Chapter 50

Cecile?

"How much longer?" Helga said irritably.

"I don't know," Arnold replied for the umpteenth time that day.

"We've been walking for days! How far away can the beach be?"

"Maybe we took a wrong turn. I don't remember walking this far before."

"Why do you want to make it to the beach so badly anyway? What's on the beach?"

"Well…" Arnold racked his brain for an answer. "There's probably a better chance of being found if we're there."

"Oh, right. I'm sure there are countless people out there who have nothing better to do with their time then sail around deserted, undiscovered islands, searching for stranded people!"

"Okay, okay, I get your point. But we might as well try to make it to the beach. What else have we got to do?"

"I don't know. Let's go jump off a cliff," Helga said, rolling her eyes.

"That's smart."

"It's better than traipsing through a stupid jungle, trying to make it to a retarded beach that isn't even going to help us!"

"At least we've got food now," Arnold said, trying, as always, to look on the bright side.

"Please, don't mention that. I swear, if I eat one more banana, I'll puke."

"It's better that seaweed."

"I wish we could just go back to the city somehow", Helga said wistfully. "Before the flood, before any of this ever happened."

"Me too."

"I hate this whole thing!" she shouted. "Why'd it have to happen to me, of all people?"

"Maybe it's punishment for all the mean things you've done."

"Oh, sure. And that explains why you're here too."

"It does?"

"Yeah. It just makes my punishment all the more fulfilling for it to be shared with a football head. Don't you think?"

Arnold glared at her. "I wish we could get off this island. Then I could stop hanging around you."

Helga ducked under a branch. "Oh, yeah? Well, I wish that-"

Suddenly, the end of her bow caught on the branch. She took a step forward, and the bow came undone. Her long blond hair fell out of its pigtails and fell over her shoulders.

"Oh, criminy, just my luck," she muttered. "Now on top of everything else, my hair's gonna be in my face." She turned around to see Arnold staring at her like she had grown another head. "What are you looking at, football head?" she snapped.

"Cecile?" Arnold asked, his voice barley a whisper. He took a step toward her.

Helga stared at him, panic stricken. "What the heck is he talking about?!" she thought. Then it struck her. "Oh, criminy, me hair! He's never seen me with my hair down…except when I was Cecile."

"Cecile?" Arnold asked again, coming a little closer.

She froze. There was no way out now. No way to escape. She couldn't move. She couldn't tear away from his stare.

Arnold took two steps closer and reached out his hand, as if to touch her hair.

Helga turned around and ran. She flew through the jungle, but he was right on her tail.

"I've got to get away from him!" The thought bounced around in her head, her primary focus. "I've got to get away!"

She started to run faster, but Arnold was directly behind her. Suddenly, he tripped over a root that was jutting out of the ground. Helga turned around in surprise as he pushed her down. She fell backwards onto the ground, and he landed right on top of her.

Helga blinked in surprise, trying to process everything that was going on. Everything was happening too fast.

"What's he gonna do?" she thought in a panic.

Arnold stared at her for a minute with a dazed expression on his face. Then he slowly lifted his hand and ran his fingers through her hair. She melted at his touch but tried not to show it.

Suddenly, his expression changed. She swore, she could see the idea enter his mind.

"Oh, my…he wouldn't dare…he couldn't…" she thought in confusion.

He leaned in closer.

She nervously laughed. "You wouldn't," she taunted, clearly saying that she didn't even think he was capable of doing it. I mean, this was Arnold, the innocent little perfect boy who always did the right thing. There was just no way…

"I wouldn't." He leaned closer.

Helga relaxed. "You wouldn't," she said with relief.

"I wouldn't," he reassured her, with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He came in closer.

"Oh, my…you would…" she gasped. She glanced around. Should she try to get away? She couldn't. Even if she was one of the strongest kids in school, the fact still remained that she was a girl, and Arnold was a boy. When it really came down to it, he was probably stronger. There was no way for her to escape. He was in control. If he was really going to do what she thought he was going to do, there would be nothing she could do to stop him.

"I wouldn't." He almost sounded offended that she didn't believe him. He leaned closer.

"You would," she said accusingly.

Arnold looked at her curiously and smiled. He seemed to be thinking it over. "I would."

She stared at him in shock. "You would?!"

He laughed. "I would."

Closer.

He was so close to her that she could feel his breath on her lips.

"I can't believe this! He's really going too!" Helga thought with a mixture of happiness and fear. "Apart from the fact that he now knows I'm Cecile, and I've got to get away ASAP if I want my secret to be safe…this is probably the best day of my life."

The touch of his hand against her cheek brought her back to reality. "You would?" she asked again.

"I would."

Closer.

"You wou-"

She was suddenly cut off as he closed the space between them, tenderly pressing his lips to hers. She closed her eyes and kissed him back. She chanted his name over and over in her head, allowing the feeling to sink in.

"Arnold, Arnold, Arnold, Arnold…"

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally pulled back. Helga

stared into his eyes, dizzy with happiness. Arnold slowly got up and stood at her feet. He looked at her in confusion, like he couldn't tell what was going on. He extended his hand to her to help her up. She took his hand and shakily stood up.

Helga pulled her hand back and took a few uneasy steps backwards. She felt like she was going to faint.

"Oh…my…" She grabbed a tree for support.

"Helga, I-"

Whatever it was he had been trying to say, she never heard it. She turned around and ran away from him. She raced blindly through the forest. She didn't once look back.