Author Note: Most of this story is fake but Helga's nostalgic story about shoes is inspired by real life. As they say, truth is stranger than fiction. Enjoy!

Helga and Arnold had no choice but to wait for the pizza delivery guy to come. Maybe, just maybe, he would rescue them from the greenhouse they were trapped in. They sat. They slouched. Then Helga sprawled out since it seemed like an infinity to wait. She examined the tips of her sneakers in fine detail. A red ant crawled on the toe of her shoe before it hopped off to disappear from view. After it had left, Helga sat up on one side to talk to Arnold.

"Ugh! Fast and fresh pizza delivery my butt! This must be the longest wait for pizza I've ever had in my life! What gives?!"

"Maybe it just feels like a really long time because we're impatient," Arnold explained sagely.

"Um-hum," said Helga. She cradled her arms behind her head and flopped to look up at the sky out of the roof of the greenhouse. There were larger spaces out there beyond their prison.

"Um, What are you thinking about?" Arnold asked after a few more silent minutes. Helga propped herself up on one elbow.

"What?" she blurted in disbelief. "You want to know what I'M thinking about?"

"Well," said Arnold. "Yeah. If it's something you'd like to share." Helga flopped back down to the ground. At least the floor of the greenhouse wasn't muddy.

"Well, actually it's really silly. Don't laugh, okay? Because it's really all nonsense."

"So what is it?" Arnold said more interested now to know what Helga meant by nonsense.

"Well, I was thinking about sliced bread. They say they invented it in America when its commercial food manufacturing and packaging took off. But before that, everyone ate bread for centuries. So when people cut a slice off to eat, did they not call it a slice of bread? What did they call it instead?"

"Um, I really don't know what they called them," said Arnold. "Maybe slices, but they just started calling whole loaves sliced bread? I don't really know. It's a shot in the dark but that's my guess."

"Maybe," Helga said still slouched back. "I wouldn't mind a sandwich now. Where is that pizza?"

"I dunno," Arnold answered simply.

"And what are you thinking about?"

"Armadillos. Why I keep seeing them on T-shirts."

"Hmm," Helga muttered. But she had no answer for that.

"Pizza delivery!" a pimply teenager interrupted their contemplations. "Hello? I have five pizzas for forty-five fifty?" the teenager asked. Helga gestured through the greenhouse door. "In here!" The boy opened the door to the greenhouse wide.

"Yes!" Helga celebrated as a towering stack of pizza boxes were shoved into her arms. "Here, hold this Arnoldo while I pay the guy."

"Sure!" said Arnold while Helga dug into her clothes for money. "Now whatever you do!" Helga warned the guy as she handed him some bills, "don't close the door!"

"Close the door? Okay!" the pizza delivery boy said. With a helpful smile, he slammed the greenhouse door shut. Helga and Arnold heard the latch close, trapping the two again.

"Noooo!" Arnold and Helga cried out. "Come back here! We need you to reopen the door!" But the pizza man had gone away.

"Ugh, I'm such an idiot!" Helga lamented as she covered her face in shame. "I should have paid the man outside the door!"

"A lesson learned?" Arnold stated mildly. "At least we have pizza!"

"Yeah, there's that!" Helga said. She popped open the top pizza box to take out a slice.

Two entire pizzas later, Arnold and Helga were conspicuously rounder round the middle. They had gorged themselves on pizza until they were nearly sick. Helga picked her teeth with a little bit of toothpick.

"We should try the phone again," Arnold decided. But as the boy gathered himself to his feet, he spotted someone in his yard. Two people, actually. It was Gerald and Phoebe. Gerald wore his usual sports jersey but he was wearing a tie. Phoebe was wearing a dress only a little bit fancier than her usual school clothes. Phoebe also carried a purse.

"Gerald, I'm so glad to see you!" Arnold gaped at his best friend. "Can you let us out? Helga and I got stuck!"

"Stuck?!" Gerald quoted. He placed his hands at his hips to interrogate his friend. "Whaddya mean ya got stuck?"

But Helga answered Gerald instead of Arnold. "The greenhouse door is latched on the other side, dim-watt! Can you unlock it? What are you doing here anyway?"

"Ah, me and Phoebe were on our way to a date! But we saw you and wanted to check if you were alright!" Gerald explained calmly. But he still hadn't unlatched the greenhouse door. Phoebe approached Helga.

"Wow, you're stuck in there with Arnold?" Phoebe gasped. "How lucky for you!" A startled Helga blinked at her friend's odd comment.

"Gerald, this isn't funny!" Arnold admonished. With a glare that might even turn into a snarl, the boy leant against the greenhouse glass as if the sheet would give beneath his weight to free him. But the broad smile flickered back onto Gerald's face. He and Phoebe shared an unspoken nod and agreement between them.

"Nah!" Gerald said with slightly mischievous glee. "I think we'll leave you in for a bit! Y'all have some things to work out. We'll come back for you after our date!"

"What?! Hey pointy-between-the-ears! Come back here! Don't you dare abandon us! You and your locker are gonna get it!" Helga raged as Gerald and Phoebe snuck away. Arnold gaped.

"I can't believe Gerald just left us in here!" Arnold mourned in disbelief. "Phoebe, too! And she's such a sweet girl!"

"Ah, I'm not angry at Phoebe at all!" said Helga. "She has a good point. But those two nose-in-it-alls are annoying. I'll tell you what, Arnold. When this is all said and done and we're out of here, I'll put a caterpillar in Gerald's juice for you or something."

"Nah, don't do that!" Arnold admonished Helga. "That's juvenile and petty!" But his eyes softened their resolve as he reflected. "Well, maybe just this once…"

"Teehee!" Helga snickered as she imagined playing a trick on Gerald. "But in all seriousness, what are we going to do? Wait until they come back?"

"I don't see how we have a choice!" Arnold said with a soft sigh and shrug of acceptance. But as Arnold and Helga peered through the greenhouse glass, they spotted yet another one of their mutual friends walking down the street through the gap in the board fence of Arnold's yard. It was Harold. Both kids waved their arms at him.

"Huh?!" Harold stared. He came closer to stand at the other side of the structure. "What are you two doing? Why are you waving at me like that?"

"Harold, let us out, please!" Helga pleaded. The burly boy blinked.

"She means open the door, Harold," Arnold explained more simply. The boy reached up beneath his ballcap to scratch his head.

"Oh! You want me to play with you guys? Sorry, but I can't. My favorite show comes on soon!" the boy said examining a large watch strapped to his wrist. "I really like Wrestlemania. Do you like Wrestlemania, Arnold? Helga does!"

"Ugh, can we talk about sports AFTER you open this door?" Arnold said pointing. "I'll give you a Mister Nutty Bar!" Arnold pointed some more.

"A Mister Nutty Bar! Alright!" the boy said, suddenly enthused. He pulled and pushed at the door as if to open it. Both Arnold and Helga grit their teeth in anticipation. But then, a timer went off on Harold's watch. The straining boy stopped what he was doing immediately.

"Ah, rats! I'll come back to play with you some other time you guys! See you around!" Harold said, leaving. Helga slapped her forehead.

"Great!" she huffed. "There goes another chance to spring out of this joint."

"Couldn't be helped," Arnold said. "Seriously, I believe Harold could achieve opening the door if he kept at it, but it MIGHT have taken him a little while."

"Yup," Helga agreed about their less than keen friend.

"Try the phone again?"

"Sure!" Helga handed the phone to Arnold. He listened to it and even spoke to someone. But the he hung up.

"Well, Grandma might have understood the message. But she might not have. She seems to be under the impression that I'm calling from Botswana."

"Well, that's it, Arnoldo! We're doomed! We're stuck here until Gerald and Phoebe have mercy on us! Maybe I shouldn't have shot so many rubber bands at him."

"You really shouldn't do that to anyone, Helga," said Arnold. "Let's look around for something better than gravel to sit on."

"I hear ya loud and clear!" said Helga. With a smile, she found an empty, enormous clay flowerpot and turned it upside down. She and Arnold then made a vast wonderland castle made of tarp and many other bulky things collected from around the greenhouse. For decorations, Helga filled glass jars with flowers. She wove large leaves together to make a small flag. Then the two settled down in their little fort. They had found some nice chair cushions to sit on. In a fake refrigerator, they had hoarded their last three pizzas. But on one of the empty pizza boxes, they played tic-tac-toe.

"A tie. Again!" said Helga. "This game is way too simple!"

"Yeah," Arnold complained. He stood up and pressed his nose to the glass. "It'll be suppertime soon! Grandpa is sure to come look for me myself, then!"

"Yeah? He really does care for you a lot, huh?" asked Helga.

"Yeah," Arnold replied. "He does. Sometimes it's a little weird that I have a grandma and grandpa raising me. But sometimes it's good, too."

"At least they give you your space!" Helga complained. "No do this, do that!"

"Oh, I have a lot of chores, believe me!" said Arnold. "Maybe even more than you. But at least that earns me their respect."

"Hm," Helga muttered. She turned the thought over in her head. "Well, Phoebe and Gerald are gonna hear it when they finally come back!"

"Yeah."

"But at least we are getting along a lot better than last time!" Arnold said trying to look on the bright side. Helga stared at him.

"Yeah, I guess we sorta of are. But it's been a long time since we first started to really talk to one another. I mean, I sorta of kind of knew who you are and you knew me from our sports games. But we didn't talk after school. We didn't even talk during classes. I just sort of spied on you."

"You still spy on me," said Arnold with a small smile. "Your seat's right in back of mine."

"Hello! That's a seating arrangement! It's different from sneaking! Besides, you take the liberty of rummaging through my school desk every time you forget your pencil. I should charge you a quarter for every pencil you lift."

"Sorry," said Arnold looking apologetic. "I'll pay you back when I get my allowance."

"No need, Arnold. I was just being hypothetical. I don't mind." The two children stared outside the glass.

"Yup. Gerald and Phoebe are probably having a great date. Chatting together and eating and sitting close. Lucky them."

"Um, you mean like we kind of are doing now?" said Arnold. Something of the crush between had kindled. It hovered in the air between them. Helga rubbed her arm and averted her gaze.

"Uh, yeah," the girl mumbled. "If you look at it that way this could be like a kind of date. An involuntary one so I'm not sure it counts. But we could make it a voluntary one. After all the setting's not all bad! You did call this place 'our own little Walden once'. I guess I could interpret it as romantic."

"Helga?" Arnold said pressing his palm against hers. Shivering, Helga interlaced her fingers with his so that they were holding hands. "You're really beautiful with your hair down."

"Is that a compliment, football-for-brains?" Helga stuttered out. "Really! After all this time you speak?"

"Helga! The language! No insults?" the boy glared. But he looked down at their hands. Instead of letting her go. He tightened his grip so that Helga flinched at the firmness of his squeeze. Smiling, he shook their joined hands up and down.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry! I'll be good!" Helga apologized. Sweeping a loose lock of her bangs back from her face, the girl stared at Arnold's face. The two smiled at one another. They might have gotten lost in a romantic moment. But then Helga and Arnold heard the sound of a latch scraping. It was Arnold's Grandpa opening the greenhouse door.

"Okay, okay! Break it up kids! Shoo, shoo!" the old man said. Helga walked straight out the greenhouse door to wordlessly exit to the street. Arnold's grandpa whirled on his grandson. But he smiled.

"It's okay, Shortman! I was young, too! Ah, youth! It's so useful for getting to eat all the ice cream you could wish! Nowadays I don't have the half the appetite. What a pity. My anchovy-flavored ice cream expires before I finish the carton. Now scamper off to dinner, Shortman. Your gram is waitin'." Arnold and Grandpa Phil exited the greenhouse while Abner the pig cantered around them. Phil pulled the door to the greenhouse closed. Abner got trapped in the greenhouse.

"Weee! Mwehee!" Abner complained of being forgotten as Arnold and Grandpa Phil walked toward the boarding house.

But the day was far from ended. Helga dropped by a tiny, rarely-known shoe shop on Vine Street. She rooted around their shelves for a pair of penny loafers her size. She set the leather shoes on the counter, rung out, then carried her purchase out of the shop in a little paper bag. Then, wandering, she sat down on a park bench at the park. As Helga rested a moment the sight of Gerald and Phoebe met her eyes.

"Helga? You and Arnold got out?" Gerald asked with mild surprise. Phoebe hung off his arm, still wearing her date clothes. "If you beat me up, can I ask you a favor? Can you do it later? I don't wanna mess my suit!"

"Your suit is a tie, Geraldo! Besides, I have plans to get back at you later! How did your date go, Phoebe?" Helga said, concentrating her attention on her friend. Phoebe and Gerald took Helga's question as proof that it was safe for them to sit down on the other side of the park bench. Gerald curled his hand around Phoebe's back as she hung on his shoulder.

"Just great, Helga! How did things go with you and Arnold?"

"Meh. We ate pizza till it came out our ears. Then Arnold's Grandpa sprung us. I got some shoes!" She pulled the loafers from the paper bag to show them to her best friend.

"They're really great, Helga!" her best friend smiled.

"I know! Aren't they!" Helga beamed. Helga set the shoes down on her lap to admire them. But then, without warning, a drooly toddler wandered out of the sandbox to snatch them. She began gumming the shoes. Then, in another instant, the drooly toddler tucked the shoes under her tiny body and fell promptly asleep.

"Hey!" Helga complained in a state of shock. "I just got mugged by a two year old!"

"Charity, don't fall asleep here!" said an older brother trying to shake the kid awake. Another older sibling shook the baby, too. But it refused to let go of the shoes. It chewed them like a puppy.

"Um, Helga what are you going to do?" Phoebe asked tensely. She expected Helga to blow up with rage. But Helga stared down at the sight before her, lost deep in thought.

"You know, this reminds me of something. I just recalled how I got my first, beloved pair of penny loafers. I was in a store, right? Miriam was shopping. Only I was too young to even know what a five was. But there were all these pairs of shoes lined up in a row! I really got a fascination with them because they had a penny in them. I stared and stared at them forever but I couldn't buy them since I had no money. But then the lady who owned the shop came over to me and asked what I was looking at. I told her the shoes. She told me they were called Penny's loafers. I asked her if that meant her name was Penny since they were her shoes. She laughed and laughed at me then. Then I told the lady I wanted the shoes but I didn't have any money. I stared at the shoes some more and she came back with a pair of little-worn shoes. She gave them to me and said I could have them just like that- I didn't have to pay for them or nothing. And I asked her, 'Don't have to pay for them? Because this is a shop and that's what shops do. They sell things.' And she said to me, "these shoes used to belong to me when I was young. You can have them for free.' And I said, 'Why? Why would you give things away for free?" It didn't make sense to me. So she thought and then said to me something really weird. She said, 'How about this? The price of these shoes is that one day, you do one good deed for someone else when you have the chance to.' It's odd, really. It's strange but that's why they were always my favorite pair of shoes. They were one of the few times in my life I saw proof that someone could do something for another person just to be..well nice. It felt good to me. And well, now I figure it's my turn to pay that bill I owe. Let's not wake the little brat… I mean cherubim. It's not like I really need new shoes anyway. Let's get out of here!" Helga said. Straightening her back so that she stood as tall as possible, Helga strode away from the park. Phoebe and Gerald staggered after her. As they caught up to Helga at the exit to the park, they saw Helga slap the side of her head in frustration.

"Ah! I forgot the houseplant! Argh, maybe I'll go back for it another day! It's not that important! Miriam's probably forgotten all about it."

"Hm?" Phoebe pondered. "Helga, I just wanted to tell you I think it's really great what you just did! It was.. well, really nice."

"Oh, Phoebe, are you gonna jump aboard the morality train, too? Sheesh! Yes, yes, I'm a do-gooder-for the moment. In the meantime, I've lost a pair of shoes!"

"Well, the ancient Chinese adage does say that the scent of roses clings to those who give them," Phoebe suggested in all seriousness. "Maybe you gained something today, Helga, that is more valuable than a pair of shoes?"

"Like what?" Helga snuffed.

"Like maybe Arnold is rubbing off on you a tiny bit," Phoebe explained more directly.

"What?! That football-head doesn't have anything to do with this!" Helga raged defensively. But Phoebe was accustomed to Helga's rants. She did not blink.

"Maybe. Or maybe you've been doing a little bit of gardening of the soul, Helga," Phoebe bravely commented.

"Oooh, that's deep!" Gerald said. He admired Phoebe's remark with a smile.

"Bah! This mushiness is making me uncomfortable! I'm outta here! See ya tomorrow at school, Phoebes!" With a wave, Helga increased her walking speed to leave the shorter Phoebe in the dust.

"Hm. An interesting day if I do say so myself," remarked Gerald as Helga left them. "Helga being generous? It's a rare, rare thing!"

"Helga can be nice sometimes!" her best friend defended with fierce loyalty.

"Well, actually, I feel really good about all this," said Gerald. "I mean, after seeing that I feel some hope for Arnold! Now all he's gotta do is water her and eventually, Helga will become halfway tolerable!"

"Gerald!" Phoebe admonished Gerald. She playfully punished her amore by whapping him with the strength of a butterfly. Ignorant of this, Helga continued on her way down the Vine Street to take the shortcut to her house. The end.