Oblina tries her hand at scaring Helga, but studies her first. Recognizes her interaction with Arnold from her time in Dr. Buzzcut’s Human Suit. Take it from there!
(#00726 - A361)
The view from the gutter was not wide, but it was educational. Oblina had long since learned to recognise the human by her shoes.
She had somehow suspected that Dr Buzz Kutt’s theories had been in error, but there was living confirmation. She could see and hear Helga verbally abusing a boy and, the second he was out of earshot, turning around and waxing lyrical about how much she was in love with the human.
Human love was crazy.
But it broke her heart to hear it. A girl who thought she was monstrous, scared to leave herself vulnerable to anyone. Afraid to have a softer side because the world was so cruel.
Oblina couldn’t help herself. “Try telling him anonymously,” she said.
*
Helga reacted, jumping up and looking around. “I’LL KILL ANYONE WHO SAYS ANYTHING!” But her fists were primed with no target in sight. She slumped back down. “Great. Now I’m hearing voices.”
“At least it’s good advice,” whispered the voice.
She sighed. “Shows what you know. It’ll end badly. Everything ends badly. I never get anything I deserve.”
“So you fail before you try? That doesn’t make sense.”
“Whatever.” Helga got up again and slouched away. Even the voice in her head didn’t understand… Everything good went to her prettier sisters. And so would Arnold.
But still… an anonymous note. It wouldn’t hurt. Something a lot more subtle than the lurid poetry that they’d found and laughed at.
Two days later, Arnold found a construction paper heart in his locker. It had the words, “I love you, but you won’t look at me.” in neat, anonymous printing.
And she heard how bad it must be for that person, thinking that he couldn’t love them back.
The next day, she left another. This time, it said, “You can’t love Ugly.”
And she heard how Arnold thought nobody was ugly. Not even her.
The day after that, she left a third. “If you really believe in love, meet me under the Big Oak after school. Come alone.”
And she got detention. So she was running late for the meeting in the pouring rain with her sister’s big yellow umbrella.
Please, please, please…
He was still there. Huddled in the shelter of the tree with his coat over his head. Splashed by the mud from passing cars.
She added him to the shelter of her umbrella. “You OK, football-head?”
“Thought I could help somebody. Guess it was a prank.”
“Maybe they got scared. Maybe they got detention. Maybe…” She scrunched up her eyes. Took a deep breath. Bit the bullet. “Maybe she’s right here.”
“…helga?”
“Yeah, go ahead and laugh. I’m almost used to it anyway.”
“That book full of poetry was yours, wasn’t it?”
She dared look at him. He wasn’t judging her. He wasn’t being cruel. He was just asking. “So what if it was. I heard you laughing at it.”
“Gerald did most of the laughing. I was trying to get him to at least tone it down. That stuff was… real. I could tell whoever wrote it… I could tell you were hurting.”
Helga found that her eyes were stinging. “I’m not crying,” she croaked. “Got some rain in my face.”
“It’s okay.” His hand joined hers on the umbrella handle. “You’re allowed to feel things.”
Illogical tears with a crooked smile. “We met under an umbrella. You were the only person in the world who ever gave a fig about me. And all I could do was snap at you.”
“it’s okay. What you get from people is all you know how to give back.” He smiled for her. “I could show you? Being nice isn’t that hard.”
“Being nice makes me invisible.”
“I see you, Helga,” soothed Arnold. “I always see you.”
It rained hard, all the way home. She, too, got splashed with mud. But all of a sudden, it didn’t matter. There was no cold. There was no rain. Just his warmth and the sunshine of his smile.
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