She had fallen asleep the night before near the side of a building. When she woke up she found a couple dollar bills and some change on the ground next to her; passersby had obviously mistaken her for a homeless person.
She sat up and looked around. Where was she? It was strange for her not to recognize where she was; she had been most places around the neighborhood. She had to have walked pretty far to not know where she was. Even so, her stomach grumbled and she would have to figure out how to get home after she had something to eat. With the bit of money she had left, she walked into a nearby convenience store and bought something as a makeshift breakfast. Walking out the door, however, she came to realize she didn't have enough money left for a bus ride or subway ride. Now she was lost and stranded.
The day continued on, mostly as usual as it always was. Mr. Simmons class had math, history, english, and then lunch. After that, everyone was outside for recess.
Phoebe was by herself today, without Helga there to hang out with. True, she was friends with the other girls in their class, but she only really hung out with Helga. It worried her that Helga hadn't shown up and that her mother didn't know where she was either. Then again, Miriam wasn't a very reliable parent (according to the stories that Helga had told her).
"Helga is smarter than I thought she was," Phoebe overheard Rhonda say to some of the other girls. "I've dreamt about getting out of this terribly boring school, but I wouldn't ever have the guts to run away. Just think, she's out there living it up and were stuck watching Mr. Simmons teach us about the Revolutionary War."
"Yeah, I wonder what she's doing… probably everything a kid could do on a weekday off. Imagine the arcade during the school day; you wouldn't have to wait to play any of the games or anything," another girl remarked.
"Or maybe she's bored being all alone," replied Sheena. "The city is probably scary during the day time when no other kids are around."
Sheena was right; the daytime city was scary for a kid, especially if you didn't have any idea where you were. Helga was still lost and still had no idea how to get home. She was just walking around, trying to find someone she knew or something familiar.
And the more she walked around aimlessly, the more her mind also wandered. She suddenly forgot about being lost, and now hungry, and instead she was thinking about her parents.
I wonder if they even realize I'm not home. Probably not, since they're still probably all 'ga-ga' over Olga. They definitely didn't know I was missing last night when they were having dinner at whatever fancy restaurant that was. Arghh! Why is it so hard for them to realize they have another daughter besides perfect Olga?
She mused over the subject of her family for a while, it being her reason for running away after all. As she was thinking, though, Helga didn't realize she was walking further away and getting herself even more lost.
AN: Hmm… I feel like my chapters are too short, but I wanted to put something up regardless of the length. I'll try to make the chapters longer as I go along though : )