"I can't believe you talked me into this," Helga said, glaring at her outfit.

"It will look good on your college applications," Phoebe told her.

"Why? I'm not going into medicine," she said. "And who the hell hires candy strippers these days?"

"Volunteers, Helga," Phoebe said. "We're not called candy strippers anymore."

"I suppose it does sound a bit too sexy for the hospital, doesn't it?" Helga asked grinning.

"Helga!" Phoebe said, laughing a little bit. "Look, I know it's not fun-"

"You got that right."

"- but it will look good on your applications. Hospital volunteer."

"Oh yeah, I can imagine that conversation now," Helga said. "Interviewer, so what did you do during your time as a volunteer at the hospital? Me, Oh, you know, worked in the cafeteria and handed food to people. Oh, once I went out and handed someone a menu!"

"Helga," Phoebe said, exasperation creeping in.

"That's all we'll be doing Pheeb's," Helga told her. "Or something just as boring. I could have become a waitress and have more to put on my application of what I learned and gained. And, I'd be getting paid for it!"

"Volunteer work always looks good on applications," Phoebe insisted.

"Yeah, well a job, looks good on my bank account," Helga countered.

"If you don't want to do this, Helga, just go home," Phoebe snapped.

"Too late, Bob would skin me alive if I backed out now," Helga told her best friend. "He thinks it will be good for me. Said he did plenty of volunteer work in his teens, blah, blah, blah. I told him, helping Noah get the animals on the ark doesn't count . . ."

Phoebe phased Helga's voice out and thought about her first afternoon ahead of her in the hospital. She was thinking of going into medicine. She looked over at Helga who was yapping away, hands flying all over the place. Phoebe smiled. Her friend was a very animated person, though Phoebe didn't see her friend ever getting a job that would make her rich, unless she made it in Hollywood or something.
Phoebe was shorter than her best friend. Helga was already 5'9 at seventeen, and a size 4 at least. Phoebe didn't know how she did it, with all the junk she ate. Helga was often accused of being anorexic. Phoebe knew it was just because her friend had a high metabolism. She had at one point been kicked off the girls softball team after rumors of her being so went around school. It took an actual physical and psychological exam from a doctor to inform everyone that no, she wasn't anorexic, she was just naturally that way. She got back on the team. And girls, especially Rhonda Wellington Lloyd, continued to hate her for it. And throw out the anorexia rumor.

Phoebe on the other hand . . . she was only 5'5 and stocky. She kept her thick black hair short, and had tried contacts, but they had irritated her eyes too much, no matter what she did, so she was stuck with glasses. She wasn't athletic, but she was smart. But smart didn't get the boys. Her and Gerald tried in middle school, but it fizzled out by high school and he moved on to date someone else, though she had heard the they had broken up. She kind of hoped that they would one day rekindle what they could have had . . . but it didn't look too likely at the moment.

She looked over at her best friend. If it weren't for Helga's home life, she'd be jealous of Helga. Helga, when she committed herself, gave Phoebe a good run for her money in the smarts department. Phoebe kind of resented her for it, but never acted so. Helga was really the only friend she had. Not that she didn't love Helga. She did! But it really didn't seem fair for Helga to be model perfect and smart.
She sighed. She had really only talked Helga into doing this, because Helga could drive and she didn't want to do this alone.

"Here we are," she heard Helga say. Looking up she saw they were indeed at a nurses station.
"Can I help you?" the nurse at the desk asked.

"Volunteers," Helga said.

"We're here to volunteer," Phoebe said, glaring at Helga for her shortness with the woman.

"Okay, I'll go get Mrs. Smack, she's the head nurse on at the moment," she said, picking up a phone.

Phoebe looked at Helga who was looking at her nails, looking bored. She was starting to feel a bit annoyed with her. Why had she asked Helga of all people? 'Because you don't have any other friends,' a nasty little voice whispered in her head. Phoebe bit her lip, and looked at the floor for a moment. When she looked up she saw Helga staring at her hard. She smiled at her friend. Helga made a face and looked away. Phoebe often felt creeped out when Helga stared at her. It always felt as though she could also hear the little voice in Phoebe's head. Because it was always when these thoughts were happening that she would find Helga giving her that look.

"Ok, she's coming out now to greet you girls and show you what your going to do."

…

"What did I tell ya, Pheebs?" Helga said, after handing a person a sandwich. "There's other places we could have volunteered you know."

"Well why don't you go volunteer there, then?" Phoebe snapped.

"Hey, just because your dreams and aspirations of what being a volunteer in a hospital would be like didn't come true, don't take it out on me," Helga said coolie.

Phoebe pouted until she realised what she was doing and stopped.

"Your right, I'm sorry," she said, sighing.

"Want a ride to the party tonight?" Helga asked, eyeing up one of the scrubs. Phoebe followed her friends gaze and smirked. For someone supposedly in love with one boy, she seemed to have no problem eyeing up, and even dating, others. She was happy for her friend about that, but also a little jealous. 'Stop it, Phoebe!' she mentally berated herself. 'She's your best friend, your not suppose to be jealous of her!'

"No, it's okay, I was thinking of passing," she answered. She didn't feel like spending the whole night feeling like she was going to vomit due to being in the same room with Gerald and his new squeeze.

"Are you sure?" Helga asked, looking a bit worried. Phoebe nodded. "Well, the offer is there if you change your mind."

"I know," she said, smiling at the person approaching the counter.

…

Phoebe felt surprisingly tired at the end of her volunteer shift.

"You girls did well today," the head nurse told them. "I know it's not very exciting, but it does help a lot."

"No worries," Helga said smiling. Phoebe nodded.

"How are you on phones, Helga?" she asked.

"Pretty good, why?"

"Tomorrow when you come in, would you mind being on the desk?" Mrs, Smack asked. "Nothing to complicated, just taking phone calls. Charlotte went home this afternoon sick. So we'll be short someone at the desk. It gets a bit chaotic on Saturdays."

"Sure," Helga said, smiling.

Phoebe felt bile rise in her throat.

"As long as your not hung over from the party tonight," she blurted out. Helga looked at her, hurt crossing her features quickly, before giving way to nonchalance. Then she shrugged.

"So I just don't go tonight," she said breezily. "Plenty more parties in the future."

"I suppose so," she said, before turning on her heel and stalking off.

She could hear the nurse and Helga talking a moment, before hearing Helga running to catch up with her.

"What was that back there?" Helga asked, anger lacing her voice.

"Nothing," Phoebe snapped. "I'm going to catch a cab home."

"Phoebe what-"

"Leave me alone," Phoebe said, tears springing to her eyes.

"Fine, whatever," Helga said, walking ahead of her. Phoebe watched her stomp away, feeling awful. What was wrong with her lately? When she finally got outside she saw Helga talking to the cute scrub she had been eyeing up earlier. From the looks of it they were trading numbers. She was laughing at something he said, and then he laughed at what she said. Helga glanced over quickly, then looked away.

Phoebe didn't blame her.

She'd become a horrible green-eyed monster of late.

…

After coming home, having a shower and eating dinner, Phoebe felt better, but also bad about how she'd treated Helga. She tried calling her a few times, but she didn't answer her phone til after eight, and when she did she sounded happy and breathless.
"Yeeeeeeeeeeees?" she said, before laughing.
"Helga, it's me," Phoebe said quietly. She heard Helga shushing someone in the background, and heard laughing she could have sworn was Arnold's.
"I know babe, what's up?" she asked.
"I just wanted to say sorry for today," she said.
"Shh, it's Phoebe, stop it," she heard Helga trying to whisper to the person she was with. "Hey, it's cool."

"Are you with Arnold?" Phoebe asked. She could hear talking in the background.

"What? Why would you ask that?" Helga asked, sounding a little defensive.

"I thought I heard . . . never mind" Phoebe said.

"Look, Pheeb's, apology accepted okay?" Helga said.

"Helga-"

Before Phoebe could say another word, Helga hung up. Phoebe stared at the phone in her hands.
She sighed and dropped her phone on the floor, feeling sad. Why was Helga suddenly keeping secrets from her?