Rodrigo went down the hallway and pondered his options. Although he was still thinking about taking the direct approach, Gino had a good point and it was preventing him from carrying it out. He didn't know Curly all that well, except from what little his friends told him. But it wasn't the first time he was told Curly was unpredictable and he knew that could be a dangerous thing.
I can't risk taking him head on. Rodrigo thought. Who knows how he would react. What if he ups his pranks? What if he takes his anger out on Rhonda? I cannot let that happen.
No, he cannot directly confront him, at least for now. It was too risky. Until he knows who exactly he was dealing with, he would need to lay low and opt for the indirect approach.
Alright. Let's see what Arnold has to say about this. He thought to himself. But first, I have to speak to Rhonda.
During lunch recess…
Once recess commenced, Rodrigo made his way to the playground and looked around to find Rhonda. It wasn't hard to find her. She had a habit of always making her presence known throughout the playground. Once he located her, he walked towards her.
"Hey Rhonda." Rodrigo greeted her with a smile.
"Oh Hi Rodrigo." Rhonda greeted him back. "You are just in time. I was having a conversation with the girls here on whether it is appropriate for the girl to pay for her own meal during her first date. I most certainly don't think so, but Nadine here does not agree with me."
"I just don't think it is appropriate to force the guy to pay for both meals for someone whom he barely knows and cannot know if it is going anywhere, especially at our time where we strongly encourage girls to be more independent." Nadine said.
"That is what the first date is for, Nadine." Rhonda replied. "But in order to make a first good impression, the man has to show how much of a gentleman he is, not to mention showing how good of a provider he is destined to be. At the very least, it is only a matter of courtesy. Don't you agree, Rodrigo."
"Uh, sure." Rodrigo replied, although his mind elsewhere. "Actually Rhonda, I was wondering if I can talk to you about something. Can we go somewhere in private?"
"Oh, sure." Said Rhonda, noticing the seriousness of Rodrigo's voice. The two walked a few distance away until they were alone.
"What is it?" Rhonda asked.
"What can you tell me about you and Curly?" Rodrigo just straight up asked her, something that surprised Rhonda.
"Curly?" She asked, looking confused. "Nothing really, other than he was, or is or whatever, been obsessed with me since the 4th grade. Very unhealthy fantasy, I might add. And he is just straight up crazy. A little freak of nature."
"How come you didn't tell me about this?" Rodrigo asked.
"Which part?" Rhonda asked. "The obsession with me or that he is crazy?"
"The obsession with you." Rodrigo replied.
"Why would I?" She asked. "Nothing ever happened between me and Curly. Except that one time in the 4th grade where he practically blackmailed me to be girlfriend for a week, which does NOT count, by the way! Why do ask?"
For a second, Rodrigo thought about telling Rhonda that Curly was the prankster. But he immediately realized that would be a grave mistake. Rhonda is the Gossip Queen and there's no telling what would happen if she even let one word of it slip out. Plus, if he told her, he would getting her involved in this and he did not want that. This whole thing was between him and Curly. For her safety, Rhonda should not be involved in this.
"You're not jealous, are you?" She then asked, catching Rodrigo's attention.
"Huh?" He said. "Oh umm, maybe." He lied with a smirk.
"Well that's surprising." She said. "I didn't take you as the jealous type. But trust me Rodrigo, there is no need for you to feel jealous. You are in a whole other league. There is just no comparison."
"Well, I'm glad to hear that." He said with a smile as he gently grabbed her hand and placed a soft kiss.
A gentle, but sudden jolt of energy ran right through Rhonda's hand and arm. She loved it whenever he showed his affection like that. It made her heart jolt and her knees felt a bit weak.
"But just humour me." Rodrigo then spoke. "Just what made him become so obsessed with you? What happened that made him 'like' like you?"
"Well, if you can even call it 'like' like," Rhonda replied. "I guess it started somewhere in the 4th grade. I'm not entirely sure, it was so long ago. But I think it was around the time when I got glasses and was briefly caste as one of the geeks. Naturally, I wasn't going to stand that, so I stood up for myself and everyone else that got labeled as a geek and broke the stereotype."
Wow! What a rebel! Rodrigo thought, impressed by her willingness to stand up for the little guy.
"And it was that stand that got Curly's attention?" Rodrigo asked.
"Oh I ended up getting more than just his attention." Rhonda commented. "Since then, the guy hasn't stopped trying to get my affection for him."
"What do you mean?" Rodrigo asked while frowning. "Is he still bothering you?"
Rhonda hesitated on whether to tell him the truth that Curly hadn't ceased on his attempts to try and court her. Technically she had every reason to be honest about it. However, she was afraid of what her boyfriend will do to him if he found out, and what the consequences would be for Rodrigo.
"Err, no, he hasn't." She lied to him. "Not for a while."
"Okay, good." He said, much to Rhonda's relief.
"Anyways," She tried to get back on topic. "Hope that answers your question."
"It does." Rodrigo replied. "Thanks, Rhonda."
"Don't mention it." Rhonda replied. "I mean it; let us never mention that snarly little freak ever again. We've got a whole future to look forward to!" As she wrapped her arms around him.
"I look forward to our future." Rodrigo said.
Later on that day…
Rhonda had given Rodrigo a lot of information for him to think out. He wanted to know more, but after Rhonda made it clear that she didn't want to talk more about Curly, he didn't push it. Instead, he opted for asking around, mostly Nadine and Arnold. Indeed, Rodrigo left school with a wealth of information about Curly Gammelthorpe. Some of the information he got horrified him.
I can't believe this is the type of person I have to deal with! Rodrigo thought as he left the school. This kid is crazy! Who locks himself in the principal's office all because he didn't get to be ball monitor?! And what's even worse is that he completely botched his one and only and opportunity with Rhonda!
Yes, Rodrigo ended up learning about the time Curly blackmailed Rhonda to her to date her for a week. Rhonda briefly mentioned it, but seeing how uncomfortable the topic made her, Rodrigo didn't press her. Instead, he found out about that event through Nadine, much to the Latino's Kid's astonishment.
I just don't understand it. Rodrigo thought. Curly had a golden opportunity to get Rhonda to 'like' like him by helping her clean her mother's mink coat. Instead, he blackmailed her to dating him. And what's even worse is that he completely botched it! Instead of using that opportunity to get Rhonda to see whatever good side he had, he just paraded her around like rag doll, all to fulfill his own sick, twisted fantasy. Who does that?!
Rodrigo wasn't so sure what he was more outraged about; the fact that Curly had blackmailed and coerced his girlfriend into doing something against her will, or that he completely screwed up that golden opportunity to get Rhonda to 'like' like him. As much as he wanted to think of Curly as being completely stupid, he refused to come to that conclusion.
No! I cannot think that way. He thought. I do not want to underestimate my enemy. He's a lot more than what he portrays himself to be.
Rodrigo had every reason to not think low of Curly. With all the stories he heard about him, he came to the conclusion that whenever Curly took offense by someone, he would do all he could to exact revenge. And considering he ended up 'stealing' his 'girlfriend, Rodrigo knew that Curly was going to let him feel his wrath, without remorse or mercy.
Ugh! Rodrigo grunted. None of this helps me how to get him off my back!
He sighed.
I guess there's only one person who might be able to help me. He thought.
The next morning…
Rhonda was walking alone the hallway that morning, a rare site considering she enjoying being surrounded by people, with her being at the centre, of course. She was making her way toward her locker as a shadowy figured appeared to be following her not far behind.
Rhonda was oblivious to the person that was following her. But then again, as the school's self-proclaimed popular girl, she had a few die-hard fans, so she wouldn't be surprised if some of them had an 'urge' to follow her. If anything, she would revel in it.
Rhonda eventually made it to her locker and after inputting the combo, she opened it to get her things. The shadowy figure crept ever closer to her. Even by this stage, she still didn't notice the person.
"Good morning, Rhonda." The person greeted her in a cheerful mood.
Rhonda just frowned and showed a disgusted face.
"What do you want, Curly?" She asked him in the most exasperated tone.
Curly Gammelthorpe hadn't changed much. Apart from growing up a bit, he still retained his famous red glasses and hair style.
"Oh, nothing much." He said as he put his hands behind his back. "I'm just wondering if you finally came to your sense and dumped that pitiful dweeb, Robert."
"It's Rodrigo, first of all." She said as she turned around and closed her locker. "And secondly, he is not pitiful, by far. And thirdly, who I am with is none of your business."
Rhonda didn't bother waiting for Curly to answer and left. But Curly quickly caught up.
"I just don't get it." He said. "What do you see in him?"
"Oh so many things." Rhonda responded in an almost swooning voice. "He's got a lot of potential."
"C'mon Rhonda, the guy's a power hungry, tyrannical nutjob." Curly said. "Did you not see what he did to the whole school?"
"I'm aware." Rhonda admitted. "And while I don't condone his behaviour, what I really saw was an ambitious man climbing his way up to the top. I don't know why I am talking to you about this because again, this is really none of your business."
"All I am saying is that there are better fishes out there." He said. "Fishes like...me." He flirted with her and tried to get close to her. "I can take you to a seafood restaurant on our first date."
"Absolutely NOT!" Rhonda angrily shouted at him and pushed him away.
"I don't know what else I can do to get it through your head that you and I will never be a thing." She berated him. "I don't like you, I never have and I never will. You'd think that after trying for more than two years you'd take the hint."
"You're just playing hard to get." He teased her. "I like a good chase."
"I AM NOT!" Rhonda angrily shouted at him. "My answer is a simple no. There is no hidden message, not encryption, no nothing! I have never ONCE came on to your...whatever you call this." She gestured to his so-called 'advances'.
"That's not true." He countered. "Remember in the fourth grade when you went out with me for a week when I cleaned up your mom's co-"
"You blackmailed me, that doesn't count!" Rhonda angrily interrupted him, but she then breathed softly a few times in order to calm herself down.
"Curly," She said to him as calmly as possible, but also in a pleading tone. "If you really like me, if you really care me, you will do right by me by letting me go. You tried to get me to like you and it didn't work. Nothing you did every came close to getting my attention."
"But that would defeat the whole purpose of me liking you." He playfully protested. "I like you, so I gotta have you. I just need to try harder to get you to se-"
"Curly!" She interrupted him in the most serious tone. She tried a different approach.
"Were you there when Rodrigo fought Wolfgang?" She asked him.
"Yeah." Curly replied.
"So you saw what Rodrigo did to him?" She asked him.
"...Yeah." Curly cautiously replied.
"So what do you think Rodrigo will do to you if he were to find out you are not only harassing me, but trying to get his girl?" She asked him.
"Heck if I know." Curly said with a chuckle. "That fool is too busy trying to find who is pranking him."
Rhonda didn't say anything and just continued to look at him with a serious face.
"Wait a minute." Curly then said. "You didn't tell him that I'm still trying to get you?" He caught on.
"Exactly." She confirmed it. "I didn't even tell him that you are still trying to court me. And the only reason why I haven't is because I don't want him to pummel you and get into trouble again."
"Sssoooo...you do care about me!" He cheerfully exclaimed.
"No, you idiot!" Rhonda angrily shouted him. "I care about him not getting expelled or going to jail! Not you!"
"Let me be very clear about this." She continued with an exasperated voice. "If you don't leave me alone, I will tell Rodrigo about you and I cannot guarantee I can stop him from beating you into a pulp! You have every right to be afraid of him. So if I were you, I'd move on and leave me alone."
And with that, Rhonda turned around and walked away, leaving Curly behind to ponder about his options...
Later that same day…
Rodrigo travelled through the hallway to look for him. He saw him in class, but didn't get a chance to speak to him in private. Now that it was recess, he grabbed his goat and quickly made his way out to the playground to find him. Once outside and after a bit more searching, he found him and went towards him.
"Hey Arnold." Rodrigo greeted him.
"Oh. Hey Rodrigo." Arnold greeted him back. "We were just gonna play a game. Did you want to play with us?"
"No thanks." Rodrigo responded. "I actually want to talk to you about something...in private."
"Oh, sure." Arnold said as he then excused himself and went with Rodrigo toward the building wall where they would be alone.
"What's up?" Arnold asked.
"I'm just gonna get to the point." Rodrigo said. "I know who has been pranking me."
"Oh really?" Who is it?" Arnold asked.
Rodrigo turned around to make sure no one was close by to hear him and then whispered to Arnold.
"It's Curly." He whispered.
"Oh." Arnold said. "So, what are you doing to do?"
"That's why I came to see you." Rodrigo said. "I want some advice on how to deal with Curly. I've been gathering information about him and the guy is very unpredictable. I have no idea how to go about confronting him."
"Hmm, I see." Said Arnold as he thought about his scenario for a second. "Well first of, why is he targeting you?"
"He thinks I stole Rhonda away from him." Rodrigo explained. "And I may have had him arrested and sent to one of the prison camps." He timidly continued.
"Well, I can't blame him for being angry at you for the latter." Arnold commented.
"But I never stole Rhonda from him." Rodrigo quickly countered. "She was never his to begin with. She never liked him and had always refused him. The guy is simply delusional."
"He's not delusional." Arnold said. "He's just misunderstood and-"
"He's delusional, Arnold." Rodrigo cut him off. "And him constantly chasing after Rhonda even after she said no to him is pretty much harassment."
"Good point." Arnold relented. "Does he know that you know?"
"As far as I am aware, no." Replied Rodrigo. "But I don't think Curly is dumb. Because he needs to stalk me in order to be able to prank me, he would have seen and heard me gathering information about him."
"I see." Said Arnold.
While the two pre-teen were talking, a hidden figure appeared on top of the roof of the building, right on top of them…
"I'm assuming you don't want to confront him?" Arnold asked.
"Oh I do." Rodrigo confessed. "But, I don't think it'll do me any good. No amount of reason is going to stop him."
"Good point." Said Arnold.
The hidden figure looked down at them from the roof. He then disappeared, but then quickly came back with a bucket…
"Well, from what I am seeing," Arnold then said, "it seems that Curly is trying to get to you. So if you want my advice, just ignore him."
"What?" Rodrigo said, completely surprised by that comment. "What do you mean 'just ignore him?" He asked.
"Yeah, ignore him completely." Arnold explained. "He is trying to get a push your buttons so you can eventually explode and end up being the bad guy. The worst thing you can do is react the way he wants you to react. That's when he's got you. So the best way to counter that is to just ignore all attempts to get your attention."
"That's your advice?" Rodrigo angrily said. "Have you seen what the guy's been doing to me?!"
The hidden figure then unloaded the bucket, allowing whatever was in it to fall down right on top of Rodrigo...
"I understand that pranks are a bit much." Arnold said. "But it's important that you don't fall prey to-"
"You damn right it's a bit much!" Rodrigo exclaimed. "It ain't my fault that he couldn't get Rhonda to 'like' like him. The guy's a complete lose -"
Rodrigo didn't have time to finish his sentence before he felt something cold, wet, foul and slushy slam right on top of him. Both pre-teens were in instant shock and for a second, didn't say anything. Meanwhile, other kids that were not far away saw the stuff fall on top of Rodrigo and were also briefly silent.
Rodrigo soon snapped out of it when the foul smell of raw, gut open fish were on his coat and hat. The smell also made Arnold snap out of it to witness in horror at Curly's latest prank. Rodrigo looked at his coat and when he took his hat off, the part of the fish's head and bones slipped off. As soon as it fell down, his blood began to boil and anger quickly arose throughout his body.
"Damn it!" Rodrigo angrily screamed.
The eventual snickers and laughter soon began to be heard. Arnold quickly took action and escorted Rodrigo right inside the building.
"Come quickly, Rodrigo." Arnold said to him as he escorted him to the washroom.
Two days later…
Rodrigo sat at an empty lunch table, alone. Even though it was lunchtime and his stomach was growling, he didn't feel hungry. He didn't even want to be around anyone, hence why he opted to sit alone.
After being pranked by Curly with a bucket of smelly, disgusting gutted fish, Rodrigo felt completely humiliated. After trying to get as much of the filth out of his coat and hat as possible, he didn't bother staying at school for the remainder of the day. Feeling humiliated and defeated, he went home early that day. His only source of comfort was that he was thankful that it wasn't his cherished fedora hat that got ruined on that day. It was just his winter hat.
Nevertheless, Rodrigo was so infuriated that he was going to find Curly and beat him to a pulp. Arnold, who was with him and helping him get cleaned up, had to use all of his persuasive skills to talk him out of it. Rodrigo relented, but swore Curly was not going to get away with it.
Back at the lunch table, Rodrigo played around with his food, taking small nibble bits every once in a while. He quivered when his mind brought him back to the early morning, when he was forced to go back to school and having to face everyone's stares, rumours about him circulating around him. He hated such attention. It was not only humiliating, but it felt like the stares were ripping him out. His only source of comfort was knowing that the rumours were only about how he was going to get back at his prankster. No one other than him, Arnold and Gino knew of the prankster's identity and Rodrigo was still bent on keeping things that way, especially now.
While Rodrigo sat alone, Arnold was at another table, not far away, looking on with a worrying look. He had every reason to be worried. He was one of the few that knew that this whole event was a ticking time bomb. He had managed to stave Rodrigo off from killing Curly, but only for now. He didn't think he would be able to convince him again when Curly struck again.
"Hey Arnold. Aren't you hungry?" Gerald asked him when he saw his best friend barely touching his food.
"I am." Arnold said as he took a bite of his food. "I'm just worried about Rodrigo ."
Gerald took a quick glance at Rodrigo before looking back at his food.
"He seems fine to me." He said.
Arnold just shook his head.
"You should have seen him after he got pranked two days ago." Arnold said. "He was ready to pulversize the kid that did it."
"So why isn't he looking for him?" Gerald asked nonchalantly.
"I managed to convince him from doing something that he was going to regret." Arnold explained. "But I don't think I will be able to convince him again. There's only so much Rodrigo can take before he ends up snapping."
"Well, I feel sorry for the kid's prankster." Gerald said as he took another bite of his good. "If Rodrigo finds out who he is, the kid's gonna be a goner for sure."
Arnold nodded in agreement and then continued to glance at Rodrigo before then scouting around the lunchroom, looking, hoping to see Curly busy eating , hence not attempting another prank. But his hopes were quickly being dashed when he wasn't able to see Curly anywhere. Even if he did, that didn't mean he wasn't going to prank him.
I can't see him anywhere. Arnold thought. Maybe that's a good thing. He can't prank Rodrigo if he isn't close enough to him. He may have been able to prank him in areas where he knows Rodrigo would be, like his locker. But this is different now. We're in the lunchroom and it's not like he knew where was going to sit.
At least, that's what he hoped for.
Meanwhile...
"Da da da da. Bah ba ba ba ba bah." Curly walked down the hallway with a tall ladder as he happily hummed away.
"Oooh, this is going to be good." He snickered with an evil smirk as he adjusted the ladder and climbed on top of it.
Once on top, he pushed the ceiling tile out to the side and then climbed inside the ceiling, along with some goodies.
"Bah ba ba bah. Rodrigo is beat." He continued to silently hum while inside the ceiling. "I got me his dignity. And pretty soon his girlfriend too. Dee dee dee ba."
Curly was not at all close to the lunchroom. In order to not be seen and not draw suspicion, he needed to climb up into the ceiling as far away from the lunchroom as possible. But, he need not worry. Lunch had just started and he saw Rodrigo heading to the lunchroom, marking his cue to make another grand exhibition.
"Ooo ho ho ho, Rodrigo you have NO IDEA what you got yourself into." Curly quietly said to himself. "You think you can come to this city and this school and not only put me in one of those filthy prisons during your monthly episode, but also end up stealing my beloved Rhonda, and GET AWAY WITH IT?! Oh, you've got another thing coming, pal!"
Curly could feel his blood instantly beginning to boil, which only enticed him to move faster through the ceiling, eagerly wanting to get to his target before he made his escape.
"You will not escape from me so easily." He angrily said to himself. "You will not forget me so easily. Now you will have to sit by and feel my wrath. Feel my pain!"
Eventually, as Curly could hear a bunch of commotion,
"Ah! I must be close." He quietly said and picked up the pace.
Once he felt he was on top of the lunchroom, his next task was trying to locate where Rodrigo was. He saw a vent close by and went toward, hoping to peek through to locate him.
Hm. Not there. He thought and moved on.
He found another vent tile and looked through it, but he did still did not see Rodrigo. He went around the ceiling and looked through a few more vents, but each time came up with nothing. He began to think that he wasn't going to find Rodrigo in time. But as he checked through another vent,
Bingo! Found ya! He happily thought as he saw him sitting alone, close to the wall. Curly went through the ceiling and closer to him. When he felt he was right on top of him, he quietly and slowly moved the ceiling tile to check.
He he he he. Right on top of him. He said with a big smile.
He got his things ready to pull off one of his greatest pranks yet.
Meanwhile, Arnold was still looking around for Curly. He didn't know why, but something told him something was going to happen today. He didn't want anything to happen, but he couldn't let go of this gut feeling he was having. He couldn't think of anything else. But as he continued to look around, he began to think that perhaps today was not going to be that day.
Maybe Curly decided to not do anything today. He thought. Or better yet, maybe he decided Rodrigo had enough. I sure hope so. I mean, he already put Rodrigo through enough. What else can the guy do to-
Just then, Arnold saw something move right above Rodrigo. He caught it through the side of his eye, but when he looked up at the ceiling, there was nothing. He saw that the ceiling tile was slightly off, which made him suspicious. But after looking at it for a few seconds, it wasn't moving.
Hm. Maybe it was already like that. He thought.
He was about to look away when suddenly, the tile moved, this time moving away to create a big gap. His instinct quickly shot up and he stood up. He knew what was about to happen. He then glanced at Rodrigo, who was completely unaware of what was about to take place.
Oh no. Arnold thought in horror.
"Rodrigo!" He shouted at him as hard as he could.
"Huh?" Rodrigo looked up when he heard his name, but it was too late.
*blupp*
A big blupping sound was heard as a gooey substance fell right on top of Rodrigo.
"Uggh!" The Latino kid exclaimed, much to everyone else's surprise and Arnold's horror.
"Rodrigo! It's him!" Arnold shouted at him again and pointed up to the ceiling.
Having heard Arnold, Rodrigo cleared his eyes from the goo and looked up and there, up on the ceiling, was his prankster.
"CURLY!" Rodrigo angrily shouted at him.
"Muah ha ha ha ha ha ha." Curly just laughed and scoodled away.
"Oh no you don't!" Rodrigo said as he then raced toward the entrance door.
Arnold quickly followed suit, along with his friends and pretty soon everyone else that witnessed the prank.
Everyone within an earshot heard Rodrigo shouting Curly's name and it immediately drew a large crowd, with many of them following the two pre-teens to see the inevitable fight.
Rodrigo slammed the lunchroom door open, but stopped when he didn't see Curly. Realizing that he was still inside the ceiling, he listened in for any sounds.
Meanwhile, Curly quickly made his getaway.
Shoot! He saw me! He thought. So much for this being a covert operation. It doesn't matter now. He's not stupid. He was bound to find out. I just need to lose him now.
Rodrigo stood where he was and continued to listened in. Arnold caught up with him.
"Did he get away?" He asked.
"Sh!" Rodrigo shushed him and gestured to him that he was still inside the ceiling.
Arnold caught on and listened in as well. It didn't take long for them to hear rustling and busting sounds right on top of them. Rodrigo gestured to Arnold of the sound moving away from them and both pre-teens followed the noise down the hallway.
Curly continued to make his way through the ceiling, but in his hurry to try and get away, he did not realize he was making a lot of noises. After a little while, he stopped and listened in to see if he heard any commotion.
Nothing. He thought. Perhaps I lost them.
Thinking that perhaps it was not best to head back to where he originally got in, he decided to seek an alternative exit.
Maybe I can get out from here. He thought.
He bent over and slowly grabbed onto a ceiling tile and moved it just enough to create a small little gap for him to look.
Uh oh. He thought when he saw both Rodrigo and Arnold right on below him.
Not good. He thought. No way it's a coincidence that they are right below me. They must have heard me running through the ceiling. I need to be more careful.
Curly decided to go a different direction and went the opposite way of the hallway, only this time he move slowly and was more conscious on his movement.
Meanwhile, Rodrigo and Arnold continued to stand there and listen.
"I don't hear him." Rodrigo quietly commented.
"I don't either." Arnold said. "I think we may have lost-"
*CRACK*
They then suddenly heard a loud cracking sound behind them. When they turned around, they saw two legs sticking out of the ceiling.
"Damn it!" Curly grunted as he hanged on while trying to get back inside the ceiling.
"There he is!" Rodrigo shouted and both pre-teens ran toward him.
Curly managed to regain his composure and managed to get his body back inside the ceiling, just as Rodrigo and Arnold arrived to look up at him.
"Oooh, so close, yet so far." Curly taunted them. "Later haters!" As he went the other way.
Rodrigo and Arnold went after him in the same direction as he went. They tried to listen in on any noise he made, but it was becoming difficult. By now, a large crowd was following them and the noises coming from them covered the noise Curly made.
Man, that was close. Curly thought as he continued to quickly get away. That was very clumsy and stupid of me. I cannot let something like that slip again.
"Outta the way! Outta the way!" Rodrigo exclaimed as they went through the crowd to chase Curly.
With all the commotion, they couldn't hear him and began to think they lost him when a sudden thumping sound was heard, revealing to the two pre-teens that they were on his track.
The chase continued throughout most of the school's hallway. Curly continued to make his way around the ceiling, hoping he would lose his chasers. After some time, he stopped and listened in. He heard nothing. Wanting to risk it, he once again quietly opened the ceiling tile just enough to take a peek in.
Good, they aren't below me. He gladly thought. But they could be around there somewhere.
Taking a chance, he opened the gap even more, enough to be able to put his head out. He only slightly stuck his head to look around.
Huh. Nothing. He thought.
He stuck his head out more to take a better look. He again looked around and didn't see them. But as he stuck his head out even more, he was able to see further away and saw them. He quickly stuck his head back in and prayed they didn't see him. After waiting a little while, he realized that they hadn't seen him. He stuck his head out again and saw them, looking at the opposite direction. Curly then looked at the opposite direction and saw that the coast was clear.
Alright. Screw it. He thought.
Curly slowly and quietly moved the tile away to create the hole big enough for him to get out and make his getaway.
He he he he he. He chuckled in thought. I can't believe it. I'm climbing down the ceiling and these suckers don't have a clue!
Curly very quietly leaned out of the ceiling, using the ceiling frames as support. As he descended he could still see Rodrigo and Arnold's backs and still having not moved from their spot, while looking at the opposite direction.
I'm almost free! He happily thought.
Once his entire body was out of the ceiling, Curly hanged onto the frame for a second before leaping down and quietly landing on the floor. He took a quick glance at the two pre-teens and his shock, they didn't turn around.
Curly could not believe his luck. He stood triumphantly and looked at the pre-teens who were still oblivious. He then took a little bow and turned around to make his escape.
"Whoa!" He then exclaimed when he tripped a loose shoelace and fell down to the floor.
Rodrigo and Arnold heard the commotion and turned around.
"There he is!" Rodrigo exclaimed and both of them ran toward him.
"Oh rats!" Curly said before he started running away.
"I took a chance and it blew up in my face!" Curly said as he continued to run. "Curse you dreaded shoelace! Worst invention ever!"
The three continued to run through the hallway as fast as they could. Curly however, knew he wouldn't be able to last long. He was never an athlete and so wasn't built for long distance running.
Can't...keep up with this. He panted in thought. I need to find a way to lose them!
The trio ran through the hallway and past everyone who was there. The crowd that had initially followed them managed to find them again and began to ran behind them. This drew only more people into following them, enlarging the already large crowd.
"You can't run forever!" Rodrigo exclaimed at him.
"Watch me!" Curly said back and increased his speed and disappeared into a corner.
Arnold and Rodrigo followed suit, but as soon as they also turned the corner,
"Ow!" Arnold exclaimed in pain when a dodge ball suddenly hit him in the face, knocking him down.
Rodrigo saw it and when he saw an incoming ball flying toward him, he dodged it.
Curly smiled mischievously as he grabbed another ball and threw it at him.
Arnold regained his composure and got up when suddenly,
"Ow!" He got hit again, knocking him down.
"It's that the best you got?!" Rodrigo exclaimed.
Curly indulged him by grabbing him another ball and threw it at him, only for Rodrigo to easily move to the side.
"Aw c'mon Curly." Rodrigo taunted him. "I know you can do better than that. Remember the 4th grade?"
Curly snarled on that reminder and grabbed two balls and launched them at him.
Rodrigo easily dodged them, but one of them hit Arnold once again in the face as soon as got up.
"Ow!" He exclaimed.
Now Arnold was getting annoyed and quickly got up to get ready. It was just at the nick of time as another ball was hurdled toward him. This time however, he dodged it.
"Curly, this needs to stop!" Arnold tried to reason with him "Let's talk about this!"
"What's that?" Curly said. "I can't hear you because of all the balls that are heading your way."
Curly then started grabbing ball after ball and threw them all at the two pre-teens. Arnold and Rodrigo tried to dodge them, but there was too many and some hit their mark, knock them both down.
"HA!" Curly exclaimed in delight as the continued to throw balls at them.
"Enough of this !" Rodrigo exclaimed as he then stepped forward and grabbed one of the balls mid air and forcefully launched it back at Curly
"Of!" Curly exclaimed in pain as the ball hit him in the shoulder, knocking him down.
Seeing their opening, Arnold and Rodrigo quickly ran toward him.
"Oh. That's my exit cue." Curly said when he save them running toward him and he got up and ran away.
10 minutes later…
Believe it or not, the trio continued running. Curly had managed to evade them for this long, but he by now was getting tired. He wasn't going to be able to continue this for long.
Meanwhile, both Rodrigo and Arnold were hot on his tail, but they were also tired and frustrated by this point.
"We can't keep doing this." Arnold said to Rodrigo.
"I agree." Rodrigo said back. "But what else can we do?" He asked.
"I've got an idea." Arnold said to him as he gestured to him the end of hallway.
Rodrigo got the gestured and smiled.
Curly was oblivious and continued running toward the end of the hallway that split into two other hallways. Curly turned left, followed by Rodrigo, but not Arnold. He took a right turn. Curly continued to run and when he took a quick glance, he noticed Arnold was not there.
Where'd he go? He thought.
He hoped Arnold grew tired of running after him and decided to end the chase. Key word; hoped.
Looks like it's down to just me and the girlfriend stealer. He thought.
He saw the end of the hallway and thought about escaping from the school all together. It was his only hope. He ran as hard as he could so he could make it through the doors. However, Arnold appeared seemingly out of nowhere and blocked his path. He then immediately stopped and glanced toward Rodrigo who was close by and also stopped, blocking his other escape. To his absolutely dismay, he realized he was now trapped.
"It's over, Curly." Arnold said while catching his breathe. "There's nowhere to go."
"Oh you would think so, wouldn't you?" Curly defiantly shot back as he tried to look for a way out.
"Oh ok, I see." He said as he realized he wasn't going to get out of this one. "I see how this is going to go down. I gotta warn you, I'm far more flexible than I seem to be."
"C'mon Curly, this is crazy." Arnold said to him. "You don't need to do this. You're better than this."
"Oh I was better." Curly said back. "Until this thief imprisoned me and stole my girlfriend!"
By now, a crowd had gathered around them, including their friends. Helga and Phoebe were among them.
"She was never your girlfriend!" Rodrigo shot back.
"Lies!" Curly angrily shot back. "She was on track to falling for me. It was only a matter of time before she opened her eyes -"
"My God you are so delusional!" Rodrigo interrupted him. "Do you not take meds?"
"I wasn't done talking!" Curly angrily shot back. "But you! You just had to ruin it all! To come and take what is mine! What took years to nurture and grow, you just come along and trample it! That is so disrespectful. Isn't it bad enough that you already took our jobs?"
"Hey! That's racist!" Rodrigo angrily shot back. "And no, I didn't trample on anything. There was nothing you did that was nurtured. All you did was harass a poor girl for years. How you aren't in jail yet is beyond me."
"How would you know?!" Curly angrily cried out. "You've only just arrived. You aren't there to see how she would casually just walk by me, without saying a word, not even a glance, but her glow and flow of her body swinging would tell me all that I needed to know."
"It's called ignoring you!" Rodrigo exclaimed.
"That is enough, Curly." Arnold then spoke. "This has gone far enough. You need to stop this. I'm really sorry, but Rhonda does not 'like' like you. She never did."
Curly went quiet for a few seconds and glanced at Arnold with a facial expression of both shock with a touch of his soul crushing. It was the first time Arnold had ever told him this.
"Oh, what do you know Arnold?!" Curly then exclaimed. "But if you want me to stop…" He then softly said with an evil grin. "You'll have to catch me."
"Gladly." Rodrigo said and moved forward toward him. "You've got nowhere to run or hide. You're trapped. Even if you do escape, you go to this school. It's only a matter of time be-"
Rodrigo didn't have time to finish his sentence before he felt something slimy, wet and a foul smell from on top.
"Muah ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Curly maniacally laughed. "Gotcha ya!"
"Ugh!" Rodrigo exclaimed and grunted in pure horror when he realized what just happened.
Being so fixated on Curly, Rodrigo didn't see the thin, almost transparent thin string hanging from the ceiling. He inadvertently touched and triggered the string, which caused a loose ceiling tile to fall down, along with a bucket that contained Curly's latest prank.
"Ha ha ha ha! What an idiot." Curly said as he snickered. "Falling right into my trap like that, ha ha ha ha!"
"Rodrigo, are you okay?" Arnold asked as he went over to him.
Rodrigo did not reply back. Once the shock went away, he became extremely furious.
"That does it!" Rodrigo angrily yelled as he went over to Curly who was still laughing and now on the floor.
"Ha ha ha ha ha-Hey, whoa!" Curly said when he felt Rodrigo grab him by his shirt and started dragging him over to the nearly classroom door.
"Rodrigo, wait!" Arnold exclaimed as he tried to block him. "Let's not be too -"
"Move it, Football head!" Rodrigo angrily said and just shoved him away, much to everyone's shock.
The crowd that had gathered was shocked to hear Rodrigo say Arnold's nickname. Helga was among those that were stunted and was sourly not impressed.
"Let go of me you fiend!" Curly exclaimed and he tried to struggle away free, but it was no use.
Rodrigo made it to nearest door, opened it, threw Curly inside it, went in and slammed it behind him.