33 Media Blitz

“Arnold, unlock the front door and get her suitcase.” Annie said and he did that, then held the door for his mother and Kelly to walk through. The phone rang and Annie said to ignore it as she settled down on the couch with Kelly and she calmed down. Arnold came into the room for a moment and then left.

“Why are you running away?” Annie asked her a few minutes later when Arnold came back.

“Wh-what? No, I... I wasn't. I was staying at Heather's, and...” Kelly took a breath and let it out.

“Then what's going on?” Annie asked. The phone cut off and after a few moments, started to ring again.

“A boy I know at school... Eric... he's one of Brad's friends. He gave me a warning for Arnold.”

“What did he say?” Annie asked, anger in her voice.

“He said that Brad and Kevin are going to get him back for what happened by trying to get him in a VR game.” Kelly said and saw confusion on both Annie's and Arnold's faces. “I guess I better explain everything.”

Annie and Arnold let the phone ring as they listened to Kelly's story. When she was done explaining about the VR threat and how they could probably kill Arnold over and over as he respawned, Annie had asked her why she was so upset. Of course, Kelly couldn't help her tears as she explained what had happened with Eric almost a year ago, then she had to tell them about the things he had said about her.

Kelly couldn't remember at what point that Annie had pulled her into another hug. She had also closed her eyes and couldn't bare to open them as she revealed her deepest fears to people she barely knew. She didn't want to see their expressions after they heard about what happened to her.

“Arnold, take over while I get her something to eat.”

“Okay.” Arnold said and before Kelly could say anything, Annie's comforting softness was quickly replaced by thick muscles and a much different comforting embrace. His strong arms held Kelly tenderly and she couldn't help herself and cuddled in as she hugged him back. Her tears slowed down after a few moments and had completely stopped by the time Annie returned with a plate of reheated egg rolls and beef flavored long grain rice.

“Here we go.” Annie said and Kelly reluctantly opened her eyes. “You walked all the way here and missed supper, so you better eat.”

“But...” Kelly looked down at the egg rolls as Arnold eased his hold on her. “I don't like cabbage.”

Annie smiled. “Good, because these are filled with hamburger with bacon bits mixed in and rice.”

“They're homemade?” Kelly asked with surprise, because they looked like they were store bought.

“Claire gave me the recipe for them and it was a cinch to make.” Annie said. “Don't worry about the fat and salt content. I used light vegetable oil to quick fry them. I also precooked the lean hamburger and seasoned white rice filling like she suggested, that way all that needed to be cooked was the shell. It didn't soak up a lot of the grease like it would have if it had to cook all together.”

“Wow, that...” Kelly turned in Arnold's arms and used a hand to pick up one of the egg rolls and bit into it. Her stomach growled loudly when the food hit her tongue and Annie smiled.

“I forgot the spoon for the rice. I'll be right back.” Annie said and walked away.

Kelly looked at Arnold as she finished the first egg roll and he stared back at her. He still had his arms around her and she had one of hers still around him. He didn't let go and she didn't ask him to.

“Do you want me to call your house to let them know where you are?” Annie asked as she put a spoon on the plate.

“No, I... have a cell phone. I'll call after I eat.” Kelly said. “Arnold, hold the plate for me.”

Arnold reached for the plate and placed it on their laps and held it steady, and Kelly used the spoon to eat. Annie sat down on the chair beside the couch and watched her to make sure she ate everything. When she was done, Annie took the plate and gave her a napkin.

“Thank you.” Kelly said and wiped her slightly greasy fingers, then took out her cell phone and dialed home. “Hi.” She said. “Yes, I know.” She paused. “But... yes, I...” She sighed. “I went for a walk.”

Annie raised her eyebrows at that. Why isn't she telling them about wanting to warn Arnold?

“It's okay. I'm at a friend's place.” Kelly said. “Yes, I ate.” She paused for a few moments and then looked at Annie with an apologetic face. “Yes, I'll get a ride home. Okay. Bye.” She sighed as she put her cell phone in her pocket. “Mrs. Strickland, could I ask...”

“Of course I'll drive you home.” Annie said with a smile.

“Do you have to leave right away?” Arnold asked, to both Annie's and Kelly's surprise. “I want to know more about these VR games.”

“Well, I do know a lot about what they used to play.” Kelly said and looked at the time. “As long as I'm home by eight, my dad won't be angry.”

“Considering how long it took you to walk here, we should leave by seven-thirty.” Annie said and stood. “I'll give you two some privacy while you talk.”

Kelly's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say that wasn't necessary, and Annie held a hand up.

“I have no interest at all in electronic games and I don't want to possibly fall sleep listening to you explain things. Plus, I think it's time I answered the damn phone.” Annie said with a smile. She left the room to bring the plate to the kitchen and didn't go farther away than that. Like Claire, she wanted to be close by to interrupt anything that might happen, just in case.

Annie waited for the phone to start its ten second cycle again and picked it up. “Hello?” “What?” “Yes, he's here.” “No, we were out all day and just got back.” “Well, he's busy right now.” “His homework? Oh, all right. You can come over at eight.” “Oh. Well, you can still call him then and...”

The phone clicked off and Annie looked at it.

“She hung up on me.” Annie said, shrugged, and hung up the phone.

Arnold and Kelly had listened to the exchange in silence and Kelly knew Heather was pretty pissed to hang up on Arnold's mother like that. Arnold put his hand back around Kelly and she turned her body slightly to look at him. She didn't see any greed or nasty thoughts flicker across his face, even though he had his arms wrapped around her. She let out a sigh and her hand tucked in around his chest and she looked into his eyes.

I'm letting my best friend's boyfriend hug me. Kelly thought guiltily, then she took a breath and let it out. “I'm sure that as soon as you come back to school next week, one of Brad's friends is going to invite you to play one of their favorite games, then they'll challenge you when you make a character and start playing.” She said and didn't see any worry on his face. “The one they used to play the most was Fortune's Favour. It's a multiplayer online game that...”

Arnold listened intently while Kelly told him everything she knew about the VR community, the tricks she used to stay safe from raiders in certain games, and the tactics that Brad and his friends had used in the past. An hour and a half passed and Annie had checked at various times to see if anything was going on, and saw that they were still in the same embrace she had left them in.

Annie came into the living room at seven thirty and stood in front of the couch. “It's time to go.”

Kelly nodded to her and looked at Arnold. “I hope you remember everything I said.”

“I do.” Arnold said. “Even the bad stuff about Eric.”

Kelly caught her breath and she looked to be on the verge of tears again.

Arnold let her out of the embrace he had her in and used his hands to cup the sides of her face. “Kelly. Stop.”

Kelly was surprised at his commanding tone.

“I want you to ignore Eric.” Arnold said. “You don't even have to look at him anymore, okay?”

Kelly was surprised that he would tell her something like that. “But... at school...”

“Ignore him.” Arnold repeated.

Kelly closed her eyes for a moment, then nodded.

“Come on. Let's get you home.” Annie said. She was proud of Arnold for stopping Kelly from crying again. The poor girl needed support and she was more than happy to provide it. That was why she hadn't said anything about them cuddling on the couch or reminded Arnold that he had a girlfriend.

Kelly opened her eyes and Arnold let her face go. “Arnold, I... thanks.”

Arnold watched her as she stood up and she adjusted her clothing, then Kelly followed his mother out of the living room to the front door. They left the house and climbed into the car and Annie started it.

“Do you have everything?” Annie asked with a smile.

“Yes, I... oh! My suitcase!” Kelly exclaimed and got out of the car and ran back to the house. She went inside and started looking for it. Suitcase, suitcase. She thought and it wasn't in the hallway by the door. “Arnold? Where's my suitcase?”

“In here.” Arnold said and Kelly went back into the living room. He walked over to her with it and handed it to her.

“Thanks.” Kelly said and looked into his eyes, then she had a wicked thought. “Goodbye.”

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

Kelly's face flushed slightly red. “Goodbye.”

Arnold kissed her again. “Goodbye.”

“Arnold, I... I want to ask you something.” Kelly said. “If I told you to kiss me like you kiss Heather, would you do it?”

“Yes.” Arnold said without having to think about it.

Kelly took in a sharp breath. I knew it! I KNEW IT! “Would... would you kiss... any girl like that?”

“No.” Arnold said.

“What?” Kelly was surprised. “Only me?”

Arnold nodded. “Heather said you deserved to have a boyfriend like me.”

Kelly's mouth fell open. “Are... are you asking me to be your girlfriend?”

“No. I can't have any more girlfriends.”

Kelly took a shaky breath and then sighed in relief. Maybe... maybe I was wrong about him. Maybe he is a good boyfriend after all. She thought. “Okay. Okay, I... I can accept that.” She said and a horn honked. “I have to go.” She said and took a stronger breath. I am such a bad friend! “For ten seconds, kiss me like you kiss Heather.”

Arnold stepped close and wrapped his arms around her, then he made out with her for ten seconds, just like she asked. Kelly trembled and kissed him back, then he broke the kiss ten seconds later.

“Walk... me out.” Kelly said and Arnold walked out to the car with her.

“Thank you for telling me all about VR.” Arnold said and gave her a quick kiss, then he opened the car door for her. Kelly climbed in and held her suitcase on her lap. He shut the door and Annie backed out of the driveway and then drove down the street.

*

“Ugh!” Heather grunted and punched the unfortunate couch pillow that was her current stress reliever. She had sulked for the entire time Arnold was going to be busy and her eyes twitched when the clock struck eight.

“I'm sorry, Heather.” Claire said as she sat down at the other end of the couch with a half full glass of translucent liquid. “It's much too late to go all the way over there to spend a few hours doing homework, then drive all the way back here.”

“I could have stayed over or something.” Heather said.

“You should have thought about that before you hung up on Annie in frustration.” Claire said with a smile and took a sip of wine. “It's all right. He's only going to miss one day of homework.”

Heather looked at the phone one last time, let out a sigh, then stood up. “I need to do it myself.”

“Have fun.” Claire said and took another sip of wine as she wiggled her fingers at her overly emotional daughter.

Heather went upstairs and started her homework. She was a little distracted and didn't do it as quickly as she should have and ended up finishing nearly three hours later. She sighed and closed up all of her books, then packed them away in her backpack. She didn't have time to copy anything over for Arnold and went to bed even more depressed than she had been.

The next morning her alarm went off and Heather groaned and turned it off, rolled out of bed, and went to grab a quick shower. She wasn't really a morning person and this morning was no exception. She dressed in her best 'look at me' school approved outfit, because she wanted more attention than usual, and went downstairs to eat.

“I know that outfit.” Claire said to her as Heather sat at the counter. “You know it won't make him jealous if other guys look at you.”

“I don't care.” Heather said and took a plate of french toast. “I'm wearing it for me.”

“Good.” Claire said and Heather looked up from her food. “He's your boyfriend, not the center of your life.”

Heather opened her mouth to say that he was, then she realized what her mother meant. “I know I've been obsessing over him; but, I... I love him.” She admitted.

“Heather, we've talked about this.” Claire said. “You only just started dating.”

“I know, mom. I know.” Heather said and kept eating.

Claire shook her head at her daughter, ate her own breakfast, then drove her to school. When she dropped Heather off at the curb, Kelly was already there waiting for them.

“Did the bus change its run?” Heather asked when she got out of the car.

Kelly shook her head. “No, I stayed out last night and dad decided he needed to drive me to school...”

“...and pick you up?” Heather asked with a smile.

“...and pick me up.” Kelly smiled back.

They waved to Claire and she watched them walk into the school. The two girls were quiet and heard several mumbled whispers as they passed several groups of people. It almost sounded like they were talking about Arnold, which reminded Kelly of what she needed to tell Heather.

“Heather, about last night...” Kelly started to say.

“Don't you dare mention Arnold.” Heather said with a bit of a frown. “I tried calling him all night about doing his assigned homework. As soon as I got through, his mother said he was busy!” She huffed. “He was too busy to talk to his girlfriend!”

“I know.” Kelly said.

“Oh? Did you try calling him, too?” Heather asked as they stopped at her locker.

“No, I don't know his number.” Kelly responded.

“Then what...” Heather was interrupted by several loud laughs and she turned to look at a trio of girls. “What's so funny?”

“You poor thing!” The first girl said with a smile. “I feel so bad for you.”

“Why? What are you talking about?” Heather asked.

“Don't you know?” The second girl asked. “Ooo! We get to tell her!”

The three girls rushed over and crowded around her and Kelly.

“Your 'oh so great' boyfriend is cheating on you!” The third girl exclaimed.

“WHAT?!?” Heather and Kelly yelled at the same time, for different reasons. Heather was shocked at the news and Kelly was surprised she had been discovered so quickly.

“It's all over social media!” The first girl said and took out her phone. “It was blasted all over the place last night and said there was a full story in the paper today.”

“The paper?” Kelly asked, confused. It only happened last night! How could it be in the paper?

“I couldn't believe it when I saw the picture!” The second girl said.

“There's a PICTURE?!?” Heather and Kelly said at the same time.

“Look! Look!” The third girl took out her phone and quickly brought it up. “Everyone's talking about it! It's a huge scandal!”

Heather and Kelly looked at the picture and both of them gasped. It really was a picture of Arnold kissing another girl in front of his house. To Kelly's relief, it wasn't her. Unfortunately, Heather was completely angered at the sight.

“THAT BASTARD!” Heather yelled.

Surprisingly, Kelly recognized the kiss as a goodbye kiss. “Heather, I'm sure that it's not as bad as it looks.”

“HE'S KISSING HER!” Heather yelled. “How can it look worse?!?”

“What's going on out here?” The biology teacher asked as he stepped out of his classroom.

“Arnold is a cheating bastard!” The first girl said. “He was caught red-handed kissing another girl!”

“Look! Look!” The third girl said and handed him her phone.

The biology teacher almost refused to look, since he didn't want to involve himself in the private lives of his students, then he had to admit that his curiosity was too strong to resist and looked at the picture.

“Dammit, Amy.” The biology teacher said when he saw who Arnold was kissing.

“You know her?!?” Heather asked, loudly.

“She's the senior assistant at the biology lab at the college.” The biology teacher said with a sigh.

“Oh, my god!” The three girls exclaimed at the juicy gossip. “She's a college girl!”

Suddenly the cell phone was pulled from the biology teacher's grasp and the three girls moved down the hallway to spread the news to everyone that would listen.

Arnold was dating a college girl.