"Here's to you" Arnold said, raising his glass of soda to the sky. "It's been a long year, and you've certainly made me feel it. Between the anger, the public humiliation and the long hot nights we've had, you've certainly left a mark on me" As he stopped for a second, realizing that people around him were confused at his random speech, he lowered his glass, took a sip and continued his thought. 'But despite all that, I've stuck with you and found that after all this time I knew we would last. We were always meant to. You give me what I need, even if sometimes I don't think I needed it…So once again. Here's to you, Fruit Smart'. Arnold was a pretty average 16 year old, he went to school, he had a job and he would spend a vast amount of him time with friends. He lived with grandparents in the Sunset arms complex, which his grandparents ran, while his parents spent most of their year in the Jungles of San Lorenzo. His two most notable traits, apart from his kind heart were his height of only 5'6 and his inclination to wear hats, especially the one his parents bought him as a child.

His eyes flashed to the only sign of the store he could see. Its large print almost sparkled beneath the sun's harsh rays. Arnold knew that he wouldn't get to enjoy his break for much longer, though his beaten body craved sometime in the shade. He should've had 15 minutes to sit, but the customers zooming by kept him from relaxing and instead made him worry that it was going to be a busy day. Today thankfully though, he wouldn't be forced to push carts under the blazing summer sky. Instead he was to open and pile all the sugar he could at the front end of the store, making it look nice and neat for customers to come and grab. The only problem was like a mom who just finished cleaning the dishes; it was only a matter of time before his nice pyramid would be devastated by the force of many customers.

It was about 10 minutes into his break when he finally drank the last bit of his soda and headed back inside, succumbing to his own fear at the mess that lay inside. He threw his bottle into the nearest trash can, shook his long blond hair and slowly crept around the corner peaking at the remains of the pyramid. He took a deep breath, adjusted his shirt and headed towards the mess only to notice one of his coworkers, Leo instead fixing up the mess with a cart full of sugar bags.

"What do we have here?" Arnold questioned, sounding half pleased by the sight.

"Don't get too happy kiddo." Leo scoffed. "I'm just here to clean this place up while you enjoy the next ten minutes of your break"

Arnold checked his watch, confirming that he had started his break ten minutes ago. "But I only have five minutes left?"

Leo turned Arnold with an evil grin "Oh really'? I'm SURE you started it five minutes ago, now go and enjoy the rest of your break bucko. And remember you owe me one" Arnold just stood there, with a massive smirk on his face listening as his zany friend once again proved how helpful he could be on a day like this.

"One day you'll forget your wallet…and when you do…Ohhhhh Boy" he threatened "be prepared to be spoiled with free food Leo. Be warned my friend. Be warned. mwahaha" Arnold taunted, as if some sort of villain of a Saturday morning cartoon.

Leo just shook his head and motioned for Arnold to go away. Arnold, headed across the store, going for the one place he knew he could enjoy even a single fleeting moment of cool air and peace; the freezer. He rushed through the store, dashing through the empty isles to avoid customers who would deny him his break. He did enjoy helping people out, but luck was against him this week and he didn't want to spend the next ten minutes translating for those who barely spoke English or searching or anything that couldn't simply be answered with a "check over here" or something to that effect. After a quick rush, Arnold found himself in the back room and was able to embrace the powerful gust that came from the cooler. He simply stood with arms out as his whole body was rejuvenated.

"Thank goodness" he said aloud.

"Enjoying the north pole I see Arnold" a familiar voice joked.

"You have no idea Sid." He replied to his black haired, long nosed friend. He still remained focused on the cool air, not needing to open his eyes to confirm who it was behind him.

"You know, with your Eugene luck when this thing explodes you'll get a spear like pole right through your chest." Sid noted, taking a step away from Arnold as if he was worried it would happen then and there.

Arnold shook his head and let his arms fall to his sides. "Dude. It's NOT going to break"

"You aren't back here man" Sid warned. "Listening to it raddle and scream out in pain. It's dying man. And when it blows, this whole place goes with it"

"You're overreacting Sid, it's just some noises. Yes this thing is old but Marko isn't so crazy as to deny these thing necessary repairs and updates…usually"

Sid had, on occasion come up with weird ideas about this place. Arnold like most of the people at the store put up with it, not only because sometimes it was funny how weird Sid was thinking but also because Arnold wouldn't have gotten hired if it weren't for Sid's influence on the managers. It was nice to have a buddy like Sid, though they didn't always hang out they still remained friends over the years. Sid had some trouble making new friends in high school, as some of his conspiracies had made him appear more infamous at Hillwood High.

Another person appeared, though Arnold still had his eyes shut and only heard the coming footsteps. "Okay that's enough man" The person moved in front of Arnold and slammed the massive door to the freezer. "I'm going to get in trouble if this thing is open for no reason"

"Oh come on Donald Duck, don't deny me the breeze" Arnold whined over dramatically. Although he didn't appear like the animated duck, Donald was in fact his name and because of how he slurred, Donald was forced to bare the annoying nickname. Like Sid and Arnold, he too was wearing the store's uniform, his hair was short like Sid's but blond like Arnold's.

"Oh poor darling" Donald said sarcastically. "I don't want to get yelled at for the door being open, plus I got to deal with idiot customers outside while you're enjoying your break. Like right now I've got little miss drunk housewife out there trying to figure out the difference between Vanilla and French Vanilla, now I'd like to enjoy my break…any chance you can handle it?"

Arnold blinked a few times, pondering the issue this lady had Arnold blinked a few times, pondering the issue this lady had, realizing this would give him some more time in the cooler area of the store while still attending the store as a clerk. "Absolutely!" Arnold said, saluting his friends as he triumphantly. It wasn't much but he counted this as a victory. "See you characters later!" Arnold shouted as he rushed through the doors, looking for a certain customer. After a quick peek around the corners of the frozen section, he finally saw her at the end. He rushed up, dodging a small kid and finally making it towards the middle aged blond woman with glasses. "I knew it" Arnold said under his breath. "Hello Mrs. Pataki! Can I help you with anything?"

"Hmm? Oh Arnie? Arnie! how are you!" she replied, almost unsure if it was actually him. Mrs. Pataki, unlike her Husband Bob Pataki had kept herself in good shape over the past few years. Despite her age, she looked as if she was still a woman in her forties. While her looks were still there, her mind was as usual not around.

"Oh, I'm doing fine thanks." He shook his head a few times, feeling a little awkward at the fact she didn't quite remember him. His mind sort of trailed off though, he did enjoy seeing her there and wanted to prove he was a good worker but he was hoping she wasn't alone. "My co-worker said you needed some help?"

"Oh No…No. I mean, Well…Hmm" she mumbled, still sounding quiet confused.

"Whatever you need I can do for you" Arnold replied, trying to get some eye contact with her as she looked off into the freezer.

"Oh it's fine dear, I just can't seem to remember" she said weighing the ice cream in her hands as she spoke "which one I like more…that and my little helper seems to have disappeared on me."

Arnold couldn't help but wonder what to think about that last part. She was probably here, but he couldn't confirm it just yet, he knew he'd have to lay out a trap for her to make sure. All he needed to do was make an assumption and he could confirm it. "Well I'm sorry but I can't tell you what you like, but I prefer French Vanilla. Did Mr. Pataki disappear on you or something? I can find him if you want" Arnold said, massaging his neck in nervousness.

"No he's at a convention this weekend, it's actually Helga who came with me today, but she dashed off without telling me where she was going" Miriam said, her eyes still focused on the two flavours.

"Don't worry Mrs. Pataki, I'll find her." Arnold said, bouncing once again on his feet as he zoomed away.

"Oh! Okay…Uh. Good to see you again Arnie!" Miriam shouted as Arnold simply waved.

The crowds were getting harsh at the store, it seemed like this weekend's sales were going to leave the store bare before the night was done, but Arnold couldn't care about that right now. He had a few short minutes left and he had someone to go see. It was a mix of fear and excitement, as by herself she could be almost fun to talk to, but with a group this same girl Arnold was looking for could be the devil incarnate. He passed through the massive complex, almost 20 isles and all with a calming sky blue painted over each wall and aisle frame. As he passing the soda aisle, Arnold eventually noticed a familiar figure rummaging through a skid of soda, looking for something. Arnold caught his breath, walked over slowly and tried to figure out what to say to the bent over female in front of him.

"Do you intend to stare all day, or are you going to help me out?!" The annoyed girl questioned, no longer focused on the pop but still turned away from Arnold's face. As Arnold stuttered, trying to form some sort of word she finally stood herself up and peered over her shoulder at the awkward worker. She was a fairly tall girl, wearing a pink T-shirt and ripped baggy jeans. She was extremely slender, and had pale white skin that almost glowed when next to her radiant blond hair. Her most notable figure was a dark haired unibrow that formed across her head which when squeezed down on made her brow look like a menacing letter v. As she studied him, she began snorting and giggling, eventually covering her mouth with her hand to pretend she was hiding her laughter knowing it would further annoy him. "Oh my god! Football head! For a second I actually thought you were some sort of professional worker" She joked.

"I AM a store employee Helga. And I DID intend to help you, I was just catching my breath is all" Arnold replied.

"you sure about that squirt? You look more like a kid in a costume then anything. That thing barely even fits you" she remarked, pointing out the oversized shirt, which fell well below his waist and hung from his arms.

"It's just a spare, I'd rather look tiny in this thing then bad in a dirty shirt" Arnold argued.

"Whatever Kiddo. Do you mind telling me why you and your store decided to hide my favourite kind of Yahoo soda under the crappy diet? I don't exactly see a bunch of old people craving the diet stuff, so you're denying me and the good tasted folks of this neighborhood our cherry flavoured drinks" Helga remarked, poking her finger out at him.

He adjusted his hat and took a deep breath. "I didn't do it on purpose Helga, I promise I'll fix it when I can. We just brought this skid out a little while ago, it hasn't been changed yet to make it's flavours side by side, it was just shipped to us with one flavour on top and the other on the bottom." She crossed her arms, and let out a fake yawn. "Confusing? Yes. But that's how it is." He replied.

She raised her brow at him. "So you're lazy"

"No, I'm on break."

"Not much of a break if you're here with me don't you think?"

Arnold put his hands on his hips, she wasn't making it easy for him…but then again she never did. "I didn't say that. Is it wrong for me to see a friendly face and want to chat on my break?"

"No, but it's wrong for you to think of me as a friendly face dork." She said, pushing her finger into his chest. "Listen, you see tall hair boy; you can talk to him. You see little miss perfect; you can talk to her. But If I'm stuck in this damn store, with my damn mom who forced me to come by and shop with her, I'd rather spend my time away from morons like you, who thank god I don't have to see this summer"

Arnold was floored. He raised his hands defensively, stood back and admitted defeat with a sigh. "I'm sorry to be such a bother. I'll leave you be then" Arnold said apologetically.

"Yeah Honey" A female voice whispered in Arnold's ear. "She'd rather have a man to hang out with then a flat chested girl like you." Her hands crept up on Arnold's chest, feeling his breasts and squeezing tight. Arnold let out a small "Oww" and threw the hands off of him.

"Get off me!" he yelled as he turned to face his opponent. While Helga made it clear that she didn't want to see Arnold, it was clear to Arnold that he didn't want to see this person during his summer either. It was Terra, a menace to the high school and something of a partner in crime to Helga. She was wearing her hair a new way this week, with a red streak down her jet black hair on one side, while on the other her hair was shaved mostly away, with only tiny hairs covering the skin. She was wearing three piercings in the ear he could see. Her eyes were covered with makeup and mascara and as usual her lips were painted a dark shade of red. "Ever heard of boundaries Terra?" he snarled.

"Ever heard of push up bras Arnolda?" Terra mocked. After a brief staring contest, Terra turned to see her friend Helga and smiled. "Hey hot stuff, you look good enough to eat in those pants" She said.

"Thanks Terra, but I'm good enough without being eaten thank you." Helga replied, still staring down at Arnold. She continued to give him an aggressive look as Terra came up and snuggled into Helga's shoulder. In that brief second Helga became distracted and looked down to her friend, who was making her quiet uncomfortable, but that was something Terra was known for even with her friends. Helga tapped Terra's back a few times, giving what she'd hope was a signal for her friend to let go.

"Oh I intend to eat you yet darling, if you know what I mean….Let's just get away from this freak and talk about tonight shall we?" Arnold could hear Terra say. She grabbed Helga's hand and forcibly removed her from the aisle, Helga turned for a second to meet Arnold's eyes and almost looked sad as she was distanced from him. Almost.

His attempts at enjoying his break were destroyed in a single moment, and Arnold was left wondering when luck would get back on his side. He took out one of the coins he collected from his pocket, a benefit he had from working on buggies; and flipped in the air. He silently called heads as it spun in the air, but as luck would have it, he missed grabbing it and it rolled away. All Arnold could do was sigh and walk away, hoping that the rest of his shift would be better as the crowds started to die out.