This chapter is sort of 'meh'..but I needed to update. I promise the next chapter will be much more exciting and less bland. Enjoy! **Oh, and for any of you that are concerned about Keith's sexuality..he's straight lol. I saw some reviews that were asking if he was gay, so I just decided to clear things up.**
Helga was barely paying attention to anything Mrs. Gibson was saying… or teaching. she honestly couldn't tell. Her thoughts were diverted and mixed with confusion and anger. She thought about what Keith had said. "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." Those words kept replaying in her head, and for some reason, they made her insides churn, but at the same time, it slapped her back to reality. Those words made her realize that Arnold already had a girl that he was crazy about and that girl was not her and it never would be her. She sighed heavily and looked over at Keith. He was chewing on his bottom lip and studiously taking down notes that Mrs. Gibson had written on the whiteboard. Helga knew she was going regret slacking off and not taking notes, but at the moment she was too invested in her own thoughts. Am I really this obvious about my feelings for Arnold? She thought. How the hell did Keith find out..who the hell does he think he is anyways? Mr. know-it-all..He thinks he's much more superior than everyone else..ughh I can't stand him! But then another thought popped into her head..she remembered what Keith said earlier during class. "We don't have to talk about it, but if you ever need someone to listen to you..I'm all ears." Why is he being soo nice? She thought. Why does he keep talking to me like we've known each other for years or something..I mean the kid even waited for me after class..what the hell is his deal? Helga concluded that Keith was a very strange, complex person and the only way she could figure him out is if she played along with his charming persona.
After the bell rang, Helga gathered her things and gently tapped Keith on the shoulder. She had to be smooth and play it cool.
"Hey Keith, I just wanted to say sorry for..uhh, being a little rough on ya..I understand that you're new and all and-"
"It's no problem..I shouldn't have asked you anyways. It's really none of my business, so if anything, I should be the one apologizing." He gave her a warm smile.
"Yeah..well it's cool.." this is harder than I thought.. "so, where are you going next?"
"Calc..you?" he asked casually.
"Sociology..do mind if I walk you to class? I mean since you are new and all." She added a mischievous grin.
Keith smirked. "Not at all." With that, they headed out the door.
Helga's sociology class ended much quicker than she thought it would. She went down to the first floor to her locker to get her lunch. The first floor was almost empty since most of the students were already in the cafeteria. She spotted Nadine and Peapod kid having a conversation right next to her locker. Nadine and Peapod kid were known for having a bumpy relationship. They were always on and off. Peapod kid being the high-class, spoiled rich kid, and Nadine being the girl who had an unnatural obsession with bugs and other crawly wildlife creatures, it seemed pretty understandable for them to have several hindrances and barriers in their relationship. From the looks of it, their relationship seemed pretty peaceful at the moment since Helga saw Peapod kid kissing Nadine on the cheek. Oh they better not go farther than this, she thought. She decided to rush to her locker before they decided to suck each other's faces off.
Helga coughed rather loudly, which made the two instantly separate. "um, I'm sorry to interrupt but can I please get to my locker." She said sarcastically with an annoyed tone. Nadine frowned.
"Oh of course..we're terribly, terribly sorry. Come on Nadine..we should get to the caf."
Helga snorted and fumbled with her locker combination. Once she unlocked her locker, she grabbed her lunch which was in a brown paper bag, and since Olga had packed it, she knew that it was something edible and not just a packet of individual crackers and shaving cream. She slammed her locker, making sure that it was shut properly and headed towards the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was packed and chaotic. Helga felt a bit constrained and overwhelmed by the noise level and echoes. She hoped that Phoebe had the same lunch as her. Senior lunches were split into two periods. Half of the students went after 3rd period and the other half went after 4th period. Principle Wartz decided that lunches would be more organized and orderly this way.
While Helga was looking around the cafeteria for Phoebe, she spotted Arnold, Gerald, Phoebe, and the basketball team sitting at a table near the vending machine. They looked rather amused. Helga smiled and just as she was about to walk towards them, she heard Lila giggling. She looked behind her and saw Lila and her posse walking towards the same table that Phoebe, Gerald, and Arnold were sitting at. Lila slammed her lunch tray on the table and sat right across from Arnold. Helga clenched her teeth and tried to control herself. She decided that sitting there wasn't such a good idea, so she turned around and looked for a vacant table. Luckily, no one at Arnold's table had noticed her because she was standing behind the vending machine, so she was able to leave easily without owing them an explanation. Helga walked towards the back of the cafeteria and sat at a table in the corner. There were few kids sitting there, but they were too consumed with their own conversation, so they didn't really care if she sat there. Helga didn't mind sitting by herself, she actually enjoyed it because it gave her more time to reflect. She took her turkey sandwich out the paper bag and took a bite of it. She wasn't really hungry because Olga's pancakes had contently filled her up. She didn't realize that she was spacing out until she heard a soft bang on the table. She looked up from her sandwich. It was Keith.
"Hey..i didn't know you had 3rd period lunch. I almost thought I'd be a loner." He let out a laugh.
Helga gave him a smile. She looked over at his lunch. He had a water bottle, a polished apple, and a wrap. He took a few sips from his water bottle and frowned. "Why aren't you eating?" he asked.
"Oh..i'm not really hungry. My sister kind of fed me a buffet this morning." She rolled her eyes.
"You have a sister?"
"Yeah, her name's Olga."
"Do you guys get along?"
Helga snorted. "Barely.."
"Why?"
"Well..we're really different. We have very different interests, personalities and shit. Plus, we have a huge age difference."
"Is she your only sibling?"
"Mhmm…do you have any siblings?"
He was rubbing his arm. "Um..yeah I have an older brother."
Helga took another bite of her sandwich. "Soo..do you guys get along?"
He sighed. "Well..we did, but now he's sort of..changed."
"How so?" she asked casually.
"Umm..well- he kind of..he has some issues- well actually.." Helga noticed that he was struggling with his words.
"You don't have to tell me if it's personal.."
"No..actually, I get sort of uncomfortable with this topic..My brother is a great guy really, but…I guess you could say he went on the wrong path."
Helga raised her brows. "What do you mean?"
"He's a drug addict.." he squeaked.
Helga swallowed. "Oh..I'm sorry.."
"No, it's fine."
"How is he doing?"
"He's in rehab..he's been there for the past two years.."
"Is he improving?"
"Barely.."
Keith's eyes were getting watery, but he acted like there was something in his eye to shield his emotions.
"You know…my mom is an alcoholic." Helga was surprised that she was getting personal with the conversation. "she's been battling it for years."
Keith gave her a sympathetic look. "I hope she's doing well."
"Oh don't you worry…she's doing lovely." She said sarcastically. "Anyways, let's move on from this topic."
"Alright..Oh! I saw that Arnold guy while I was getting my lunch. I sort of bumped into him..he seems like a pretty nice guy."
Helga's stomach did flip-flops after she heard Arnold's name. "Why what did he say?" she asked nervously.
"Nothing..he kind of just welcomed me to the new school and wished me luck." He took a bite from his apple.
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he's your typical do-gooder."
"How long have you known the guy?"
"Since I was three."
"Are you friends with him?"
she took a few seconds to think. Are Arnold and I friends? "Well..not really friends. More like friendly acquaintances." Friendly? Yeah right!
"Oh, cool."
TRINGGGGGGGG!
Helga looked over at her watch. "what the hell?! That was barely fifteen minutes."
"Wow..I didn't even get to eat my wrap."
"Well that's lunches at Hillwood High for ya." Helga wiped her face with a napkin and threw her trash away. "I'm going to French..it's room 109. Need me to walk you?"
"No that's fine..I'm going to room V115..it's a whole different direction."
"Oh okay..well good luck!"
"Yeah..i'll see you at the end of the day..unless we have more classes together." He winked.
"Yeah..yeah..alright see ya!" Helga walked towards the other side of the cafeteria to get to her class, but she felt someone roughly bump into her from behind. Somehow she managed to keep her balance. She was so ready to give this person a nice blow with Ol' betsy.
"Oh I'm so sorry, Helga..are you okay?" Helga recognized this husky voice. It was Arnold's.