Chapter 1: It's Fixed

What is love? An intense feeling of deep affection. Perhaps it should not be seen as a feeling, but rather an enacted emotion. More importantly, how do you know when it's occurring...

It was the beginning of their seventh grade year. The sun was shining, birds were chirping, and everyone was anxious to leave class.

Classroom

"So, you get your invitation to Rhonda's dinner party?" Gerald turned to ask his best friend.

"Yeah. It's too bad it's not a costume party." Arnold replied, gathering his needed books from his desk.

"Perhaps you should get your girlfriend's approval on that." Gerald laughed, remembering Helga's choice to dress as Arnold's former crush, Lila.

After blushing at the remark, Arnold turned in his chair to ask "Ready to go Helga?"

Rolling her eyes at the rhetorical question, she scoffed "What's it look like football head?"

Taking her hand in his, the two began walking outside the classroom as Arnold turned to his other friends and said "See you later guys."

Hallway

While Gerald waited for his girlfriend to grab what she needed from her locker, he listened to her say "I couldn't help but notice Rhonda made another origami marriage predictor."

Rolling his eyes at the memory of her last attempt to make one, Gerald shook his head and said "Man I had to listen to her do Arnold 110 times with that thing!"

"To his surprise, the results turned out to be quite accurate." Phoebe began before being interrupted by her boyfriend.

"They're not married yet you know."

After giggling at his joke, they began exiting the school, still trying to think of what they could wear for the dinner party.

Outside the school

"You should wear your pink dress you wore at Chez Paris for Rhonda's party. Unless you do have a costume you plan on wearing." Arnold winked at his girlfriend, walking down the steps of P.S.118.

"Well I'm not going as Ms. Perfect again, that's for sure." she scoffed.

"I don't know. I thought you looked pretty cute." he smiled, rubbing her hand with his thumb.

Before she could say anything, the two of them heard…

"Oh there you two are!"

Arnold and Helga turned their heads to see Rhonda sitting on the steps with her marriage predictor and the rest of their classmates.

"What's going on?" he wondered, seeing everyone gathered there together.

"Didn't ya read your invitation Arnold?" Stinky asked.

Helga stood with her arms crossed beside her boyfriend, as she watched him set down his bag to find his invitation.

After finding it, Arnold opened it to read….

Partner Party

I have at last fixed my origami marriage predictor. What better way to celebrate than by throwing a dinner party? We'll have marriage practice tomorrow at my place. You will all arrive with the people my marriage predictor has matched you up with Sunday for the actual party. See you there!

While Helga rolled her eyes, after having leaned over Arnold's shoulder to read Rhonda's demanding instructions, Arnold gulped at the thought of taking anyone other than his girlfriend. The last time he played this game, the thought of marrying Helga sent unpleasant chills throughout his body. Now the idea of being with anyone other than her made his blood run cold.

"Uhh...no thanks Rhonda. I think I'll just bring Helga. See you later." he waved, taking Helga's hand in his.

Before he could leave, Arnold heard his best friend approaching the anxious to play group.

"What's going on buddy?" Gerald asked, after being thrown off by everyone waiting together as well.

Taking her hand back to place on her waist, Helga scoffed "Princess here seems to think she can use her lamebrain dinner party as some sort of multiple wedding reception."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gerald asked, looking over at the evil grin on Rhonda's face.

"It means I can't think of a more perfect way to celebrate the corrections I've made than by putting it's results to the test. So, Eugene you're up first!" Rhonda exclaimed, looking in his direction.

Eugene hadn't been too thrilled with the results of the test the last time it was taken. Perhaps it wasn't the person so much as it was the pressure of already having such a big decision in his life made at such an early point for him.

"Pick your favorite color, number and day of the month you were born!" Rhonda insisted, not caring how nervous he was.

"Uhh...yellow, 9, and the 13th" As the class watched Eugene anxiously await his results from Rhonda, Helga couldn't help but notice Arnold had taken her hand back. Not only that, he was nervously rubbing it.

"What's with you?" she asked, cocking her brow at him.

"I just hate that thing. That's all." he said, not being able to think of a better explanation.

Rolling her eyes at his nervousness, Helga scoffed "Pttss...Arnold please. We don't have to do what she says. You said yourself last time you played this. It's only a dumb game."

"How do you know what I said?" he asked, knowing she wasn't with him and Gerald when he took the test.

"Uhhh…." Before Helga could respond, they heard Rhonda shout "Sheena! You're going to marry Sheena!"

Sheena clapped with excitement before anxiously running over to grab her partner's hand.

Thinking back to the previous match that had been made between the two of them, Rhonda shook her head and said "I'm so sorry you two! This mean you could have spent these past few years as an actual couple, had we only known!"

"Uh yeah…" Eugene said nervously, glancing up at his said to be wife.

"Alright, who's next? How about you Stinky?" Rhonda suggested, seeing her country classmate walk towards her with curiosity.

"Well, okie dokie then."

"Pick your favorite color, number and day of the month you were born!"

"I reckon my favorite color is orange, on account of it's the same color as my as my huge pumpkin. Then I like the number 7, 'cause it's supposed to be lucky. I was born on the 11th." Stinky finished, after giving his unneeded reasons.

The rest of the class watched Rhonda work the information on her marriage predictor as Gerald stood beside his best friend and said "Mm, mm, mmm! By the time this game is over, I have a feeling the dress attire won't be the class' biggest concern."

Taking her friends' concern into consideration, Phoebe turned to say "As Rhonda said, I believe the purpose of pairing the class is merely to celebrate the idea of having fixed her game. It in no way whatsoever justifies the actual results of our future and the feelings we possess pertaining to it."

After calculating his answers, Rhonda announced "Stinky, you are going to marry Lila!"

"Gosh! Ms. Lila?" Stinky said surprisingly, while turning to see her with a delightful smile on her face.

"It sounds just oh too perfect!"

"That makes two plausible couples. One more and I'll give that romance paper mache marriage counselor of hers some credit." Helga scoffed, hearing her boyfriend let out a small gulp.

Looking for her next victim, Rhonda eagerly grinned "Harold, it's your turn!"

"Aww why do I have to do that stupid thing! I don't want to be married!" Harold whined.

"You're doing it Harold and you're showing up at the party with whoever you're paired up with!" Rhonda demanded.

"Mm, mm, mmm. Talk about arranged marriages." Gerald said, seeing Harold try to think of the needed information for the game.

"Uhh...I guess I like green. Then my favorite number is two and I was born on the 18th." Harold explained, waiting to leave.

"Who do you suppose you'll be paired up with Helga?" Phoebe couldn't help but ask her best friend.

Helga could feel Arnold's grip on her hand tightening as she replied "Pttss...the heck if I know. I don't have to do what it says."

Although the idea of his girlfriend having no interest in the game put his mind at ease a bit, Arnold couldn't help but feel things would still end badly if they didn't show up at the party.

"Okay Harold. You're going to marry Nadine!" Rhonda said excitedly, having made it nearly half way through her list.

"Fine. Can I go now? You guys are bugging me." Harold asked, not caring about Nadine's opinion.

Rhonda didn't seem to care either, as long as she had a partner for everyone. Looking over at the three remaining boys (Sid, Gerald and Arnold), Rhonda asked "So, who wants to go next?"

"Be my guest Sid." Gerald said, already having a girlfriend.

"Okay I guess. Can I pick green even though Harold chose it?" Sid asked nervously.

"Of course. The results wouldn't be correct if your opinions weren't honest." Rhonda explained, while Helga stood rolling her eyes, thinking to herself…

Criminy! Who does she think she is? Eros!

"Then I like the number eight and was born on the 12th."

Sid nervously watched Rhonda tally up his score, looking at the remaining girls; the bully, the princess, and the class nerd.

"I have your results!" Rhonda said, while everyone remaining at this point couldn't help but grow a bit eager to know. "You're going to marry Phoebe."

Sid let out a sigh of relief, knowing he wouldn't be paired up with Helga or Rhonda. Although Helga wouldn't have liked the idea, no one was more relieved than Arnold. After all, she didn't feel the need to let anyone tell her what to do.

The kids then looked over to see Phoebe's reaction. Rather than saying anything, she turned to see the look of disappointment on her boyfriend's face.

"Guess I'll see you guys later." Sid said, knowing it could have been worse.

After watching their classmate leave, Phoebe said "Perhaps it won't be so bad Gerald. This could be used as an opportunity to test the strength of our feelings for one another."

Although she was simply trying to make her boyfriend feel better, they both knew it was pointless to look at it that way. Not only had they been together as long as Helga, but had both willingly acted on their feelings for one another before actually becoming a couple.

"Yeah, I guess so."

After watching Sid leave and giving Gerald a moment to sulk over his girlfriend's results, Rhonda proudly took notice of the fact that only two guys remained. "Arnold, Gerald, who's next?"

Gerald looked to see his best friend's hand hadn't left Helga's since the game began. He then figured, Phoebe had been taken, why would it matter if he got paired up with Rhonda?

"Alright, let's get this over with." Gerald sighed.

Rhonda eagerly held out her marriage predictor, ready to ask her three questions. "Pick your favorite color, number, and day you were born."

"Red, thirty-three, and the 3rd."

Gerald had been listening to what Helga was saying I don't have to do what that thing says Therefore, he simply prepared himself to be paired up with Rhonda.

"Gerald, you are going to marry Helga Pataki!"

Turning to look at his best friend's girlfriend, he listened to her say "Pttss...yeah, I don't think so."

Although Helga was considered the class bully, Rhonda considered herself to have just as big an impact on people when it came to these types of things. She was quite manipulative. Therefore, she knew she could expect everyone to not only show up, but with who they were paired up with.

"Oh I believe so Helga. And Arnold, there's no need to do you. It's obvious you were meant to be with me." Rhonda said, walking away from her friends.