"Assemblies are still a thing?" Arnold asked as he and Gerald walked into the autitorium, walking with the mob of students.

Gerald nodded, "They're still a thing and they still suck."

Arnold smirked as he slid into the first available seat in the row he and Gerald had been manhandled into.

"Hello Arnold." A girl covered in freckles with long auburn hair tied into a high pony tail greeted him with a smile.

Arnold smiled back, "Hi Lila. Aren't you performing or something?"

Lila giggled, "No, Arnold. Cheerleaders don't always perform at assemblies. You're thinking of pep ralllies."

"Which also suck unless you're on a team of some sort." Gerald piped up.

Lila giggled and shook her head. "Would you mind if we did some switching around?"

"Oh, yeah, sure." He stood up and backed up against the line of seats in front of them and let Lila slide past him. Gerald jumped up and moved into the seat next to Arnold. Lila settled into her new seat next to Gerald and laced her fingers around Gerald's before giving him a peck on the cheek. Gerald had been horrified about telling Arnold about his relationship with Lila, due to the insane crush he had had on her in the fourth grade. Arnold didn't care though. The more he got reaquainted with Lila the more he realised that she was a great girl, but far from his type. She was so sweet that it was almost unbearable. He wasn't sure how Gerald could handle it, but they seemed happy so Arnold didn't bother with prying.

Lila and Gerald were about to start shoving their tongues down each others throats when the auditorium finally began to dim and the stage was illuminated. There was scattered applause when Phoebe stepped up to the podium to begin her announcements. Gerald couldn't even hear her speak without groaning and rolling his eyes, which didn't help Lila any. She seemed eager to lock lips with her boyfriend again, but he wouldn't do it do the the rage he was in.

Now there was something else about high school that he didn't understand. He had a lot of classes with Phoebe and he'd always found her to be a delight. She was actually his partner in his English project. It was unsettling how much of a fit Gerald had pitched when he learned that Arnold and Phoebe were going to be working together. The only thing he had to say was that Arnold needed to be wary because 'underneath that Junior Class President nerd exterior lies the cold dead heart of Satan'. Phoebe wasn't oblivious to Gerald's feelings, but she never acted as immaturely about her own disliking for him. Whenever she and Arnold spent time together she was always delightful. There was a part of Arnold that wanted to help Gerald and Phoebe make amends for whatever had driven such a barbed wedge between them.

"Hey loser." Arnold glanced up as a familiar voice caught his attention. He gave Emy a brief smile as she slid into the seat next to his. "Is your boyfriend having a total spaz attack because of our class president?" Her voice was dripping with sarcasma as she smirked and offered him a stick of gum.

Arnold accepted the gum and nodded. He made sure Gerald wasn't paying attention as he leaned towards Emy and asked, "Do you have any idea what happened between those two? They used to be really good friends."

"No one knows." Emy answered, making a playful spooky noise with her voice. "They had a falling out in freshmen year and no one knows why. At least that's what I've heard. I wasn't here back then, remember? You could always ask your boy."

Arnold frowned. He had considered that, but he was still getting reaquainted with Gerald. He wasn't sure if they were ready to go down that path just yet."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Hey Shortman." Arnold's grandpa called out from the passenger seat of the Packard. "How was school?"

Arnold smiled, sliding into the backseat and shutting the door behind him before saying, "It was alright. We had an assembly so I got out of class for a bit."

"That's fun." Arnold's father said from behind the wheel as they peeled out from Hillwood High's parkinglot. "Was it a fun assembly, like a talent show?"

Arnold shook his head, "No, it was pretty boring. Just reviewing safety regulations. The principal did go off for almost ten minutes about how horrible it was that someone had lined the flagpole with underpants over the weekend."

Steely Phil started wheezing with laughter, doubled over and slapping his knee, "Oh whoever did that should have gotten a medal, not a scolding."

Arnold laughed lightly. He missed his grandpa while he was in the jungle. He was just glad that time hadn't changed old Steely Phil.

"Well if it was you I'm glad you're having fun, and even more glad you didn't get-" Mile was unable to finish his sentence, as he had rammed the Packard into the back of a new fancy car that Arnold didn't know the name of.

Before getting out of the car Miles quickly made sure that everyone was alright. "Son, dad, are you hurt?"

"I'm not hurt, but my poor Packard is!" Steely Phil exclaimed tearfully and dramatically.

Before anyone in the Packard could get out to assess the damage of the other car the was a BANG of a door slamming shut, followed by the outraged cry, "Mother fucker!" Arnold perked up and fumbled to get out of the seat at the familiar voice. "LOOK AT MY LEXUS!" the brawny man shouted, his face turning red as he shook his fist in the air.

Had they not just been in an accident Arnold would have laughed at the familiar scene, but an angry Big Bob Pataki was no laughing matter. The passenger door swung open and for a second Arnold's heart stopped in his chest. If Helga stepped out of the front seat he would have been unable to keep himself from laughing. However, his spirits faltered when an older blonde girl jumped out of the car, stray sheets of papers tucked under her arm. Arnold could only watch in confusion as she jogged to the packard. "Is everyone alright?" she asked, tucking a strand of golden hair behind her ear as she bent over to look through Steely Phil's open window. She gasped when she noticed that Arnold's grandfather was crying. "Oh my goodness you're hurt!" She exclaimed regretfully.

"Me?" Phil asked, wiping his eyes, "Young lady, I'm fine. It's my poor Packard who's hurt!" With a sigh, Phil's hands fell into his lap and he somberly said, "This car was all I had left in the world since I lost Hedy Lamarr."

"Grandpa, what about grandma?"Arnold asked.

"Oh that's right!" Phil suddenly perked up.

The girl blinked slowly at the scene before saying "Alright then...so no one's hurt?"

Miles shook his head, "We're fine, thank you. I think I'd better talk to the other driver though."

The young woman looked at the man she was with, who was still in a rage over the fender bender. "Perhaps you'd better let me talk to him."

Miles watched the other man's tantrum for a few seconds before agreeing, "Be my guest."

The girl straightened the papers under her arms before approaching the raging Bob Pataki. "Daddy, calm down. We don't want another trip to the emergency room."

"All I wanted was to pick the girl up peacefully!" Bob exploded.

"Daddy," Olga chided, "'The Girl' has a name. Besides, I'm sure that Helga can get a ride no problem."

"This never would have happened if that mechanic hadn't double crossed me." Bob brooded, glaring at his dented bumper.

Olga sighed and rolled her eyes, "Daddy, Helga's car battery died. No one double crossed you. I mean the car is almost as old as she is, silly. It's bound to have a problem pop up at one point or another."

Now, usually Arnold was opposed to eavesdropping, but he found himself unable to resist. Before he knew it, he was approaching the pair of Patakis. Once he reached them he cleared his throat and said, "Excuse me?" When Bob and Olga turned to face him all of his words left him. He swallowed a few times before he was finally able to say, "I'm sorry to have listened in on you...but when you said Helga, did you mean Helga Pataki?"

Hey again everyone. Don't forget to leave me a review. I'll love you forever. Also, if you follow my other stories and are anxious for me to update one/any/all of those leave me a word in the doobly doo or send me a PM. Oh! Was anyone expecting Gerald to be dating Lila? Anyway, yeah, review time. GO!