(A/N: Well this arc will be concluded within the next two chapters, I think. I'm pretty excited with how it's turned out so far and even more excited to write the next two chapters to see how it ends! No fears though, I still plan to upload faithfully every week at least. Thanks so much for all the positive reviews, guys! They really make my day :)
Ah yes, I forgot to address one thing that some of you seemed to be confused about. Where I went to school growing up, if you had an altercation with another child even if outside of school, and the parents told the school, you would be suspended. I guess I sorta assumed all schools were like that since they're meant to prepare you into being a model citizen ;; my bad for the confusion)
The talk between Arnold and his family went about as well as could be expected. Phil went on to explain in great detail about the kids in Arnold's class and just how they played. This included Wolfgang and the older kids, along with Harold and Helga's bullying tactics. The two parents had looked at each other in confusion and asked just how kids could stay being friends with those who hurt and belittled them? The answer was quite simple to Phil: Kids will be Kids. Although the children that Miles had grown up with were quiet and attentive, it was very different for both Phil and Arnold's generation. After he quelled the storm that had brewed within the large household, Phil then brought young Arnold aside to have his own one on one talk about his bad instincts.
"Look Arnold," Phil started as he sat at the edge of his young grandson's bed just as he was about to finally get some rest, "I didn't want the others to know this, because you know how they can be but, I did happen to overhear the argument between the two of you while I was in the lou." Arnold gave a shocked expression but Phil raised his hand to silence him so he could continue. "I heard what she said and I heard what you said. It seems to be that the both of you deserve to apologize to one another."
"But that's just it, Grandpa. I tried to apologize to her but she just left and- and you saw what happened." Arnold explained sadly as he shuffled his feet under the blanket.
"I know, I know but sometimes you gotta wait for someone to cool down on their own. You were upset and she was upset and no one can listen to another person if they're head in clouded in anger and resentment, Shortman." The elderly man explained softly as he watched the poor boy give him a sad look. "Now cheer up! Tomorrow is another day and you can come up with a way to make your little angry friend less mad at you." Phil then stood up and headed towards his bedroom door. "If anyone can do it; you can, Arnold."
The encouragement made him smile a little before nodding to his grandpa. "Thanks Grandpa." He replied as he watched the older man leave the room. His words were indeed insightful but it seemed no matter what advice people gave, his guilt still seemed to eat away at him.
Arnold turned off his bedroom light and stared up into the sky above. The moon was very bright and most of the rain clouds had cleared, leaving a sparkling sky to watch over him while he thought. Just what would he say to her, exactly? All of the apologies he could think of just didn't seem to be enough. Helga had finally opened up to him in a way he never imagined and he repaid her by using her own insecurities against her. "I wonder if she hates me now." He wondered as he tossed and turned in his bed, now staring at his bedroom door. He re-imagined the scene of their argument and her immediately bolting out his door, and then sighed. He knew letting his guilt eat him awake wasn't going to do him any good so he proceeded to try and think happy thoughts; thoughts of a better tomorrow. Tomorrow he would think of something to say to her and make things right again. They had their presentation tomorrow after all, so it would have to be before school started, right?
"You did what?!" Gerald hollered in amazement as him and his best friend walked to school.
"I know!" Arnold yelled back, a heavy frown plastered on his face. "I know… It was wrong."
"Well yeah but that's not what I can't believe." Gerald continued as they looked towards the school they were nearing. "I just can't believe you had the nerve to say something like that to her! I mean, you have to be the only person in history to ever give her a dose of her own medicine!"
"Gerald!" Arnold scolded, his guilt now beginning to weigh him down once more. "That's not helping!" As they reached P.S 118, Arnold stopped and looked at his feet. "What I did was underhanded. I shouldn't have-"
"What? Stuck up for yourself?" Gerald suggested with a raised eyebrow. "That's something you honestly should have been doing from the start! That girl has been walking all over you for years and you just let her do it! I'm glad you finally found your voice!"
The blonde boy was at a loss for words. What his friend said wasn't exactly wrong; however he wasn't right either, not by a long shot. He knew it was okay to stand his ground, but it went against Arnold's principles to play dirty. "It's not about standing up for myself, Gerald… It was the context I used." He finally explained.
"What do you mean?" Gerald asked, noticing there was becoming fewer and fewer kids around as they all were entering the school.
Knowing it wasn't his place to explain Helga's business to him; Arnold just sighed and began to walk up the entrance. "Never mind, let's just go." He replied as he held the large front door open.
Time was passing by rather quickly as Arnold gazed up at one of the clocks in the hallway. He made plans with himself to find Helga and talk to her before class started, however that didn't seem like it was going to happen. Gripping the large poster she had made and his backpack, he and his friend walked to their classroom.
All seemed well around the class but notably one person was missing. "Harold…" Arnold whispered as he looked around the room. Feeling a sense of dread, he could only imagine that his mother made him stay home to nurse his wounds and left Sid to do the presentation by himself. Thinking of his own partner, Arnold looked to Helga who seemed to be in her usual mood and writing in her notebook. It was small, but a sense of relief managed to wash over him. There was probably only 5 minutes before home room would start but maybe they would be able to at least pass notes with each other until it was time for their project. Luckily for him, Mr. Simmons had a tendency to organize the speeches by the students' lasts names, making their projects one of the last to be presented.
"Good morning, class!" Mr. Simmons sang happily as he walked into the classroom and placed his belongings on his desk. "Today is Friday, and as you all should know, today is presentation day! Please have one person from your group hand in the essay to the mayor and I'll give you 10 minutes to prepare your notes for the project. I'm sure all of your topics will be very interesting as all of you have your own individual interests and talents that would make this city an even brighter place than it is!"
Arnold could feel a little bit of excitement spark inside him as he glanced over at Helga. Around them, all the students began gathering together with their partner to discuss their presentation and he knew he had to do the same. This will give me a little time before the performance to speak with her properly… or well, as properly as I can anyway. He thought as he collected the things he brought with him. He concentrated on himself for a moment to gather up his feelings and thoughts before swapping seats with the person in back of her, who happened to be Nadine.
"Thanks!" He called out with a wave, as the braided girl waved back and sat next to Rhonda.
Helga heard the boys' voice behind her and immediately it sent tingles down her spine. She had done her best to prepare herself for the moment since she woke up, however now it was time and now she wasn't ready. Did he hate her now? Will everything be okay like Phoebe continued to say? Or did Helga really ruin the small thing she was finally able to create? Thoughts upon thoughts began to soar through the young girls mind and she was unable to bring herself to turn around and face him.
Sitting idly for a moment, Arnold waited patiently. He had made his presence noticed, that he was sure of, however couldn't help but assume she was ignoring him. Arnold sighed and held his large head up with his hand. What do I say? He asked himself. Do I just apologize like yesterday? Do I let her come to me? The clock was ticking to the right of him and he knew they only had so long to prepare. Deciding that he couldn't wait any longer, Arnold cleared his voice and leaned forward; placing his head close to her left shoulder. "Helga…" He whispered softly, that way not to startle her or get the attention from anyone around them. "I know I hurt you yesterday and I'm really really sorry… "He paused as he took in a short breath. "Please talk to me… we don't have that much time before everyone starts presenting." Arnold was beginning to feel nervous and self conscious. It was bad enough that Harold had found out about their union, and even though it didn't seem that Sid or Stinky really believed him yet, but him remaining in such close proximity of her didn't help their image if they were still hiding it.
As he spoke in her ear, Helga's body began to tremble. Such soft words, such a velvety voice! She swooned inside. And he doesn't even seem mad at me either! But no! Stop it Helga! We still can't simply forgive him for yesterday simply because of how luxuriously smooth his words are! Remember the objective! She coached herself on the inside. Once feeling his movement of sitting back down, Helga gripped her pencil and turned around. Gazing upon his Holy face, she could feel her stubborn decision begin to backfire. He looks so… sorry. She couldn't help but recognize.
"W-what?!" She stammered as she continued to look into those emerald jewels that looked her way. "What do you want?"
"Helga…" He frowned. "I know we don't have long to talk and I know this may not be the best place to talk but…" He then looked around the room and noticed that all of the other students were engaged in conversation and not paying any notice to them, "I didn't mean what I said yesterday. I was just so… so frustrated that it just sorta came out."
Helga began to frown alongside him as he spoke, hearing his regret only made her feel worse. Yes what he said was cruel but seeing him like this felt one hundred times worse.
"I know you were just trying to lay even grounds between me and everyone else now but… I don't know, it just felt like you were accusing me of not wanting my parents around; like if I regretted ever finding them." He continued to explain, slowly averting his gaze to elsewhere. "So I snapped back. It was wrong, and I know it so…" Arnold then shyly turned back to her, a small pink hue adorning his cheeks, "If you could somehow find it inside yourself to forgive me, I'd really appreciate it."
Suddenly they heard a small cracking sound. Helga looked down to see she had been gripping her pencil so hard during his speech that it had broken in half. With a gulp, she placed it down on her desk and slid it away from her. Just say you're sorry too! She screamed at herself inside. "I-I-I…" She attempted to start, unsure of even how. "I think…" She continued, as Arnold stared at her patiently but expectantly. "I'm…" But before she could finish, Mr. Simmons stood up and addressed the class again, cutting her off.
"Alright class! It's time for our first presentation!" He said excitedly as he placed his two hands together with a clap. "Now I know it's a bit unorthodox, but I'm going to have Arnold and Helga present first as there are… certain circumstances that require them both asap elsewhere." He finished with a little concern, as he looked to both of the children.
"Oooooo~" The class said in chorus, all eyes now attached to the couple.
"Now now, class! Everyone pay attention as I'm sure they've picked something spectacular for their project." Mr. Simmons motioned his hand for them both to stand up, and then moved out of the way so they would have the stage.
Arnold stood up and grabbed his papers, handing off the poster board to Helga as she rose herself. Looking at each other with uncertainty, they both walked up to the front of the class and began their speech. Helga held up her poster and growled, causing her audience to silence.
"The subject of our area renewal project is," Arnold started before tapping on the poster she held up. "Big Bobs Beepers." Almost instantaneously the student body began to whisper to one another but Arnold ignored them and continued. "Due to the recent progression in technology, the beeper industry has begun to plummet, causing businesses like this one to shut down as they're unable to stay afloat. The reason we have decided to use this as our focus is-"
"Is because Helga's family is broke." Rhonda interrupted as the rest of the class snickered.
"Ms. Lloyd!" Mr. Simmons scolded sternly, causing the girl to cross her arms and turn away.
Helga snorted. "What? It's not like she's wrong."
Waiting patiently for the commotion to settle down, Arnold turned to his partner who gave him an eye roll and motioned to continue. "Right… Anyway, although improving on the beeper industry wouldn't exactly boost our city, it would help small businesses around our city who are unable to afford things like cell phone contracts, to afford lesser expensive means of communication like beepers." He then pointed to a chart on the poster and explained the mathematics of it all, causing most of the class to slouch in boredom. "We attempted to go out and boost the business a little by handing out flyers with information to the public…" His face then went grim as he turned to his teacher. "However, we had very little success. Hopefully, with the mayor's help, we could get a little more help from the city to possibly get this business afloat again and save a few jobs."
Mr. Simmons clapped at the end of their presentation and stood up with a smile. "Very good, you two! That was an excellent topic. Helping our fellow man is always something that we should strive for, and to have someone in our very own class to benefit from it as well!" The joy began to fade from the aging man's face as he approached the two and took their essay and poster board. "Now… I'm afraid Principal Wartz is waiting for you two in his office. I stalled him so you could present your project, however I don't think I can stall him anymore or he'll end up calling for you over the intercom…"
The two obviously knew what it was about, however Arnold was surprised to hear that he too was wanted. The class let out another loud "Oooooo!" before Helga stomped out of the classroom, causing Arnold to nervously follow.
"Helga, wait up!" He called out to her as he caught up to her march. He waited a few seconds to see if she had anything to say, as she had never finished her sentence earlier, nor had she actually said anything to him of real substance. He noticed her face had broken from its usual scowl into a softer complexion but she made no attempt to respond. Arnold frowned. "So… you don't forgive me, do you?" He asked sadly, turning to look forward.
Helga could feel her frustrations with herself bubble up. She gritted her teeth and calmly spoke, "Its… It's not that I don't forgive you, Football head. I just don't know how to feel about all of this." She explained truthfully. Arnold nodded and she inhaled sharply to continue. "I guess… I could have worded what I said yesterday differently but I didn't think it would really make you mad." Her voice started to become higher pitched as she became further and further uneasy with her own words. "I…" Helga stopped as they reached Principal Wartz's office. "You're the last person I want to be mad at me, really…" her voice became weak and she turned to face the door, unable to look at him in the face. It didn't matter how many walls got broken down, telling him the truth was still hard.
The boy could feel the tension between them begin to fade. Her expressions and body language told him most of what he needed to hear, but her word only made his worries that much lighter. "Thanks, Helga." He said as he placed his hand on her shoulder warmly, "I'm glad to hear you feel the same way."
Fireworks went off in the young woman's brain as she heard his sentence. "Ohhhh~" She let her feelings escape a little before grabbing the office door handle and plunging downward, causing herself to lose footing and stumble into the Principal's office awkwardly.
Inside the office, the old balding Principal sat with his left hand on this intercom and his right holding down the button as if he was about to talk. "Oh." He said, placing it back down and stiffening his posture. "I was just about to call for you two. Have a seat."
The two adolescents walked into the man's small office and sat down in the less than cushiony chairs provided.
"What is it now, Wartz?" Helga demanded as she slouched in her seat and propped her shoes up on the end of his desk.
The Principal narrowed his eyes, stood up and pushed her feet off his desk in one fell swoop. "Don't show such disrespect to me, young lady." He began with a harsh tone. "I'm sure you know very well why you're here." He then turned to Arnold, who sat innocently to her right. "And you, young man, should also know your position in this."
"Actually, Principal Wartz… I don't know why I'm here." Arnold corrected cautiously.
Removing himself from the confines of his desk, the older gentleman began to pace himself around his office, glaring at the two children. "Here at P.S 118, we strive to provide excellence for our students. This includes a non-hostile place of learning, and as students of P.S. 118 you're expected to perform excellence even outside the school building. As students of this school, you are expected to represent P.S. 118 and its standards."
"Yeah, yeah! Cut the fat and spit it out, Wartz!" Helga groaned impatiently.
"You, Ms. Pataki, deliberately and unreasonably attacked a fellow student and that is unacceptable." The Principal threw back, as he grasped the top of the young girls chair and squeezed.
"Oh, and now you care?" Helga turned around to face him with a scowl. "Older students have beaten us up in the past and that's perfectly acceptable but because I give Harold a black eye, it's not?"
Clearing his throat, he let go of the chair and proceeded to walk back to his desk. "I have no knowledge of past instances in which you were victim, Ms. Pataki, but I do implore you to come forward next time you have such issues. However, as for right now, you stand accused for assaulting a fellow student. How do you plea?"
"Guilty as charged and not a speck of remorse for it, either." Helga replied with a chuckle as she leaned back in the chair, causing it to stand on its two hind legs.
"Oh! Is that right?" The man said with a bothered tone as he pulled a file out from his desk.
Arnold felt it was necessary to step in before things got too heated. "Principal Wartz, in our defense Harold was the one who purposely came to my house to pick a fight with her. Helga was only standing up for herself."
"Is that so?" He responded, not looking up or even acknowledging the boy. This caused Arnold to become a little agitated.
"Yes, it is so. I won't say that what Helga did was right, but he is just as much as at fault for instigating it." Arnold explained, "And also this doesn't explain why I'm here, either. I didn't do anything."
Principal Wartz continued to nose through files until finally finding the one he was looking for. "Aha!" He exclaimed as he forced it out of its place and on to his desk with a loud slap. He had heard the boy's words but found his reasons for being here less important than his companion, thus ignoring his question the first time. "Son, the reason you're here today is because you are a key witness in this assault and as such I'll need you to tell me exactly what happened before I can continue with her punishment. As you can see here," He then held up two folders in his hand, "I have both of your permanent records. These follow you for the rest of your school lives, do you understand that? So tread carefully and speak honestly."
"I'm always honest." Arnold said, displeased of the implication.
"And he already told you what happened." Helga chimed in.
"Yes, well let me hear the story from start to finish." The Principal instructed as he laid down the folders and took out a pen to record the details.
With a long sigh, Arnold wove the long and disheartening tale of Helga storming out of his house due to a disagreement and Harold standing at his door just waiting for them to emerge so he could degrade and belittle them to his delight, along with Sid and Stinky as his back up. Under normal circumstances, Arnold wouldn't have called them out but if it meant saving Helga from whatever punishment Wartz had in mind, he figured it was worth it.
"I see…" The Principal said as he scribbled down the last of Arnold's statement. "And you say that your two other classmates were also there?"
"Yes!" Helga shouted as she stood up, "Now go bother them for their statements so we can continue with our 'oh so important' learning! I'm sure they'll rat him out faster than you can threaten detention."
With a firm nod, Wartz finished up his paperwork and removed their files from his desk, giving Arnold much needed liberation. "Then it seems I'll have to look into this case further." He then looked over his half moon spectacles and glared especially at Helga. "You're dismissed… for now. I suspect I'll have you in my office again by the end of the day, Ms. Pataki."
The threat was unwarranted and only caused Helga to huff before she leapt out of her seat without delay and headed for the door. "Whatever." She hissed than swung open the door and looked over at Arnold who was still sitting in his chair. "You coming or what?"
"Oh, uh…" Arnold hesitated as he looked to the Principal for signal to leave.
"You may leave, Arnold." Wartz nodded.
Arnold immediately scrambled to his feet and walked out the door with Helga in the lead. Almost the very second that the office door closed, Helga let out a loud noise of irritation and began to stomp towards a water fountain, to which she took a drink from.
"I can't believe Wartz has it out for you like that…" Arnold mentioned as he averted his eyes from her as she drank rapidly. "Are you called to his office often?"
Finishing her last slurp of ice cold city water, Helga wiped her mouth with her arm and scowled toward the office. "Yeah. He always finds some reason to threaten me with something. I don't know what crawled up his butt but ever since last year, he's been pretty on my case."
Arnold shook his head in worry before looking up at her. "Sounds sorta like harassment when you put it like that."
"What else is new? Didn't you know my life is full of gumdrops and waterfalls, Football head?" She replied, a little amused but mostly bothered by how accurate his statement was. Although she had no intention on telling him, her father and the Principal had fought on a number of occasions that only lead to a never ending feud between the two of them, and only hurting Helga as collateral damage.
A silence swept over the two as they walked back to class. Thoughts of holding her hand came into mind but were quickly pushed out as he remembered the state they were both in currently as well as the fact they were in school. He could see that her hands were currently clenched anyway and that she wasn't in the best mood. "Tomorrow is the photo shoot…" He mentioned, trying to lighten the mood with something positive. "Are you ready?"
"Hah!" Helga hooted, sharply turning a corner in hot pursuit of their classroom. "I can't wait to see how Rhonda is planning this. I picked out a few of the older models for her to show off since, ya know hipsters seem to like old things, but other than that I have no idea what we're doing."
Arnold caught up to her pace and chuckled a little himself. "Yeah, I guess it will be a surprise for the two of us then." He remembered their plans for after the shoot and began to feel a little nervous again. "We still on for those plans afterwards…?" He quietly asked.
She could feel her face get hot as she too remembered their plans. "Y-y-yeah…" She glanced down at him. "If you want to… still do that…"
Seeing her blush only made him do the same. Arnold looked away and nervously scratched the back of his arm. "I do." He felt adamant on that. If there was anything he could do to fix the mishap yesterday, he was willing to do just that.
Lunch ended up being pretty normal, as did pretty much the rest of the school day. Arnold and Helga had received a B+ on their project, as although their focus would help jobs; it didn't exactly help the city over all but the grade was passing and neither of them complained. It was no surprise to anyone that Phoebe and Gerald's project ended up being the first of two to be selected to be sent to the mayor's office for consideration, as their focus was on refurbishing the old Capitol Theater and turning it into an art museum to reflect all of the plays and operas that had once been shown there since the beginning of the city's history. The second sent for consideration was Sheena and Eugene's project which focused on abolishing a few of the abandoned buildings downtown and turning them into a homeless shelter for the less fortunate. Lesser projects included, turning Elk Island into a free roaming zoo (courtesy of Curly and Iggy), turning main street into a shopping center (courtesy of Rhonda and Nadine), Making the jolly-olly man deliver right to your door (Courtesy of Harold and Sid) and finally turning the port area into some sort of a all year carnival (Courtesy of Stinky and Brainy).
It was also no surprise to neither Arnold nor Helga when they heard Sid and Stinky's name announced over the intercom to report to the Principal's office either. As they exited the classroom, the two boy's both gave equally unhappy glares towards the two's direction. "Snitch." Sid hissed at Arnold before closing the classroom door. Arnold could feel a lump of guilt in his throat and he began to slouch down in his seat. He knew that the moment school let out, that he would be approached by the two boys.
"What was that about?" Gerald asked, the moment the bell rang for school dismissal as he reached his best friends desk.
The lump in Arnold's throat still hadn't gone away and he had spent the remainder of the class thinking of how to approach his two friends who were probably still being grilled by Principal Wartz. "Remember the thing I told you about this morning?" He asked as he procrastinated getting his things together and watched as the others left the classroom.
"You mean the argument between you and Helga?"
Arnold shook his head. "No, the thing that happened after that…" he clarified, still watching the classroom door as if someone was going to come in at any moment.
"So you mean when Helga beat up Harold?" Gerald crossed his arms and began feeling suspicious. "What about it?"
"I left out the part where Sid and Stinky were also there, since it didn't seem relevant." The blonde boy couldn't help but confess with a long exasperated sigh.
"Okaaaaay so what's your point?" Gerald was becoming genuinely confused and even more concerned with Arnolds staring at the classroom door and lack of leaving.
"When Helga and I got called into the office, she was going to get suspended or something! I couldn't let that happen when it wasn't totally her fault so-"Arnold explained but was suddenly cut off by the sound of a large angry mob outside of the classroom door. Turning to each other quickly in concern, they both bolted out of the room to see what was going down.
Upon opening the door, Arnold and Gerald peered outside to see the front doors to the school open and a bunch of kids crowding the entrance, hooting and hollering.
"Oh no…" Arnold uttered out as he began to quickly rush to the mob, pushing his way through to see what the commotion was. His fears were soon confronted when he saw none other than Sid and Stinky confronting Helga in front of the large student body.
"Arnold, what's going on?" Gerald managed to say as he shoved a younger boy with glasses out of his way in order to reach his friend. He too stood in awe of the situation but was more concerned with where his own girlfriend was in all of this; next to the person being interrogated.
"How could you?!" Sid demanded as he pointed his fingers at Helga accusingly. "You just had to go an rat us out?! We didn't even do anything!"
"Yeah, Helga! That wasn't very nice! It was Harold that was yellin' mean things to you, not us!" Stinky agreed as he crossed his arms.
"Look," Helga began calmly, as she grit her teeth as if she was trying to hold her rage back. "I wasn't about to go getting suspended because you three bozo's decided it was a good idea to try and pick a fight with me. You're just lucky that I didn't get to you two next."
Phoebe could see her friend was doing everything in her power to not escalate the situation and gently placed her hand on Helga's arm. "Just breathe…" She whispered.
"But ratting us out?! All you had to say was Harold did it alone and everything would have been fine!" Sid cried furiously. "Now we're all facing detention!"
Arnold had heard enough. Signaling Gerald to follow, they both rushed through the rest of the crowd and stood by the girls sides.
"And you!" Sid called out to Arnold the moment his image made it through the rest of the students. "You're just as much as a snitch as she is! I thought we were friends, Arnold?"
"Yeah! How could you turn your backs on us like that?" Stinky asked, although admittedly more genuinely offended at the act rather than angry.
"Guys, if you would just let me explain-" Arnold started but yet again was cut off.
"Oh save it, Football head." Helga shouted as she got up in Sid's face. "This one doesn't care to hear what we have to say…" She then flicked his backwards cap off his head, causing Sid to get even angrier.
"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" The kids behind them began to chat ominously.
Gerald grabbed Phoebe's hand and attempted to pull her away from the scene but was halted as she shook her head. "This isn't our fight!" He called out to her but she wouldn't budge.
"No, but I'm not leaving Helga." The Japanese girl explained, looking at her boyfriend seriously in the face.
Sighing in defeat, Gerald then beckoned to Arnold. "Come on man, let's go. Let those two duke it out or something."
After Sid had gathered his hat and placed it back on top his greasy fine hair, he turned back to Helga. "So now you gonna fight me too, huh? Gonna knock me on the ground like Harold and wail on me?!"
His suggestion only caused Helga to laugh. "Only if you want me to, twerp."
Stinky could see that the confrontation was getting them nowhere and placed his long skinny hand on Sid's shoulder, only for it to be knocked away. "No!" He called out to Stinky. "I want to know why they did it! Why did you two narks rat us out to Principal Wartz?!" He asked both Arnold and Helga, his face becoming flushed.
"Because it wasn't fair for her to get total blame when it was the three of you who came to MY house to mock us!" Arnold shouted, causing everyone around them to quiet down a little. "Why is it that Helga is always getting the blame?" He aimed his question at the both of them, who backed down a little. "Sure, she can be mean, nasty and insensitive to people but so can Harold, yet she was the one facing punishment?!" His words rang true and slowly Arnold took the stage as the world quieted. "Was she wrong for beating him up? Absolutely! But if the three of you hadn't instigated her than none of you would be in trouble now."
"W-well we just wanted to see if it was true!" Sid called back, once finally finding his voice to talk.
Then everything suddenly got completely quiet. Arnold turned to Helga, who seemed to be stuck in place; looking at the floor and gripping on to her dress. He could feel that she was beginning to lose herself in her own fears.
"Yeah! Harold told us that he saw you two holding hands and acting all lovey-dovey so we went to see if he was pulling one over on us." Stinky nodded, sticking up for his smaller friend.
Arnold took a step backwards and put himself in front of Helga. He wanted to do everything he could to protect her from the situation but much to everyone's surprise, Phoebe then let go of Gerald's hand and stood in between Arnold and Sid. "And what if it was true, what then?" She challenged, looking around at everyone for an answer. "So what if what Harold saw was correct? How is it anyone else's business but their own?"
"Phoebe?" Helga questioned, surprised to hear her small voice become so loud and authoritative.
Feeling like he was now the only one left out, even if it was on his own accord, Gerald also stood up and next to his best friend. "Yeah! When Phoebe and I started dating, you guys didn't make a big deal about it. Why does them dating bother you?"
"Gerald?" Arnold looked up at his best friend, shocked at his entrance.
"So what if they're not the most sensible couple?" Phoebe continued to address the audience but focused mainly on Sid and Stinky. "So what if seeing them as something more than bully and prey makes you feel uncomfortable? Maybe instead of focusing on them and their private lives, you should be taking a look at yourself to see just why the thought of them together makes you feel uncomfortable."
"Because… it's just weird." Sid answered. "How are we supposed to react?"
"But that's just it…" Phoebe sighed. "You don't have to react." She then turned to Stinky, "Stinky, back in the fourth grade you knowingly had a crush on Helga and no one made fun of you for it, right?"
"Gosh… that was a mighty long time ago…" Stinky mentioned as he scratched his head in thought. "I reckon no one said nothing to me about it, though."
"Did you, really?" Sid asked his tall southern friend, looking as if this was the first he heard about it.
"Well… yeah. At first it was all just a rouse for some reason or another, not that I can recall anymore but after it was all said n' done, I wound up wanting to court her for real. Unfortunately, she turned me down so I picked myself up and had to move on." Stinky explained, now beginning to feel a bit embarrassed.
Recovering for this shock of newfound information, Sid turned back to Arnold. "T-this still doesn't excuse you ratting us out though!"
"Sid… I didn't exactly rat you two out. All I did was mention to Principal Wartz that you and Stinky were there when it happened and to ask you both for further information." Arnold stated exhaustedly. The whole fight was now turning into something completely different and even most of the onlookers were becoming bored and dispersing slowly.
"If that's true then why did Wartz say that you both spilled the beans to him?!" Sid shrieked in confusion as he clutched his head and fell to his knees on the ground.
"Because he always says crap like that to make whimps like you cave in." Helga finally said, causing her friends to look up at her. "If anyone ratted you guys out, it was yourselves."
"She sorta has a point there, Sid." Stinky concluded. "After all, the moment Wartz said they told him everything, you began to tell him everything yourself…"
"I-I did?" Sid asked, looking at his own hands as if they could give him the answers he sought.
"I reckon now that all of this is said n' done, that Arnold and Helga really didn't do anything to incriminate us… we kinda dug ourselves in our own hole." Stinky sighed and shook his head with shame.
Gerald applied his forefinger and thumb to the bridge of his nose and grit his teeth before speaking. "So you guys are telling me that this whole charade was for nothing?"
Stinky picked his small friend up off the ground and gave Gerald an apologetic look. "Sorry about that, fellas…"
"Did I really spill the beans to Wartz myself?" Sid was still questioning both himself and Stinky, amazed to hear such development.
"Plead like a criminal with the death sentence." Stinky nodded.
"Oh no! Now Harold is gonna kill us!" Sid began to panic and clutched his face with his hands.
"What do you mean us? You were the one that ratted him out, Sid." Stinky raised his eyebrow and began to walk away.
Sid began to argue, "But you agreed with me back there! It's your fault too!" He cried out as he followed, leaving the group of four standing there alone as if nothing had ever happened.
An awkward silence along with a stray newspaper danced across the sidewalk. A lot had just happened and each of them needed a moment to process it all. One by one they all looked at each other and then agreed to begin walking home.
"That was exhausting…" Arnold commented as he held his head with his hands.
"I'll say…" Gerald agreed as he shook his head. "No one ever said they were the brightest kids in class, though."
Phoebe looked up at Helga, who still hadn't said much since the Arnold had stood up for her in front of the group. Nonchalantly, she grazed her hand with her own in order to get the taller girl's attention. "Hey, you okay?" She whispered softly.
Helga turned her head back to the front of them and watched as Arnold and Gerald continued to converse. "Yeah. I mean, I've have better days, but I'll live."
"I apologize if anything I said was out of line back there." Phoebe hung her head, "I just couldn't stand listening to them criticize you like that."
The girl's words made the weight inside Helga's heart shift a little, and a faint smile emerged. "Don't be sorry for being a good friend, Pheebs. I would have done the same for you if they started talking smack about you and tall hair boy over there."
Phoebe picked her head back up and smiled. "Really?"
"Of course! What are friends for?" Helga could feel the mood lightening. "Besides, people were bound to find out anyway. I've been stoning myself for this moment all week but… I didn't think it would happen like this."
"Now we just have to wait until Harold comes back to school on Monday…" Arnold chimed in as he and Gerald had been listening in on the girls talk.
"That's sure to be a whole new fiasco." Gerald whined.
"How much worse could it be?" Phoebe asked, "He already has done his best to humiliate the two of them in broad daylight, to which he was punished by Helga. I can't imagine him attempting to go through with a second attempt."
"I doubt he has the balls to do it anyway." Helga stated even though worries danced through her mind. "And if he does, I'll just beat the crap out of him again." She forced herself to laugh.
"I really don't recommend that, Helga." Arnold scolded as he turned his head to look at her.
"True because you'll just get all handsy and hold me back again." She smirked, causing him to blush and turn his head back in front.
Gerald noticed the little sign and smiled to himself. Letting his pace fall a little, he let Phoebe catch up with him and he gracefully entwined her hand with his. "I think it's time to do that thing we planned for today, right Phoebe?" He winked her way.
Phoebe tilted her head, a little confused. "What could you possibly be referring to, Gerald? I don't recall…"
"You know, that thing we said we'd do today." Gerald smiled playfully as he lightly nudged her, hoping she would catch his drift.
Luckily she wasn't foreign to his signal and she giggled to herself. "Of course! How could I forget that thing! How silly of me." Phoebe then stopped, causing the other three to stop with her.
"What thing?" Arnold asked; a little confused. "I thought we were gonna play baseball today to make up for tomorrow afternoon?"
"Oh yeah, I totally forgot! I'm sorry Arnold but Jamie-O really wants me and Phoebe over to see that studio for tomorrow and I sorta promised him we wouldn't be late…" Gerald nervously laughed as he slowly backed up with her.
"Why don't we all go see it then?" Arnold suggested but much to his dismay, Gerald kept shaking his head.
"Sorry, Arnold. It would be much too crowded in his car! You know, he's always got a bunch of junk in the back seat." Gerald shrugged as he squeezed Phoebe's hand for help.
"Right and I'm needed for a second opinion. You understand." She smiled.
Helga shrugged as the two of them acting weird were of no real concern to her. "Okay. See ya, Pheebs! Call me later and let me know about this studio. Oh, and let Rhonda know about it too. I'd rather not call her myself."
"Will do." Phoebe gave her best friends a thumbs up before Helga began to walk away on her own.
Arnold frowned and looked from Gerald to Helga, feeling a little left out. "Well, okay Gerald. Call me when you two are done, alright?"
"Absolutely my brother!" He called out, grinning and pointing to Helga leaving with his thumb.
Finally catching the hint, Arnold gave Gerald a thumbs up, turned around and ran after Helga to catch up with her.
"You think you did the right thing leaving them alone right now?" Phoebe asked; a little worried about Helga.
Gerald placed his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close. "They'll be fine. Arnold has had a lot on his mind that he needs to talk out with her anyway. And besides, now we have the whole rest of the day to ourselves!" He grinned.
Phoebe gave a small blush and giggled in response, "Oh! How positively sly you are~"