Well, at least he wasn't dead like he thought he would be. He'd been in more trouble for other things than this. Detention seemed to suit his style. He got them. Quite a lot actually. That's what made his reputation. He was crazier than anyone else. It just made him unforgettable. There was no denying that he wanted his statements up front and center! Regardless if he didn't have that many friends, he was just himself.
He didn't want to be ignored or mistreated. But somehow it always came down to that. And frankly, he didn't see why they would do that. He only wanted to be respected. Was that so much to ask? He thought not. He did want to be noticed. He couldn't live his life in fear of rejection and humiliation. So he fought back.
Even if it was just as crazy as trying to getting to spend time with his love.
Oh the black short hair, red sweater dressed girl was the one Curly dreamed of having for a girlfriend. And at least she thought he was an ok guy. He remembered her saying that to him when they were through with the pretend boyfriend/girlfriend fiasco last year. Even though in the end she was disgusted when he wanted to have a lock of her fine, gorgeous hair and he chased her down the street.
Curly sat there in Mr. Simmons' room at his desk, staring at the coins that lay before him. Most of his classmates had coins when they bet on Helga's singing ability. Some offered him cash, but he wanted coins so that he could stare at his beloved's face that he made up.
Rhonda was something else – something different.
With the exception of her fashionable yet somewhat-snobbish attitude toward other people, he thought that she was a well rounded person. She came from a wealthy family, and had to live up to certain standards. These standards he knew he could never reach. But he wanted to pull her down to see something beyond fancy clothes and trips around the world.
He wanted her to see his life more than anything – at least the qualities of his life. Curly sighed as the sunlight poured in.
She, like most of the others, was influenced by her parents. And he was too – but only in looks. His parents were pretty plain people and he did love them. But he wanted something more. An exciting life that was filled with adventure and craziness. And the fact that Rhonda had seemed to change considerably was something he was more than fascinated by.
There was no doubt in his mind that when he met her, she was simply a tomboy like everyone else. The girl played football and went on adventures such as going to Elk Island to find Wheezin Ed from what he heard. If Rhonda only became a rich stuck up girl in all the time like she showed herself as, then she wouldn't do these sorts of things.
She was a mystery – his mystery. Curly didn't understand why. But he wanted to figure her out while giving all the love he could give. It wouldn't be so hard if only she listened to him though. He didn't feel like that he could live up to her standards. Rhonda was beautiful and wealthy. She could easily ignore him and move on to the next rich guy like Lorenzo, Peapod Kid, or any other guy for that matter. That, along with the sense that he was on his own in the world, was what drove him crazy.
He was always disregarded, always ignored. And it shouldn't have bothered him. But it did. That's why he was in detention. He wanted Rhonda to care, and he wanted someone to see him.
For whom he was behind his psychopathic front.
He was mystery. And he wanted a mystery to solve a mystery. That's how life went – one thing after another. It was liberating to find that answer only to learn something new in the long run. And he wanted to figure her out more just as much as he wanted her to try and figure him out.
Rhonda was all about gossip and talking about people's lives through discovery. That was something they shared. And he wouldn't mind having her by his side to do this sort of stuff together.
Sure, he probably would still have that messed up mind with crazy schemes no matter what. It helped him get through day by day. And sometimes he would lay back and watch the weirdness before him. It wouldn't really matter. As long as each day was different, he would be fine.
His fingers moved along the coin drawing, the sunlight hitting the metals with the presidents on it. His glasses fogged up at the sight. Those presidents got to power by making daring moves in their lives. And he did that too. If Curly could do the craziest thing without driving his beloved away from him, he would be thankful because then there would be a higher chance at her loving him. Maybe this something crazy could lead to him being wealthy too.
He could give Rhonda more opportunities than she ever dreamed possible and with her love, he couldn't be ignored any longer.
It wouldn't matter if others didn't listen to him. As long as one person, his love, did listen and care – he'd be happy.
The sounds of Mr. Simmons's chair turned his attention to the man as he stood. He had been reading the essay rough drafts for the contest that were due at the end of the week. But it seemed as if he were tired enough that he needed some coffee. He yawned as he stretched.
"Boys, I'm going to the teacher's lounge for a few minutes. So stay in here until I get back Curly. Don't try to escape." He stared down at the black haired child.
Curly also thought about it. Escaping. That was what he normally would do. It would be perfect, especially since he wouldn't be in the room. No one was in the room to notice him. He rubbed his hands together in a plotting matter under his desk. He didn't say anything as he just looked at his teacher questioningly, almost as if he was innocent of doing such things.
"Oh and Brainy," Curly lifted his head at the realization, "If he does try to escape, please shout for me. The lounge isn't that far." He had completely forgotten that he wasn't alone in the room today. There was someone else with him! And it wasn't just any old kid.
It was Brainy.
Brainy – who had punched Harold out like a light. And from what he heard, the tubby boy wouldn't be going to school tomorrow either because he was a baby. Curly scoffed. What did Rhonda see in him anyway?
Ok, so she never admitted to liking Harold. But he and her were paired for the egg project and apparently went on the tunnel of love together. He remembered that night. They got on before all of that chaos ensued and Curly ended up going with some random chick. He should have gotten Rhonda for both of them. Not Harold.
Anyhow, that wasn't his concern at the moment as their teacher left the room. After he closed the door, Curly watched Brainy like a hawk. He observed his temporary hero. Harold was always telling him that he'd beat him up. But to actually be a witness to a historic moment as this – he wondered what the blonde who was wheezing was up to. Yeah, Harold made fun of him for possibly having a crush on Helga. So what? Anyone would make fun of a person for liking her of all people. However, Brainy was typically a calm guy. And to see him act so out of control and violent – he was awesome. How did he do it? More importantly why did he do it? Did he really like Helga?
He lifted his arms and crossed them over his desk as he lowered his head, peering to his left side at him. Fortunately his Rhonda coin image had not been messed up.
The other student sat there, looking like he was staring at Mr. Simmons' stuff. And he kept wheezing too, but it was different. He sounded nervous. To Curly, it was like Brainy wanted something from the man but he didn't want to get it when he had an audience of one in the room. Curly smiled.
This day was already shocking enough with Helga's contributions. Now Brainy wanted to do the unthinkable – he wanted to steal something. Curly sighed, shaking his head side to side. He didn't know the skills to being a good thief. Obviously.
So, as in return for doing something that he always wanted to do (beat up Harold), he thought he could should the newbie the ropes in the art of theft and tricks. Checking the clock, and seeing it say 3:02, they still had an hour before they could leave. And Mr. Simmons probably wouldn't be back for a while…the man did need his coffee after today's events. Curly smirked at the possibilities.
Standing up from his seat, he walked over to his classmate. Brainy suddenly straightened his back in the surprise that his shoes were making that muffled sound as the dirt scattered about on the floor. Curly hummed his favorite tune as he looked out the windows. No student in sight. He and Brainy were the only ones in the whole school.
Perfect.
Curly sat in the seat behind him. He couldn't help himself either. "Hey Brainy." He whispered, fingers tapping on his lap.
Then, Brainy just turned and reached in his pocket as he faced Curly. Pulling out an inhaler as his right arm lay over the chair, he took his medication with the other hand. He didn't say a word, which was normal. But he had this small smile, practically a smirk. The boy was shocked! Brainy really did have something up his sleeve didn't he?
Well this would just be more fun. Now if only he could communicate with him about what he planned without all of his wheez-
Hold the phone. Toss the balls in the bag. Tie him to a tree.
Brainy wasn't wheezing! Curly's mouth hung open, kind of expecting a fly to leave his throat. But of course that was stupid. This was real. There was silence between the two of them. And Curly was about to talk.
"You need something?" he asked. The kid beat the one and only Thaddeus Curly Gammelthorpe to the punch. The person in front of him wasn't the same guy he saw everyday at school with everyone else around. He sounded normal. His voice was smooth and somewhat deeper than most boys their age. With the way he talked, just with that sentence alone, he could have been considered to be an eighth grader!
Lifting his head up immediately to stare at the guy, "You can talk after you use your inhaler?"
Brainy nodded as he leaned forward. "Yeah of course I can," and laughing a bit, "It's just like I like simplicity and quiet. And sometimes you can learn more about a person just by watching them than anything else." He put up his glasses and Curly had the urge to do the same.
Setting his arms in front of him, he replied, "I know exactly what you're talking about!" He was smiling ear to ear in more excitement. Today was weird. But he liked it. "I mean, I didn't say anything after Mr. Simmons left and just watched you. Sorry about that but I was wondering-"
"Why I punched Harold in the face?" Brainy removed his arm from the chair and adjusted himself to face his classmate. The noises from the chair were annoying, just like all the chairs were in the school. At least he wasn't wheezing and Curly didn't have to tackle him to get him to talk. It saved energy for later tricks.
"And," he pointed his finger at him, "why did you look so nervous when he left? You were looking at his desk as if there was something you wanted. A test grade perhaps? I'd be happy to help you steal it since you punched Harold who's had it out for me lately. Or it is one of his possessions that we could hang on the flag pole at night? Hah! That would be awesome! I pledge allegiance to Mr. Simmons-" Meanwhile, he had his hand on his chest. But it didn't last long before Brainy put his hand on his mouth. Curly blinked.
The other boy smiled and shook his head with his eyes closed. "No, I don't need a test grade. Nor do I want to steal something of our teacher. But," he lifted his gaze toward the wild eyed student, "I could use some help in making a copy of one of the essays that was turned in today. And Curly please don't question me why I want it. Just accept the fact that I punched Harold which made you happy and you help me copy this essay which will make me happy."
Curly pushed his hand off of his mouth and shook hands with Brainy. He whispered in secret, "Deal. Which essay do you want?" Brainy caught on and stood up and motioned for him to stand as well. He looked to the door and the clock, making sure that they had some time. When he sighed that it was 3:08, he replied.
"I need to make a copy of Arnold's essay for the contest. It's a long story why I want to do this."
He couldn't believe it, especially since it didn't make any sense at all. But if Brainy wanted Arnold's essay then that would mean…
He jumped back and pointed yet again at him. "You want to ruin his essay so that you could win?" He started to walk in circles in the back of the classroom. "Why don't you just ruin all of our essays! You just want to win! That's it! No way am I," he turned to glare at Brainy, "Thaddeus Curly Gammelthorpe, will help you ruin the chances of me or my lovely Rhonda winning. Not at all."
He turned his eyes away closed, frowned, arms across his chest, and his foot tapped the floor. Brainy sighed and racked his hair. He went forward to Curly and pulled the smaller boy's shoulder. He frowned as well when the other opened his eyes again. But he still looked angry.
"Curly, I don't want to ruin the essays. I just want Arnold to win. You have your own sources from certain people right?"Curly nodded in confusion. "But what does this have to do with Arnold?"
Brainy stepped back to give some space as he pulled his inhaler out again to breathe. Taking in his medicine, he responded. "Well, I'm only going to tell you as long as you swear that you won't tell anybody! Got it!" He pulled on the boy's shirt, lifting him off the floor. It seemed that anger was what made the blonde's muscles very strong. It was probably the tension.
The black haired boy waved his arms and kicked his legs. "Ok ok I get it! But what's in it for me besides paying you back for the Harold incident?" He had to admit he was interested. The other only smirked again. "Because if Arnold does win, I can guarantee you that you would see real wild animals."
He put Curly down on the floor again. Though he was suspicious whether or not he told the truth. "What makes you say that?" Once again his foot tapped. And Brainy took his turn to cross his arms. "Well, I say this because through my own resources, Arnold wants to win so badly because he feels that by winning this contest," he looked back at the door, "well, I'm not exactly sure. But whatever it is, it involves finding his parents. And we do owe him you know."
The red rimmed glasses were lifted. "I'm not sure what you mean. What do we owe Arnold?"
The student lowered his arms. "Curly, Arnold has pretty much been the one everyone goes to when they're in trouble and you know it." Curly could see his point. Despite their classmate seeing him as a total loon, Arnold still helped him when he took all of the dodge balls and locked himself in Wartz's office. He was kind and considerate and helped people all the time.
He always did wonder where Arnold's parents were. He never talked about it much. But if his parents were lost in another country…. Who knows how awesome that could turn out! They could all go on a secret mission and be real heroes! Curly smiled at the thought. And maybe if Rhonda was in trouble, he could be her prince charming to save her. That would teach those rich boys and Harold who she is obviously so meant to be with!
He started laughing manically. This plan would work out flawlessly. But they needed to get a hold on that essay. Luckily, it was on top of Mr. Simmons' desk too so it didn't seem too hard.
Brainy stepped back and held out his hands in worry. "Uh, Curly, are you ok?" he asked. He just made his point about why they should help Arnold. And now the person standing across from him was chortling as if he had already accepted and came up with an idea. The blonde smiled at this reaction, even if it was creepy.
Curly pulled at his yellow shirt down to eye level. "Yeah I'm fine," he tugged, "Of course I'll help! Oh this is going to be great." He rubbed his hands together as he pulled away, walked passed Brainy toward the front of the room, ignoring the other desks, and headed for their teacher's. Now, he didn't go behind it because if Simmons' noticed that the chair was moved they were dead. So he stood in front, attempting to reach for the stack of papers on told. Unfortunately his arms were too short as he stretched, making it both frustrating and painful.
He could barely make out a few names before the other student surprisingly was behind him and grabbed the assignments, the crunches of the homework being in his hands. Curly turned around to see Brainy as he put all of the works on Lorenzo and Gerald's desks. There were quite a few students in their class and Mr. Simmons wanted to do a first round of editing their essays before the next class in two days.
The black and blonde haired boys stood next to each other – each being weird in their own right. One was fanatical and zealous while the other one was quiet and secretive. However, their mouths dropped at what was on top of one of the tables.
Most of the essays were about two or three pages long and only written on one side.
Arnold's though, his was about six pages and written on both sides! It wasn't hard to find since it was a stack instead of flimsy papers. It could have been considered to be a short story for all they knew.
Brainy coughed into his elbow and laughed a bit. "Well, I guess Arnold really does have an amazing discovery, huh?" He chuckled as Curly picked up the weight of it.
"Yeah, tell me about it," he stared down at the thing, "It's going to take at least twenty minutes to copy this thing alone!" He lifted his head and turned it to Brainy, "Plus, the copier is in the Weekly Word room. And you know that it's quickest to get down there by passing the Teacher's lounge. How are we going to get passed Simmons or even Wartz?" For once Curly was stumped. This never happened to him before. Why he couldn't think of anything – he had no idea. Maybe it was the exhaustion and confusion of the day. First Helga could actually sing! Then Brainy hit Harold! And now this! This, this was insane.
But still he loved it. And he could tell by the look on Brainy's face that he had something forming in his newly realized twisted mind. He was smiling almost the exact same way that he did earlier when he cackled. He must have been staring at that table for so long that he must have had a plan for this all along! Why didn't he see it sooner?
"Well," he looked down at the object between Curly's hands. "I didn't think that it would take so long, but obvious we have no choice." He lifted his eyes. "We have to go now. It will take ten minutes for us to get there, the twenty minutes to copy, and ten minutes to get back before Mr. Simmons gets back." The other scratched his head. "Don't we need a distraction in case one of them sees us? And how do you know if he'll get back after we do?"
They were walking to the classroom door as Brainy explained. "Well, Mr. Simmons did tell me to shout for him in case if you escaped. So," he opened the door and inspected the hallways before turning back to him. "If they do I'll just say that you attempted to escape and you run in the opposite direction of the Weekly Word room. That way, they won't suspect a thing. I already have a key that Arnold gave me so it shouldn't be hard to get in there. As for Simmons making it back on time, well that depends."
Curly and Brainy went out into the halls with no one in sight, still confused. The plan made sense, and he did loved being chased down by the man. But what did Brainy mean by depends?
"What do you mean?" He double checked the halls as they turned right and walked down like they normally would. Brainy shrugged as he also kept checking for teachers and janitors. "Well, he likes to watch the Education channel to come up with "special" ideas for us to learn. And he once told us that the best time to watch lasts until 4:00. So I don't think that he'd leave unless you escaped. Remember how he ignored you shouting over the speakers during lunch hour?" He smirked as they rounded to the left coming closer to the lounge. "He must have been focused on eating his lunch before you went mad." Brainy laughed.
Curly snickered to as the lights somehow got dimmer. It wasn't dark yet, but the cracked door on the left shone brighter than the walls. And the sound of a TV and the scent of coffee reached his nose. Man, it was closer than he thought! For once, the boy sweat dropped. It wasn't like the plan was stupid. But what if they could copy the essay completely in time? What if they saw them doing this? Would their entries to the contest be destroyed too?
Not that he cared; he would have chosen San Lorenzo with all of those animals anyway. He looked down once again at Arnold's essay. There were seemed to be words that said things like "waterfall", "Aztecs", and "volcano". Maybe that's where Arnold wanted to go. Although, he didn't seem like a psychotic jungle boy at all. But he didn't tell it to Brainy about such trivial problems. After all, he had a reputation to maintain.
He puffed out his chest as the both of them remained silent. They were like stealthy black cats as they tiptoed closer to the teacher's lounge. Fortunately neither of their shoes squeaked the floor, giving them away. Curly let out a sigh of relief as he slipped the paper behind his back into Brainy's hand in case if they were caught and he had to make a run for it.
It was a long and torturing move on his part. And his heart had pounded enough to send vibrations in his throat from this. This was the kind of stuff he lived for.
Too bad that's not what happened. While it was lucky that it looked like they were in the clear, at the quietest Curly had ever been in his whole life, he was sort of disappointed that they were not caught. Sometimes these sorts of stories got told around the school. And it would make his weirdness feel more normal to him. It was his safe zone – being out there and nuts.
The sounds and smells continued on as usual in that small room beside them. He could hear mumbles from Mr. Simmons as it sounded like he was scribbling on paper. Anyhow, Curly knew that he had to remain focused. After all, he wanted to impress Rhonda didn't he? And he would get to see animals actually in the wild and be "one" with them. It would save more time than to sneak into the zoo.
Eventually, once they were in the clear ahead in the hallway, it had gone practically black. No one was in the wing of the school at that hour of the day. But they could see that the clock had struck 3:20. There wasn't much time as the boys started to pick up the pace. They weren't running, but more like speed walking.
It was fun being sneaky in the dark corners of the school. Curly had to admit to him that even with Brainy, this was so cool!
Curly was striding forward with his eyes closed for just a second as he basked in his hidden pride. However, because of that, shock filled his every nerve as he felt his classmate's hand jerk him back. "Pssh," Brainy whispered, "Curly! Stop! We're here!" Man, Brainy had power in that hand! He could actually use something like that to rule the school. But that was probably more his approach….
His feet skidded backward as he shoved Brainy in the same direction. But he had his hand on the doorknob to the Weekly Word room, so Curly just stood a few feet back from where he was before his classmate pulled him while the other landed on his knees out of breath. Oops. The black haired boy pulled on the other's elbow to help him to stand. "Sorry about that my good man. I suppose I got ahead of myself." He knew he was acting like a gentleman, but that's how he acted whenever he tried to show sympathy or guilt. He inspected his fingernails, blowing on them with his right arm behind his back.
With the help he offered, Brainy got back on his feet and still didn't let go of the doorknob. He pulled out his inhaler again. "Thanks," he took in the medication as he whispered, "Curly." Reaching inside his collar, he pulled out the key to the room and twisted it into the lock. It was somewhat annoying because they had to be quiet again otherwise they would get caught for sure.
The key turned, and a very obvious click was the only sound. The boys looked to the left.
Phew. No one noticed.
Brainy for some reason just stood there, staring at the unopened door. Curly adjusted his glasses as he started to understand his classmate's nervousness. He never stole anything before and had to do the deed of getting Arnold's essay copied. He shook his head as he went forward and pushed the door inside. He gestured for Brainy to go in as well by holding the door out for him. "Uh, thanks again Curly. I guess I'm just anxious." He looked at him with a smile as Curly turned his back to flick the light on. "I didn't know that I would get like this."
"No problem. Now," Curly walked over to a table nearby some wall desks on the right. Sunlight was pouring into the room. "Let's copy this essay before we get caught. We don't need another detention." He turned as Brainy walked over next to him. Lifting the copier open, Brainy lifted his hand and tore the essay out of the staple. The red-rimmed boy raised an eyebrow. The other simply shrugged, knowing what he was thinking as he set the first paper on top. "It makes more sense to do this. That way, all the words can show up." He shut the lid as he pressed the print button.
Loud sounds for the machine caused the two to cringe. Curly opted to go and shut the door. Pulling down the blind in front, he hoped that it would help hide the light. It seemed shockingly fast that Brainy was already flipping the paper over for the second copy. Only ten more to go too…
He walked back and saw that Brainy was leaning against the edge, feet spilled out in front. He was exhausted, and maybe even a little sad. Curly frowned. It was rare for him to feel bad about other people except Rhonda of course. But he had this look that couldn't be erased. His hands gripped the table as he looked down with a frown.
The boy ended up standing in front of the other with arms crossed. Sure he was shorter than Brainy, but he felt as if he weren't. Something was up with him. Maybe it was the reason why he was in detention. Curly felt himself gathering the pieces in his head – the ones he chose to mainly ignore. But now, now he had the time as he watched Brainy flip and copy the papers of Arnold's essay.
Brainy got detention because he punched Harold in the face. And Harold was laughing because he thought that Brainy…
He grinned. Curly kept shuffling his feet as he put his hands in his pockets looking up at the kid in the yellow shirt. "So, Brainy." He drew out his voice slowly.
He looked up. "Yeah what is it?" Now he was the one who was confused as Curly took control of the situation. Unfortunately, all was lost from Curly's memory except the words that they spoke to each other. He didn't noticed Brainy's back and forth motions as he collected the copied papers. He didn't notice that they were being louder than they should have been.
"Well, you had mentioned before that there was something that I wanted to ask." Curly kept looking over Brainy's shoulder jovially.
"Yeah. What did I say?" He was intent on gathering the four pages that were already copied and was waiting on the fifth. So he really didn't glance behind.
And even though Curly sort of thought that he was ignoring him, he had too much on his mind to care about any other tricks. He wanted answers. "Oh, I don't know. I guess it was why you punched Harold. You know."
Brainy raised his brow, finally turning to glance at him as he flipped the third page over to make the sixth copy. "What?" He could tell Curly had something up his sleeve now with the way he was smiling. He believed he had everything figured out didn't he?
"How you like-like Helga." He smirked as he saw Brainy go rigid. His back to him, he removed the copy from the printer and the actual paper from the copier and put in the fourth page.
The kid stammered, making the other boy see the truth about his feelings. "I, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't like Helga in that way Curly." He was sweating down his face. If there was anything Thaddeus Curly Gammelthorpe was good at, it was interrogating people.
"Oh so you say," he strode beside Brainy as he switch sides of the paper for the eighth copy. The sounds of the copier almost drowned his voice. Almost. "You complimented Helga and she blushed. It's really quite obvious you like her and she likes you."
He could see that Brainy's veins were protruding from his neck. "Yeah, as friends. But that's it!" It sounded like he was serious enough. But, of course, he had to be sure.
"Then why did you punch Harold?" Curly questioned.
Suddenly, the boy turned his body to his right and faced him. His face was red, and very, very angry. Curly gulped, remembering when he lifted him off of the ground in the classroom. He backed away. "Because Helga doesn't deserve to be made fun of that's why!" He pounded his left fist on the table. "She deals with a lot more crap than you do!"
Ok, now Curly was freaked. But he wasn't going down. Taking his fingers, he counted."What do you mean? She's a bully. She's horrible, nasty, crude-"
Brainy swatted his hand away and gripped it like a vice. "Stop that! You don't know her."
Curly scoffed and tugged on his arm. In a strained voice even, he had a hard time believing that Brainy actually knew Helga. "And you do?"
Next thing he knew, the other student pushed him to the side and turned back to take care of the next copy. "Yes. Yes I do." His voice was just a depressing whisper. It was like knowing Helga was painful.
"How so?" He meant to talk about the pain, how Brainy knew her. It didn't make any sense how he knew her so well. He kept rubbing his wrist from the other's strength.
Brainy still wouldn't look up at him. "Have you ever seen her parents? Her sister?" That was odd. Why's he changing the topic?
But he decided to play along. He probably had a point that he would tell eventually. "Yeah of course I have. At least her dad and her sister. I only saw her mom at the Parent's Day Games last year." He remembered Helga's mom. She was skinny with short blond hair. Although she was so pathetically weak! She couldn't even lift Helga on top of her shoulders well.
"Can you imagine Curly?" He finished the tenth page. Only two more to go and then they could get out of there.
"Imagine what?" Having a family like Helga's. That's he thought Brainy meant as he scrunched his face. Once the eleventh paper was in the copier, both of his hands dropped to his sides in fists. Curly had never seen him like this before.
Brainy hid his face. "Having a brute, forceful father; a drunken mother; a sister that all of our classmates admire but don't admire Helga." What? How did he know about all of this? Sure, he knew Big Bob Pataki was tough. But that shouldn't count for Helga's bad attitude.
Curly countered. "But Helga's mean." He started to sweat. Maybe he shouldn't have asked.
Once the eleventh paper was out, the other kid put turned it over to the last page. "But that shouldn't matter. You guys can compliment a person multiple times that you see only what? Once or twice in your lifetime? But you hurt her sister who you see every single day?" Brainy was asking so many questions. And he was practically yelling in his ears.
"Why are you being so defensive?" Curly shouted.
"Because Helga needs protection!" The last paper was printed. Brainy sighed as he went back to taking both the original and copied essays to staple them.
Curly just stood there in wonder as he flailed his arms. "But she can punch the daylights out of anyone!" Ughh, he wasn't making sense. Which normally he liked, but right now it confused him to no end!
"Doesn't matter. She needs protection from the criticism you guys give her!" Criticism? Criticism? Hah! That's a laugh. Other than Harold and Helga, everyone else weren't bullies. But Harold just joked around and made a punch every now and then.
Helga, she was just plain mean to others and kept saying that she hated people.
"She yells at us! How else are we supposed to react?" he questioned loudly.
After Brainy was done, he stood in front. Holding on tightly to the papers, he said, "By simply understanding her; the way Arnold and I do."
Not much more could be said as he got the papers together and stormed out the room, taking the key off of the table, and leaving Curly standing there just as lost as ever. And he kept standing there with thoughts in his head.
Brainy really understood Helga. That much was obvious based on what he told him about her family. But what did he mean about Arnold understanding her? Was Brainy mad at Arnold too? No. That couldn't be it because he was helping him. Ughh, this didn't make any sense.
Not surprisingly, Mr. Simmons showed up a few minutes later. He must have seen the lights coming from the room. Poking his head inside, he saw Curly standing there facing the door.
"Curly?" he asked, coming inside. He kneeled in front of him with an arm on his leg.
"Yeah?" He knew that he didn't sound like himself, but after what had just happened between him and Brainy, he had a growing headache.
"Were you trying to escape?" It was a simple question. And Curly could have just ratted out his classmate about the copying the essay. But for some unknown reason, maybe the aches or the words that Brainy had said, he couldn't.
So he lied. "Yeah, I was."
"Then why didn't Brainy call for me?" Mr. Simmons put a hand to his shoulder. Somehow it felt good, having some stability. Curly never accepted that sort of thing. But right now he founded that he needed it more than ever. So he didn't push him away.
"Because some other students came and asked for his help getting something. He," Curly gulped to make it sound like he was nervous, "He wasn't in the room. So I tried to get out of this joint!" He made the attempt to laugh manically.
Mr. Simmons sighed and left the conversation at that as they left the Weekly Word room. And he knew that he got detention for the next day.
And for once, Curly didn't mind. It would give him more time to think.
About Helga. About Arnold. About Brainy. About Rhonda.
And of course plotting his next escape.
After all, he was Thaddeus Curly Gammelthorpe. He could figure out anything.