(A/N: Happy Holidays guys! I had intended to upload this on christmas but... the website wouldn't let me. Not sure why but today is acting right at least! Hope you enjoy chapter 5! It's also longer than intended since I had... more time to write!)
The wind blew through her long blonde pigtails as she walked proudly across her town in route to her best friends. Pleased with her accomplishment of getting Bob to let her and her friends help out, she wore a grin every step of the way. It seemed as though maybe today would be a good day, after all, she hadn't gotten into any fights with Arnold or her classmates. Nothing could go wrong, right?
Phoebe's house was only a few blocks away from where she stood at a crosswalk. Helga waited patiently for the signal to walk and followed the other mass of people also heading in the same direction as her. Silently, she listened to the noises of the city. Did they even really need to improve the city? Not only that, did reviving Bob's Beepers really benefit the city at all? How would he even stay in business even if they did manage to sell off his current stock? Hipsters or no, they alone wouldn't keep Bob in business so hopefully he would wake up and jump into the cell phone line. Thoughts upon thoughts entered Helga's mind until she reached her destination.
Stepping up the stoop, she rang the doorbell. Seconds passed until a tall red haired women answered.
"Oh my! If it isn't Helga." Phoebe's mom greeted the small girl warmly. "Phoebe is almost ready I'm sure. Would you like to come in?" She asked politely.
"No thanks, Reba. I'll just wait outside on the stoop." Helga replied as she backed up and prepared to sit down.
"Suit yourself, darling" The women smiled before turning around. "Phoebe! Helga is here! Better hustle before she leaves you behind." She shouted behind her with her thick Kentucky accent.
Helga chuckled to herself at the thought of Phoebe rushing to get out just because of that. She had never left without her friend and she knew today wouldn't be the day she started. Especially with not how well everything seemed to be going. It was nearly the time decided for all five of them to meet at Arnold's house.
"Sorry for the wait, Helga." Phoebe apologized as she opened and closed her front door behind her.
"What? Did you forget notes or something?" The blonde answered patiently, slowly rising from her seat.
"No." Phoebe corrected, "I was actually in the bathroom."
"Oh." Helga replied, sort of shocked of how blunt her companion had been about it. "Well okay then, let's get going. God forbid we're late and Rhonda is early. She'll throw a fit." She said as she began to walk ahead.
"Coming!" Phoebe smiled, clutching her notes in her hand that she had prepared for today's meeting.
After school, Phoebe had promptly gone home to begin collecting all the information needed to proceed in a timely manner. Although her and Gerald had their own project to do, this one was much more important to her as it directly affected someone close to her. Knowing in her heart that she was willing to go far and beyond for her friend, Phoebe warmly smiled as she walked.
"So how did it go with your father, Helga?" The small girl inquired.
Helga let out a loud chuckle and gave her friend thumbs up. "Hook, line and sinker Pheebs! The moment I said free labor he was 100% down with the idea, even if he was a little skeptical."
"I don't suppose you explained to him our plan, did you?" Phoebe asked; holding her books closer to her chest for better support.
"Yeah right! If I had told him we were trying to get idol followers to buy his stupid relics, he would probably blow a gasket and say we were humiliating his business or something stupid." Helga laughed. "Besides, what does it matter how we sell them? Money is money."
"Yes…" Phoebe hesitated. "However I cannot help but feel we are deceiving him, Helga."
"Yeah well what the big oaf won't know won't kill him, right?" Helga said, now imagining him gathering dollars as they fell around him into a big pile and greedily smiling as he hugged his pile of money. "The end result is all that matters. Arnold seems pretty convinced that his goody do-good plan will be an amazing success so, whatever."
"It's true, and his plan does have a sort of… new age commercialized feel to it." Phoebe looked thoughtfully up at her partner, "How do you feel about it, Helga? Do you think it will work as much as he does? You would know your father's business better than anyone."
Helga hummed to herself a moment, in thought. "It could work. I'm not gonna be all up in arms about it if it fails but, at the same time, if it does work then I'll be out of the woods for going homeless…" She explained. "So that's a plus."
"It's just really surprising that you'd let Arnold do this project." Phoebe stated as she looked around to make sure no one of importance was nearby to hear their next few words. "On account of, he'll be delving into your family matters and I know how much you need privacy. Are you sure you're ready to let him do that?"
Helga grimaced at the thought and heaved a heavy sigh at the topic. She knew that she had to come clean with her relationship's progression at some point but hoped it wouldn't have been this soon.
"I'm gonna have to let him in at sometime… right?" She weakly said as she rubbed the side of her arm and looked away shyly.
"Helga!" Phoebe said loudly, causing them both to stop and Helga to focus on her small friend's glowing enthusiasm. "This is great!" She smiled brightly and gripped her hands tight with excitement.
"W-what I-is?!" Helga asked, taken quite aback.
"This!" She gleamed. "This is quite a big step for you to be taking, especially so soon! I can honestly say I'm excited for you!
Helga could feel the guilt raise up in her chest as there was so much she had not told her best friend yet and began to nervously laugh. "Y-yeaaahhh! I know, right? Who would have thought…?" She said as her voice got higher and higher pitched.
Phoebe couldn't help but notice Helga's odd behavior and raised an eyebrow. "Helga… Why are you avoiding eye contact with me…?" she pried slowly.
"Eye contact? Who's avoiding eye contact?" Helga evaded although feeling her best friends piercing gaze from behind her.
"Helga…" Phoebe stood her ground and crossed her arms sternly. Much to her opponent's dismay, she had no intention of backing down.
The blonde pigtailed girl knew there was no way she was going to win this stand-off and gave into defeat. Digging her heels on the pavements surface, she inhaled sharply as she prepared her next response. "I know… you know… already let him get inside my head a little bit." Feeling her embarrassment peak, Helga couldn't help but explode in front of her best friend. "Geez Pheebs! It's Arnold we're talking about here! He's like some old wise soul guru for cripes sake! It was only a matter of time before he started working his way into the little crevices of my mind and nosing around!" Phoebe uncrossed her arms and watched as Helga began to get hysterical.
"I tried to keep him out!" She yelled, pointing at the young girls face. "But Nooo! He just wouldn't take no for an answer! 'What's wrong, Helga? How can I help? Is there anything I can do? Talk to me." She threw up her hands in animation, stomping around and imitating the boy. "Criminy! There is only so many times I can try to avoid the kid's interrogation tactics before I crack, you know?" and with that said, looked to Phoebe for pity. "So I sorta cracked under pressure and let him in a little bit. Told him a little about my family situation and how it absolutely sucks. Nothing too huge, right?"
Phoebe stood there, dumbfounded as she fully digested Helga's confession. She had heard every word that her fellow female had explained, however the sheer ridiculousness of it all became a bit too much for her to withstand and soon, a warm grin revealed itself once more and she quickly embraced her friend.
"I'm just so happy, Helga…" Phoebe could feel tears beginning to well up in her brown eyes, although blocked by Helga's pink dress.
"W-what?" Helga stammered, hesitating at first to accept the sudden physical contact until giving in and patting Phoebe on the back.
Phoebe let go of her silly friend and stood back, wiping the single rogue tear that managed to escape. "You're finally getting what you've always wanted, right?" She then waited for a response back but after realizing there wouldn't be one, she continued. "Arnold is going way out of his way to show you that he cares and he's not doing it for someone else, Helga! He's doing it for you."
Helga could feel a blush creeping up across her face as she listened. This was something she had realized herself before but hearing it from another person's mouth made it all the more real to her. "Y-yeah. I g-guess so."
"Helga!" Phoebe shouted in happiness, before grabbing her stunned friend's hand. "It's time we go over his house and let you fully embrace his efforts. What do you say?"
Helga smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Let's go see what that dufus of a football head has in store for today's plans.
Inside Arnold's bedroom, He and Gerald, along with their newly found guests Helga and Phoebe sat around staring at the clock. It had been about 20 minutes since the girls' arrivals and they were now waiting for their last crucial member.
"Leave it to Princess Rhonda to leave us all hanging…" Helga scowled as she impatiently tapped her foot.
"Don't worry, Helga. I'm sure she'll be here soon." Arnold reassured with his usual hopefulness.
Just as he had finished his sentence, they all turned to the door as they could hear loud running up his old wooden steps and suddenly the bedroom door burst open wide with an out-of-breath Rhonda in its center.
"Oh… My… God." She panted, catching her breath and holding herself up against the doorframe.
"What?" Asked Arnold.
"What is it?" Gerald echoed.
Giving herself a moment to collect herself, Rhonda whipped out her cell phone and held it up for all to see. "You will NEVER guess who I just got off the phone with!" she boasted enthusiastically.
"Who?!" They all asked in unison.
"The one and only Hipster Queen herself! Marcy Stark!" She shouted in glee. "I had no idea that Daddy's company was affiliated with hers! When I explained to him why I was coming here, he graciously gave me her contact information and I called her up!"
Each one of the teens looked at each other in both excitement and disbelief as they listened to the rich girl go on.
"And?" Arnold inquired joyfully.
"And after I explained your project and Helga's situation, she said she would be happy to come here to Hillwood and wear the beepers for her adoring fans! Isn't that wonderful?!" Rhonda said as she sat down on Arnold's bed and crossed her legs in position. "I absolutely must call Nadine! We have a photo shoot to prepare!"
"Wow!" Phoebe said, astonished.
"I'll say…" Gerald agreed. "I can't believe you have contacts like that, Rhonda!"
"Yeah well anything is possible when you're as rich and powerful as my family." She replied, turning on her phones touch screen and typing something into it. "You're sooooo lucky that I was willing to help, Arnold."
"And where is this photo shoot going to happen, exactly?" Helga asked, skeptical.
"My man Fuzzy Slippers knows a guy with a studio; I'll get Jamie-O to ask him if we can use it for an afternoon or something." Gerald offered with a smile.
"That's awesome, Gerald! I can't believe this is all happening and so fast!" Arnold said, unable to contain his excitement. "When is she coming here, Rhonda?"
"Huh? Oh, she said she was free this Saturday and to let her know where and when to meet. Her schedule is pretty tight but she said she would make room to help us out." Rhonda explained; her eyes not breaking away from her phone for a moment as she continued to text.
"This is amazing!" Arnold expressed again, but this time peering over to Helga and locking eyes. "See, Helga! I told you this would all work out!"
Feeling his joy rush through her body, Helga slowly began to warm up to the idea and felt as though she was melting in her seat. Knowing now wasn't the time to swoon, she snapped herself back out of his sublime gaze. "Sounds perfect, Arnoldo but there is just one thing." She started, catching everyone's attention. "We're supposed to be done with our project by Friday. What are we gonna write for a project? A 'to be continued'? I told my dad we would be selling his beepers and if we don't produce any sales, he won't let this happen.
"I know." Gerald piped up. "Why don't we take some of the stash he has now and try to just sell them soap box style?"
"A very rustic way of approaching it; however I don't feel that will be the best approach." Phoebe frowned. "Mr. Pataki already has many advertisements around the city, not to mention the commercials."
Arnold listened to them go back and forth with ideas, while he himself began to ponder the options. It was true that everyone in town knew about Bob's beepers going out of business and the sales, so how would they profit meanwhile? Sure, their project was more of an idea paper rather than an execution piece; however without some sort of trial and error their paper would be meaningless.
"Why not go out of town, then?" Arnold suggested. "I could get my grandpa to bring us a few towns over and we could pitch his sales there."
"Hmm…" Phoebe thought for a moment. "That wouldn't be a bad idea. Commercials generally are only shown to surrounding areas of relevance. If we were to go outside that radius, we're bound to get at least some sales."
Helga jumped up and dusted herself off. "Well that settles it! Get the Packard, Shortman. We're going to sell some beepers!"
Arnold and his friends rushed down the stairs and into the dining room, where Phil and Oscar happened to be having a fight over which one of them won a game of backgammon. Welcoming the interruption, Phil listened to the boys idea and after pondering it, decided "What the hey, I don't have anything to do so why not!" and they all set out to the Beeper Emporium to pick up a box or two of beepers.
The drive seemed shorter than it was, as everyone enjoyed each other's company and chit-chatted about local events. About an hour and a half passed and soon they were nearing the next city. Sky scrapers loomed in the distance and heavy smoke puffs could be seen in the sky from what could be assumed to be factories. It was a more industrial sort of city.
"This is it…" Phil said as he drove near one of the toll booths. "Get my wallet for me, Shortman."
Arnold nodded and did as he was told. He rummaged through the glove compartment until he found the old man's wallet and promptly handed it to him the moment he stopped the car. "Here, Grandpa."
Phil rolled his window down and took a gander at the person in the booth. It was a young woman, probably about 24 years old, with hair of black and streaks of purple. She wore metal cuffs and piercings on her nose and lip. "Well aren't you an interesting looking young lady! How much will it be?" He asked in his own charming type of way.
The woman chewed on her gum as she looked down at him humorless. "$4.00" she replied before blowing a bubble and snapping it loudly.
Phil opened up his wallet and handed her a $5 bill. "Here ya go, young lady." He said cheerfully. As she went through her desk to get him change, he looked up ahead again at the city. "So any fun things to do here?" He asked.
"No, not really unless you like big business and pollution." She answered, handing him back his change.
Phil grimaced and handed the one to his grandson. "Sounds like a blast! Thank you!" He said as he pulled forward and waited for the blocker to let him through. He turned to the kids, "You guys ready? I don't know what you expect to find here but I hope it's worth it."
As they continued onward, the sight in front of them seemed sort of familiar. The lay out looked exactly like something Future Tech Industry wanted for their own town. Highways, corporate buildings and busy business folk walking around with cell phones in their ears.
"What is this place?" Arnold asked, sticking his head out the window for a better view.
"Cedarview is what it said back there on a billboard… but I don't think we'll be seeing any trees in this place. At least, not anymore." Phil explained, as he squint his eyes to see through the thick smoke they were passing through.
"Criminy Arnold, roll up the window!" Helga shrieked. "The smell is horrible!"
"Yeah, that's factories for ya. Aren't you kids glad we stopped FTi from invading our nice neighborhood? Our nice little home would have been slowly turned into something like this…" Phil started as they now entered what looked to be like Main Street. Noisy people surrounded them as they walked across the crosswalk, lights and TV's flashed on buildings and sirens could be heard in the distance. Everyone seemed like they had some important place to get to and no one even bothered to look up or greet another. "A concrete jungle."
"Seems perfect to sell beepers, though." Gerald suggested with a twinge of hope in his voice.
"Beepers?" Rhonda asked in bewilderment. "Look at them, Gerald! They all have cell phones! Why would anyone here need to rely on old technology like that?" She sighed. "This just might be a lost cause."
"Don't say that, Rhonda." Arnold said as he looked over the front seat. "I'm sure there might be people here who can't afford cell phones or something that would buy them."
"There you go again, Arnold. Always looking on the Brightside…" Rhonda commented, as she looked away from him and out the window.
Arnold stared at the rest of them in silence; doubt and worry all over their face. "Someone has to…" He replied.
"Arnold is right." Phoebe chirped. "Where there is rich, there is always bound to be poor. If the majority of citizens here are in business then it's a possibility that some are just starting out and don't quite have the income to sustain a cell phone contract, which in turn, beepers will be a suitable suggestion."
Her comment made Arnold smile before turning back to the road ahead. "Yeah! So we can't lose hope!"
"Whatever you say, Arnoldo…" Helga sighed as she looked out her own window, although deep inside she was swooning. "Oh Arnold, my liberator, my redeemer! You have brought us all the way to this smokestack infested place just to help me… me and only me, my angel. I know deep in my heart that you will find a way to accomplish your goal, and this time it's my very own well being! How I wish for you to know how ever grateful I am that we are here. When this is all over, I will force with all my might to tell you how I feel, my savior."
Phil pulled up to a large Victorian style stone building with a large staircase and two water fountains and all the children gathered over to the left side of the car. "Well would you look at that! Pretty fancy, eh?" he chuckled to himself. "Might be a library or museum or something. Want me to drop you off here? Seems like a nice wide open place with lots of foot traffic."
"Sure, thanks, Grandpa!" Arnold smiled as he and the others began to gather up their backpacks. "Where will you be?"
"Oh you know, around." Phil said sneakily as he looked around at buildings and people surrounding them. "How about I pick you kids up in an hour or two?"
"Sounds great, Mr. Shortman." Phoebe smiled as she exited the old car.
"Great!" The old man replied. "Stay safe and don't do anything I would do!" and he zoomed off, leaving the others standing there wondering what to do next.
All was quiet between the friends as a breeze blew an old newspaper by. Unsure of what to do next, they all shuffled amongst themselves leaving someone to stand up and take lead of the whole situation.
"Already ladies and gents! Here is how it's gonna go." Helga started as she pulled out a bunch of papers from her backpack. "Geraldo here is gonna shout to the people and be the voice of our little group, while Rhonda, Phoebe and I will hand out fliers."
Arnold started to feel a little left out. "What will I do then, Helga?" He asked, concerned.
"You will go around to each one of these buildings here and hopefully get some sort of useful information that might help us sell these things, in case this soap box routine doesn't pan out." Helga instructed as she jabbed her finger into his chest. "Got it?"
"By going to the individual businesses, it will help us discover their specific needs and if our product is for them." Phoebe added as she flipped her notebook paper and went over her notes. "You're job is probably the most important."
"Yeah so you better do it right, Football Head." Helga smiled slyly, looking directly into his eyes and hoping he made direct contact.
Under normal circumstances Arnold would have felt annoyed by being singled out while everyone else cooperated alongside each other, but as Helga peered into his eyes, he could see the missing message between them. Putting on a front like normal, she was giving him the most important task because she knew he could do it and this made him feel full of energy. "Alright. Got it." He smiled back, taking a few of the fliers from her hand. "I'll see you later, guys!" He waved and then ran across the street into the first building he saw.
"Alright Tall hair boy, you're up." Helga gestured to the dark skinned male.
Gerald nodded then cleared his throat. "Tired of overpriced cell phone bills? Tired of hearing your phone ringing off the hook non-stop? Concerned about the possibility of radioactive waves causing brain cancer?" He shouted to the public, causing a few people to look over at them. "Well, look no further! We have genuine grade 'A' beepers available now for anyone and everyone! Low maintenance and cheap, beepers are the way to go! Why have a bulky cell phone attached to you that could fall at any moment and cost you a fortune when you could have this small square device that slides easily in your pocket? It won't fall out! And if by chance it does, the repairs are only a fraction of what you'd have to pay to fix your phone!" Gerald continued to call out, looking left and right, making as much eye contact with every passing pedestrian. "Here me now, brothers and sisters! Come over and take a look at this wonderful product we have available for you right here, right now at a low, low cost you can only get this week! That's right, you heard me only this WEEK! Big Bobs Beepers are here to help with all your communicating needs on the go!"
Soon a swarm of people circled around the 4, as they gladly handed out informative flyers regarding the beepers and where they could buy them.
"Wow, I can't believe this is actually working…!" Helga called out to the party.
Arnold had walked into a few buildings; each looking almost identical to the last with pure white walls, a guard at each doorway, a large half moon receptionist desk and two large elevators in the back. He would immediately greet the receptionist, ask to talk to their communications department or something of the like, and then offer some information just to be denied. After one too many of the same responses from the businesses, he began just offering the flyers to the front counter and to the guard before he continued on his way. "This is a lot harder than I thought…" He grumbled to himself as he walked along the sidewalk. It was starting to get late and he was beginning to get hungry. "I wonder where grandpa is?" He wondered out loud, plunging his free hand into his jacket pocket. "I hope the others have made out better than I did."
The last building on the strip looked to be a small private hospital. Feeling down and out, Arnold made his way inside. Many people sat inside the large waiting room, coughing, sneezing and moaning in pain while nurses walked to and fro. He noticed a large clock above the check-in station. It was almost time for him to go back to the others. Letting out a small sigh, he set his last flyer down at the station, placed both hands in his pockets and left.
The walk back to his friends felt slow and tiresome as the boy focused on his immense disappointment in his lack of progress. He had been given such an important task and yet, he was coming back completely empty handed. Was Helga right? Will this really fail? He quietly asked inside his mind. Sadly, he kicked an empty soda can to the side of the curb and waited for the 'walk' signal to turn. Arnold picked up his head and looked from his left to his right to observe the strangers now besides him. A woman in a black suit carrying a briefcase and looking at her watch, an older man dressed in something his grandpa might wear; accompanying a small girl probably around the same age as Gerald's sister Timberly, a group of college aged girls chatting happily about their new hot teacher and lastly, an elderly woman hunched over with a cane. The sign soon turned and everyone began to walk, pushing each other out of the way to eagerly continue forward. Concerned for the older woman, he glanced over to see her beginning to struggle to get across as people continued to walk in front of her.
"Do you need a hand?" He asked politely, wearing a pleasant smile.
The old woman looked up at him, a bit of shock in her weathered face. "Why yes… That would be nice. Thank you, young man…" She replied, gesturing Arnold to step in front of her to guide the way through the mob.
Feeling high with conviction, Arnold did his best in leading the older woman across the street and to the side of a building, letting the mob finally pass until the light turned green once again; allowing cars to go but people to wait.
"You're not from around here, are you child?" She asked curious as she stabled herself with her long cane.
"Is it that obvious?" Arnold replied; a little weary of the question. It was quite obvious that he looked a little lax compared to the busy people with a strong objective in front of them; however he didn't think he stood out that much.
The woman's face wrinkled with a frown. "No one ever stops to help anyone here. Everything is go, go, go… pushing and shoving with entitlement. Back in my day, everyone counted their pennies and was grateful with what they were given, as there wasn't much to give." She heaved a heavy sigh as she plunged deep into her memories. "Having a job was something to be proud of, not expected to have. All I ever see now are lazy workers standing around department stores expecting pay for just showing up. No one ever offers to help. No one ever even gives a warm hello…" The woman turned back to Arnold, and softened her gaze. "That is why you stand out, young man."
Her story gave Arnold a bit of mixed emotions as he grasped her story. Although he was happy she appreciated his small gesture, he was sad that everyone here was so selfish. "I'm sorry to hear that you don't have many nice people here, ma'am. I'm happy to help." He said, mustering up another warm smile that he knew she'd enjoy.
The woman nodded. "Well, I best be getting on my way. It's my grandson's birthday, you know? He's turning nine, isn't that splendid?!" She chuckled, before shuffling down the street and away from him.
"Nine, huh?" Arnold responded to himself, his words out of reach from her ears. "Lots of things can happen, when you're nine…" He began to reminisce of some fond memories as he continued towards his own destination.
Gerald sat down on the steps, out of breath and in dire need of some water. The girls had just finished handing out as many flyers as possible however did not manage to sell one beeper despite the potential buyers and interested people.
"I cannot believe I just wasted the day like this!" Rhonda huffed as she crossed her arms.
"You got that right, sister." Helga agreed as she accompanied Gerald on the stone steps. "I knew this wasn't going to work but noooo, Mr. Brightside just had to bring us to the middle of who-know-wheresville." She said as she rested her arms across her legs.
"That's not completely true. It is possible that they'll contact your father or go down to the emporium themselves later on." Phoebe stated as she readjusted her glasses.
"Yeah, don't be so negative all the time Helga." Gerald scowled next to her, "Arnold is working hard to try and help you, why not be a least a little appreciative?"
Knowing his words reign true, Helga scowled back in frustration. She did appreciate it! More than his feeble little mind could possibly fathom! But that was none of his business and he had no authority to talk down to her. "Oh, I'm sorry Gerald but when did I become obligated to be happy about someone else butting into my life? I never asked him to do this!"
Gerald could feel his impatience begin to rise within his chest. It didn't surprise him in the least that she would either be absolutely stubborn to the truth or putting up a front but regardless his body was stressed and her attitude wasn't making him feel any better. "That's right, you didn't but that's even more of a reason that you should appreciate it! The guy is troubling himself over your project night and day. Do you seriously think it's just for a good grade or something? Because I'm pretty certain that, that's not the case Helga and you know it!"
Surprised to the two's sudden feud, a confused Rhonda stood back and listened, looking to Phoebe with questioning eyes who gave her no voluntary answer, just a worried look back.
Feeling her own anger beginning to reach its peak at every word he spewed, Helga rose from her seat and got faced to face with the boy. "And what do YOU know, Geraldo?! Because I can tell you exactly what I know. I know that if you don't like it then you can complain to old Betsy here!" She roared, shoving her pale fist in his face.
Immediately pushing her hand away, Gerald also stood up and faced her head on. "Oh just stop it, Helga! You know very well what I know and pretending otherwise is just plain stupid!" He shouted and growled, causing her to growl back. The boy was smart enough to know that fighting with her wouldn't get him anywhere and would only cause further stress, however he just couldn't help himself. He stepped back, attempting to regain composure. "Man, I'll never know what he sees in you." He muttered to himself. "I'm going to the vending machine to get some water." He finished, walking away.
Phoebe looked at Helga with sorrow, then back towards her suitor. Not sure of what to do or what to say, she simply raced off in his direction to make sure he was okay.
"Psh, Whatever," Helga scoffed. "Do what you want. See if I care."
Rhonda applied her thumb and index finger to her forehead, unsure of what to make of the scene prior. "What… was that about, exactly?" She asked, quite annoyed.
"None of your business, Rhonda." Helga replied simply.
"Oh no, no, no!" Rhonda scolded as she waved her finger at the hostile girl. "You're not getting away with it that easy, Helga. What was that? Is there something I missed?" she asked, observing Helga's nonverbal responses. After being ignored, Rhonda started to think for herself but come up with nothing other than Helga just being Helga. She whined in frustration and began to throw a tantrum.
"I said it's none of your business and I MEANT it, Rhonda! Now buzz off!" Helga hollered as she slumped back down on the steps. "In other words, Princess, It's on a need to know basis and you clearly don't need to know."
"What's going on, guys?" Asked a familiar voice.
Both girls turned towards the speaker and the mood lightened up. Arnold stood there, with the same innocent smile they had always seen him wear; unbeknownst to him of the storm that had just passed.
"Arnold!" Rhonda sighed with relief. "Finally, you're back!" She then looked around him and frowned. "Where is your grandpa? I was hoping he would be back by now too."
Arnold tilted his head in confusion, and then turned his gaze towards his admirer. He could see her face was red and the air between them was a little tense. Concerned about the unknown, he turned back to Rhonda. "Why? What happened?"
"Oh, the usual," Rhonda replied as she placed her hand on her hip and posed; brushing her hair back with her other hand. "Helga going off the deep end and yelling at everyone." She explained before scowling at the other girl.
The information given to him gave Arnold even more cause for concern. Feeling something was off; he looked around them and noticed the absence of two more of his classmates. "Where are Gerald and Phoebe?"
Helga snorted at the question. "Off sharing a water fountain or something; who knows?"
He could hear the hurt in her voice and he could feel his heart sink within himself. He was certain that a fight probably took place between them but didn't know who or what or why. Wanting answers, he turned back towards Rhonda but before he could open his mouth to speak, he saw the missing two members of their party in the distance and heading his way. Deciding it would be far more fruitful to ask them, he rushed passed the girls to his best friend.
"Hey Gerald" He greeted as he skidded to a halt.
"Oh… Hey Arnold." Gerald responded, clearly just as unhappy as the rest of them.
"What happened? Everyone seems pretty tense." He asked, scratching his oblong shaped head.
Gerald opened his mouth to speak but was politely hushed by Phoebe who then went on ahead to explain the situation that had just transpired between the friends. Arnold listened with disappointment and placed his hand on his forehead. He understood that his best friend and she would never completely see eye to eye as they weren't ever close, but fighting loudly in public wasn't something to be proud of.
"I'm sorry man," Gerald hung his head. "She just irks me sometimes, you know?"
Arnold placed his hand on his friends shoulder and looked at him with sympathy. Arguing with Helga was never a pleasant experience and she did know how to be over the top and attract attention.
"It's okay, Gerald." He sympathized. "My Grandpa should be here soon so don't worry about it."
"I fear the car ride home will be… quite awkward." Phoebe grimaced as she turned to look at her pigtailed friend in the distance who wasn't acknowledging them.
"Yeah…" Arnold agreed, turning to look along with her. "But it will be okay. I'll talk to her in private when this is all over, if you want."
Gerald shook his head. "Nah, it wouldn't do much good anyway. She's Helga and will always be." His words caused both of his companions to frown and look at each other before turning back to him. "What?"
Phoebe took her boyfriends hand and looked at him square in the eyes. "I know I've never told you much about her before, since it is not my place, however you should know that there is more to her than meets the eye." She explained. "So, as I said back there, you should try to get to know her rather than just becoming hostile and egging her on to act out."
"Yeah… I know." He proceeded to hang his head again, this time out of shame for causing his own partner stress. "It's just, I don't get her."
"Right," Phoebe agreed. "And you never will until you actually make an attempt to try. Take Arnold here as a prime example," She said as she motioned to his best friend who looked up at them in surprise. "He thought similar to you for many years before allowing himself to fully see her for who she is and now they're an item." Cocking an eyebrow, Phoebe realized a error in her words and turned to the football shaped head kid. "I… think? Actually, I don't think that has ever been clarified."
"Uhhh…" Arnold stammered nervously, being placed on the spot. "That hasn't been discussed. Not yet, anyway." He was surprised at his own words, however embarrassed to admit them in front of his friends.
Suddenly, as if on cue, they heard Helga yelling in the distance. They turned to her to see her waving them down and making a come here gesture. Behind her was his grandfather's old car along with his smiling face and Rhonda sitting uncomfortably in the car.
"Grandpa is here," Stated Arnold, with a hint of relief. "Time to go home."
Gerald accompanied his friend with a sigh of relief, as he squeezed his girlfriend's hand. "Yeah and it's about time. I'm starving and today's been a lot longer than I wanted."
"I concur." Phoebe agreed and they all walked over to the rest of the party.