It's About Us

A Story about a Boy and a Bow

Friday morning was hard. Helga rolled out of bed and just sighed. it the last day. She stared out her window. She knew she needed to get up, but she didn't have the energy. Nor the desire. It wasn't until a knock at the door that she finally stirred.

"Olga, you up?" Big Bob yelled from behind her locked door.

"It's Helga, dad." She knew that just correcting him said that she was up.

There was rustling behind her door before Bob talked again. "Come straight home after school, Olga's coming home today."

"Right, Olga's coming for my graduation tomorrow. She is the only one who remembered." Helga mumbled to herself, mostly.

"Hey, hey, hey. Get ready. I have better things to do then drive you to school." Bob heavy footsteps were heard walking down the hall.

Helga put on her normal clothes. When she looked in the mirror to put her iconic bow on, she hesitated. The pink bow has always represented the love in her heart for Arnold. Yet, this morning she was taking a pause from putting it on. She still loved him and yet she couldn't help but feel like she's a glutton for punishment. If she continued to wear it and they break up, will she be able to let him go?

Helga cursed to herself for not being the 'Helga of Old' anymore. She hated growing up and losing the mystery of 'what if.' Having the dreams and fantasy of being with Arnold was drastically different than the real thing. That hurt the most.

Wrapping the ribbon around her wrist, Helga put it there to hold on to the last bit of hope. Now she needed to do something different with her hair. To prove to herself she was ready to move on, if she had to. So, she put her hair up in a single ponytail. Last day and she needed to be ready for whatever was to come next.

Helga raced to the kitchen, grabbed a pop tart, and rushed out the front door. Her father was yelling at her. All he cared about was making sure he was home for Olga arrival. She didn't care and just ignored him. One more day is all she had on her mind.

Across town Arnold was greeted by his best friend. "Ready for the best day of school?"

"Yes, I am." Arnold was just ready for the summer.

"How are you today? You know you're going to see Helga today." Gerald reminded Arnold of this little oversite.

"Yeah, I'm good. I'm not afraid to see her. I just wish I knew what she really wanted from me." Arnold shrugged.

"Bro, she's a woman, she wants a man." Gerald informed him.

"Yeah, I got that." Arnold deflated.

When the city bus picked Arnold and Gerald up, they decided to sit in silence. Last day just needed to be relaxing. It didn't take long for the atmosphere to change. When the whispering started Arnold looked up to see the object of discussion.

Helga was paying for her ticket after Phoebe. Her hair was different. The bow was around her wrist like a bracelet and her hair was that of a woman's. Arnold couldn't help but gawk. She was starting to change without him.

Arnold watch as Helga walked to her seat. Fear finally started to settle in his gut. He didn't like being left behind by her. He always wanted to stand beside her, but now she was morphing to someone he couldn't recognize. After the swimsuit incident, the Helga he once knew, was starting to leave.

"Gerald." Arnold finally was able to whisper out. "I think I need to win her back."

"THAT'S MY BOY!" Gerald yelled, drawing all attention on the bus to them.

School was slow. Everyone was crying and writing notes in each other's yearbooks. Some of the kids were going to a different high school, but the crew was staying together. When English finally rolled around Arnold braced himself to see Helga.