Chapter 3: Two Down, One To Go

Helga's Closet

Helga was sitting in her closet, before her football headed shrine with feathered hair and soda cap buttons, wondering if she should take Phoebe's advice.

Oh Arnold, another moral dilemma! Shall I come clean and reveal my true feelings, or stay hidden in the shadows with my fantasies? Should I risk rejection and confirmation that you and I were never meant to be, or be as bold as you my love, and confess the truth. The truth of which…

Being interrupted from her thoughts, Helga heard an unwanted knock at her bedroom door…

KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Baby sister!"

Helga angrily tucked her locket back into her shirt after being snapped out of her emotional thought and yelled "WHAT?"

"I've made a wonderful breakfast omelet with sausage links and corned beef hash for everyone!"

Annoyed once again with her sister's show off attitude, Helga gritted her teeth and said "Sounds great Olga, but I'm really not that hungry right now."

After hearing Olga leave, Helga stepped out of her closet to lay across her bed and smirk "Pttss stupid show off. She can get any guy she wants without even realizing they want her. While I'm stuck day after day wondering what I have to do to grab Arnold's attention. What the heck am I doing wrong?"

Ten Minutes Later

"Are you sure you won't join us for breakfast baby sister?" Olga asked anxiously, when seeing Helga march towards the door.

"Pttss…when geese fly out my nose maybe."

"You say something little lady?" Bob heard, knowing it couldn't have been complimentary.

"No?"

Walk

After leaving the boarding house, Gerald had once again been nice enough to stick by his best friend (while still having his doubts about the two remaining suspects).

Arnold himself was in denial about Helga. Like he had thought to himself the other day, even if that was her at dinner, that didn't mean she'd be willing to admit it.

Therefore, they decided to make Nadine their next questionnaire.

City Lake

"There she is Gerald!" Arnold anxiously pointed out, while Gerald wondered what he was getting so worked up about.

Even if it had been her, did that mean they shared any of the same interests?

All Nadine ever did was talk about insects. From what he had seen, his friend had never suggested they spend a Saturday afternoon hanging at the lake to do anything other than sail their boats.

Nadine turned from scrumaging through the lake when she heard from behind "How's it going Nadine?"

"Oh Hey Arnold! Did you and Gerald have a nice Valentine's Day?"

Arnold began to rub his neck, wondering if that should be his que to bring up dinner. Then again, that was the whole point of coming to find her.

"Uhh yeah. Gerald and I both had dates at different restaurants. What about you? Did you spend the night here?"

Nadine looked down at the water and sighed "Well I wanted to, but I decided to give into Rhonda's idea of going shopping. I figured it wouldn't be easy to see anything out here by the time school ended and I finished my homework anyway."

Arnold looked at Gerald, wondering if she was just looking for a cover. It did sound like something Rhonda would do however, so they decided to let Nadine get back to her hobby.

Before letting them leave, Nadine asked "Who was it you went out with Arnold?"

The now shy boy's face began to blush. Not just at the idea of hiding the fact he came to see if it was her who was with him, but having to reveal he didn't know who it was. "Actually, I'm not sure."

Nadine gave a confused look as she replied "So, it was a blind date?"

Before answering, Gerald butted in to say "You might as well have called it that."

Rather than pushing her for more information, Arnold began to explain the story of what had happened the previous night…

"I thought I was having dinner with my pen pal Cecile from France. It turned out not to be her though when we met for dinner. Once the date was over, she wouldn't tell me who she was. I've been trying to find her ever since."

Knowing that must have been why Arnold came to find her, Nadine smiled and asked "Does that mean you've just been asking all the girls in our class what they were doing last night?"

While Arnold began to blush, Gerald chimed in to reply "Pretty much."

Wanting to help him, Nadine thought back to everything she had done the previous night. "Now that you mention it, Rhonda and I did see Helga dressed up, like she was going somewhere. She had a pretty interesting hairstyle."

Flashback

Previous Night

After leaving the mall with bags in their hands, Nadine listened to Rhonda go on about the false advertising her favorite magazine had led her to believe.

"I cannot believe the way this shirt does not match these shoes as perfectly as they did in the magazine! I will be writing a serious complaint letter to… Hold up! What is that!"

"What's what, Rhonda?"

"Look at Helga! Dressed in heels, with an absurd hairstyle! Who is she trying to impress? Harold?"

End of Flashback

"We didn't follow her, but I'm assuming she had a date, since she never dresses up." Nadine said to the boys.

Arnold and Gerald simultaneously looked at each other, wondering what to do about this.

"Well, thanks for your help, Nadine." the now emotionally disturbed boy said.

What if it was Helga? Did that mean he should say something to her, or just be happy he had a nice night with her for once?