37 Fallout

For the rest of the afternoon, Kelly was pretty much in a daze as she was led around by Arnold. He took her to her locker when it was necessary, held her hand the entire time between classes, and gave her kisses whenever she asked him for them. And she did ask. She wasn't sure if she was testing him or the patience of the teachers and the other students. By the end of the school day, she decided that it didn't matter.

Of course, Heather didn't like it one bit and had tried, quite fruitlessly, to have Brad do the same thing. He wasn't that kind of guy, though. He only did the touchy-feely things when it was necessary and usually only on his terms. By the end of the school day, Heather was in quite an unhappy mood. It worsened when Brad had taken her hand and forcefully led her out of the school.

Brad led over to where he and his friends stood after school near the parking lot and Heather held in her sigh when she saw that her mother's car wasn't there. She didn't listen to the boys talking at all as she waited impatiently for her mother to come and pick her up.

Arnold and Kelly walked out of the school and went over to the right spot, then stood next to each other as they waited for Kelly's bus. Hers always arrived first, so he stayed with her until the bus pulled up. Surprisingly, no one said anything to them or bothered them the whole time they stood there.

“Goodbye, Arnold.” Kelly said.

Arnold gave her a slightly modified four second kiss. “Goodbye.” He said and watched her get on the bus. She sat at a window seat and gave him a little wave, then the bus finished loading up and pulled away. He walked over to where his bus always stopped and waited there.

“Hey, he's alone.” One of Brad's friends said and pointed.

“Oh?” Brad turned and looked. “Eric, Kelly's gone.”

Eric sighed. “Brad, this is a mistake. Heather said he doesn't have a computer.”

“Kelly does.” Brad said with a smile. “Believe me, he's going to be downright eager to play Fortune's Favour, especially if we give him some of our old low priority drops that newbies can't get enough of.”

Eric stopped himself from sighing again and walked across the parking lot. He tried to make it look like he wasn't walking straight for Arnold and failed miserably, because Arnold had watched him the entire time. A dozen other people nearby watched as well, because they hoped to see something good.

“Hey, Arnold.” Eric said and stopped about five feet away, like he had when he had approached Kelly a week before.

Arnold didn't say anything and just watched him.

Eric was a little unnerved by the scrutiny. “I, ah, just wanted to ask you...”

“No.” Arnold said.

Eric was a bit surprised by his automatic refusal. “You didn't even hear what I...”

“No.” Arnold said.

Eric started to get frustrated. “You can't say no when I haven't even...”

“No.” Arnold said.

“Just listen to what I...”

“No.” Arnold said. Neither his tone nor his face had changed during the exchange.

“Why?” Eric asked and hoped that a quick question would get a different response.

“I'm ignoring you.” Arnold said. “You hurt my girlfriend and you're friends with Brad.”

“I didn't hurt Kelly.” Eric said and averted his gaze, then he jumped back when Arnold was suddenly right in front of him.

“You are still hurting her.” Arnold said and his eyes were squinted, almost in anger. “Your lies hurt her every day.”

“I... no, she...” Eric couldn't take his eyes off of Arnold's face. For some reason, he knew not looking would be bad.

“Stop lying.” Arnold said and his face went back to its normal blank state. “Leave me alone.”

Eric relaxed at the change. “Look, Brad wants to invite...”

Arnold used both hands and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, made fists in the cloth, and lifted him up about six inches. “Leave. Me. Alone.” He said and his blank face unnerved Eric even more than the squinted eyes did.

“Brad, look!” One of his friends said and pointed.

“Dammit!” Brad said and started to walk quickly across the parking lot with Heather in tow. A horn honked and it startled him, then a fancy black car stopped in front of him.

“Heather, get in the car.” Claire said in a deadly voice.

Heather pulled her hand out of Brad's grip and walked around the car, then climbed in the back.

“Be careful of your tiny lumbering feet.” Claire said to Brad and stepped on the gas. She squealed her tires for a second and Brad jumped back, then the car was turned around and gone out of the parking lot. When he looked back at Arnold, he still had Eric in the air.

“Okay! Okay! I'll leave you alone!” Eric said loudly, then he was let go. He stumbled at the sudden drop and almost fell, then he recovered his balance. He gave Arnold one last look, gave up trying to be nonchalant about it, and walked straight towards Brad and the others.

“What did he say about the offer?” Brad asked.

“I didn't get to make it.” Eric said. “I told you it was a mistake to do it like this. He wouldn't listen to anything I said.”

“Then we'll make the offer to Kelly instead.” Brad said. “She'll convince him to play.”

“That is definitely not a good idea, Brad.” Eric said and Brad glared at him, so he lifted his hands in surrender. “You've ignored me each time I tried to give you advice and things aren't working out, are they?” He said and Brad couldn't argue about that. “Doing anything against Kelly won't work and will only make Arnold refuse faster.”

“Then what do you suggest, smarty-pants?” Brad asked.

“Get Heather to do it.” Eric said. “She and Kelly have been friends for a long time. A request from her should get Kelly's attention, at the very least.”

Brad turned his head when he saw a bus pull up and Arnold boarded it. “All right. I'll try it your way.” He said. “If it doesn't work...”

“We won't be any worse off than we are now, right?” Eric said to cover his own ass.

Brad grunted and the group went back over to where they usually stood to wait for their bus to arrive.

*

“So, how are you enjoying your revenge?” Claire asked as she drove them home.

Heather didn't say anything and just crossed her arms.

“Hmm? No answer? Is having to kiss that big oaf not worth it?” Claire asked.

“Mom. Drop it.” Heather said without conviction.

“I wish you had talked to me before breaking up with him.” Claire said.

“He kissed another girl, mom!” Heather said.

“You do realize his mother is a girl?”

“She doesn't count.” Heather pouted.

Claire had to agree. “You didn't have to overreact like you did.”

“Kelly said the same thing.”

“How is Kelly, by the way?” Claire asked.

Heather scowled and pushed herself deeper into the seat.

“Heather? What is it?”

“Arnold asked her out.” Heather spat.

“WHAT?!?” Claire yelled, then took a deep breath and let it out.

“Yeah, that's how I reacted, too.” Heather said. “That backstabbing, conniving little...”

“He asked her out, not the other way around.” Claire said. “You can't blame her.”

“She accepted!” Heather said. “She's supposed to be my friend, not his!”

Claire had to think about that. “You haven't been bringing her over like you usually do.” She said. “Why is that?”

Heather opened her mouth and then closed it.

Claire pulled over and parked, then turned to look at her daughter's guilty face. “What did you do?”

Heather didn't want to explain all about Kelly's history with Eric. “She doesn't like Brad's friends.”

“Neither do you.” Claire said and then thought about her dating Brad. “Oh.” She said and shook her head. “You left her to hang out with them.”

“I didn't!” Heather said. “I tried to get her to come along...”

“Heather, you're messing everything up.” Claire said.

“I know!” Heather said as tears came to her eyes. “I don't know how to fix it!”

Claire sighed. “It's too late to fix things with Arnold.” She said. “You might still have a chance with Kelly, if you stop this stupid plan at revenge that's not going to work.” Trying to make Arnold jealous is the dumbest thing she's ever tried to do. She thought in exasperation.

“She took my boyfriend, mom.” Heather said.

“Only after you discarded him.” Claire said. “Plus, she didn't do it right away, did she?”

Heather didn't say anything in response.

“She didn't pounce right onto him, even after you abandoned her for Brad.” Claire said. “By the sounds of it, she was still trying to be your friend while you weren't being one to her.”

Heather's guilty face made a triumphant return.

“That tells me there's something else going on with Kelly.” Claire said and decided to let it go. “I would tell you to dump Brad right now if I thought it would make a difference.” She said and turned back to face the front, then drove the car into the street to continue home. “You're too determined to get back at Arnold to listen.”

Heather didn't say she would drop Brad, and Claire sighed.

That means you and Brad have a lot more in common than you think. Claire thought, and they drove the rest of the way home in silence.

*

Arnold arrived home and his mother practically assaulted him when he entered the house.

“Tell me everything that happened today!” Annie said as she clung to him, then she dragged him into the living room. “Why are you all sticky?”

“It's soda pop.” Arnold said, then he told her everything that happened from when he stepped off the bus at school until he got on it to come home. It took a while.

*

Kelly sat on the couch at home and her mind raced with questions as she held onto her cell phone and wondered what to do. Should I call? Did he make it home yet? Is he busy? Should I do my homework first? Is he doing his? What if he's eating? Is his mom home? What would I say if she answers? Is calling so soon okay? Will he want to talk to me?

Kelly never had a serious boyfriend before and her nervousness over the situation warred with her happiness. Her father watched his daughter in serious contemplation and knew something was going on. He debated on asking her about it, then her mother came into the room.

“Kelly, go do your homework before you call anyone.” Her mother said.

“What? Oh! Okay.” Kelly said and held onto her cell phone as she stood up, grabbed her backpack, then went to her room at the back of the large ranch house. She was still distracted over what to do about calling Arnold, so it took her a while to finish her homework.

*

The vice-principal entered her apartment and kicked off her shoes. She had both seen and heard about Arnold and his antics all day and she had barely resisted going to him and congratulating him for his actions and inactions. She couldn't be seen as encouraging his behaviour, so she only applauded him in her head.

She put her handbag on the table and walked through her place and into her bedroom, then she quickly changed out of her stuffy work outfit and into an old pair of pyjamas that had seen better days. They were super comfortable and fit her perfectly, so she was reluctant to replace them. She went back out to the table and opened her bag and took out a well-leafed through report full of permanent bookmarks.

The woman that was the vice-principal carried the treasured item over to her couch and partially laid down. She grabbed one of the bookmarks and flipped the report to one of her favorite sections. She quickly read over how he applied sunscreen to not one, not two, but three women... whom she guessed had moaned in pleasure from the inadvertent massages.

She flipped the page to where the mother of his girlfriend had invited him into the bathroom. “You are...” She reached into her pyjamas and rubbed and played with herself. “...such a bad...” Her fingers slipped inside as she read how he had made love to the lucky woman. “...bad boy!” She said loudly and came. “OHHHH!”

She panted heavily and hugged the report to her chest. After a few moments, she turned the pages with a slightly trembling hand to near the end of the report where he had met the waitress. It was a similar scene and yet different, because of the randomness, and her other hand moved as her fingers continued their dance between her legs.

She imagined that it was her wearing the waitress uniform and her hand moved faster as she offered him her 'meal' to eat. “MmmmmMMMMM!” She squealed as her body tensed up and shivered. After a few seconds, she relaxed and let the report fall closed. “Such a... good... bad boy.” She whispered and closed her eyes.

*

“I am very proud of you, Arnold.” Annie said when he was done telling her everything. “I'd give you a big hug if you weren't all sticky.” She said and stood. “I'll clean up your backpack and you get out of those clothes and get a shower.”

Arnold nodded and gave her his backpack and went upstairs to shower and change. When he came back twenty minutes later, he was dressed in his bed clothes and Annie took him into a big hug and held him for several minutes. When she leaned back, she looked into his eyes and leaned forward again to give him a quick kiss on the lips.

“I love you, Arnold.” Annie said. “You're such a good boy.”

Arnold smiled and she smiled back, then she widened her eyes.

“Oh! I just remembered!” Annie said and let him go. “Something came for you today.” She walked over to the dining room table and picked up a brown package. “I was so happy to hear what you did that I almost forgot to give this to you.”

Arnold accepted the package and opened it. Inside was a small directory, similar to the standard one that came with the assistant package, except this one had phone exchanges listed for direct lines. When he lifted the directory, underneath it was a brand new cell phone.

“It's the college's, so we don't have to worry about paying the bill.” Annie said with a grin. “Try not to use it too often to call your new girlfriend.”

“No.” Arnold said. “I'll call her whenever she wants me to.”

Annie chuckled, because that was what he had said about kissing her to the cafeteria worker. “Well, then! Why don't you read the manual and give it a try? I'm sure Kelly is wondering what you've been up to.” She said and pointed to the stairs and handed him his backpack. “You can do your homework after you talk to her and tell her that.”

Arnold nodded and went up the stairs.

“Don't forget to tell her you'll call whenever she wants!” Annie said loudly. “She'll love hearing that!”

Arnold hung his backpack on his chair and sat on the bed, then gave the manual a quick read. Unlike Kelly, he didn't wonder about disturbing her or if she was busy. He turned on the phone and dialed her number. It only rang twice and it was answered.

“Hello? I don't recognize this number. Who is this?” Kelly asked.

“Arnold.” Arnold said.

“Arnold!” Kelly nearly yelled. “You have a cell phone!”

“Yes.” Arnold said. “I just got it.”

“Quick! Add me to your contacts!” Kelly said and did the same to her phone. “There! Now we don't have to dial anymore. Just pick my name and we can talk.”

“I'll do that any time you want me to.” Arnold said.

Kelly almost started crying because she was so happy. “Th-thank you, Arnold.” She said. “That makes me very happy.”

“I called to tell you what I've been up to.” Arnold said.

Kelly almost fainted from excitement. “O-okay.” She said, her voice shaky, and he did exactly that and told her what had happened after she left on the bus.