The remainder of the school day progressed in a haze. Arnold couldn't think straight, wondering what secret Helga wanted to share with him on Friday.
That evening, Gerald came over to the boarding house to play checkers. When they started high school, Gerald had mysteriously made a request to move their weekly games from Friday to Wednesday nights. It didn't take long for Arnold to decipher that Gerald probably had other plans he would rather commit to those evenings. It was okay—it was bound to happen sooner or later. He guessed Gerald didn't want his best friend to feel like a third wheel, what with Arnold's lame and futile attempts at relationships in the past.
Even though he carefully avoided bringing Helga up in conversation, Arnold could tell by the third devastating loss that Gerald was dying to know the reason behind his and Helga's abrupt shift from strict avoidance to extreme civility towards each other at school. He didn't dare tell Gerald for fear he'd tell Phoebe and thus inform Helga that he'd told someone. It was better to avoid another potential fiasco.
Instead, he offered his own vague "ideas" to the pile so that they could speculate like with any other mystery they'd worked on together. Gerald wasn't buying it, but Arnold was grateful he didn't push the issue. When it was late enough for both of them to alternate yawning and stretching, Gerald left him with a consolatory word and an encouragement to "just keep your head on straight, buddy."
Thursday, Arnold watched Helga from his locker until Gerald elbowed him and told him to close his mouth. "Head. On. Straight. Man."
Friday morning, he woke absolutely sick with a mixture of dread and anticipation. Grandma had even stopped him at the door to pat him on the shoulder and wish him a fruitful day in the coal mines.
The guys at his lunch table were chatting about what they were going to do over winter break. Most were relieved that this was their last day of classes and were desperate to get away from cafeteria food. Harold illustrated his disdain for his peers' hatred for it by graciously letting them give him their leftovers.
Tomorrow, by majority vote, the Coco Hut would close for the holidays. Many of the neighborhood families happened to go out of town or forced their kids to hang around the house and endure family time—Rhonda, who actually adored family time, talked endlessly about her upcoming ski trip.
Arnold hardly ever went anywhere during breaks, usually spending them schlepping around the boarding house. If he could get away from his regular chores, he'd planned on taking care of the hole in the Coco Hut's ceiling—why he felt responsible for its repair was beyond him, but it seemed like the right thing to do.
As he sat sullenly stirring his pudding, he decided it was probably a good thing that the Hut would be closed. He didn't know how his friends would handle the awkward emotional mess surrounding him and Helga. They were already doing a pretty devastating job. Maybe there would be enough time before the new year reopening for his peers to forget most of the uncomfortable details.
Sid waved a hand in front of his face at least three times before Arnold realized he and Stinky were staring at him worriedly. "Hey Arnold, Earth to Arnold—dude, are you okay?"
"Sorry guys, I guess I'm not feeling so well."
Sid lurched backwards. "Hey! Don't breathe on me then! I don't wanna catch it!"
Stinky whispered dramatically to Sid that it was probably a simple case of heart-sickness and therefore not catching.
"I don't care, I'd rather not take any chances." Sid whipped off his hat to cover his nose and mouth.
Arnold rolled his eyes and stood up to carry his tray towards the conveyor belt. He looked furtively towards another table across the buzzing room and was struck with Helga's blue eyes staring intently at him. But then again, she was probably just looking off into the distance as she chatted with Phoebe and Patti about whatever it was girls talked about. He could hear giggling—the mirthful sound struck his heart like a gong. He shook his head, mumbling, "Women…"
After school, Arnold went straight to the boarding house and proceeded directly to his room, fully intending to do his calculus assignment. Despite these grand intentions, he ended up pacing the floor for several hours. When it was finally 6:30, he bundled up the best he could, took a deep breath, and climbed up to his skylight. He lifted the latch and stepped out into the frigid night air. The moon was out again. He dropped down the last rung of the fire-escape and set off.
The tiny windows in the Coco Hut door were glowing softly—she was already there. He pulled out his key, but it wasn't locked.
There she was on the stage, still as a statue and almost as pale.
"You're late."