Chapter 12: Back Where We Started
Two Weeks Later
Hospital
Helga was laying in her hospital bed, on the verge of having her stitches removed. Olga knew by that point not to go snooping through Helga's closet for anything personal to bring.
Having to take care of her sibling however, didn't mean she wouldn't have to go into her room at all however. Helga may not have bothered to go through them, but Olga couldn't help but notice the cards her sister's classmates had been nice enough to make for her.
P.S.118
Phoebe was handing Mr. Simmons the finished work she and Arnold had been helping Helga with, while the rest of the class waited for the morning to start.
"How's she doing by the way, Phoebe?" the perky teacher asked.
"She's slowly recovering Mr. Simmons. Today she'll be having her stitches removed. It shouldn't be long after that, she'll be rejoining the class." the intelligent girl explained.
Phoebe took a seat behind Gerald, as he turned to say "So, has anyone else's cards been good enough to help Pataki with that memory of hers?"
"While I'm happy to say she's regaining her knowledge of the class one by one, it hasn't been because of the cards."
Arnold sat listening to Phoebe's and Gerald's conversation, wondering if Helga had even looked at his card. Even if she had, it wasn't too likely that would be enough to bring back her memory of him when her poetry books didn't.
Hospital
After remembering how overly emotional Olga had been the last time she was at the hospital, the doctor's decided it wouldn't be the best idea to have her idea.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but you're going to have to wait outside while we remove her stitches." said the doctor.
Hard as she tried to follow through on Helga's desires to back off, Olga had felt like a failure after seeing the things that happened to Helga when she did.
"But my baby sister needs me!"
Helga laid there gritting her teeth, praying the doctors would be able to get her out of the room. While seeing her sister cry, she listened to one of the nurses say "Don't worry ma'am, we'll pay extra attention to what needs to be done. Not only that, we'll explain each process to her as we go along!"
What kind of goody two shoes does this woman think she is? It's like she thinks she's Ms. Perfect, or…
Just as Helga was remembering another classmate, the nurse began to explain what the process would be like.
"Alright sweetie, we'll simply be clipping each thread near the knot. All you'll be feeling is a slight tugging. Not to worry, because the removal of them shouldn't hurt at all!"
Helga rolled her eyes, thinking to herself…
If I didn't know any better, I'd say this was Ms. Perfect's long lost mother.
P.S. 118
"Class, Ms. Olga Pataki has been keeping me up to date on how Helga is doing. She's having her stitches removed today? Isn't that exciting?!"
While Mr. Simmons was happy his students' procedure was moving along, the class revealed dull looks.
"How in the heck are they doing that? Just yanking them straight out of her?" Stinky wondered.
"Or…or maybe they're slicing her open to yank them out!" Harold guessed.
"Boy howdy! Can we go watch?" Sid asked, feeling it may not be as boring as it sounded.
"Oh please. Why would they sew her closed, if they were just going to rip her open?" Rhonda rolled her eyes at the boys' dense guesses.
"I believe the process involves simply clipping the remainder of each thread before using a tool to carefully remove each one." Phoebe explained, after having read about Helga's condition.
Mr. Simmons smiled at his intelligent student and replied "Thank you Phoebe. Let's all keep thinking positive thoughts for our special classmate."
Hospital
After having her stitches removed, Helga sat up to listen to one of the nurses complain about a smudge appearing on her shirt.
"I can't believe this mark is on my uniform! It wasn't there when I left for work this morning!"
While the other workers in the room ignored her, Helga rolled her eyes, thinking to herself…
Sheesh! Has she never heard of a washing machine? She works in a hospital, for crying out loud expecting to look amazing? Who does she think she is, Princess?
The tired girl sat up to rub her eyes, remembering another classmate her memory was coming back to.
P.S. 118
Cafeteria
Arnold sat at the table with Phoebe and Gerald, not feeling hungry. "I wonder if Helga's memory about anyone else has returned?"
While Gerald didn't have an answer, Phoebe put down her lunch to respond "While it's likely her memory hasn't completely returned, it's possible certain things have happened recently that have continued helping her regain previous knowledge of her life."
"Mm…mm…mmm. To think, something as simple as a card could fix something as extreme as amnesia." Gerald couldn't help but shake his head in astonishment.
"Although it is a remarkable way to cure one's condition, the brain tends to uphold permanent knowledge of repetitive moments. Therefore, a simple gesture can easily take the person back to a repetitive moment." Phoebe explained to her friends.
This made Arnold wonder what could Helga have done to remind her of him even more than her poetry books?
Hospital
After having her stitches removed and a few memories brought back to her, Helga was speaking with a Nutritionist.
"If you want this process to only last a year, you're going to have to keep a more balanced diet. That means more fruit, vegetables NON-processed meat…"
While the Nutritionist went on, the annoyed girl sat in her hospital bed sulking thinking to herself…
Who in the heck dedicates their life to keeping a balanced diet? Not to mention trying to persuade others to do it?
After asking herself this question, another memory was brought up…
Sheena, what is this junk? Where's my burger? Where's my chocolate milk with the two bendy straws?!
Oh but health food plate is much more binding!
While the Nutritionist went on, Helga smacked her face at the idea of someone so geeky giving good advice.
"Well, that's about it." the nurse said, while handing Helga a list of healthy foods to keep in mind.
Olga then pushed her sister out of the hospital in a wheelchair, as she sat there knowing the next year wouldn't be fun.