Helga growled. She couldn't stand the sight of them. Olga was doting all over him. She watched from behind the curtains. Olga was whispering something into his ear, laughing all the way. Her boyfriend- Louis was his name, Helga remembered, glanced at her with an amused glint and gave a curt smile. Olga responded with her annoying overly-feminine blinks. Criminy she hated that! Helga didn't want to go out on stage. But she had to, it was her play and she still wanted to put on an excellent performance.
And she was George Washington after all.
She moved onto the stage. Bob and Miriam hardly noticed, and only shifted their gaze after Olga responded by waving at her in such an annoying fashion as to make Helga want to throttle her. Her boyfriend, Louis, slowly turned his head to watch Helga. His gaze was far more powerful. While Olga's was annoying, Louis' was actually intimidating, not in a hostile way, but in a way that demanded excellence. But this only motivated Helga.
"The purpose for which we fought, and the purpose for which the Office of the President was created, was to uphold the republican form of government of which the Constitution of these United States was written. Though the delegates to the Convention designed the office with me in mind, each one of us has put his own personal stamp onto it. This is that story."
Helga noticed her entourage. Bob and Miriam seemed absent-minded as usual. While Olga only gushed and looked at Helga with an expression that seemed to speak 'aren't you the cutest thing?', Louis raised an eyebrow, the glint in his eye still present. He looked content. Olga began to whisper in his ear again, and Miriam smiled widely at the couple. Everyone seemed to stare at them when they could- as if they were in a royal box. Louis again turned his attention to Helga, and she growled inside.
Helga used the emotional energy she felt at being upstaged to make sure that she and her performers delivered a quality show. She demanded perfection, and through the use of her talents, she seemed to get it. By the time it was over, the audience gave her a standing ovation. Helga sighed in relief and elation.
Bob and Miriam however, still doted on Olga, and seemed to be more interested in talking to her and Louis than they were in making their appreciation known. Miriam waved slightly to Helga but quickly shifted her attention. Bob might as well not have noticed except for a glance. Helga gritted but took it and got back up. She moved slowly into the area where a reception was being hosted.
Helga experienced a mix of emotions. She was happy that despite the personal setback, the play turned out as she'd hoped. She received a standing ovation. But the people she was supposed to be closest to, again, didn't care. It made her angry. She scowled. She bumped into someone as she emerged from the bathroom- anything to avoid being at that reception. True, she wanted to talk to her friends and to other people, but she didn't want to see Olga or the rest of her family.
"Uh...Helga?"
"Arnold?!" Helga asked dreamily as she finally realized who she'd bump into. "Uh...I mean, what do you want football head?!" She sneered.
"Are you avoiding going to the reception because you don't want to be with your sister?" He frowned somewhat.
"Well doi!" Helga angrily answered. "In case you haven't noticed, Arnoldo, whenever Olga's around it's a total nightmare! I even told her this morning to let this be my night and she still sucks up all the attention! Oh and that boyfriend of hers, the last thing I want to do is meet him."
"Why Helga? You don't even know him." Arnold stated somewhat coldly. "I talked with him for a bit and he seems like a really cool guy."
"Oh I'm sure. I'm sure he's perfect just like Olga is." She sneered.
"C'mon Helga. Don't judge people when you don't even know them. I'll go in there with you. And for what it's worth, I thought the play turned out really great."
Helga's eyebrow raised and her eyes became wide. "Ohhhh..." She swooned.
Arnold looked at her oddly and she smacked her scowl back on her face.
"Alright, alright I'm coming! Sheesh football head!"
As Helga walked closer and closer, she began to reflect. Maybe Arnold was right. Maybe she should talk things out. Maybe she should give the guy a chance. If Arnold thought he was cool, there had to be something to him, right? The fact that he was satisfied with the play and felt good about it was more than enough to give her strength.
Helga and Arnold emerged into the teacher's lounge, where the reception was being held. As soon as she entered she was accosted by a certain high-pitched, feminine voice.
"Hello baby sister!"
"Ohhh..." Helga sighed, and then scowled at who she saw Olga talking to. "Lila!" Helga seethed.
Arnold went into a swoon when he saw her, which got Helga even more angry. Reluctantly, Helga walked over.
"Oh Hello Helga..." Miriam said absent-mindedly. "Hey, you did a good job out there, right B?" She asked to her husband.
"Oh, yeah, sure." Bob said. "So Olga, you were telling Lila about that project you did with..."
Helga seethed. Bob remembered Lila's name. She spotted Phoebe in a corner talking to Gerald and giggling. She didn't want to interrupt them. She moped.
"Oh baby sister, what's the matter?" Olga said with a concerned look as she came over.
Helga looked up at Olga with a surprised expression.
"Nothing, everything's fine." She put on a false smile.
"Oh great!" Olga grinned. "I want you to know that you did a really fantastic job out there!"
Helga looked up at her with her arms crossed. She saw that Bob and Miriam were talking to Lila.
"Thanks." Helga said with no emotion. Olga didn't seem to notice.
"Now Helga, I want to introduce you to someone that's really special to me. C'mon!"
"Oh..." Helga groaned as Olga took her hand and they began to walk.
There he was, at the far end of the room. He was the center of attention, just as Olga was in her corner of the room. Helga could see that he was engaged in what looked to be an intense conversation with Rhonda's father, Buckley Lloyd. Helga could see that Rhonda was by her dad's side, staring up at him, gawking.
"I just don't see how it's going to make money in the long run." Helga heard him say. "I don't really understand why you'd want to buy that stock." Helga sighed inwardly. His voice was as powerful as his appearance.
"You have to think of it in the short versus the long term." Buckley advised in his haughty voice. "Here's what you do. Short a hundred shares of the stock and convert your holdings into British Pounds. Then buy the stock at the lower price after the Pound rises against the Dollar."
"Sounds legit." He smirked.
"It is. I've done that with a lot of different stocks when I saw that British Pounds looked good against the Dollar, then I started to go long on-"
"Oh, Louis, there you are!" Olga cut Buckley off. "I wanted to introduce you to my baby-"
"Olga, I'm talking." Louis lectured with a light smirk, not turning to look back at her.
"But Louis I wanted you to-"
"It's rude to interrupt people, Olga."
Hmph. Helga thought. That's certainly a lesson that Olga never seemed to learn.
"I can meet her later, Olga. She isn't going anywhere."
Helga frowned as he began to speak again with Buckley in earnest, talking in a language that might as well have been tongues to her. Olga was still annoyingly holding her hand. The stupid grin was not wiped off her face.
"Some guy." Helga spat. And then she sighed as she found that Olga was leading her back to Miriam, Bob, and Lila, who Arnold was desperately trying to make conversation with.
"HI OLGA!" Miss Slovak waved. Olga waved back. Helga only put a palm in her face.
"That's great, so I guess we'll see you tomorrow then." Bob said to Louis, who held an arm around Olga's waist.
"It was great to meet you!" Miriam gushed and shook his hand. She exchanged a girlish look with Olga and both giggled.
"Alright then where's the girl?" Bob asked, and noticed Helga standing a ways behind. "Oh there she is. C'mon little lady, it's time to go home!"
"Actually daddy, I was gonna ask Helga if she wanted to go with me and Louis." Olga interrupted. "Helga! Louis and I were going to go to Chez Paris!" She stated.
Helga looked up with a growl.
"You're welcome to come along if you like." Louis stated with a smile.
"Gee guys, that sounds great but...but..." Helga grinned sheepishly and noticed Phoebe leaving with her family. "I was...actually going to go do something with Phoebe!" She backed into her friend, who gave her a curious look. "Phoebe, I can come out with you tonight, right?" She asked with a hint of desperation.
"Uh, sure Helga...if that's what you want..." She looked up at her parents with a quizzed expression, but they quickly gave their consent.
Louis and Olga looked at each other with a quizzical expression. He shrugged.
"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow baby sister!" Olga shouted with a happy squeal.
Bob and Miriam got in their car and drove off. Louis and Olga happily walked away, toward their soiree.
Well, Helga thought as she got into Phoebe's car, hearing the compliments of Kyo and Reba, at least there were some people she could have a decent time with.