Sixth Grade Beginnings

Chapter 9

Arnold had caught up to Helga before he turned his head once again to watch as Gerald and Phoebe took another direction; his arm draped over her shoulder. He was happy for them, envious as well. They were so suitable for each other. Gerald was strong and quick witted while Phoebe was quiet and smart. Where Gerald had street smarts, Phoebe had book smarts. Both of them seemed to balance each other out in almost a harmonious way.

Looking up at his own partner, he could see that her spirit still hadn't been lifted and he couldn't blame her. The scene in front of the school was probably on the same level as a band aid being ripped off prematurely for her. It needed to happen at some point and she could only prepare herself for that moment, however it was supposed to be up to her to decide when that moment would be, not someone else. Sure, their unexpected union was bound to turn a few familiar heads around but it was only those few immature heads that they really needed to worry about and, of course, would make the biggest splash amongst the crowd. Why was it so bad for them to be together? Why was it that much more acceptable for someone like Gerald and Phoebe to get together, but not them? Arnold glanced down at Helga's swinging free hand and felt the urge to hold it, but then resisted. She had warned him that showing off their relationship in public would only cause problem, but he had insisted otherwise... and look what happened. Arnold furrowed his brow and looked to the side walk in front of him. Maybe if I just talk to Harold before any of this gets worse... He thought, as he noticed they were getting closer and closer to Helga's place. Maybe I can talk some sense into him... He can be a reasonable guy, sometimes...

"Hey, umm Helga?" He called out, looking up at his tall female companion as they reached their usual parting area.

She looked down and could see that he had something important on his mind. "Yeah?"

Arnold clenched his fists and decided that it was in both of their best interests to go through with his plan alone. "I'm really sorry for everything..." He started, looking up into her blue eyes to hopefully make the connection that his words were beyond sincere.

"W-what do you mean?" She asked, confused. "It's not your fault Sid came after me."

"No, but it is my fault that things ended up this way." He continued. He could see that she still wasn't on the same page, so he continued. "It was my idea to hold hands in public. I was the one that said everything would be okay, and if it wasn't for that, Harold would have never seen us. I also take full responsibility for the cruel things I said yesterday which caused you to leave my house. If I had used my better senses, then you would have never went so far as to beat him up either and-"

"Arnold let me stop you right there." Helga interrupted with a serious gaze. "Don't go blaming your big, stupid football shaped head of yours for my actions! I do what I do because I want to and no other reason." She could feel herself becoming angry but pushed it away to continue in a calm manner. "Sure, you innocently said that if we held hands in public, everything would be okay but let me get one thing straight, it was MY decision to agree. I wanted to do it, so I did." She said while crossing her arms.

"But Helga," He tried to butt in but was silenced.

"Don't But Helga me!" She blurted out, mimicking his voice in a patronizing way. "So what if I wanted to be more careful about it for my own childish and selfish reasons?!" She exclaimed, waving her arms about as she faced him. "I mean, Sheesh! Do you know how happy it makes me to know that you want to show off your feelings for me in public?! I SHOULDN'T care what everyone thinks of us! In fact," She said as she grabbed both of his hands and pulled him closer to her. She could see that her sudden forcefulness had surprised him, but she didn't care. If there was one thing she wanted to make perfectly clear to Arnold, this was that one thing. "You're the only thing that matters to me! Your feelings of me; what you think of me, of us..." Her voice became softer and began to waver as she expressed herself. "Let that fat slob say what he wants about us, Arnold... I'll get through it. I always do. You're the one who said I'm amazingly strong, right?"