Hey Arnold: The teenage Years

I'm not.

In the morning, Helga woke with a start. Seeing the sun shining brightly over them. She peeked over at the clock. "No, no, no!" Climbing over Arnold as quickly as she could, Helga gathered her clothes.

"What's going on?" Arnold glanced around.

"Don't look! I gotta change!" As fast as possible Helga throw off Arnold's clothes then changed back in to her own. She then ran over to the bed and gave Arnold a quick kiss before leaving.

As slowly and quietly as possible, Helga unlocked then pushed open the front door of her family home. Laying on the couch, as always, was her mother. Helga tip toed past. On her way down the hall, just steps away from her bedroom, her father called out to her, "Hold it right there, missy!" And...I'm boned. "Where is my white belt?"

"I'm sorry. What?"

Big Bob held out his arms. "My belt! My big white belt! I've got a meeting with the hospital over some new beepers coming in then I've got a sale to make room for the flip phones! I've gotta look my best!"

Standing there wearing the clothes from the day before and holding a hanging with her dress from dinner, Helga stared at her father like he was the most dense person she had ever met. "Seriously? It's elven thirty in the morning and this is the first time you've seen me all day... and all you do is ask me about your belt?"

"Oh, forget it. I'll find it myself." Bob stormed off.

Helga rolled her eyes. Inside her room, Helga throw off her shoes and flopped on to her bed. Grabbing a pink notebook from her bedside table, Helga would spend the next few hours working on poems.

"Miriam! They aren't giving it back this time, woman! That was it! No more second chances. No more driving." Bob shouted at his, at best, half present wife.

Digging through her purse, Miriam moaned, "Where on earth have they gone?"

Helga slowly made her way down the stairs as her father let out an enormous groan, "I've already told you! I took your keys away and you. Are. Not. Getting them back!" Still trying to sneak past the fighting pair, Helga continued to take careful steps down and around the corner so she could make it into the kitchen. The moment the frig opened, Miriam came in, still searching for her keys. She had been followed by her husband. "I ain't giving them back, lady. If you want to leave this house, you better be getting on the bus or be wearing your walking shoes, understood?"

Practically stepping in the frig now, Helga hoped she would still go unnoticed. As her mother searched and her father yelled, she was able to fill her arms with a can of soda, jar of pickles, and a packet of deli sliced ham. To her relief, either of parents noticed her as she disappeared back up to her room. The moment her door shut the phone rang, causing her to drop everything in her arms. Crushing her big toe with the jar of pickles. "Ol..ugh. I mean, Helga! Phone for you!"

Helga hobbled over to her phone. "The girl should be picking up soon." She could hear her dad saying, not the least bit of politeness in his voice.

"I got it, Bob. You can hang up now."

"Yeah, whatever. Hey! What did I say, Miriam! Drop those keys!"

The moment the phone clicked as Bob hung up his end, Arnold spoke up, "Hey. Make it home without getting catch? You ran out of here so fast and never called, got me kind of worried I might of gotten you grounded or something."

"Nah. I'm fine, Football Head." Helga went on to tell her boyfriend how sneaking back in had gone and about the on going fight between her parents. Or, more so, Bob's yelling and Miriam ignoring him. "Anyways, I'm in the clear so I'm free for whenever you want to invite me over for the night again. Just need you to check you closet next time...Wouldn't hurt to check the crawl space behind your couch either."