Distractions
Arnold closed his locker. Next to him at Gerald�s locker, Phoebe and Gerald were kissing. Arnold rolled his eyes and made a sound of disgust. �Ever since you two became old enough to kiss in public, you�re kissing all the time.�
Gerald pulled away from Phoebe. �Why not, man? We are 16 after all.�
�And we love each other,� said Phoebe as she pulled Gerald to her again.
Arnold just walked off to his next class, rolling his eyes. Helga stopped him in the hall near class. �Hey, do you have my notes for biology class?�
�Oh, yeah. Thanks for letting me borrow them, Helga, you�re a life-saver.�
�No prob. See you at lunch.�
�Bye.�
The past few years certainly had gotten easier for Arnold when he and Helga became friends. They were all 16 now, and in eleventh grade. Arnold had a deeper voice now, and kept his hair down, but still had his little blue hat. He wore baggy pants, and his flannel unbuttoned and on the outside of his shirt. Gerald looked mostly the same except for his hair, which he wore shorter now. Phoebe�s black hair was longer, though she still had the thing in the front. She wore tight shirts and long skirts, and she had long since abandoned her glasses for contacts. Helga wore her hair in a single braid and had plucked her eyebrow so that there were two. She wore tight dresses instead of the unflattering ones she had worn before.
Arnold headed to his history class and sat down in his seat. It was his favorite seat of the whole day, because it was the seat where he sat closest to Lila. She sat in the seat one to the right and one ahead of him. Class started but Arnold didn�t know that. For practically the entire period, Arnold was staring at Lila. She looked different then she did when she was younger. Now she wore tight shirts and miniskirts to accent her voluptuous body. She had grown up with quite a figure, and Arnold was it�s biggest fan.
Third period ended and he went to fourth period, language. He walked in the door and the first thing he saw was a face that had been familiar since fourth grade. �Hello Arnold! How are you? Did you bring the homework from your special project for today?�
�I�m fine, Mr. Simmons, and yes, I have it.�
�Good, why don�t you sit in your seat and wait for class to start.� Arnold sat down and waited for Gerald, who sat next to him.
�Class, I have a special announcement-�
�Arnold, have you noticed that things just keep getting more and more special with Mr. Simmons? It�s been happening since the fourth grade, man!�
They listened to Mr. Simmons special announcement. It wasn�t special in the least, in fact it was quite ordinary, but as Gerald said, almost everything was special with Mr. Simmons. Class went on for half an hour before it was time for lunch.
Phoebe and Helga found Arnold and Gerald, and sat down to have lunch with them. They were chatting about various things and eating their lunches when Lila walked past. Of course, Arnold called out to her and told her to eat lunch with them. The three groaned inwardly, Arnold was never himself around Lila. Their conversation was ruined. None of them had any bad feelings toward Lila; they just didn�t like the way Arnold changed around her. They continued talking, Phoebe was talking like a text book, Helga was frank and slightly violent, Gerald was fervently agreeing to almost everything Phoebe said (even if he didn�t understand it), Lila was ever so and oh so-ing, and Arnold was hanging on her every word, attentive and amiable. And also pathetic looking to his friends. They had gotten onto the subject of parties because of Rhonda, and Phoebe remembered something.
�Did you guys hear that there�s a carnival coming in a few days?�
�Oh, of course!� said Gerald, who�d heard nothing of the sort. (It�s NOT the Cheese Festival!!!)
�Oh, that�ll be fun to go to as a group thing among friends,� said Helga.
�I bet it would be ever so nice and such an oh so fun time if we did go!� Arnold jumped on a chance.
�I�ll take you, Lila!�
�I�m sorry, Arnold, but I�ll only go with you if your friends come along. I don�t want us to go alone so it seems ever so much like a date. As I�ve told you before, I only like you, not like you like you.�
�I know,� said Arnold with a sigh.
�Come on Arnold, don�t sound so sad, it�ll be ever so fun,� said Lila, trying to cheer up Arnold.
�I guess you�re right,� said Arnold. �How �bout it guys, the five of us. It�ll be fun.�
�I�m in,� said Gerald, looking at Phoebe lovingly.
�Me too,� said Phoebe, staring back at Gerald.
�I�m not so sure,� said Helga, �I�d feel like a tag-along.�
�You wouldn�t be a tag-along, Helga, I�d love for you to come ever so much,� said Lila.
�Yeah, Helga, please come,� said Arnold unknowingly giving her the flirty eyes.
Helga couldn�t resist that look, so she agreed to come along.
�Alright, we�ll all meet at the front gate at 7pm,� said Arnold, �Anyone need a ride?�
�I�m taking Phoebe in my new wheels that I got for my birthday,� said Gerald proudly.
�I have a ride Arnold, but thank you ever so much,� said Lila.
�I could use a ride,� said Helga, �I don�t think Bob will want to take me or let me borrow his car.�
�Sure, Helga, no problem,� said Arnold, though a small part of him was wishing he could take Lila as well.
Helga was also thinking, �Sigh, I get to be in a car, alone with my beloved. I know I�ve loved him for so long and he has yet to show any sign of loving me, but I just can�t stop loving him. All the guys that have ever asked me out, I turned them down because of Arnold, because they didn�t compare to his gorgeous football-shaped head or his sweet personality. I know I should just give up, but my heart just won�t permit it. I�ll just continue loving him in silence until I finally have the courage to tell him my secret.�