32.

It was Friday, the day before Homecoming, so no one was paying attention to classes, to say the least. Rhonda prattled on and on to anyone who would listen about her ruby red Caprini gown. Sid had managed to persuade Rhonda to be his date - rumor has it that he had dirt on her, but that is not confirmed. Also unconfirmed if Curly started this rumor because he ended up going solo for the night. Lila, Sheena, and Eugene were all going together as friends and made plans to have a whole spa day before the dance. Katinka had been asked out by both Stinky and Park. As of Friday, she still hadn't decided; people started taking bets. Helga had $20 riding on Stinky getting dumped publicly.

Speaking of Helga - she and Arnold were meeting over lunch to discuss their plans for Saturday. Now that phases 1 and 2 were complete, there were some arts and crafts and sound design to take care of.

Arnold wandered into the cafeteria, an eye out for Helga. At her usual Boxing Club table Lila could be found in Helga's spot, talking excitedly to Brainy. Lila did most of the talking of course, Brainy mostly nodded and smiled. Arnold walked up to them.

"Oh hi, Arnold!" Lila said happily.

"Hi guys. You seen Helga?" Arnold asked. Lila's eyebrow cocked up in a sly question. Arnold pretended he didn't notice. He averted his eyes upward, only to make eye contact with Dustin. His angular face was interrupted by a thick nose brace between his blackened eyes. He was healing, but his sneer upon seeing Arnold looked painful. Arnold kept his face blank and let Dustin break eye contact first.

"Oh - no I haven't." Answered Lila with a small smile.

"Uhh - she hasn't been - uh - in yet," Brainy breathed.

"Got it - I'm just supposed to meet her for lunch." Arnold said, though he wasn't sure why he did.

"Huhh - Why?" Brainy asked. His question was quickly followed by an, "ouch!" as he reached down to his leg. Lila was giving him a wide eyed look. Arnold, again tried to ignore this - he was aware that Lila was trying to be helpful, but it was just embarrassing.

"Uh - we have - um - we're working on something together," was all he could put together.

"I'm sure that sounds like fun." Lila said in a leading manner - obviously hoping he might say something more. But he refused the bait.

"So - Brainy - are you going to the dance tomorrow?" Lila accepted this change in subject and looked at Brainy intently.

"Uhh - no. I have to - uh - work."

"Oh no!" Lila said.

"I'll - uh - be at Rhonda's party - uh - though." He said looking back at Lila. Arnold thought he saw a flicker of excited tension between the two as Lila nodded her approval.

"Hey ya, football head. How's it goin?" Helga boomed, clapping Arnold hard on the back making him cough a little.

"Hey - just lookin for you." Arnold looked up at her and felt an immediate blush rise to his cheeks. Since his confession the day before, he'd spent all night thinking through things - thinking about her. So the butterflies in his stomach fluttered violently as he stared at her - a bit too long.

"What's up with you?" Helga asked, furrowing her brow. "I got somethin on my face?" She asked, touching her cheek.

"No - sorry." He shook his head. "Where - uh - where'd you wanna sit?"

"Not here with Dusty - that's for sure. Right, Brain?" She said, turning to Brainy for a fist bump.

"Uh - Yeah." He smiled knowingly at Helga as she turned to go. She didn't acknowledge Lila at all, but that didn't stop the redhead from calling out her goodbyes and well wishes to Helga personally.

"You wanna sit outside - or the gym -" Arnold offered, following behind her.

"Naw - too many witnesses. I don't want any of this getting back to them." Helga said, stalking down the hallway. Was Helga trying to force close proximity under the guise of silly paranoia? Maybe - but what can you do? Old habits die hard. "Step into my office." She said as she pulled out a key and opened a utility closet.

"Helga - this is a closet." Arnold said, unamused.

"Doi - I know. Just - come on." Helga went in and hopped up on a low cabinet. The space was lined with two ceiling high shelves on either side, the cabinet came to about waist height and sat along the back wall. The space was crowded with cleaning products and paper supplies - but Arnold also spied a few casual items that seemed out of place: a couple of pink notebooks and pens, a spare pair of headphones, a half empty bag of chips.

"How do you have a key to this room?" Arnold asked as he sat atop a couple boxes. There were only a few inches between their knees now that they were both sitting.

"Ah well you know me and Sal go way back." She said as she reclined and picked up the bag of chips.

"What is with you and these old dudes?" Arnold laughed. "Larry the Hot Dog guy - Sal the Janitor."

"I think I have the soul of a blue collar 45 year old - so - you know, we get along." Helga said with a smirk. Arnold suspected that this wasn't untrue but also that they saw something to protect in her - a parent-shaped space in Helga's life to be filled with kindness and subtle care. This care happened to come in the form of a free milkshake here and there or a key to a small room for refuge.

"So you chat about local politics and the results of last night's game?" Arnold continued.

"Sure - and I keep them up to date on Wrestlemania details. They love it." She chomped happily on a chip and swung her legs a little - bouncing into Arnold's legs a little.

"I'm sure they do." Arnold tried to recline back to look as casual as she did. "So, what's next in Operation Meddling Kids?"

"So funny, football head." She kicked him a little harder with that. Internally, he was happy to earn it. "Next up, we've got just the last bit. We need to get all the decorations made and done. I wanna put some pictures of them together too. I gotta get some construction paper and stuff…"

"Well, we can head to the craft store after school and I have a printer - " Arnold was doing what he could to stay normal. But everything she did made him confused and tense: the way she laughed so easily, the way she lounged back so confidently - why was everything harder today? Today I know that I like her like her - not just like her. Oh my god, I'm a child. "You can come over and we can get everything ready together." I can't breathe.

"Oh - yeah - that'd be great." It was Helga's turn to freak out just a bit. Her casual lounge stiffened and her throat went dry. "You can also do the sound - uh - stuff, right?"

"Yeah, of course." In agreement, they just looked at each other, small smiles.

"Great - then it's settled. Operation Pain in the Ass for the Sake of True Love is on track." Helga said. Arnold burst out in a quiet laugh, letting things get back to normal in the tiny room. They snacked and chatted giddily for the rest of lunch.

33.

Right after lunch, Arnold strolled into the auditorium to meet up with Lila. He had promised to help her with a presentation she had to give at the end of the day in her journalism class. Arnold showed her how to hook up her computer to the presentation system and listened to her spiel. Lila was a good public speaker, he noted, but for a review of a pretty serious investigative story, Lila's tone was strangely perky. Not surprising, of course, but it was very jarring when she spoke about a triple murder and wrongful conviction with a smile in her voice.

Arnold gave his notes and prepared her for the questions Mr. Sheffield was sure to ask. He had taken this class and assisted in this class, so he was as close to an expert as there was.

"Oh, Arnold - thank you so much! I don't think Sheff likes me very much, but maybe I can impress him today!" Lila said as she gathered her things.

"He's just got a tough shell," said Arnold. "He is really a great mentor. You can learn a lot from him."

"I'm sure!" Lila said, then she wondered aloud, "I just think he might find me - well, annoying."

"No!" Arnold said automatically. But then he re-thought. "Yeah - he might. But I wouldn't take it personally. Sheff is just a bit crotchety. He likes very few people, really."

"Except for you! Hard-shell people just really seem to like you." She said cheerfully.

"What do you mean?" Arnold asked.

"Well there's Mr. Sheffield, of course. And it looks like you and Helga have gotten close." This stopped Arnold in his tracks.

"Oh - well. I mean - we're friends." When Arnold turned around he found Lila was looking at him with that same sly smile. "What?"

"Just friends?" She stepped forward a little as she said it.

"Heh - what - I mean. Yeah!" Arnold turned and walked quickly back toward the door. "I mean, why wouldn't we be?"

"You two just seemed ever so friendly today at lunch. And after what she did to Dustin for you - "

"For me? I have no idea what you're -"

"Yeah - his broken nose. Her eye." Lila said, catching up to him in the aisle.

"She got that black eye from boxing on Monday."

"Not according to Brainy - he said that you were with them for Monday lunch right?"

"Yeah - but I didn't stay."

"Because Dustin said something ever so nasty, right?" They were at the door to leave the auditorium, but Arnold stopped there.

"Yeah. Well - " Arnold considered explaining, but thought better of it. "Yeah it wasn't fun."

"Right, well apparently," Lila bobbed happily on the balls of her feet. "Brainy said she came back to the table after you left and she was ever so angry. Well of course, Helga is always angry, but Brainy said it was notable. And I would believe Brainy knows Helga's rage quite well, wouldn't you?"

"Lila!"

"Sorry. So, she stormed back to the table and Dustin said some more nasty things about you and about her. But Helga didn't say a word, she just sucker punched that blockhead right in the nose." Lila said in an oddly direct way. "And of course, Dustin couldn't just take it, so he tackled Helga back, but he only got one good punch in, in her eye obviously, before the team pulled them apart."

"Oh my god!" Arnold exclaimed.

"I know! Right there on the cafeteria floor." She said with a little shake of her head.

"But no one got in trouble? Helga didn't get detention or anything."

"To quote Brainy, Boxing Bitches ain't no Snitches." Lila giggled.

"That is a bad catchphrase." Arnold droned, unable to comment.

"I know - but that is to say, no boxer would ever get another boxer in trouble, apparently. Even Dustin and Helga."

"Thanks for telling me, Lila." They opened the door and went to leave.

"Of course, Arnold. I hate to gossip, but it does involve you."

"Yeah… So, what's going on with you and Brainy?"

34.

The school day came to an end and the buzz of excitement about homecoming was palpable. Phoebe didn't care much for all the chatter and the crowds that were forming in the halls as she was trying to get to an important Model UN meeting. The club was full of serious students, but no one wanted to go to this meeting except for Phoebe - who was the president, of course.

But as she was dodging through the halls, afraid she would be late, while also reviewing the meeting points in her mind, she noticed that her heart was starting to race and her ears were rapidly heating up. Phoebe tried to slow her breathing, now starting to panic that she might be panicking, angry at herself that she had so little control.

Then she heard Gerald's voice - not in reality - but in her head. Ok, it's ok. Step to the side of the hall. She found a small alcove with the water fountain and put her back firmly against the wall. Feel your feet on the ground. You got it? Ok, now press your palms to the wall, feel that. Good. You are doing just fine. Breathe in 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 now hold - 2 -3 - 4. Now out 2 - 3 -4. That's my girl.

Phoebe started to feel the heat receding and more control coming back to her. She missed him. She had iced him out all week, telling him she was feeling too overwhelmed to come back to their conversation. But now, in this steady stream of bodies and noise, pressed against the wall, Phoebe knew she could do it. She pulled her phone from her pocket and pulled up Gerald's number.

Today is busy and so is tomorrow. But can we go to Hubie's on Sunday? I'm ready to talk. I love you.

She went to put her phone away but it buzzed right away.

Of course. I love you too.