Hey guys, first off I would like to thank my reviewers for giving me positive feedback. I really appreciate it:) Second, I want to apologize for the late update. I'm doing this 5-week summer program at Berklee so I haven't really found time to work on this story. I'll try my best to update more frequently. I made this chapter a little more lengthy compared to my previous ones so that I could make up to you guys.. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and continue to give me more feedback! (By the way, I didn't have time to revise my spelling and grammar before I posted this, so I wouldn't be surprised if there are a few grammatical errors..I'll correct them once I come back.)
TRRIINGGGGG!
Students bolted from their seats and hurried out of the classroom after the second period bell rang.
Keith had asked Helga to wait for minute because he had "something" to take care of. He walked up to Mr. Hodgkins and said, "Bye Mr. Hodgkins, I really enjoyed your class." Why is this guy sucking up to him and why the hell am I waiting for him, Helga thought.
"Thank you! I'm more than glad to have you in my class, Keith. I can already tell that you and I are going to have a great year." Mr. Hodgkins patted Keith on the back and smiled at Helga. Helga smiled back..well at least she tried to. "Anyways good luck, Keith! I'll see you both tomorrow."
"Of course, sir." Keith replied.
As Helga and Keith made their way towards the door, Helga couldn't help but to notice that some of the students in the classroom, including Stila and Haley, were staring at them. Lila was too busy gathering her belongings to even notice them. This was the one of the first times Helga actually felt like she was the center of attention, but it was obviously because she was walking next to some strange pretty boy, which translated to, "an extremely attractive, model-like sex god" for the other girls.
Helga squirmed past a stampede of people in the crowded hallway with Keith following right behind her, and as she was walking, she saw several people staring at Keith with fascination. Their eyes were fixed on him. Oh boy, not again, she thought to herself, these idiots act as if they've never seen a new student before. Rhonda was having an intense conversation with Nadine, but once Keith walked past her, she stopped and examined him with her astonished eyes. Her mouth hung a tad bit open and her dark, smoky eyes looked like they were about to pop out. It was quite a comical sight. Helga turned around to see how Keith was reacting to all of this attention..After all, he was making it hard for everyone focus and stay on task. Keith seemed calm and composed. He didn't really let the attention get to him.
Since they both weren't talking, Helga felt a little awkward walking with him. She didn't bother to make an effort to start a conversation.
Keith broke the ice and asked, "So what's your next class?"
Helga was sort of startled by the question since she wasn't really expecting him to say anything. "Oh, I'm going to AP Bio." She replied.
Keith continued the conversation and said, "Oh that's cool, I took that last year."
Helga didn't know how to respond to that so she just asked, "Was it hard?"
"Sort of, but it was mostly memorization. Overall, it was a decent class. You should do fine." Keith gave her a crooked smile. She noticed that he had perfect lips. They weren't too big and plump, but they also weren't too thin and skinny..they were perfect, and they also complemented his strong, facial structure and prominent features. Helga looked away and started walking up the stairs..she didn't want to be mesmerized by his good looks just like the other girls.
Helga hated walking up the stairs of Hillwood High because they were very hazardous, especially when they were packed, and not to mention that she would always end up walking behind some slow poke. Another reason was because she was self-conscious and worried that she would trip and fall and somehow Arnold would be there to witness the whole incident. As she was walking up the stairs, she hoped that her backpack wasn't all up on Keith's face, but she didn't look back because she didn't want to make things worse by falling and landing on top of him. After both of them got to the top of the staircase on the third floor, Helga guided Keith towards room 336. The room was right around the corner.
"So there's your class. Are you all set?" she asked. She tried her best to sound nice and friendly. This is something the old football head would do, she thought.
"Yes, thanks for walking me, I really appreciate it." Keith had a genuine tone in his voice.
"No probs." Helga replied dryly. As she was about to walk to her class, which was right next to his, Keith stopped her and said, "Hold on." Helga turned around to face him.
"Your class is right next door, right?" he asked, raising his defined brows.
"Mhm.."
"Alright..cool.." Keith had a playful smirk on his face. This guy is weird, she thought.
Helga entered her classroom. She recognized some of the faces. Sheena was sitting in the front row talking to Sid. Sheena was still very tall, and she had long, straight light brown. She had some sort of hipster style going on with her long light green fabric skirt, a tie-dyed t-shirt, and a purple headband with white flowers. Sid on the other hand looked like one of those teenage bikers you see on television. He was wearing ripped jeans with a black studded belt, a gray t-shirt sported a black, leather jacket, and dark drown, leather Timberland boots. His hair was gelled back which made him look much older. Is this dork even smart enough to be taking an AP class, Helga thought to herself.
Helga took a seat in an empty desk in the back and took out her agenda book/student handbook, even though she wasn't planning on reading it. She wondered if Arnold would be in her Bio class, too, since she knew biology was one of his favorite subjects. She remembered that little ant project she had to do with him in the greenhouse during fourth grade and chuckled. It's funny how time can change everything, she thought.
Her teacher, Mr. Dupont entered the classroom. Mr. Dupont was a middle-aged man with frizzy, untamed gray hair. He was wearing thick, black-framed glasses and a white over-coat. Helga thought He was going for that mad scientist look. He was very impatient and restless. If this is my teacher then this class must be a joke.
Helga heard two guys laughing outside the door. She looked up to see what all the commotion was about, and to her surprise, Arnold and Gerald were standing outside of the classroom having some sort of hilarious conversation. Helga tried to make out their conversation, but the kids in the hallway were way too loud and noisy which made it impossible for her to hear anything, and the fact that she was sitting in the back of the classroom didn't help either. Arnold had his back to the door while Gerald was leaning against the wall. Gerald didn't have a tall Afro anymore; he switched it for a shadow fade haircut. This drastically changed his appearance. He wasn't the same skinny, tall hair boy that wore a red shirt with the number thirty-three printed on it anymore..This Gerald was much more stylish and suave. Before he started dating Phoebe, girls would swoon over him and desperately crave his attention. Helga tried to talk Phoebe out of dating Gerald because of his flirtatious behavior and popularity with the ladies, but despite her lectures, Phoebe decided to put Gerald's past behind her and start a "fresh, new relationship" with him, and surprisingly, it was one of the most serious, teenage relationships that Helga had ever seen. Of course every now and then girls would go up to Gerald and throw themselves at him, but soon enough they'd realize that he only had eyes for Phoebe.
Helga saw Gerald and Arnold doing their little handshake, which was kind of like their greeting as well as their farewell. Gerald gave Arnold a little slap on the back and left. Arnold turned around and ran his fingers through his blonde tufts. He had a dreamy look on his face, and he was smiling...someone's in a good mood, she thought. As Arnold entered the classroom, Helga started panicking. Oh shit, I can't let him see me..He hasn't seen me all summer..it's going to be awkward as hell..She covered her face with her student handbook and pretended that was reading it, which clearly didn't work because she heard a familiar, soft voice say, "Helga?"
Dammit, great going Helga..Helga looked up from her book. She saw pair of gorgeous, bright green eyes looking at her with surprise. She could feel her cheeks burning from embarrassment, but she tried her best to hide it. A nervous smile crept on her lips. "Oh hey, how's it going football head?" If there was one thing that Helga didn't stop doing, it was calling Arnold football head.
Arnold had an amused look on his face. "I didn't know you were taking AP bio this year..whoa, I haven't talked to you all summer. How've you been?"
"Yeah, I needed a science credit, so I decided to take this..I've been all right. You?"
"Oh that's cool. Yeah, same here..so, did you do anything fun over the summer?"
"If you consider helping Bob with his new cellphone/Bluetooth empire and listening to Olga's endless stories about her charity trip to Africa fun..then yeah. Well what about you? Did you do anything fun?"
Arnold laughed at Helga's answer. "Oh, I feel ya. Yeah, actually I had a pretty busy summer. I went to San Lorenzo to visit my parents and ended up staying there for a month and a half, and after I came back, Lila took me to her farm and we stayed there for almost three weeks."
Helga clenched her teeth after she heard the name "Lila" come out of Arnold's mouth. "Oh, well sounds like you had a great summer." Helga added a sarcastic tone to her voice.
Arnold gave her a confused look and took off his backpack and placed it underneath the desk in front of her. "Well, at least we have a class together. We have a lot of catching up to do." He gave her a sincere smile before he sat down.
Wow, he's actually glad that he has class with me..maybe this year will be different..maybe this year Arnold will see me more than just a friend or an acquaintance, but don't get your hopes up Helga.. "Yeah, that's gr-"
She was cut off by . "Goodmorning cla-sss. My name i-ss Misss-ter Dupont, and I'll be your AP Biology teacher for thh-ee year. I hope you all had a wonderful ss-ummer. Anyway-ss I'm going to give you guy-ss thh-e syllabu-sss. Take one and pa-sss it down." What a dweeb, Helga thought to herself. spoke with a slight lisp; primarily pronouncing his S's and Th's sounds with a little more exaggeration.
Helga stared at the back of Arnold's head while was passing out the syllabuses. He's soo perfect in every way with his beautiful, golden hair, his captivating, dazed green eyes, his dewy, sun-kissed skin, and his luscious red lips..if only he could realize that I'm the only one for him. Why Arnold? Why must you be so dense? Can't your stupid, oblivious football head notice that I'm madly in love with y-"
Her thoughts were cut short after she heard a familiar voice say, "Helga? Helga?"
She instantly snapped out of it and looked up only to find Arnold staring at her with a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay? You seem kind of distracted?"
Helga started to get defensive, "Of course I'm okay, football head. I'm just a little disoriented, that's all. I didn't sleep well last night, and I'm still trying to get use to this new back-to-school routine. I don't even wanna be in this stupid classroom. Why do you care so much anyways?"
The worried expression left his face. "Oh, because I handed back the syllabus and you wouldn't take it, so I turned around and noticed that you were sort of spacing out, and I said your name a few times and you still didn't respond… so I was just wondering if everything's all right."
Helga blushed and took the syllabus out of Arnold's hand. "Oh..sorry. I'm just a little tired," she said, softly.
Arnold smiled and turned back to face the front of the room. Great..now he thinks I'm crazy. Arnold's personality hadn't really changed from fourth grade. He was still that optimistic, do-gooder that was concerned for the welfare of others.
After he went over the syllabus, passed out books, and collected the summer assignment, blabbed about random, non-bio related bullshit for the rest of the period. His bizarre attire and his flamboyant nature made it hard for Helga to take him seriously. His lisp didn't help either. She spent most of the class time scribbling in her notebook and staring at the back of Arnold's head. She started packing her things after she noticed that there was only one more minute left of class.
"Hold on cla-sss. Before you leave, I will pa-sss out your homework." Great, the jackass is giving us homework on the first day, Helga thought. "It'ss ju-sst a review packet to make sure you know ba-ssic biology. Thi-ss packet will help me determine whethh-er or not you belong in th-iss cla-ss. —TRRINNGGGGGGG—"No one will leave until I pa-sss thi-ss out." A few students groaned. "Sso i-ss everyone clear on thh-e ass-ignment?" Everyone in the class nodded. "Very well thh-en. I will expect you all to pa-sss thi-ss in by tomorrow."
Finally, I'm outta here. Helga let out an exhausted sigh and stood up. She adjusted her shirt and put her backpack on.
"So, what do you think about our bio teacher?" Arnold was grinning and anxiously waiting to hear Helga's response.
Helga snorted. "He's a complete dork..He wouldn't shut up about his stupid vacation at Angola or whatever."
Arnold laughed. "I think it was Mongolia. You're way off."
"Wow you actually paid attention.."
Arnold shrugged. "I think he's all right. He's kinda weird, but he seems pretty chill."
"Haha, yeah, especially with his little speech impediment."
Arnold jokingly pushed Helga. "Shh..he might hear you. It's not his fault."
"Oops.. you're absolutely right. Thh-iss isssn't ss-omething to make fun of."
Arnold laughed once again, but this time it was a little louder. "Haha, you're terrible. Anyways, where are you going next?"
Helga unfolded her schedule. "hmm..AP expository writing. You?
"Government.."
"Oh, I had that last period..who do you have for a teacher?
" ."
"Oh, I have him..He's not that bad. If you're all nice and polite then he'll love you."
Arnold raised his brows. "Nice and polite ayeee..That shouldn't be a problem." He gave Helga a little wink, which made her insides tingle. He's soo damn charming,,
"Yeah, whatever you say, football head..Anyways, what the hell are we still doing here! We have two more minutes before the late bell rings..we're gonna be late for class!"
Arnold quickly glanced at the mechanical clock. "Oh shit..you're right." He slung his backpack over his shoulders and grabbed his books from the desk. "Do you wanna walk together?"
OH MY GOD. He offered to walk me to class..well he asked if he wanted to walk with me which is basically the same thing..this must be my imagination. What are you waiting for Helga! Say YESS. "Sure..I mean, whatever floats your boat."
Arnold smiled and looked directly at Helga. Her eyes met his gaze. Helga's cheeks flushed with heat as she stared into Arnold's tranquil, green eyes. Tiny beads of sweat started to form on the glands around her neck area as she felt her heart beating vigorously against her chest in an unsteady rhythm. Oh shit..keep your cool Helga..take a deep breath..i'm not gonna faint, I'm not gonna faint, I'm not gonna-
"ARNOLDD!" She heard an annoyingly sweet voice call his name. Arnold quickly broke eye contact with her and turned around. His eyes widened with excitement once he saw the auburn haired beauty that was leaning seductively against the door. She brought a warm, pleasant glow to his face. Helga was observing Arnold. He had an indescribable look on his face..Helga had never seen him look this awestruck before. This boy is whipped, she thought to herself, little Ms. Perfect has him wrapped around her finger. Helga gritted her teeth.
"Arnold! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" Lila ran towards Arnold and wrapped her delicate arms around his neck, while he smiled at her with adoration like a lovesick bastard and slowly ran his fingers through her soft, voluminous hair. It looked like some gleeful, lovey-dovey reunion scene from a corny, romantic movie. Helga gagged at the sight. Lila went on her tippy toes and planted a soft, gentle kiss on Arnold's lips and pulled away, only to be pulled back up to a tighter embrace. Helga stood there awkwardly while the two resumed their passionate kissing. Her face fell with anguish. She could feel the back of her palms getting sweaty. Helga didn't even realize that she was crumpling up her schedule inside her fist. Her eyes started to get watery…Come on Helga! Mooove. Why am I still standing here, she asked herself, but for some reason she was glued to the floor and she couldn't get herself to leave the torturous sight. She was heartbroken. It wasn't that she had never seen Arnold and Lila kissing before..she had, but she never saw them kissing right in front of her face. What hurt her most was that just when she thought her and Arnold had some sort of connection, Lila appeared, and he completely ignored her like she was invisible. She took a deep breath and tried to keep her composure. She felt a hot teardrop trickle down her cheek..What the hell..why am I crying..Helga G. Pataki does not cry..Helga wiped the teardrop with the back of her hand and sniffled.
"Helga?" she heard a deep, raspy voice call out her name. She looked up and saw a tall, breathtakingly handsome male standing at the door. Keith? What is his ass doing in here? She thought. Even Arnold and Lila broke apart from their kiss after they were interrupted. They stared at the new student before them.
"Helga, what are you still doing here? I waited for you outside the classroom, but I didn't see you coming out. Is everything okay?" Keith looked serious as he studied her with his vibrant, hazel eyes.
Helga was confused. She didn't understand why Keith was waiting for her in the first place. He shook her gently after she didn't respond. "Helga, are you all right?" he asked, coolly. He bit the inside of his bottom lip, trying to hide his smirk, which didn't work because his dimples were starting to appear on his cheeks. It was enough to make any girl's ovaries explode.
Helga took a deep breath. "Uhh..Yeah.." she started, reluctantly. She looked around and realized that Arnold and Lila were still there, but they weren't embracing anymore. Their eyes anxiously switched from Helga to Keith to Keith to Helga, making sure they wouldn't miss either one's reaction. Helga felt uncomfortable with their eyes intently watching her. Keith noticed this, so he simply said "nevermind."
"What's your next class?" Keith didn't bother to wait for her to answer. He grabbed the schedule right out of her hand. He noticed that it was crumpled, but he didn't make a big fuss out of it, instead, he just raised one of his brows and gave her a puzzled look. Helga blushed. After he managed to unfold and flatten out her schedule, he said, "Oh, you have AP Expository Writing in room 206..So do I. What a coincidence. Come on, we might still be able to make it before the bell." With that, he grabbed her by the arm and led her out of the classroom. Helga managed to steal a quick glance at Arnold. His mouth was agape and his green eyes were wide with shock. Even Lila looked surprised. She had a slight frown on her face. Helga gave Arnold an uneasy smile and left.
Keith and Helga were practically running down the halls, trying to get to their class on time. Actually, it was more like Keith was running and dragging Helga along with him. Keith was still grabbing onto Helga's arm, but this time he was a little rough. Helga was having trouble keeping up with his speedy pace, mainly because she was still trying to intake everything that just happened. It was all happening way too fast. She couldn't put the pieces together. Okay, first I was with Arnold and I was talking to him, then little came and ruined everything, then they both started to make-out, after that Keith came in and took me out of the classroom, and now I'm frantically running around the halls with him..WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ONN!
"There's our class!" Keith yelled. He sprinted towards the door and pulled Helga along with him. Once they made it to the door, he quickly turned the knob and forcefully opened it, but it was too late because the bell rang. Helga's heart was thumping rapidly. She was panting heavily. She heard Keith say "shit" underneath his breath. Despite their tardy, they both timidly entered the classroom. Helga looked around and saw that everyone was organized and settled into their seats. She saw an elderly woman wearing a pink sweater in the front of the room. The woman had a stern look on her face, and she most definitely wasn't too pleased with their late arrival. Crap, this must be our teacher..we're doomed, she thought. She decided to apologize, but she was way too breathless to even speak. Right when she opened her mouth to say something, Keith cleared his throat and said, "Ma'am, Helga and I are extremely sorry for being late. Actually, truth is, this is my first year at Hillwood High, so I'm not really familiar with the routes around the school. I was having trouble finding my class, but Helga was kind enough to help me. Anyways, once again, we're very sorry..I hope you'll reconsider." With that, he flashed the most charming, Oscar-winning smile. Helga's jaw dropped. She looked at the woman in the front and realized that her frown faded into a warm smile. Helga sighed with relief.
"I understand. It's difficult being a new student. Why don't you both take a seat. Oh, and by the way, what's your name?" The woman was still smiling as she waited on Keith to answer.
"Keith." He replied as he was walked towards a desk in the second row.
"Nice name. I'm Mrs. Gibson." The woman was actually very pretty for her age. She had delicate features, and she was very soft-spoken.
"Nice to meet you, ." Keith said in an oh-so-charming way. Helga was amazed. Even though she thought he was a total suck-up, she had to admit that what he did was impressive. How does he do it? She thought. Keith signaled her to sit at the desk next to his and for some strange reason; she listened to him and sat next to him.
After they both settled into their seats, Mrs. Gibson started passing out the writing course book. While she was passing the books out, Keith tapped Helga's desk with his pencil to get her attention. Helga turned around to face him.
"So, who were those two kids in the bio room?" he asked.
"What?" Helga wasn't sure if she heard him correctly.
"You know that blonde guy and the girl with him..they were having a little love-fest." He gave her a little wink.
Is he talking about Arnold and Lila? she thought. "Oh…that was Arnold…and Lila." She said, hesitantly.
"Oh are they dating?"
"Umm..yeah..kinda." Why does he give a shit, anyways? She thought.
He stretched his arms and continued asking her questions regarding Arnold and Lila, "Are they your friends?"
"Not really..I mean, Arnold sorta is I guess, but not Lila.." she clenched her teeth after she said Lila's name. Keith seemed to notice this because he gave her a strange look.
"Don't mind if I ask you this but..do you have a crush on Arnold?"
Helga turned and looked at him with shock. Did he really just ask me this? Helga's heart rate was increasing rapidly. "NO! that's ridiculous.. Why would you think that..I don't like the football- I mean Arnold. why would you think that I had a crush on him?"
Keith was surprised by her reaction. "Whoa, calm down, no reason to get all defensive. I was just wondering because it kind of looked like you had feelings for him."
Helga started to lose her patience. "Well, I don't..so you can stop interrogating me.."
"Are you sure? I mean you looked crushed, pummeled, completely lost and miserable while he was kissing that girl, so I assumed that you had a little something for him. I mean it's very unusual for someone to act like that, unless they have feelings for the person." Keith smirked mischievously at her.
Helga was reaching boiling point. "OH YEAH! Well you don't know SHIT..so you can stop assuming." she whispered harshly.
Keith laughed. "You definitely like him."
"NO I FUCKING DON'T! WHY DON'T YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP?" A few students turned around to stare at her unstableness.
Keith started to look around worriedly. "Shh! Keep it down..you're making a scene..I wasn't trying to make you mad..no need to blow things out of proportion."
After she noticed that people were looking at her, she lowered her voice. "Look, you're the one who's blowing this out of proportion..not me."
"Listen..my intentions were not to get on your nerves..I was just wondering if you wanted to talk about it."
"I don't want to talk about anything with you..so you can mind your own god damn business, bucko."
"Okay, I understand if you don't want to talk about it..you don't have to if you don't, but I just wanted to let you know that I know how unrequited love feels..It feels terrible but it's not the worst thing that an individual can go through. We don't have to talk about it, but if you ever need someone to listen to you..I'm all ears." He gave her a heartwarming, dimpled smile and turned away.
Helga sighed. What the hell is his problem, she thought.