Have Your Cake, Helga! 🎂 | a Hey Arnold! Fanfic

Chapter 2

Arnold and Gerald were walking home after school with a group of kids, when Arnold spotted a familiar face in the distance.

"Hey, is that...? Yeah I think it is!" Arnold said.

"Who is?" asked Gerald, but Arnold was already making his way towards the mustachioed man in a wide-brimmed hat, accompanied by a young girl about Arnold's age.

"Arnold!" said the man. "Buenos dias!"

"Eduardo!" said Arnold. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to visit you and your parents to see how you are adapting. How are they enjoying life in the city?"

"They are...adapting," Arnold's eyes wandered to the girl beside him. She was about his height, with dark skin and bright green eyes. Her thick black hair was held back by a green headband. "Hey, aren't you...?"

"You are correct," replied Eduardo. "Arnold, this is Jiçu, the daughter of the rulers of the Green Eyes. Her mother and father have allowed her to leave San Lorenzo to see the world, and have left her in my care. She is excited to see Stella and Miles as well."

"Well, actually I'm on my way home," said Arnold. As Eduardo and Arnold spoke, Jiçu's eyes wandered over to the kids in the group until they stopped on Brainy.

Brainy was taken aback as Jiçu approached him, stepping back as she got close. Eduardo noticed this and smirked. "It looks as though Jiçu has taken an interest in one of your friends."

"Huh? Oh, that's Brainy."

"Boo-rainee," Jiçu repeated, invading Brainy's personal space so that they were practically nose-to-nose. Flustered, Brainy backed away until he tripped over the curb. When he stood up, he turned and ran away.

"Looks like Brainy's got a secret admirer," remarked Sid.

"And that secret is OUT," quipped Gerald. The rest of the kids laughed.

"Come on," Arnold said to Eduardo. "I'm heading to the boarding house now. Follow me – I'm sure mom and dad will be thrilled to see you."

-

The gang plus Eduardo and Jiçu arrived in front of Sunset Arms but just as Arnold was going to open the door, a green Packard rolled up in front of the building and honked.

"Grandpa?" Arnold said. "Where are you going?"

Grandpa leaned his head out the open window of his Packard. "Hey Shortman – just heading to the police station. I've got to bail your folks out of jail."

"Jail?!" Arnold and Eduardo said simultaneously.

Grandpa pointed to the backseat. "Hop in – I'll explain everything on the way. Hey, Eduardo."

Eduardo nodded and smiled, and the three of them filed into the backseat of the Packard as he drove away.

-

"Look, I'm sorry about all the trouble, officer," Grandpa said as they walked through the police station.

"Why were they detained?" asked Arnold.

"A concerned citizen saw these two jokers bus surfing downtown," explained the officer. "We had to tae them in for disturbing the peace.

Jiçu asked a question to Eduardo in her native tongue, to which Eduardo replied back in the same language. When she asked a second question, Eduardo simply responded with a shrug.

"Yeah – takes me back to my days in high school," continued the officer. "Anyway, no damage was caused, so I guess they're free to go."

They stopped in front of a cell where both Stella and Miles were sitting patiently on a bench attached to the wall. When they saw their son, they both stood and ran over, gripping the bars of the cell.

"Arnold!" they both said enthusiastically.

"Alright, you two," said the officer as he unlocked the door of the cell. "Stay out of trouble, okay? Don't let me catch you using our transit system as your personal skate park."

As soon as they were released, Stella and Miles embraced Arnold in a hug. "We missed you!"

"I missed you too, you guys," Arnold said.

Grandpa cleared his throat.

Miles looked up and noticed his friend. "Eduardo! What are you doing all the way out here?"

"Hello, old friend," said Eduardo. "I've come to see how you are adjusting to life in the city."

"Oh, fine, fine – we're doing spectacular," nodded Miles. "We just had a little misunderstanding this

morning. Apparently you can't ride the bus if you don't have any money...."

"So we improvised!" Stella chimed in cheerfully.

Arnold and Eduardo exchanged worried glances.

"Uh...let's go, guys. Packard's waiting outside," said Grandpa.

"Oh, boy! I want to sit next to Arnold!" exclaimed Stella.

"Me too!" said Miles.

"You can both sit beside me – I'll sit in the middle, OK?" Arnold said patiently.

Grandpa sighed audibly as the group exited the police station.

-

Later that evening, Arnold, Grandpa, and Eduardo sat around the small table in the kitchen to discuss the situation with Stella and Miles.

"I'm worried about the two of them," admitted Grandpa, looking down at the cup of coffee in his hand.

"At first I was elated to have them back, but as the days went by I began to notice some peculiar things..."

"Please explain," said Eduardo.

"Well, there's the short-term memory loss....the odd, almost obsessive fascination with Shortman..."

Grandma suddenly burst into the kitchen, wearing a marching hat and holding a baton, while she stepped in time to the sound of the whistle she blew in rhythm. Behind her, Stella and Miles marched n time behind her; Stella was smashing a pair of cymbals while Miles beat a drum. Jiçu followed closely behind, clapping her hand against a tambourine and laughing. The progression stopped briefly in front of the table for their benefit, before resuming and exiting from the other doorway. Eduardo was nonplussed.

"....And then there's stuff like that," said Grandpa.

"Do you have any idea what might be causing this behavior?" asked Arnold.

Eduardo exhaled deliberately, tapping his hand on the table. "It's...difficult to say. Your parents have been cut off from the world for nearly a decade. I think it's almost expected there would be some complications with their assimilation back into society."

"Assimilation, huh?" repeated Grandpa, taking a sip of his coffee.

Arnold sat thoughtfully for a moment, then raised his head with an idea. "Say...what if we try to remind them? We could hold a party on the rooftop with all the people of the neighborhood! They'll be introduced to old friends, and maybe having a support network will jumpstart something within them. It might even improve their memory!"

"It's worth a shot," Grandpa said thoughtfully.

"What have we got to lose?" added Arnold.

The three men peered into the room adjacent to the kitchen. The marching had ceased, and now Grandma was spinning Jiçu around over her head, and Miles did the same with Stella. There was eventually the sound of a crash, and the four of them burst into raucous laughter, Grandma leading the charge with her insane cackling.

"Not as much as I stand to lose in property damage," quipped Grandpa. "So let's do it!"