Chapter 5: A Special Spot
It was finally Friday; the day that had brought mixed feelings for the kids about everything that may or may not be taking place during it. How was it going to turn out?
P.S. 118
Hallway
"Thanks again for agreeing to watch Arnie tonight. I know it won't be fun." Arnold said to Gerald, receiving a glare from his friend.
"No kidding. So, you ever decide where to give your lady her wedding gift?" Gerald asked, walking towards class with Arnold.
Arnold then realized so much had occurred that week, he hadn't taken the time to decide on a location.
"Umm I guess not. Helga doesn't seem to care where I give it to her. She just wants it as soon as possible."
"And that surprises you?" Gerald said wittily, seeing Arnold roll his eyes.
Classroom
"Arnold tells me you weren't at the bus station when your family picked up your sister?" Phoebe couldn't help but bring up, as the two sat waiting for class to start.
Rolling her eyes at the topic, Helga scoffed "Is it really that hard to figure out what happened Pheebs?"
Even if Arnie hadn't been there to bother Helga, Phoebe knew Helga's family didn't pay her enough attention to warn her when they were leaving.
"I suppose not."
Before Phoebe could ask her friend if she was alright, the two noticed their boyfriends entering the classroom.
Arnold took his seat in front of Helga, wishing he could give her her gift then and there. As he turned in his seat to face her, Arnold said "I'm still trying to think of a place for us to go tonight."
Helga rolled her eyes with her head in her hand as she smirked "How about the bus station? Nothing like using past locations to celebrate the meaning behind your relationship."
Rubbing the hand that still laid on her desk, Arnold took notice of the sad look in his girlfriend's eyes. She may have known how much he cared for her now, but at times it didn't seem enough to fill the hole in her heart that was left by the constant neglection she experienced at home.
"Good morning class! Ready for another special day?!" Mr. Simmons said. Arnold took that as his que to turn around in his seat, leaving his girlfriend alone with her depressing thoughts.
A Few Hours Later
When the bell for lunch came, Arnold turned in his seat to ask his girlfriend to lunch.
"I'll catch up with you football head." Helga replied, not ready to move just yet.
Shrugging his shoulders at the response, Arnold rose from his seat to leave the room with Gerald.
As Helga remained in her seat, she turned her head to hear her best friend say "Was there anything atypical about your incident picking up your sister last night?"
Awful as Phoebe felt putting it that way, she knew Helga could normally handle something such as that happening with her family. It wasn't unusual to be treated less or even forgotten by them.
*Flashback*
Helga's House
"I'm really sorry about Arnie Helga. We won't stick around at the party after we take him to it." Arnold reminded her, standing at Helga's front porch.
"Don't worry about it football head." she sighed. Although she hadn't enjoyed being followed around by his lame cousin or appreciated the fact her family left without her, she wasn't going to allow Arnold to take the blame for any of it.
"I'll see you tomorrow then. Have a good night." he said, giving her what started as a short but sweet kiss. As he held her face in his hands, the thought of his cousin laying in bed with his arms wrapped around his girlfriend brought yet another disturbing image to his mind. However this one wasn't a dream. It actually happened.
Thinking he was finished, Helga began to pull away, only to be jerked back towards her boyfriend's lips. Arnold forcefully pressed his face against hers, wondering what could have happened if she had woken up before he found her with Arnie. How mad would she have been at him? What would Arnie have tried to do?
After pushing the thoughts away from his mind, he let go of his girlfriend and watched the wide eyed facial expression she was carrying.
"Uhh sorry. I just missed you today I guess." Arnold blushed, not wanting to reveal his thoughts.
"That's okay. See you tomorrow." Helga said softly, as she turned to go inside.
Entering the house, she saw her mother on the phone with the police, anxious to figure out where her daughter was.
As Bob was headed for the door, on his way to find his daughter, the family turned to see Helga standing in the doorway.
"Helga?! Where were you? We were worried sick about you girl!" Bob exclaimed, as a surprised look came to her face.
The last thing she would have expected would have been for her family to care she was missing.
Classroom
As she listened to her best friend finish her story, Phoebe continued to notice the somber look on Helga's face and asked "Is it not a good thing they implied their neglectful behavior towards you is in no way intentional?"
Rolling her eyes at the remark, Helga sighed "If that's really how they feel, why does it take something as severe as the thought of me dropping off the face of the earth for them to show it? I mean criminy! All Olga has to do is show her stupid sun shining face for them to act like the cure to cancer has just been unleashed!"
"Not all families connect in the same way Helga. While it's true your parents are capable of trying harder to show you the emotional support you've always deserved, they've proven your worth to them."
Helga rolled her eyes at her friend's explanation until she listened to Phoebe add…
"Also, consider this. While Olga may succeed at a substantial amount of activities, she has shown herself to be nowhere near as emotionally stable as you."
Cocking her brow, Helga turned to face her friend and asked "What's that in English?"
"Well, think of all the dramatic outbursts your sister has had when a tough time occurs. She's unable to handle the idea of anything negative occurring in her life."
"Pttss...ya got that right!"
Nodding her head at her friend's willingness to agree, Phoebe added "Which is precisely why, your parents trust you to look after yourself."
Helga didn't completely agree with her friend's assumption. Even if they knew she was capable of handling herself, that didn't explain why they weren't capable of showing her a bit of attention from time to time. Be that as it may, she simply sighed and said "Thanks Pheebs."
Cafeteria
"So none of those places from your list screams proposal?" Gerald asked, as he watched Arnold ignore his lunch, trying to come up with a plan.
Letting out a deep sigh, Arnold leaned his head against his hand and said "No."
"Just give it to her after school. Like you said, all she cares about is getting her hands on it." Gerald reminded him.
"I want it to be special though."
"Everything's got to be perfect with you doesn't it?" Gerald shook his head, knowing his friend always had to make a big deal out of everything.
Another Table
"I'm certain I can't wait for tonight Rhonda! It's going to be oh so perfect!" Lila exclaimed.
Not happy about the idea of Arnold's cousin attending the party, Rhonda stood from the table with her tray and said "Yes well, everything better go according to plan!"
Walking across the room with her tray, Rhonda couldn't help but overhear…
"Pataki doesn't even like jewelry. I don't know what makes you think you have to figure out a special place to give it to her on top of that?"
"Gerald, I found it where we uhh...you know."
"Don't remind me." Gerald interrupted his blushing friend.
Classroom
The kids made it back to class to find Helga and Phoebe still sitting in their seats. Arnold anxiously sat down, as he asked "Why didn't you come to lunch?"
Shrugging her shoulders, Helga said "Guess I just wasn't that hungry."
Arnold looked over in Phoebe's direction, knowing there had to be something Helga wasn't telling him. Seeing as how there was still a few minutes before class started again, Arnold asked "Phoebe, could I talk to you for a second?"
"Why certainly Arnold."
Hallway
"Helga's seemed upset all morning. Did something happen?" Arnold felt the need to ask.
"I'm afraid she may be experiencing a few mixed feelings from what occurred with her family yesterday."
Arnold then turned to face the door with a worried look on his face. Helga hadn't mentioned anything to him about this.
"Did they not tell her they were looking for her?"
"I'm afraid that's what she's feeling conflicted over. While Helga knows deep down her family cares for her, it doesn't always make up for (let alone excuse) the lack of effort they put into showing it." Phoebe explained, while watching a sad look form on Arnold's face.
"Thanks Phoebe."
Classroom
"What do ya reckon Lila's party will be like Sid?" Stinky asked, anxious to find out.
"I don't know. I heard her talking to Rhonda about the games they have planned for us to play."
As Nadine listened to the talk about the party, she turned to Rhonda and said "Everyone sure is excited about tonight Rhonda!"
Sitting back in her chair with her arms crossed, Rhonda turned her nose up and said "Yes well, after a week of planning and preparing for what I hoped to be another successful party, there is going to be a huge asterisk on the guest list!"
"What are you talking about?" Nadine asked.
"Arnold's creepy cousin will be joining us. I can't even fathom the disaster this is likely to turn into."
Although no one cared for Arnie, Nadine felt Rhonda was getting ahead of herself with the worrying.
Classes at last ended and everyone had something on their mind pertaining to that evening. Rhonda was worried about her perfect party plans being ruined while Lila was simply overjoyed to be having the party (and seeing Arnie once again).
Gerald and Phoebe were not looking forward to spending the evening watching their friend's cousin, while the rest of the class was anxious to find what activities awaited them at the party.
Helga was trying to take Phoebe's words into consideration about the reason behind her family's behavior, which brought more to Arnold's mind than just the location for his date with her.
Hallway
"Okay Lila, we have the needed supplies. Nadine and I will follow you home to get ready for the party." Rhonda informed her.
"It sounds oh too perfect!"
While the girls were exiting the building, Arnold was grabbing his needed books from his locker. "So, what time are you and Pataki stopping by the party?" Gerald asked.
"Uhh I'll bring Arnie by at six. I don't think Helga wants to walk over there with us." Arnold sighed, thinking about the rough day she was having.
"Can you blame her?"
Rolling his eyes at the remark, Arnold said "I should get going. My grandpa wasn't too happy I didn't bring him to school with me this time."
"Could your parents not watch him?"
"Eduardo invited them to see the new rain forest exhibit. They've already seen it, so they may have just been using it as an excuse not to watch him." Arnold sighed, watching his friend shake his head.
"Mm, mm, mmm."
The Boarding House
Arnold opened the door to watch the line of pets pour past him. Rather than hearing his grandpa call out his name as he expected, he heard "Citric acid, sodium benzoate, calcium propionate…"
"Oh hey Arnie." Arnold said, entering the kitchen to see him reading the ingredients on their food packages.
"Snort. Hey."
"Are you ready for the party tonight?"
"Snort. Is Helga going?"
Rolling his eyes, Arnold replied "Yeah, she'll be there."
"Snort. Okay."
Arnold's Room
After entering his room, Arnold went to grab the box he had kept his parents' things in over the years. There he pulled out Helga's necklace he had placed in there for safe keeping. Looking at it, he thought to himself…
Maybe Gerald's right; I should just give it to her.
As he held it in his hand, trying to make up his mind, he heard a knock at the door.
KNOCK KNOCK
"Come in."
"Hey there shortman."
"Oh, hey grandpa."
"Weather's supposed to be bad tonight. I'd suggest taking that umbrella of yours if you still plan on going out." Phil warned him.
"Okay. Thanks grandpa."
Arnold tucked the necklace into his pocket as Phil was turning to head out the door. He then saw Arnie standing in the doorway, as he bluntly snorted "I'm ready."
Phil slipped past the eccentric kid, muttering to himself "That kid creeps me out."
"Okay Arnie, let's go." Arnold said, grabbing his yellow umbrella.
Lila's House
"What are we doing first Rhonda? Playing the games, eating, showing everyone around the house?" Nadine asked, knowing her friend already had the evening planned out.
"Now that we have the food laid out, we can prepare for the first game we'll be playing. Lila, these are the questions everyone will be asked when playing Old Town Trivia." Rhonda explained, handing the sweet girl the needed information for the game.
20 minutes later
"Whilikers! This sure is a mighty fine house Ms. Lila!" Stinky said, looking around at the brightly painted rooms, decorated with candles and vases.
"Thank you just ever so much Stinky!"
Rhonda was getting ready to inform the group of how the night would be going when she saw the last two people walking through the door.
"Hey Rhonda." Arnold greeted her, with his eccentric cousin following behind him.
Disgusted by the sight of the plain boy, Rhonda said "Uhhh just have a seat over there."
Arnold directed Arnie to the couch Rhonda was pointing at, before going over to find Gerald. "Have a seat here Arnie. I'll be right back."
"Snort. Okay."
Not planning on returning anytime soon, Arnold spotted his friend over by the snack table.
"Hey Gerald."
"Hey man, you decide to stay?" Gerald asked, already knowing the answer.
"Uhh no. Have you seen Helga?" Arnold asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
"She's in the kitchen. I don't think she was too thrilled about the idea of playing housewarming games for with your x-crush." Gerald said wittily, while seeing his friend roll his eyes at the remark.
"Gerald…"
Lila's Kitchen
"Are you doing any better this evening Helga?" Phoebe asked, watching her friend hold an untouched soda in her hand.
"I guess." she sighed, wondering when Arnold was going to show up.
"Just remember Helga, your family loves you despite the poor effort they put into showing it."
As Helga was about to thank her encouraging friend, she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Ready to go?" Arnold asked, seeing his girlfriend turn to face him.
"Sure football head."
Lila's Living Room
"Everyone, gather around! I have put together a list of questions for our friend to ask about her lovely home life. Whoever answers the most correctly wins the game." Rhonda explained, seeing the annoyed look on her friends' faces.
"Awww why do we have to take a dumb test! Why can't we just eat?" Harold whined.
"It's not a test Harold. Okay Lila, you may start your questions."
Staring at the order of questions her classmate had given her, Lila first asked "What town did I move here from?"
"Uhhhhh…." Sid went on, not having a clue to what the answer may be.
"It was just ever so Pleasant!" Lila exclaimed, hoping the clue would work.
"I believe the answer may be Pleasantville." Phoebe replied, having caught on quickly.
"Is that why she's always acting so polite?" Sid turned to ask Stinky, never having heard of the place.
"I reckon so."
While listening to Lila ask their friends questions about her, Rhonda couldn't help but notice Arnie sitting quietly on the couch, staring at something in his hands.
Not finding the game to be so important anymore, she walked over in his direction to ask "What may I ask is that?"
Giving her a blank stare, Arnie snorted "It's for Helga."
Rhonda's mind then flashed back to the conversation she had overheard Arnold and Gerald having in the cafeteria earlier that day. Seeing Arnie with the necklace in his head, she realized it must have been what Arnold was planning on giving Helga.
Still being as upset as she was repulsed Arnie was attending her party, an idea for revenge then popped into her head.
Walk
"Phoebe told me what's on your mind Helga. You know I'm always here for you." he assured her, holding her hand down the street; still unsure of where he was taking her.
"Don't worry about it football head. It's not the first time they've upset me and it won't be the last."
Arnold began to rub her hand with his thumb, feeling there wasn't much he could do to cheer her up. All anyone could do was wait for her to realize no matter how her family treated her, there were still people in the world who loved and cared for her.
Lila's House
"You're just ever so right Phoebe!"
Having guessed practically every correct answer about her classmate, Phoebe was named the winner of the game.
"Okay everyone. We can now start the scavenger hunt."
"Scavenger hunt? Bow howdy! That sounds cool."
Nodding her head in agreement, Rhonda explained "Each room has a different type of candy in it. Whoever finds and collects them all first…"
"Gets to eat it all!" Harold butted in.
Rolling her eyes, Rhonda replied "I suppose so, yes."
Walk
As Arnold was trying to think of what to do with his girlfriend, he noticed them walking by the park. "Would you like to go for a walk around the park?"
"Eh, why not?" she sighed.
The two walked quietly together until Helga heard Arnold say "I'm really sorry Helga."
Cocking her brow at him, she asked "Sorry for what?"
This isn't how I planned things turning out. I wanted to take you somewhere special. Instead, we're walking around trying to figure out what to do all because I spent the week trying to avoid my cousin."
Rolling her eyes at his guilty conscience, Helga scoffed "Would you knock off the water works? For crying out loud, none of it is your fault. Nothing is EVER your fault!"
Widening his eyes at that last statement, he asked "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Arnold, you act like you're the cause of my sorry excuse for a life's problems, when that's the last thing you are. It's not your job to fix everything that's wrong in my life. Just because I'm unhappy doesn't mean you should be too." she sighed, feeling him rub her hand.
The two then took a seat on the bench they were about to pass by the fountain. As he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, he said "I shouldn't be, but I am."
Lila's House
"I found me some M&M's." Stinky said excitedly, looking under Lila's bed.
While Rhonda was walking down the hall, making sure everyone was still participating in the game, she came to find Arnie standing at the end of the hall, staring at the necklace again.
A wide grin formed on her face as she approached him and said "Why don't you let me hold that for you Arnie? I have a special box to put it in."
Taking her up on the offer, Arnie began to walk away as he snorted "Okay."
The Park
"I don't know why I even care? I'm Helga G. Pataki! So what if they don't show me a little appreciation from time to time? Since when do I need someone to care about me? I've gotten through life just fine on my own." Helga scoffed crossing her arms, leaning back on the bench.
"You don't really believe that do you?"
"Believe what Arnoldo?"
"That nobody cares about you?" he asked, suddenly feeling the pain she had been feeling all day.
Helga looked into his sad eyes, knowing how that must have sounded. As she took his hand in hers, she said "I'm sorry Arnold. I know you care about me. Pheebs said the only reason they don't try harder to show how much they care about me is because they know I can handle the way things are. I wouldn't be able to if I didn't have you though."
A warm smile came to both their faces as he placed a hand on her cheek. The two sat there, staring into each other's sweet eyes until they were interrupted by a few raindrops.
Arnold looked up after feeling them as he said to his girlfriend "Guess my grandpa was right about the weather."
Lila's Kitchen
"What are you doing Rhonda?"
Nadine came into the kitchen to see Rhonda using the box the decorative notecards came in to store Helga's necklace.
"Oh, I was just working on a housewarming present for Lila."
"That was nice of you. When did you get it?" Nadine asked, not remembering her buying anything that wasn't on the shopping list at The Corner Store.
"Let's just say, it was a last minute decision. Now, go gather everyone's results for the scavenger hunt." Rhonda insisted, watching the puzzled look on Nadine's face as she left the room.
After seeing her friend leave, Rhonda grinned widely at the box, knowing this would be the perfect way to get her revenge on Arnold, hurt Helga, and make a fool of Arnie.
Walk
"Well this has been a lovely day." Helga smirked, not intending to make her boyfriend feel worse.
"Yeah, if you just want to come back to my place, I can make you something to eat there?"
"Eh, why not?"
Lila's House
"Hot dang! I won me all the candy!" Stinky exclaimed, having been the winner of the scavenger hunt.
"Aww gee!" Harold whined, not having found anything.
"Don't worry Harold. This next activity will be ever so fun." Lila assured him.
"What is it?" Sid asked.
"Rhonda has offered to lead you all on a tour of my house!" Lila said excitedly, not taking notice of the unamused looks on everyone's faces.
"Actually Lila, I've decided to let Nadine take care of this activity." Rhonda said, receiving a once again perplexed look from Nadine.
"Why is that?"
"I need to speak with Lila in the kitchen for a moment." Rhonda said, gesturing for Lila to follow her in there.
Not knowing what the reason behind it was, Nadine followed her friend's orders and began leading the class around the house.
Boarding House
"Aren't you gonna stand out of the way of that zoo of yours Arnoldo?" Helga scoffed, standing on the porch beside him.
"We don't have to worry about them running out when it's raining." he explained, seeing her roll her eyes.
"Wonders never cease."
Lila's Kitchen
"It's just ever so beautiful Rhonda! What a lovely gift!" Lila exclaimed, looking at the pink diamond necklace.
"Don't thank me. Thank Arnie." Rhonda grinned.
"Arnie?"
Nodding her head, Rhonda went on to say "Yes, he told me he feels terrible about leaving you, but was simply too shy to tell you. Therefore, he asked me to give this to you as a token of his lingering affections."
Lila eagerly put on the necklace, anxious to go find Arnie, while Rhonda remained in the kitchen, happy to see things going as planned.
Arnold's Kitchen
"How about some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?"
"Slap a bib on me and stand back!" the young girl warned him, not having eaten anything all day.
Arnold smiled at her, figuring now was as good a time as any to give her her gift.
I'll give her the necklace after she eats.
Lila's House
Lila began searching the house for Arnie, not sure of which room he could be in. All she wanted to do was hug him and say all was forgiven. She had never seen such a pretty necklace before.
Arnold's Kitchen
"Thanks for dinner football head!" Helga said, happily pushing her plate aside.
Arnold smiled, placing his hand on his girlfriend's, happy to see her smiling at last. "I'm ready to give you your surprise now."
Helga's eyes widened with excitement as she said "Hand it over hairboy!"
Arnold began reaching into his pocket, only to find it was empty. "Oh no!"
"What is it?" Helga asked, cocking her brow.
"I must have lost it!"
"Pttss...way to go Romeo." Helga smirked, seeing her boyfriend race upstairs to search his room.
Lila's House
Lila at last found Arnie in the master bedroom. She happily raced over to ask "What are you doing all by your lonesome Arnie?"
"Snort. Looking for Helga." he said bluntly.
"I'm certain she's no longer here." Lila informed him.
As he turned to look at her, she added "Thank you ever so much for the necklace."
"Snort. That's for Helga."
Arnold's Kitchen
Helga sat with her head in her hand propped against the table, waiting for her boyfriend to return. As she heard him rushing back down the stairs she said "Look Arnoldo, whatever it was, it's obviously no longer here! What the heck was it?"
Arnold didn't want to spill the beans. Enough had gone wrong already that week. He would like at least ONE thing to work out the way he wanted.
"Let's go back to Lila's. Maybe I left it there?"
Helga cocked her brow, not knowing why he would have taken it there to begin with. It was obvious he wasn't going to tell her what it was however. That being said, she stood from the table and sighed "Fine football head, let's go."
Lila's House
"You mean, you didn't get this for me?" Lila asked, holding the necklace around her neck.
"Snort. No. It's for Helga."
Lila then thought back to the day Arnie had dumped her in the cafeteria for Helga. Hearing this began to make sense, although it didn't explain why Rhonda had lied to her.
Assuming Arnie had bought it for Helga, Lila took it off to return to him.
Walk
As the two of them walked with their arms linked under the yellow umbrella, Helga took notice of the worried look on her boyfriend's face and said "Relax football head. Whatever it was, I'm sure it's replaceable."
Arnold gulped at the sound of that. He couldn't disagree with her without it leading to a list of questions as to why it wasn't.
Lila's House
Lila would have been tempted to question Rhonda's motive for lying to her, had she not felt Rhonda was doing a lovely job with the party.
"Okay everyone. Now that we're familiar with the rooms, we may play Room Memory." Rhonda said, receiving puzzled looks from the group.
"What in the heck is that?" Stinky asked.
"I believe the purpose of the game is to remain in a room for a specific amount of time, in order to test the amount of knowledge you've acquired of it." Phoebe explained.
"I have the decorative notecards that will be waiting when you return from each room." Rhonda explained.
While the girls were finding some of the night enjoyable, the boys were beginning to see it more as homework.
Walk
Thinking back to the hard week she had experienced and everything her boyfriend had tried to do to comfort her during it, Helga looked over and said "Hey Arnold."
"Yeah?"
"You didn't have to get me anything. You've done enough for me already."
Turning to look at her a moment, he said "I know I didn't have to, I wanted to. You're my girlfriend, and you mean a lot to me."
Lila's House
"Everyone turn in your cards and I'll tally up your scores." Nadine said, collecting the notecards.
"This was just for fun right? We weren't practicing this stuff for school were we?" Sid asked, beginning to feel nervous about the meaning behind the 'games' they had been playing.
Ignoring the question, Gerald turned to his girlfriend and asked "Hey, have you seen Arnie?"
"I regret to inform you I haven't seen him since our rendition of 'Old Town Trivia.'" Phoebe explained.
"Mm, mm, mmm. This is definitely not good." Gerald shook his head, not knowing what type of trouble his best friend's cousin may be causing.
As Gerald was about to get up and search, he and Phoebe noticed Arnie entering the room with Helga's necklace.
Gerald stood wide-eyed at the sight, while Phoebe leaned over to whisper "Is that not the gift Arnold intended to give Helga?"
Before he could respond to his girlfriend, the group turned to hear someone opening the door.
There stood Arnold and Helga, not excited to be there. As Arnold shook off the excess water from his umbrella, Helga noticed Arnie staring straight at her and listened to him snort "Hey Helga."
"Oh brother." Helga scoffed with her hands on her waist.
After setting the umbrella down, Arnold turned to see Arnie with the necklace in his hand. "Arnie, why do you have that?!"
Rather than responding, Arnie approached Helga and snorted "This is for you."
Rather than taking it from him, Helga cocked her brow at Arnold and listened to him say "Arnie, where did you get that?"
"Snort. It was hanging out of your pocket. I wanted to give it to Helga."
"Criminy! Catch a clue already! You could give me a gem the size of your head and I wouldn't go out with you!" Helga scowled.
Suddenly not caring about his cousin's supervision, Arnold took the necklace and said "We're going to leave now. Arnie, you can leave when you want to."
Lila's Kitchen
After the awkward event that had taken place in her living room ended, Lila went into the kitchen to find Rhonda.
"Rhonda?"
"Yes Lila?"
"If you don't mind my asking, what made you lie about Arnie giving me the necklace? It seemed just ever so mean."
Rolling her eyes at the sweet girl's request to know the point of her scheme, Rhonda simply said "I'm afraid I misunderstood him. When he gave it to me to give to a beautiful girl he still had feelings for, I could only assume he meant you. I mean seriously, how could he consider Helga more valuable than you?"
Although she didn't consider Rhonda's harsh remark of Helga necessary, Lila appreciated the compliment, and easily forgave her friend.
"Gosh! Thanks ever so much Rhonda!"
Walk
When Arnold had given up hope on their special day, he saw not the perfect place for a date, but the perfect spot for reminding his girlfriend how much she meant to him.
"Hey football head, you're going the wrong way!" Helga scoffed, as she felt him leading her in the opposite direction of the boarding house.
He pulled her along under the umbrella to the spot they met; Urban Tots Preschool.
"What are we doing here?" she asked, waiting to get home and out of the rain.
"I know I didn't have any special plans for giving this to you, but this spot brings back a special memory."
Helga began to blush at the thought of him remembering. The day he held his umbrella over her head and said to her….
I like your bow because it's pink like your pants.
It was the first time anyone had ever noticed her. The first time anyone had ever made her feel she had a reason to live.
Arnold then handed his girlfriend the umbrella, so he could reach for the necklace that was thankfully still in his pocket. As he took it out to place on her, he said "I like your necklace, because it's pink like your dress."
Helga let out a heavy swoon, feeling the umbrella shake within her arm. The two of them stared into each other's lovesick eyes until Arnold at last said "Gerald said that's more like a wedding gift. If you'd like me to hold onto it until the time is right, I can do that."
"Pttss...tell Geraldo if he plans on making it there with Pheebs one day, it's going to take more than hand holding and spending their spare time watching reruns of Pop Daddy."
"Whatever you say Helga."
THE END
I tried taking my time posting this story chapter by chapter to see if I would get more reviews than I do with my other stories. So far it hasn't seemed to work. If you like it, don't hesitate to say so! Thank you very much for reading it! Thanks To All Those Who Have Reviewed By The Way :)