Helga slumped against the wall and continued on with her moping. She had cringed and balled up her fists at how her nature was presented. How was she ever going to have the capability to express her true feelings to the boy who had always meant so much to her?

"He probably thinks nothing of me… not even as an acquaintance. I mean, every time I push so far to get close to him, I just end up pushing him farther and farther away from me." Helga mumbled to herself as she attempted blowing her bangs out of her forehead, ultimately ending in more hair covering her face.

All her plans seemed to end up going against her; not working out in her favor. She was running out of schemes and ideas. She was on the verge of giving up. Helga sighed in frustration, "Should a fourth grader even be contemplating about things like this?"

A single tear had rolled down her cheek, "He doesn't like me, he never HAS liked me, and never WILL like me." She embraced her head under her arms in defeat. "Maybe things like this were never meant to happen to someone as bad as me; Arnold doesn't deserve to know someone as ugly and mean as me. I'm a MONSTER to him. I could not break down my wall for him even if it was a life or death situation…" -

Arnold and Gerald had been quite pensive, deciding what activity they could do next. Gerald put his hand up to his mouth, thinking, "Well Arnold, if we REALLY have nothing better to do, then why not go skip rocks down by the lake?"

Arnold had shrugged, simply not knowing what else they could be doing. The sun had not come out, but it was still pretty chilly. They were among one of the few people actually outside. It made the atmosphere more silent and eerie.

"Sure." Was all Arnold could muster up. He didn't know what else to tell him. He found interest in a small pebble on the ground and began kicking it with the tip of his shoe. He was still thinking about Helga G. Pataki. She was mysterious; she was different. He just couldn't figure out why though. Why did he find her so amusing?

The boys made their way to the nearest lake, which wasn't so far away after all. Arnold, still confused about earlier, had sat on a patch of dried up grass, and Gerald followed as he did so.

"Oh man, Puh-LEASE tell me you're not thinking about what I think you're thinking about." His friend said while looking over to the football headed boy in concern. When he didn't get any sort of response from Arnold, he slumped forward and sighed heavily.

The blonde boy spoke at last, "Gerald... I just... I dont know what I should do about it. I really would like to get to know her better, but with her always pushing everyone else away from her, I think its going to be more difficult than I ever imagined. She's interesting to me. One minute Helga might say my name in a tone that sounds excited or surprised, if anything. But the next minute she might be mad at me and snap."

He tucked his knees under his arms and rested his head gently on top of them. He gazed off into the vibrant blue water, its hue reminded him of Helga's eyes... Full of life. "She's unpredictable Gerald."

Gerald was silent for a few moments, "... Are you trying to imply what I think you're trying to imply Arnold? Are you catching that Chinese flu?" He dramatically placed his hand on Arnold's forehead.

Arnold swatted him playfully, "No, im not sick in any way. Honestly, it's just something that's been on my mind for awhile now."

He began shaking his head, "Hmm, hmm, HMM. Who ever would've guessed that a boy would begin to fall in love with his bully?" Gerald picked up a nearby rock and tossed it into the river. It skipped a few times before it disappeared under the water's surface. He then looked over to Arnold, who still looked like he was thinking. "I dont think that's how it works my man. It just doesn't seem right."

Arnold stood up slowly, trying to balance himself. He observed his surroundings and found a couple engaging in a conversation with one another on a park bench. He didn't have any idea what they were talking about, but he noticed that they were holding hands and looked happy. He smiled warmly at imagining Helga connecting with him like that.

Oddly enough, the two blondes looked fairly familiar in some way or another. Arnold spoke up, "Well maybe it doesn't seem right to you, but it seems right to me."-

"PHEEBS! PHEEBS! I need you to come over to my house as soon as possible!". Helga was practically shouting over the phone to her friend. "Coming!", Phoebe said in her usual tone of voice. When Helga said that something needed to be done, she did it without hesitation. She was her personal assistant.

Within ten minutes of commanding her to come to the house, Phoebe was politely knocking on her door. Helga was already sitting on the last step waiting for her, knowing that her parents wouldn't answer the door. She opened it with much force and Phoebe was startled. "How serious is the situation?"

Helga's action spoke the words for her as she grabbed Phoebe's hands roughly and led her up the stairs.

In a matter of seconds, the girls were already up in Helga's room sitting on her bed. "So what's wrong? Does the urgency of me being here have to do with ice-cream?" She leaned towards Helga and whispered the secret pet name as if someone was eavesdropping.

"OF COURSE IT DOES! CRIMINY HE'S CATCHING ON TO MY WAYS! He's going to find out sooner or later and I have to do something to prevent him from realizing it!" Helga threw her hands up in the air and paced around her room. Her least favorite memory of Stinky, Harold, Sid, and Rhonda laughing at her was worming it's way into her head.

She couldn't allow that to happen all over again. She calmed down and sat back on her bed besides Phoebe. "My biggest nightmare is about to unravel right in front of me. I can already hear everyone taunting and laughing at me." The pig tailed girl curled up into the fetal position.

Her friend tried her best to comfort her and assure her otherwise, "Helga, maybe now it's time to tell ice cream about your biggest secret. After all, maybe that would be the bes-"

She cut off Phoebe's sentence before she could end it. "That's the problem! I already spilt the beans on the rooftop directly to his face! He doesn't need too much time to figure out and piece the puzzle pieces together! He's already more than half way there!"

Phoebe was trying to think of helpful advice to give Helga when she realized... She had none. She faced Helga but didn't speak. It was too late for either of them to collaborate on some cheap scheme together. There was no valid point to it anymore. This was the moment that Helga had been dreading to happen for years to come.

"Helga. I'm afraid to inform you that there is no use to devising a plan this time around. Too much has been revealed to him. There's no turning back now, all those years spent coming up with backup plans has come to an end. Now you have to face the reality. He's already close to solving your puzzle."

Helga left her bed and gazed warily out of her window. She put her hands on the window's ledge and sighed. The Asian child had stared at her questioningly. Helga bowed her head and turned to look at Phoebe with extreme worry in her eyes. "I never expected this day to come so soon."