If you're interested in my art for this series, look me up at SenSpring on Deviant art. Will be posting regularly comics and scenes from the story on there. Happy reading!

Chapter 2.

"No freakin' way!" Helga slammed her fists on the kitchen table, causing the milk in her cereal to spill over. "Criminy! You finally want to eat breakfast together as a family and you decide to drop this bomb on me!? Well, forget it! You can't buy me with a bowl of oats!" She pushed the cereal away from her with a huff.

"Hey! Don't take that tone with me, young lady!"

"I'll take any tone I'd like, old man!"

"Can you believe this, Miriam? To think we've raised such a selfish little-"

"I'm selfish!? Take a look in the mirror once in a while, Bob! And while you're at it maybe you can pluck some of those white hairs out of your head!" Bob reflexively brushed over his hair with his hand."Miriam! Tell Bob his stupid beeper empire isn't gonna do any better in foreign country!"

"Miriam, tell the girl she doesn't know anything about business and how GREAT this opportunity is for the whole family!"

"Tell BOB if he got his head out of his ass he'd realize, newsflash! NO ONE IS BUYING BEEPERS ANYMORE!"

"Tell Olga that beepers are going to make a COMEBACK and I'm gonna be the one supplying them to the whole world!" He raised his hands up high in the air in triumph.

"Mom!"

"Miriam!"

"I…need a smoothie." Miriam got up from her chair, aimlessly searching the cupboards for her tabasco.

"Listen here-"

"No, you listen!" Helga leaned over the table, her face inches from her fathers. "I've put up with this family long enough! If you two want to move to England and play hopscotch with the queen, be my guest! But I'm staying. Right. Here!" Helga spun around in her seat, stomping over to her backpack she left on the floor.

"Don't you walk away from me, little missy! I'm not done speaking!"

"Well you love hearing yourself talk, so keep yourself company!" Helga swung her backpack aggressively around her shoulder, huffing as she made her way to the front door.

"Where do you think you're going!?"

"Uh, school!? Doi! It's Friday!"

"You don't need to go to school! That's not gonna be your school anymore! You haven't even bothered to look at the new dormitory you're going to be living in!" He picked up a pamphlet he had prepared on the table and waved it over his head.

Great, to think it was even possible to see less of each other and now he wants to send me away to live on my own? "Great, so while you and Miriam get cozy eating crumpets and sipping your smoothies with your pinkies up in the air you're sending me off to some pip pip cherios dorm to live with strangers with funny accents! Great family dynamic we have here!"

"Well get used to the idea, Girly! Because whether you like it or not this family is up and out of here by Sunday morning!"

Sunday? But that's only two days?! Helga scowled, gritting her teeth enough to ache. "You can't make me go! I'd rather be homeless than move across the world where no one knows who I am!" She was shaking as she reached for the door handle, swinging the door open forcefully. "And by the way, BREAKFAST! SUCKED!" she yelled, slamming the door on her way out. Bob balled his hands into fists then punched the wall hard enough to make a hole.

"Oh B… that's gonna affect the house value." Miriam sighed, pouring herself a glass before downing it in one go.

"...slow down on the smoothies Miriam, you'll give yourself a headache." Bob rubbed his sore knuckles. "I just don't get it. Why is she so upset?"

"Well…hmm, well maybe, B, she's gonna miss all her little friends? Ya that's probably it." She cooed.

"She'll make new friends! Richer friends!" Bob threw his hands up in the air. "She isn't seeing the bigger picture! …with time I'm sure she'll thank me. I mean, you're adjusting well to the news."

Miriam unscrewed the cap off her tabasco, already making herself another smoothy.

"She wants to go to school so bad? Fine. I'll make sure she can say a proper goodbye to all her little classmates." Bob made his way into the hallway, reaching for the phone.

"What!?"

"Yep."

"Sunday?"

"Yeah..."

"They can't do this, Helga! That's not fair!" Phoebe gripped Helga's shoulders tightly. "Moving all the way across the ocean to another country, and they let you know two days in advance?!"

"I'm not going. I'm gonna go hide out somewhere and make sure that they can't find me!"

"Oh, Helga!" Phoebe balled, hugging Helga tightly. "I can't believe they'd do this to you!"

"Stop it Pheebs, it's me we're talking about! I'm not going to take this lying down." Helga patted her back trying her best to comfort her friend. "Even if I have to become homeless-"

"No! Helga, you can't do that! Think rationally."

"Nothing about this decision is rational, Phoebe! Why do I have to go along with it! I-it's-"

It's not fair! She thought. Just as it seemed that things were going so good lately, the rug had been pulled out from under her. It had not been long since Arnold and her were actually starting to get along with each other. Sure, it was in a bit of a funny way but she was sure they both understood that they were way past hating each other, even if she never did in the first place. Between them, it seemed obvious they were developing a friendship; albeit an interesting one. It was enough for now though. Even if Arnold never saw her as a potential love interest, she could be satisfied with what they had. The last few days she'd tried to push him a little, to gauge where he was at in his thinking. After all, she didn't want their relationship to be based on pity or apologetic feelings. Assuming he knew, even to the smallest extent, of her feelings… Well, she wanted to be sure that he wasn't feeling bad about not returning them. It was ok with her. She never wanted to force her feelings on him. She was ok with waiting and even if nothing came out of it it was enough that he stuck around. She just wanted to let him know. How they left things at the FTI building wasn't going to be enough, and eventually she realized she'd have to confess for real. But she assumed they both had time. So, to reiterate, this just wasn't fair. She shook the thoughts out of her head.

"I'm sure I can do something! I'll sabotage him somehow! Or…" She looked down at the friend in her arms sniffling, her face soaked with tears. "I'll steal the plane and stash it in Alaska-"

"Pfft!" Phoebe giggled. "How would you get back to hillwood, Helga?"

"Geez Phoebe, instead of poking holes in my plan why not help me out a little? You're the genius here." Phoebe frowned as she shook her head, unable to wrack her brain around any good ideas. "It'll be ok, Pheebs. I promise." Helga patted her friend's head, earning a small but wavering smile from her. Phoebe took off her glasses, wiping her tears away with her sleeve. Suddenly, the bell rang out, reaching them even at the far end of the building they were huddled in. "...Come on, let's get to class. I'm sure we'll think of something by lunch." Helga shrugged, looking as if she wasn't really grasping the seriousness of this situation. But Phoebe knew better. She knew Helga was good at hiding what she was really feeling. Either she was in denial or spoke in a way to keep her friend from worrying. She guessed it was probably something in the middle of the two. She became anxious as she looked at her friends back in front of her, following along she hoped wasn't for the last time.

It would be ok, Helga thought. She'd think of something. There had to be something she could do. Anything. She had to, no matter what.

Arnold didn't sleep much last night. Even though he told himself not to worry about it, something in him felt apprehensive. On one hand he was glad Helga was slowly starting to open up to him, even if she was in a dazed state. On the other hand, something just wasn't sitting right. He had a very inauspicious feeling like something was going to happen to disrupt everything. He felt like a drop of dew clinging desperately onto the tip of a leaf.

But… it must be an irrational worry, right? They were doing fine. Why was he so anxious all of the sudden? He ward off the anxiety-ridden spirits around him, feeling a reanimated determination to take on the day. He made his way inside the classroom, sitting down at his desk that was seated directly in front of Helga's. He turned to look at it. At the moment it was empty. Usually she would already be here. Maybe she's still recovering. He thought, mildly concerned. He turned back around to face the front.

Before it used to annoy him, as every class period he'd have to shake out the spitballs out of the tufts of his hair. Lately, though, it seemed that Helga's attention towards him was less of a bully and her victim and more of two respected rivals. Sure, they bickered and teased each other but there was an underlying tone of mutual fondness for one another. It was quite confusing without the context of what they had been though, but in his head it was slowly starting to make sense. He smirked, remembering not too long ago a heated conversation they had with each other about something so unimportant that he couldn't even remember what it was about. He remembered having fun though and enjoying it when she'd show him the new expressions she could make. He realized there wasn't just one way to smile or one way to laugh or one way to show annoyance. He enjoyed the variety of faces she made, even the less than pleasant or friendly ones. They were all interesting. He smirked to himself.

"Why are you smiling like that? You're creeping me out." Gerald Sat in the seat adjacent to Arnold, placing his backpack on the back of his chair.

"What do you mean? Like what?"

"Like you're In loooove." Gerald wiggled his eyebrows suggestively "What girls on your mind this time?"

"Huh?" Arnold flinched. "W-what makes you think I was thinking about a girl?" He said unconvincingly.

"Now, I'm interested!" Gerald leaned over Arnolds desk in order to get closer and to ensure no one else could hear them. "So, who is it?"

"N-no one!"

"You're not gonna tell me it's Lila-"

"No, Gerald! It's not Lila!" Arnold said before he could stop himself.

"Oh! But it is someone!" Great, Arnold thought with a groan. "Let me guess!" Gerald looked around the classroom as more students were slowly starting to flood in. He eye'd one of the girls making her way to her assigned seat. "Is it Sheena?"

"Sigh, No. And it's not like that, anyways." Arnold turned his head the other way. This didn't Hinder Gerald's prying in the slightest.

"Nadine?"

"Even if you happened to guess, which I doubt, I wouldn't tell you."

"Oh-hoh! So someone not your regular type." Arnold wanted to kick himself. The last thing he needed right now was Gerald persuading him in either direction. This was a me, myself, and I kind of problem.

"Gerald, class is starting soon."

"I just can't picture you with Rhonda. So is it Rhonda?" Gerald continued to guess. Arnold ignored him, grabbing a notebook out of his backpack and placing it in front of him. "It better not be Phoebe!" Gerald gave him a pointed look.

"I'm in no way, nor will I ever be, interested in Phoebe." Arnold wanted to make sure to put that thought into an absolute end. He knew how Gerald felt about her.

"That's a good answer." Gerald thought hard, trying to think outside the box. "Or…maybe Helga." Arnold froze with a page half turned. He felt a cold sweat run down his neck. "...pfft, now that would be unbelievable." He waved his hand in the air dismissively, not even bothering to wait for Arnold to deny it. Gerald didn't seem to notice Arnolds sigh of relief.

Wait but, why would that be so hard to believe? Arnold scrunched his eyebrows together. He briefly felt annoyed then a second later felt perplexed. Why was he feeling offended all of the sudden? The bell rang, interrupting his complicated thoughts. He really didn't have the emotional energy to explore that emotion anyways, so the interruption was welcomed. There's time, no need to rush it. Me and Helga are in a good place, and that's enough for now. I'm having a good time just getting to know her and being around her. There's no reason to complicate things! He continued to aimlessly flip through the pages of his notes, unaware he's been occupying his thoughts with her regularly. She seems to be the main thing on his mind lately without him realizing it.

"I'll get it out of ya eventually." Gerald said, satisfied at the moment. He was sure Arnold would tell him in his own time anyways. Gerald went to reach behind him to grab his notebook from his bag but stopped as his eyes followed one of the girls walking into the classroom. She sat down in the seat in front of him absentmindedly; seemingly lost in her thoughts. He decided to make an excuse to talk to her, as he poked at her shoulder with the eraser side of his pencil. "Hey, Phoebe. Mind if we share notes? I totally forgot to bring mine." He lied with ease.

"Oh! yes, no problem!" Phoebe jumped in her seat, seeming more startled than usual. She searched her bag in a scattered way. She looked like she was having a hard time focusing as she kept her head down.

"Are you ok? You look a bit out of it."

"I'm fine!" She grabbed her notebook, handing it over to Gerald with shaky hands.

"Phoebe, that's our history notes. We're in math, remember?" He smirked, finding the mistake cute.

"Oh…" She pulled the notebook back but before she could place it back in her backpack Gerald caught onto the end of it.

"Why are you looking down?" Gerald bent his head down to meet her eyes. Even with her thick glasses he noticed they were red and puffy. "Have… you been crying?" He let go of the notes and she took the opportunity to turn around in her seat. She placed her backpack on her lap, getting out the correct notebook and without looking at him handed him the notes.

"No, it's just allergies! The pollen-" She hiccuped, interrupting her excurse. "-I'm fine, really."

"Allergies?" He asked, skeptical.

"Yes." She said quickly.

"Ok…well… thanks for these." he grabbed the notes from her, placing them in front of him.

"Mhmm!"

"…If you do ever happen to need someone to talk to, you know I'd listen." Gerald said so that only the two of them could hear. Thank goodness the hustle and bustle of students coming into the classroom created a lot of noise pollution.

Phoebe sniffled again, touched by his words. "...Thank you."

Arnold looked up at the door, as if instinctively knowing Helga would walk in at that very moment. At first he felt concerned that she was so quick to come back to school after having a fever but then he was relieved that she seemed to be looking healthy. He stood up taller in his chair, for some undefined reason wanting to make a good impression. He felt giddy and excited as his heart picked up in pace. She was looking down but looked up when she noticed in her peripheral vision him staring at her. He smiled and waved low as if it was supposed to be a secret between them. She smiled back, but it seemed…off. Lately he's grown acquainted with an abundance of her smiles. She had her sarcastic smile. Her conniving smile. His favorite was her rare bashful smile. Needless to say, he was getting a lot better at noticing the subtleness of her expressions. But today her smile looked… strained. Why? Was she still not feeling good from yesterday? He clasped his hands together, massaging the back of his hand with his thumb nervously. He hoped he was worrying over nothing but he was reminded of the ominous feeling he had just earlier today. No, I'm sure it's nothing.

She passed by him, sitting in the chair behind him. Arnold turned around in his seat, crossing his arms and resting them on the back of it. "Hey, Helga. Are you feeling any better from yesterday?" He asked, concerned.

"Y-yeah, I'm just peachy. You didn't have to tuck me in so tight, I felt like I was confined in a straight Jacket!" She quipped back in her usual feisty manner. Still, something wasn't sitting right with him. She was acting almost too cheerful. "Don't think a dirty trick like that's gonna stop me from beating you on…" She trailed off suddenly at the end, as if discouraged by her own words.

"Helga?"

"Be prepared, Arnold! I'm gonna give it my all and I won't have to be creative to do it!" She yelled boastfully, the same pained smile more prevalent this time. She opened her math book, blocking her face and abruptly ending the conversation. Arnold's anxiety grew worse, now feeling as though his irrational fear from this morning was warranted. His leg started to shake. What was going on? What happened between yesterday and today? He wasn't able to ask as the bell for morning classes to start had rang. Mr. Simmons, their fourth and now fifth grade teacher, loudly clapped his hands together in over-excitement making some students jolt in their chairs as the sound cut through all the chatter.

"All right, settle down class! I need everyone to get out their workbooks and turn to page 87! I hope you're all as excited as I am to get started on the quadratic formula!" Some kids groaned while others rolled their eyes. How did this teacher have so much energy in the morning? "But first, I have an exciting announcement to make! Helga-"

"?" Helga looked up from her seat at the sound of her name being called.

"Would you please make your way up here to the front of the class?" The more mischievous students voiced out a collective ooooooooo, assuming the fifth grader was in some sort of trouble. "No, no, she's not in trouble, it's cause for celebration! Helga, if you would?"

Helga's stomach dropped. She didn't like where this was going. "N-no, I'm ok right here."

"Oh, no need to be modest, Helga! This is big news!" Mr. Simmons walked over to where Helga was sitting, placing his hand on her back and leading her to the front of the class. Her feet felt heavy as she slowly made her way up and the path in front of her looked as if it was stretching farther away from her. She felt like a bug with the heat lamp directly above her. Helga looked around onto the sea of eyes all with their attention on her. Her stage was set, and she was in the dead center of it. placed two encouraging hands on her shoulders, but it did nothing to sway the mental and emotional war taking place in her head at that very moment. "Now while it's a little short notice, us as a class needs to say a bittersweet but cheerful farewell to our fellow student, Helga." He patted her shoulders twice. Some students started to whisper, creating a collaborative susurrus of conversations amongst them.

"What? Helga's leaving?"

"Are we finally rid of the she-demon?"

"I bet she's gonna join the circus as one of the freakshows!"

Snickering could be heard coming from some students while others looked either confused or not very interested. One boy in particular, though, was completely engrossed by the sudden announcement. What does he mean, say goodbye?

"Yes, I'm afraid so. Helga and her family will be moving this Sunday to London, England! Known for its variety of restaurants, shops and museums with famous artwork, all rich in European history and culture! Places like the National Gallery and Stonehenge, to name a few-" He continued to talk excitedly in place of Helga, not noticing the deepening grim look on her face. The room was spinning and she felt even more lightheaded than she did yesterday. Her feet started to feel like they were no longer touching the ground as her mind placed her somewhere far away from here. The only thing she could focus on now was the boy directly in front of her.

Arnold's mouth hung loosely, looking like he was in a state of utter disbelief. Their eyes met and the rest of the world seemed to grow dim and quiet, time briefly standing still for them. Even in seconds, their thoughts could fill a book. Helga quickly looked away in panic.

Harold all the way at the end of the room raised his hand but didn't wait to be called on to speak; his voice bellowing loud in the room.

"When's she coming back?"

"W-well Harold, I'm afraid it could be forever." The whispers grew louder, sounding like cicadas in Helga's ears. "But this is good news! I'm sure Helga is going to explore exciting new things she wouldn't be able to do here in Hillwood! So, I'd like to put some time aside today in order to give Helga a proper Hillwood goodbye! Make her feel really missed!" The majority of the students in the classroom didn't seem to resonate with the words. Helga? Missed? More like good riddance. She was a force that they were all too happy to no longer have to reckon with.

None of that mattered to her, though. She didn't care if her class hated her. She wasn't oblivious to the fact she was a thorn in many sides. Her role was always to be feared, not loved. It wasn't the fact that they wouldn't miss her that bothered her, but that it was her that would not only be losing her closest friend but the boy she loved. The whole world could be against her, but as long as he was with her, it didn't matter. A real sense of hopelessness settled within her. Her world was falling apart in the confined walls of this room. "Now, Helga, is there anything you'd like to say to the rest of your friends?" His voice rang hollow in her ears.

Helga's eyes darted around. She met Phoebe's pitiful look, then the looks of some contemptuous students, and then at Arnold. It was a look that would be forever etched into her subconscious.

It was unfair. She thought. But then again, it all seemed to make perfect sense. This was her karma. This is what she deserved. Why did she deserve happiness when she only showed the world and the people in it bitterness and scorn? Even the ones she loved she treated like gum on her shoe. In fact, until recently, she treated the person she absolutely loved the most the worst out of all of them. It wasn't just fair, but just. This was the world's natural reaction to her, like rain clouds caused by a forest fire. There was no redemption for her. There was no healing. Just prolonged, well deserved suffering. Her eyes started to glisten over, seconds away from tears. Although Arnold was the first to notice, some students were quick to catch on as well. Before they could fall she turned on her heels and ran out the door, leaving the class dumbfounded and in a state of disbelief.

"Did you see that?"

"Was she actually going to cry?"

"There's no way, this is Helga we're talking about"

"C-class! Ok, let's all settle down! Class!" did his best to calm the growing rowdiness of his students. Arnold looked over at Phoebe, hoping she shed some light on what just happened.

"Phoebe, what's going on?" Phoebe looked over at Arnold, her helpless and dreadful expression doing little to ease his nerves. "I-is it true? Is she really leaving?" Phoebe looked down, nodding slowly but explicitly. Arnold stood up abruptly, running out the door after her. It only seemed to make the situation worse as the noise began to flood out into the hallways.

"Arnold, wait! Oh, this is all getting out of hand." gulped, feeling a sense of guilt wash over him. When he got off the phone that morning with Helga's father he made it sound as if she was looking forward to moving. He was puzzled. For now though, he needed to take charge of his class before it became unmanageable. He hoped Arnold could do some good in place of him.

"Helga!" Arnold shouted down the hallways, turning corners like a rat in a maze with no sense of direction. "Helga!" He went from one end of the hallway to the other. Are you actually moving? Why did you make it seem like we were going to see each other on Monday? Are you really not coming back? So many questions were running through his head. This can't be, not when things were starting to look up for them. Not when he still hadn't decided how he felt about her. There was so much he wanted to convey to her but had no idea how to put into words. He thought he'd have time to figure these things out. There was time! Where did it go?

Arnold continued to run through the hallways even when his lungs were inflamed and his energy was spent. He had to find her! He had to ask her! There was so much to ask her! There was so much to tell her! "Helga! Please! Talk to me! Come out and talk to me!"

Helga's head was buried in her crossed arms as she sat against the door of a janitor's closet. The room smelled like bleach and was dimly lit. The floor was cold and the sound of dripping could be heard coming from somewhere in the dark. It was a relatively accurate reflection of her current state of mind. She brought her legs closer to her chest, hugging herself. She could hear Arnold right outside the door, at least passing her twice. No matter how desperate he sounded to find her she didn't want him to see her like this. Even now, she wasn't brave enough to show him this side of her; a completely helpless and broken hearted mess. She sobbed quietly to herself as the sound of his footsteps faded into the distance.

I'm really enjoying writing again, even if I don't have a large audience. I want to be able to practice my writing for future projects so this has been a lot of fun. I'm going to continue this, I have big plans for it. If you want to see some of the art and comics I created for this story you can view them on Deviantart at SenSpring. I'm going to make pictures related to every chapter, so look out for those if you're interested in how I see them. I'll try to post again soon, hopefully in the next few days. To my small audience, I hope you've enjoyed my writing so far.