Let's Go To The Mall!

FRESHMAN, HIGH SCHOOL

English Lit was her favorite class. The teacher was young and eccentric with bright blue hair and thick glasses but it didn't make her eyes large like they should have. Obviously they were fake and Helga often wondered why she even wore them. Surely not because they were hip. But her hair was blue.

Ms. White was an über liberal. She wasn't really a hippy per se, but she was totally into that free love and crap that her dad hated so much. At least he claimed to. Deep down she knew that he missed that tiny period of time that he wanted to live off the grid, but had his tough-man exterior he needed to shove down people's throats. Particularly his rivals. To his clients he was a changed man, bringing with him that calm the south is supposed to attach to people who stayed there for any period of time. And what wonders Kentucky had done with his figure. Helga personally thought he had gotten fatter.

Which was actually Helga's path in Ms. White's class. Every day they got candy, and not that cheap shit. The good kind. It was always out on her desk and Helga porked out on it like it was water. She just figured she'd work it off in PE and danced harder during rehearsals.

Having candy out all the time wasn't the only thing 'odd' about her fav teacher. They were graded on some really weird spectrum that involved individual creativity or something like that. There were never any seating plans, hardly ever any group projects — which she loved the best since it was English Lit and she always did her best work alone — and she could get away with murder; she was so tightly wrapped around that teacher's finger.

They were studying Shakespeare early that school year, of course: Taming of the Shrew. It was different for a freshman lit class, but hey, Helga liked it well enough. That is, if she ignored the modern-era feminist struggle aside. Indeed, for its time, it was leaps and bounds great for women-folk.

Helga was doodling on her cover, hating how bland paper bags were. The only good point of covering school books was the chance to make it uniquely her own. Hearts and rainbows covered this one, with the occasional sugar skull lined here and there. Perhaps this corner could use another one.

She was brought out of her artistic mode when Arnold walked past her, groaning in exaggeration and collapsed in the empty seat behind her, smacking his forehead on the desk. She turned and frowned at him, no longer interested in her would-be sugar skull. "What's wrong with you?"

"I don't understand this stupid book at all," he groaned again, his voice slightly muffled from the concealment of the desk.

"What do you mean, you don't understand it? We've been talking about it all week!"

"I've never understood this stuff." Arnold lifted his head only slightly enough to rest his chin on the desk to look up at her with hooded eyes. She suppressed the urge to roll her own eyes.

"Are you kidding me? It's Shakespeare. What's not to get? We read a few plays in freaking fourth grade and you were in one of them, Romeo. Don't tell me you didn't understand anything you were saying." At his silence, she shook her head in surprise and disappointment. "Pathetic."

He looked up at her with large, hopeful eyes. "You mean you get it?"

"Of course I do." There was a pause for only a moment before she sighed again, knowing exactly where this is going. Once upon a time, she would have been ecstatic over the potential chance to tutor Arnold, to be in the same room as him and sitting close enough that she'd be able to smell his shampoo and clothing softener. But now she was not in love with him. Nope. Not in love.

"Helga, you have to help me!" He grabbed her arm and she gave him a pointed look, slightly startled by the contact. "Please! If I don't get at least a B on the test next week, I don't think I'll be able to pull out of the C I have now for the rest of the semester."

"Fine, fine. Just lay off the goods." She pulled her arm back, scowling. "And it's going to cost you." School had only started about a month ago, and they hadn't exactly hung out that much, with the exception of some lunches. Over the last week he and Gerald had been hanging out with a bunch of other guys from various classes and she had only been seeing him in their shared classes.

She wouldn't exactly call Arnold a friend now, but more than an acquaintance. It was odd and more than a little awkward, especially during times like this when he got too friendly. During their history of exchanging letters, she wouldn't have hesitated giving him that friendship label, but since his mini disappearance over the last summer, combined with the start of high school, he just kind of seemed like a different person. Perhaps she still idolized him in some Helga-way. Maybe she really just liked the idea of 'Arnold,' rather than Arnold himself, just as she had been told over and over again.

"Fine. Can you come over tonight?"

"No, it's Thursday. I have dance every Thursday." She gave him a look as if he should have already known that, knowing that he couldn't have.

"Oh, right." He hadn't known. "How about tomorrow then?"

"Whatever floats your boat, Romeo."

Shakespeare took an hour of their time that Friday night and although Helga felt that Arnold still didn't really hold a grasp on anything, they had been interrupted by his grandmother to re-arrange the furniture in the front room. Then Gertie had ordered pizzas and Mr. Hyunh was watching The Princess Bride on TV. When Helga left that night, she agreed to come back over Monday after school to further help with the Bard of Avon since Arnold was still nervous about the upcoming test.

Within forty-eight hours, Helga had gone from barely talking to the boy who once held her affections to hanging on a regular basis.

They met up three times that week before the exam. Arnold was on his own the Thursday before it and she hoped that he was studying and didn't have too much difficulty. He had picked it up faster than she thought he would during the last few days but it was't like they had watched too many campy 80s action flicks instead of studying. Maybe they shouldn't have gone on that Stallone spree.

Regardless, Arnold got an A- on that test and Helga briefly wondered just how much of that was because of her helping and what he had known all along. She wouldn't feed too much into that thought and it quickly vanquished.

He would still invite her over, but without the stress of an upcoming test to keep their focus, they more often than not would go to the Arcade or hang out on the roof. It was unusual that Gerald would not be there and, for one obvious reason or another, Phoebe also found herself frequently hanging out with the trio and they became a group of four.

The last few weeks had been an interesting turn of events.

It was a Saturday afternoon and Helga and Arnold had agreed to meet up with Gerald and Phoebe at the mall after a quick English lesson that morning, even though Helga really didn't think Arnold needed it. It was lunch time, and although the food court would probably be packed by this time, it was their current destination.

"Helga!"

Helga and Arnold turned at her name, looking to see who was calling out to her, expecting it to be someone from school. It was definitely not Phoebe. Perhaps one of her sister's friends?

Whomever she was expecting, it wasn't the woman who was running up to her to be none other than Mai Hyunh. Or, rather, Mai Walker, as was her legal name.

Helga blanched.

"Helga, I'm so glad I ran into you!" She scooped up the teen in a hug before grinning broadly down at her. Helga had never seen her so… gregarious before. "I was going to call you later and here you are!"

It could mean one thing. Helga smiled at the usually-quiet woman. "Marco proposed."

"Yes!" If the grin hadn't convinced her of Mai's excitement, the squeal did.

Arnold was flabbergasted as he watched the exchange, suddenly feeling as if he was in some version of 'The Twilight Zone'. If there had been two any unlikely people to be friends, it was Helga and Mai. "You two know each other?"

Mai turned to him in surprise, having not realized that Helga was with anyone (although why wouldn't she be? What teenager goes to the mall alone?). "Oh, Arnold!" Her serious visage was back up and she offered him a settled smile, before hugging him in greeting but obviously not nearly as affectionate as it had been with Helga just moments ago. "It's been so long. I can't believe how much you've grown since Christmas. How have you been?"

"I'm fine Mai, thank you." He looked between the two, still at a loss. The obligatory greeting over, Mai grinned back at Helga, taking her hands in her own. Mai was shorter than Helga by an inche, but her jubilance made her feel so much larger.

"We're going to Puerto Vallarta. Just immediate family. But I would love it if you can help me."

Helga blanched again. What? Her? Helping with a wedding? "Um, sure…Mai. What were you thinking…?"

"It's for the ceremony. We are writing a piece for it and Marco insists that we have some lyrics." Helga breathed slightly out and smiled at her. Lyrics. She could do that. Mai and Marco were accomplished musicians and had met while attending college not too long ago. Obviously Mai had inherited her musical genes from her biological father.

"Of course, Mai. I'd be happy to."

Mai's already-large grin widened even more and she hugged Helga again. "Oh, thank you so much, Helga! You've always been so helpful. You rock!"

"Congratulations on your engagement, Mai. If there's anything you need from us, let us know." Arnold shifted on his feet, feeling uncomfortable and out of place. By this interaction, Helga and Mai had obviously known each other for some time and seemed to be more than just casual friends. How had he not known that? Mai had always been quiet and withheld during family events when she would stop by, like the major holidays. He couldn't recall ever knowing her to be anything but shy. Obviously he didn't know her as well as he thought he did.

Mai beamed at him. "Thank you, Arnold. Father has always considered you family, so that means a lot coming from you."

Arnold smiled and shrugged. "He is family, and so are you. Would you like to join us for lunch?"

Mai smiled again and shook her head. "Oh, no, thank you. I'm with some girlfriends at the moment and I wouldn't want to impose on your date."

Both teens blushed and held out their hands, sputtering. "It's not a date!" they shouted in unison before lightly laughing in horrified embarrassment.

"We're waiting for some friends too," Arnold provided, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, besides, who goes on a date to the mall?" Helga frowned at the idiotic idea. In fact, who goes on dates their Freshman year of high school? Stupid peers.

Mai smiled at them knowingly; she was a teenager too once. "Of course, please forgive me." She hugged Helga once more, a grin easily taking over again. "I'll give you a call in a couple of days, ok? I'll let you know the direction we're thinking. We haven't really settled on it yet."

"O-ok, Mai. Talk to you later."

"Bye, Arnold! Please do give my best to everyone!" And then just as sudden as she had been there, she was gone, leaving a blushing Helga and an inquisitive Arnold.

Who was staring at her. She turned to him with a scowl.

"What? She's an acquaintance of Olga's, sheesh."

"Acquaintance? She seemed more like a friend. A good friend."

"That's because she is. Doi." She walked away, resuming their trek to the food court.

"So you're friends with one of your sister's acquaintances?"

"Yeah, believe it or not, it can happen. Sheesh. What is this, ask Helga a million questions day?" Arnold narrowed his eyes as he observed her. Obviously she was flustered, but he dropped it as they got into line for lunch.

Helga was fidgeting with her tray, mumbling about what exactly to order. She hadn't been in the mood for cheesesteaks, but it was the first place in the food court that caught her attention. Of course Arnold would follow her. They didn't say anything as they ordered and found a table; it hadn't even occurred to her to wait for Phoebe and Gerald.

Arnold took a sip of his soda, still watching her. The atmosphere was thick and she scowled again. "What, Football Head?"

"How come you never mentioned you knew her before?"

Helga let out an exasperated sigh. "Are we still on this topic? Do I need to tell you about everyone I know?"

He shrugged and started to eat, seeing Gerald and Phoebe walking up to them. Helga sighed in relief when they reached the table, a little taken aback that she had forgotten about them, and chugged down her own soda. "What's up guys?"

Gerald dropped his tray with a thud. "Man, I am so looking forward to digging into this, the holiest of pizzas!"

Helga frowned at his so-called slices. "That crap tastes like cardboard."

"That's because you do not have the taste buds of a true pizza connoisseur, Miss Pataki." Helga rolled her eyes and chomped into her sandwich.

"We just ran into Mr. Hyunh's daughter. Helga was just telling me how they met."

Phoebe looked over at Helga, who didn't say anything as her face exploded in red, and instead took another wide chomp of her lunch. She was surprised that Helga had shared that bit of private information and felt proud of her maturity about it, nonetheless. "Isn't it just the greatest thing?" she exclaimed absently, opening up a package of ketchup.

Helga choked on the meat and bread before reaching for her soda for the second time in less than a minute. Three pairs of eyes watched her.

"Is it?" asked Arnold.

Phoebe frowned at him. "Well of course, Arnold. It was one of the most selfless acts that Helga has ever done."

"Phoebe!" Helga coughed out and thumped her chest with her fist, glaring daggers at the girl. Immediately, Phoebe realized that Helga, in fact, had not told Arnold how they had met.

"Oh dear." She looked down at her food, feeling her cheeks heat up. It was about time Arnold found out anyway, but Phoebe still felt absolutely horrible. She had never in her life broken a secret and even though she hadn't exactly admitted this one, she knew that the box had been open. Regardless of how she felt, it wasn't her place to say anything about it.

"Selfless acts?" Arnold frowned in confusion, looking between the two girls before settling on Helga for an explanation.

"Ugh, if you must know, Football Head, we ran into each other on Christmas as she was on her way to meet her dad. Mr. Hyunh, I mean." She stuffed a few fries in her mouth, not really wanting to continue this conversation. "Fo' th' fi'st time since she was a bay-bee."

"Helga, you're being too humble," Phoebe piped back in, surprising herself. She giggled nervously when Helga kicked her foot and dipped her own french fry into the ketchup. "Sorry."

"Helga can be pretty humble," Gerald nodded in agreement, knowing that she never bragged about anything awesome she did. Like save his life being the most kickass.

Helga moaned and covered her red face in her hands. It was no use stuffing herself since Phoebe was just going to blab. "Just drop it already."

"No way." Arnold was not going to let this pass up. He didn't know why but Helga was making a big deal about it and she only made big deals of really stupid stuff or really serious things. "What were you doing out on Christmas that you ran into her?"

He remembered that night well. He and Gerald had spent hours the day before trying to convince that cranky man to do a good deed for his secret santa gift for Mr. Huynh, but the guy had been a complete jerk and refused to help them anymore, even though they had gotten everything else on that dumb list.

Helga dropped her hands and gave him a look. "Are you really asking me that, Football Head? Did you drop your brain on the way over and forget how my parents used to be?"

Arnold gave her a small look back. "No, Helga, I haven't forgotten. But I also know that Mai took a cab to the Boarding House so it wasn't like she was walking down the street."

"Oh." Helga could feel her face warming again and she went back to her food, more to play with it than to eat.

Phoebe shot her a quizzical look and when she just shrugged in response, Phoebe took that as all the permission that she needed and turned back to Arnold and Gerald with a wide grin.

"Helga found out about that city worker, the one who wouldn't help you and Gerald find Mr. Hyunh's daughter, and that he would only help you if you guys found him a pair of the Spumoni boots." Both boys looked at her before back at Phoebe, curiosity getting the better of them.

"She had just gotten a pair from her parents so she gave them to him and they spent the next few hours tracking her down. Helga found Mai and brought her to the boarding house so that you could give him his Secret Santa gift." Phoebe smiled triumphantly, her heart beating fast. That had felt so exhilarating!

Never in a million years would Phoebe have betrayed Helga or let out any of her secrets, so the fact that her best friend had given her permission, in so little words, to spill one of the greatest things Helga had ever done for anyone, Phoebe was consumed with pride and love for the girl sitting next to her. It had pained Phoebe growing up, knowing the real Helga and everything that she had done for 'Ice Cream' while he and the rest of the world were left in the dark. Although she could appreciate the reluctance on Helga's part to hold everything back, they were almost adults now and she thought all parties should be privy to the greatness that was Helga G. Pataki.

Especially now that they were all close friends.

Both Gerald and Arnold's eyes were wide, staring at the once-bully, who was supposed to be all hate and anger at the time that it happened, in shock. No one said anything and their silence was deafening even though they were in the middle of the food court on a Saturday afternoon.

"Mm, mm, mmm, Pataki. You sure are full of surprises." Gerald lifted up his folded pizza and took a large bite.

Emotions ran through Arnold as he stared at his blushing friend doing her best to ignore everyone at the table. Frustration that he had never known this; awe that it was something she had been able to accomplish what he and Gerald together could not; respect, a depth of thankfulness and gratitude that he would never be able to express; and even a bit of anger.

"Helga…that's…you…" He frowned and struggled to find the right words. What could he say? He didn't have the grasp on the English language well enough to make any sort of expression that could remotely come close to how he was feeling. Finding out she was Deep Voice paled in comparison right now. "That's pretty amazing."

"Yeah, well, I'm a pretty amazing person, Football Head," she jeered.

He smiled, brushing off the feeling of déjà vu.

"Don't read too much into, Arnoldo. As much as my family sucked, Christmas was one of the only times we somewhat got along. And so what if I wanted to help another family get together? It's not like that's a crime or anything, sheesh. And Mai's awesome so she deserved to find her bio-dad." She chomped onto one of her fries before pointing it at him, her eyes narrowing but lacking any sort of anger. "And if you as so much as ever throw this back in my face, I'll ruin your life."

He smiled again, not stopping her as she rambled, as she often did when she was uncomfortable. "Whatever you say, Helga."

They all ate in silence for only a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts about what had just transpired. It was broken when Gerald started laughing. "Hey Arnold! Remember that time when you found out that Helga gave up her totally expensive boots so you could give your Christmas gift to Mr. Hyunh?"

Phoebe giggled as Helga let out an exasperated shriek. "Can it, Hair Boy!"

Both Arnold and Gerald laughed as Helga threw a fry at him. She had only threatened Arnold, not him, so of course he was going to use that to his advantage.