Chapter 35

Conversation

"Wow. I feel like I've been brought back from the dead," Helga said in a daze.

Arnold laughed. "Okay, now that we've established the fact that we're not dead, what was the other thing you wanted to tell me?"

"Oh…that," Helga said nervously, rubbing her arm.

"Criminy! I wish I was dead," she thought, "then I could have told him, and we would have lived in happiness for all eternity. What rotten luck. There's no way I can tell him now."

"Well?" he asked, getting more curious with every second that she stalled.

"It's…not important right now."

"How could it not be important?! It seemed pretty important yesterday."

"Yeah…"

"So, what is it?"

Helga stared at the raft, purposely avoiding eye contact with him.

"Are you going to tell me, or am I going to have to guess?"

She laughed slightly. "How come you always do that Arnold?"

"Do what?"

"You always…I don't know. Ask me unanswerable questions. Make me fell guilty when I won't tell you. Don't you see? I can't tell you. I-"

She stopped herself just in time. She was being way too honest with him.

"I'd better snap out of it, or I'll let something important slip out," she thought.

"Just…forget I said anything," she told Arnold after a few seconds.

"So, you won't tell me?"

"I can't," she said quietly.

Arnold was suddenly struck with the fact that this was almost exactly what she had said when he found her behind his couch.

"That was a dream!" he scolded himself. "It never happened. This is just a coincidence."

"Thanks."

"What?" Arnold asked, still lost in thought.

"Thanks. You know, for saving me. If it wasn't for you, I'd probably be dead now."

"It was nothing."

"That's what you said when Wolfgang tried to beat me up," Helga said, laughing.

"Oh, yeah. I guess it is."

"That's the second time you've risked your life for me."

"Well, you keep getting into life risking situations."

"Hey, it's not my fault bucko!"

"Okay, you're right."

"But how come you keep saving me? I mean, no one else bothered to rescue me when Lila pushed me in the water. I doubt anyone else even noticed."

"That's because they were all running around trying to kiss everyone else."

She had to laugh at that. "What morons! I'm glad you weren't that stupid. Hey, wait, why weren't you chasing Lila?"

"Why would I want to waste the few precious moments of my life chasing a girl that won't even give me a chance?"

"You mean you don't like her like her anymore?" Helga gasped, her heart skipping a beat.

"Well, no, I still like her. Like her. I just wouldn't want to waste my life chasing her."

"Oh, Lila, if only you could hear this now," Helga thought delightedly.

"I totally agree," she said out loud. "I think you should just forget about her. You guys have never seemed to really get along. I don't think she's really your type."

"You're just mad that she pushed you. Besides, why would you care what I do about Lila?"

"Oh, I-I don't. I was just…you know…giving advice."

"I thought that was my job."

"Alright then, Einstein, I've got one for you. Where are we, and how on earth do we get back? Got any brilliant advice for that?"

"Well…there were streets going to the left, right, and front, so-"

"So, we could have taken anyone of them."

"Right. Do you know what direction the beach is from Hillwood City?"

"How would I know?"

"I know you've been there. Do you remember?"

"What, going or the direction?"

"Both."

"Well, of course I remember going. I don't remember what I did, but I remember that I went. I was only six. All I remember is sitting in a chair watching Olga play with some stupid dolphins. But I haven't the slightest idea what direction the beach was in. I doubt I even knew what directions were."

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?" she asked, knowing exactly what he was going to say.

"What about this spring break? You were on the beach, remember?"

"Yeah…" she said uneasily, "but…we really don't have to talk about that. I-I mean, the whole thing was just sort of…crazy."

"Well, it was a little crazy toward the end," he said, blushing slightly, "but actually I had a pretty good time."

"Yeah. With Summer."

"She was okay…but you were right. She did turn out to be evil. It was after you showed me what she was really like that I really started to have a good time."

"I tried to show you before, but you wouldn't listen."

"I thought that you were just trying to bug me."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you always do that. You always bug me at school and just about everywhere else, so why would that have been any different?"

"Because that time I was telling the truth! For awhile I was just trying to bug you, but then I heard Summer talking with her boyfriend, and I heard her whole plan. I was just trying to warn you, but you wouldn't even give me a chance."

"Well, can you blame me? You had never really been nice before, so I just kind of assumed that it was all a trick. But that was wrong of me. I should have trusted you. You were telling the truth the whole time. I guess you were just…I don't know…trying to be my friend or something."

"Don't be ridiculous, hair boy! Why would I ever want to be your friend?"

"Then why'd you help me?"

"Well…you know. I just…didn't want Summer to take advantage of you is all."

"Why?"

"B-because…I just didn't. I-I mean, I couldn't just let you be used like that, when I knew what she was trying to do. And besides, I would have felt guilty if I hadn't told you, and that would have wrecked my vacation."

Arnold sighed. "Whatever you say, Helga."

"That's right Arnoldo, whatever I say!" Helga shouted, turning away. She stared at the horizon in silence.

"I'm stranded on a raft, in the middle of the ocean, miles away from civilization, with Arnold," she thought to herself. "You'd think I could at least be a little nice to him. I mean, I'm all alone with him on a stinkin' raft! I've drempt of things like this happening, but this is not going how I planned. If it was, we'd probably be making out by now. But no, I'm just staring at nothing, saying nothing, doing nothing-"

"Thanks."

Helga screamed and turned around. "Don't ever surprise me like that!" she shouted angrily.

"Oh. Sorry."

"Thanks for what, anyway? I didn't do anything."

"I was just thinking, I never really did thank you for what you did at the beach."

"Oh. Um…you're welcome, I guess."

Arnold stared at her for a while and then said, "You know what Helga? You're really weird."

"Oh, gee, thanks a million," she said sarcastically.

"No, I mean in a good way. Like, you're always mean, and then out of the blue you'll do something nice. I don't get it. Why can't you just be nice all the time? Why do you always have to pretend to be mean?"

"What do you mean 'pretend'? I've never been nice!" she defended herself. "I'm bad. Pure bad. I always have been, and I always will be. Got it?"

"You're not really bad. I've seen you being nice too many times to think otherwise."

"But I am-"

"Just stop it Helga!" Arnold suddenly shouted at her, grasping her shoulders. "I know you're not this bad! You might act like it for reasons unknown, but I know that deep down you're a nice, caring person with a kinder, gentler side. And if I have to be stuck with you on this thing, then I want you to start showing it!"

Helga stared at him in shock. "I…" She stopped. She didn't know what to say. She glanced at the floor, unable to meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Helga," Arnold said after a moment, letting go of her shoulders. "I don't know what got into me. It's just this stupid situation. It's got me acting crazy."

Helga continued to stare at the floor, wanting desperately to talk to him but afraid of what he might say.

"Just pretend I didn't say anything, okay?" Arnold asked her.

She looked up. "I don't have to do anything that you or anyone else tells me to Arnoldo, got it? I'll be bad when I want, I'll be good when I want. And that's not often, so don't get used to it."

Suddenly, he started to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"I was just thinking. Remember how mad Summer was when we won the sandcastle competition?"

Helga laughed too. "That was pretty off topic, football head. But of course she was mad! I had just ruined her beautiful scheme! I had just wrecked her chance to be on Babewatch! Served her right, the conniving little witch."

"I know. I can't believe she pretended to like me like me, just so I could build her a sandcastle that would win the competition."

"It's no wonder she wanted you to do it. Did you see what she and Sandy 'built'? It wasn't a sandcastle. It was just a hill and a bunch of stupid holes. They never had a chance!"

"I know. Especially considering the fact that they couldn't seem to do anything except throw sand at each other."

"I bet Summer dumped him like a sack of potatoes. I know I would have. Why a girl would go for him, I'll never know."

"I doubt she even liked him. It seemed like all she wanted was some random guy to be her partner on Babewatch."

"I heard him say that he just wanted to be a manager or something. Talk about lame. I bet he didn't even watch the show."

"Well…neither do I."

"Doi! It's a girl's show! You're not supposed to watch it! I don't get why. The world would probably be a better place if everyone watched it. I've seen almost every episode."

"I haven't seen any…except for the one that we were in. I've got that on tape."

"Whoopdeedo. We were only in it for what, a full five minutes?"

"Yeah, but still, being on TV is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"Oh, please. When they said the prize was 'an appearance on Babewatch', don't you think they should have meant a full episode? I mean, what did we even do? You're drowning, they save you, I…" She trailed off, stopping herself before she told him anymore

"Criminy, how come we're talking about this?" she thought desperately. "I've got to change the subject or something, and fast!"