The Alphabet is for Drabbles (A Hey Arnold! Fanfic)

Yuck

Little Anne had already learned her first three words: mom, dada, and bird. But on this day, she learned her fourth, a word they never thought she'd add this early in her vocabulary.

"Yuck!"

Helga had been feeding her baby food, a flavor she apparently disliked. Where had she heard that word? And how come she knew how to associate it with things that were meant to be disliked?

"Yuck!"

Then Arnold had gotten an idea. He told Helga to stop giving her that flavored food and to give her desert, to see what Anne's reaction would be this time. When Helga did she and Arnold started laughing out loud. Anne had liked it, and she showed it by smiling and making approval noises in return.

When Phoebe came to visit with Jimmy and Gerald the next day, Helga told them of what Anne had done. Phoebe started looking sheepish, and Helga asked, "What's wrong, Phoebs?"

"Well… remember when I babysat Anne the other day? I was feeding Jimmy and he kept repeating that word every time I gave him a mouthful. He apparently learned it from his dad." This she said while staring down her husband, to which he responded with a slightly nervous smile. "Anne was sitting next to him and she followed his lead."

"Oh, so that explains it. Gerald!"

"Excuse me, buddy, but I think your wife is about to murder me." And he ran to the backyard where Helga followed after him.

"Aren't you going to stop her, Arnold?"

He gave Phoebe a smile, one that gave her slight goose bumps in return. "Oh I'm not."