18 Testing

“Where could she be?” Heather asked ten minutes after school had ended. She was a little worried because her mother had always arrived early enough to be there when she came out of school.

“Maybe something happened and she's running late.” Kelly said.

Heather caught her breath and immediately thought something bad had happened to Arnold. “Oh, no.”

“I didn't mean anything bad!” Kelly said and gave Heather a quick hug to reassure her friend.

Just then, the familiar car Heather's mother drove came into the parking lot and both girls visibly relaxed. It came to a stop right in front of them and the passenger window rolled down.

“I took a shower before coming here and forgot to cover my hair first.” Claire said, and both girls nodded understanding and climbed into the back seat. They had both made that mistake a few times and it always added another ten minutes or more to their showers. Claire put up the window and drove out of the parking lot.

“I was worried something might have happened to make you late.” Heather said.

Clare was very glad that her daughter never looked into the rear view mirror to see her face, because it flushed red as she blushed. Arnold saw me completely naked. She thought, then her mind went right to wondering if he had seen Heather naked, too. She knew Heather had changed while upstairs with him yesterday; but, did she do it in front of him or did she go into the bathroom?

They drove all the way back to Heather's place and pulled into the driveway. Heather saw the manicured lawn and the trimmed hedge on one side that hadn't been flat in a long time. The three of them exited the car and Claire took her daughter's hand as Kelly came around the car to stand by them.

“Don't mention the flowerbeds.” Claire warned them. “I told Arnold not to think about them and that he didn't have to look at them.”

Heather squinted her eyes slightly. “So, something did happen.”

“I believe I overwhelmed him with too many options.” Claire said, her voice sad. “If I had to describe it, I think he started to have a panic attack.”

“MOM!” Heather yelled. She had had her own experiences with things like that, as had several of her classmates, Kelly included.

“SHH!” Claire hushed her. “I caught it before it happened and he's fine. He should be in the kitchen right now waiting for us.”

“Mom... god.” Heather shook her head. “He's only been here a day and you...” She let out a sigh. “Are you sure he's okay?”

“It happened right after lunch and he worked for several hours after that, so he's okay.” Claire said. “I wanted to warn you about the flowerbeds, just in case if you mentioned them and it reminded him.”

“All right.” Heather said. “I won't mention it.”

“I'll keep my mouth shut upon pain of death!” Kelly promised dramatically.

Heather laughed and Claire smiled.

“I don't think things are quite drastic enough to require a death sentence, Kelly.” Claire said. “Just be careful about what you say.”

Kelly nodded and she followed her friend's mother and her friend into the house.

“We're back!” Claire said loudly, then they all took off their shoes and walked through the house to the kitchen. Arnold sat on the same stool he had sat on during lunch.

“Hi, Arnold!” Heather said a little more boisterously than she normally would have and walked over to him to give him a three second kiss and a hug. She held the hug for a bit and let him go. “I saw the lawn and the hedge. It looks great!” She said and smiled. “I haven't been able to see over the hedge since last year.”

“It's not done.” Arnold said. “We had to stop when your mom had to go and get you.”

“That's good, because now we can do homework.” Heather said. “They gave us a lot today.”

“I'll get my backpack.” Arnold said and went to the front door and grabbed it, then went back to the kitchen.

“Go ahead and use the table down here.” Claire said and pointed to the dining room. “With the three of you here, you're going to need the extra room.”

Heather knew her mother wanted to keep an eye on Arnold after what happened, so she nodded her understanding and led Arnold and Kelly to the dining room. They unpacked their homework to start working on it and even though the table was a large one, once the three of them had their things out, it covered nearly half of the table.

“I think this is ridiculous.” Kelly said as she sat down and looked at the spread of books in front of her. “Every teacher we had today gave us something to do!”

Heather laughed as she sat down. “I think they wanted to make up for not giving us homework yesterday.” She said, not realizing that she just exposed her deceit from the day before.

Claire didn't comment on it and only smiled as she started preparing supper. “Are chicken breasts and rice okay?”

“Sure, mom.” Heather said, then she leaned in close to Arnold. “I talked to the biology teacher and he said that he would be by your place tonight to give you the test.”

Arnold only nodded and started to read the assigned Math questions.

That didn't even get a reaction out of him and its his favorite subject. Heather thought in concern. He should have at least smiled or something.

Heather waited a moment and looked to see if her mom was busy, then she leaned close to Arnold and kissed his cheek. When he turned his head to ask her what the kiss was for, she gave him a proper one on the lips. It lasted for several moments, about twice as long as their normal hello and goodbye kisses.

“Everything is going to be okay.” Heather whispered to him, then she sat up straight and started to read the same Math questions.

Kelly had watched them and couldn't help but feel a little envious, until she realized that if she was the one who was going through what Arnold was going through, Heather would try to comfort her, too. She smiled as she ran a hand through her wavy brown hair. She tucked it behind her ear and out of the way as she leaned over her book and read the same Math questions.

Claire worked in the kitchen and also kept an eye on Arnold. She hadn't missed the lingering kiss or Heather's whispers. She had considered hiding the incident with Arnold's panic attack, so it wouldn't embarrass him; but, she was glad that she hadn't and had warned Heather and Kelly about it. Now they would be watching Arnold as well to make sure that he was okay.

Arnold, Heather, and Kelly worked constantly for just over two hours until they were done. Once again, it was Arnold that helped them with some of the particularly difficult homework questions. Neither Heather nor Kelly were surprised by this, since Arnold always did well in school.

“You look so relieved.” Claire said as she came into the dining room.

Heather let out a short laugh. “I bet everyone feels that way after all this!” She said and waved at the mass of notes and papers they had written. “My fingers are sore and feel like they are going to fall off.”

Arnold didn't miss a beat as he reached out and took her hand and lightly caressed her fingers, then he gave them a kiss. Claire and Kelly were surprised at the gesture, then they were really surprised when he did her other hand.

“Thanks, Arnold.” Heather said, her face red. “That does feel better.”

Arnold's mouth twitched into a small smile and then it went back to normal.

Claire recovered from her surprise quickly. “I'm about to serve supper, so pack everything up and clear the table.”

Arnold, Heather, and Kelly put their school books away and Claire served them supper, then sat down herself. They ate the meal and didn't really talk, except for an occasional comment from Kelly about the food and how good it was.

Arnold finished first, since he ate mechanically and had just spooned the food into his mouth at a constant rate and didn't really taste it. He finished his glass of soda pop as well and picked both the glass and his plate up and took them to the sink. He rinsed both items and washed his hands, then went back to the dining room and sat down.

Claire, Heather, and Kelly stared at him for a few seconds before they resumed eating. They all thought it was odd behaviour, considering Claire had a dishwasher and never did them by hand, then they all came to the same conclusion that he must do it at home. They finished their food and sat back, and Claire thought this was a good time to try another test.

“Arnold, do our plates, too.” Claire said.

Arnold stood and gathered all three plates and took them to the sink and rinsed them off.

“Mom, you...” Heather started to say and Claire shook her head.

Arnold washed his hands and came back to the table and sat down.

“Thank you, Arnold.” Claire said. “It's getting late, so get your things and I'll take you home before your mother gets too worried about you.”

Arnold nodded and grabbed his backpack, then left the dining room to go and get the bag with his dirty clothes in it.

“I think I better go, too.” Kelly said and stood as she grabbed her own backpack. “Could you give me a ride, Mrs. Bradshaw?”

“Of course. It's practically on the way to drop off Arnold.”

“I was hoping you would stay so we could hang out.” Heather said, a little pointedly.

Kelly let out a little sigh. “My dad warned me that I should be home at a 'reasonable time'.”

Claire stood up as she laughed. “I understand that he's worried about you roaming around at night, so why don't you tell your mom that you're staying over for the weekend and they won't have to worry about you roaming at all.”

“Really?” Heather and Kelly asked at the same time.

“Tomorrow's Friday, so make sure you pack enough clothes for three days, including your outfit for school on Monday.” Claire cautioned her.

“I'll bring my packed suitcase to school in the morning!” Kelly said with excitement.

“I'll take it from you when I drop Heather off.” Claire said. “That way, you're not dragging it around the school all day.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Bradshaw.” Kelly said.

Heather stood and followed her mother and her friend out to the front door and Arnold came down the stairs with his bag. “I'll see you in the morning.” She said to him and gave him a quick kiss and a hug.

Claire, Kelly and Arnold left the house and climbed into the car, then Claire drove part way towards Arnold's place, then took a detour. After a few minutes, Claire pulled into a driveway with a nice ranch style house. It was only one storey and spread across the whole property.

“Thanks again for the drive, Mrs. Bradshaw.” Kelly said and looked at Arnold. Even though she thought he was a bit creepy because of how he acted most of the time, he was her best friend's boyfriend and he had just lost his father. So, she made an attempt to be his friend and reached over to take his hand. “Heather's right, you know. Everything is going to be okay.”

Arnold knew he needed to respond in some way, so he nodded.

Kelly smiled and let his hand go. “Goodbye, Arnold.”

Arnold took the cue and leaned in as he put a hand behind her head and expertly kissed her. One... two... three. He counted in his head and broke the kiss. “Goodbye.”

Kelly sat there with her mouth slightly open. “A-A-Arnold! You... you can't kiss me like that!”

“Why?” Arnold asked and noticed Claire in the rear view mirror as she smiled at him.

“B-because!” Kelly responded, as if he should know why already. “Aren't you Heather's boyfriend?”

Arnold nodded. “It's a goodbye kiss.”

Kelly stared at him and blinked her eyes for a moment.

“It really is just a goodbye kiss.” Claire said as she turned around and looked into the backseat.

“But... but...” Kelly stammered.

“You want proof?” Claire asked and didn't want for an answer. “Arnold, kiss her like Heather kisses you when she thinks I'm not looking.”

“W-wait, I...” Kelly started to say, then Arnold kissed her like Claire told him to. Kelly was stiff at first and looked like she was going to try and fight against it, then she visibly relaxed and kissed him back. Pretty enthusiastically, too.

Claire let it go on for about thirty seconds, just so Kelly would understand the difference. “Okay, Arnold. That's enough.”

Arnold broke the kiss with his tongue still halfway in Kelly's mouth and she closed her lips on it and sucked as he pulled away. Kelly's face was flushed red and her eyes had a slightly distant look to them. She had never been kissed like that before. In fact, she never even imagined being kissed like that.

“You see? That's how he kisses. The other kiss is just Arnold saying goodbye.”

Kelly took a shaky breath and let it out as she recovered from the effect the kiss had on her, then she looked at Heather's mother. “O-okay. I... I get it.” She said and sat there for nearly ten seconds as she considered what to do next, then she decided and looked at Arnold. “Goodbye, Arnold.”

Arnold put his hand behind her head and kissed her for three seconds. “Goodbye.”

Kelly didn't say anything else and opened the car door, grabbed her backpack, and quickly walked towards her house.

“She has the same restriction as I do.” Claire said as she looked at Arnold. “Don't kiss her in front of Heather... unless Heather tells you to.”

“Okay.” Arnold said and Claire turned back to face the front and drove Arnold home. When they arrived, another car was in the driveway, so Claire dropped him off at the curb.

“I'll see you in the morning, Arnold.” Claire said, then she decided to have a little thrill for herself after seeing Kelly enjoy it so much, and spoke the keyword herself. “Goodbye.”

Arnold leaned forward and put a hand behind her head and gave her a three second kiss. “Goodbye.” He said, grabbed his bag and backpack, and left the car. Claire blew the car horn as she pulled away and that got the attention of Arnold's mother and her unexpected guest inside the house.

“Finally!” Annie said as she opened the front door to greet her son.

“We had a lot of homework and Heather's mother served us supper afterwards.” Arnold said.

“I'm glad she's taking care of you.” Annie said and shut the door, then led Arnold into the dining room. “He's been here for half an hour waiting for you.”

“Heather said you were coming over later tonight.” Arnold said and looked at the clock. “It's not later yet, is it?”

The biology teacher shook his head. “I was too excited over hearing you were ready and rushed over here.” He said and waved at the large cloth covered thing on the table. “Go ahead. When you look at it, you'll know what to do.”

“Sir, do I need to prepare anything?” Arnold asked and dropped his bag and took off his backpack.

“Everything you need for the test is right there.” The biology teacher said.

“Don't rush!” Annie said and the teacher looked at her with a frown. “I didn't reveal what it was.” She said to him and looked back at Arnold. “Take your time and do your best.”

Arnold nodded and walked over to the end of the table and lifted the cloth. His eyes widened as he beheld a creature he had never seen before. It looked like a cross-mix of a hamster, a rat, and a beaver.

“I know you've never seen something like this before, so this is the perfect test for you.” The biology teacher said. “Use the guide book to determine its species, genus, and family. I won't let you go into it without a hint, so use its distinct tail to narrow the choices down.”

Arnold nodded without looking up from the specimen.

“The test is to create your own specimen, right down to removing and labelling everything.” The biology teacher said. “The tools have already been prepped, as is your work area, so you don't need to worry about that.” He walked over to Arnold and put a hand on his shoulder. “Your mother is right. There's no time limit. Be careful, be thorough, and get it done.”

“Yes, sir.” Arnold said.

The biology teacher stepped back out of the way. Arnold expertly slipped on a pair of rubber gloves as a smile spread across his face, then he got to work.