HA GB Hey Alice 2

"All right, Pink Boy, walk with me."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Hugo rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I mean, Harold, that I would like you to walk with me down the hall to the cafeteria. I have a little extra lunch money today, so I'll get you a Mr. Nutty Bar."

"Oh, okay!" Harold said enthusiastically, shutting his locker door and following after the blonde.

"Good, now that I have your attention, I gotta ask you something." Hugo said, and lowered his voice. "You really want to take Rhonda to the dance this Friday, don't you?"

"W-Wait, what?!" Harold's cheeks turned a bright shade of pink. "That's not true! Who told you that?!"

"That's not important, my good man." Hugo said coolly and put his hand on his shoulder. "No need to lie to me, man. I know. I know you've got a thing for the Barbie girl."

"Barbie girl?" Harold raised one side of his brow.

"Never mind. Point is, Harold, you want to go to the dance with Rhonda, but as you can see, she most likely does not."

The larger boy gave a heavy sigh. "You can say that again. To her I'm just a big and fat idiot who's got more fat than brains."

"Giving yourself too little credit, not a good sign." Hugo muttered. "Listen man, you may not be the smartest guy in this division, and you tend to be a bit of a hard knocker so no one gets to you. But you gotta show to Rhonda that you do have the potential to be her dance escort."

"But how?" Harold wanted to know. "I'm not good at this kind of thing!"

"Well, for starters, you can talk to your buddy girl Patty about how to properly treat a girl, most especially at a dance, and....well, I'm the worst at giving advice, but you go and talk to my little lady Alice, she'll definitely have a tip for you on how to...ya know, shine yourself up and win Rhonda's heart." Hugo said, and winked at him. "Trust me, man. Once they're done with you, Rhonda will be allll over you."

"Really? You think so?"

"Trust me, my good sir. I know how to touch a lady right here." He patted his chest where his heart was.

"Her boob?"

"Well...that too, but rather, her heart."

"Ohhhhh! Okay! So when do we start?"

"Just do what you gotta do and you'll be golden." Hugo said, and they entered the cafeteria. He scanned his eyes for Alice, and as if he had keen senses when she was in the vicinity, he spotted her almost instantly. She was eating lunch with Gerald while they were chatting about something. For a moment, his eyes softened and he gave a smile as he eyed his beloved from afar. Remembering what he was doing, he slapped himself lightly and patted Harold on the back. "Well man, Alice is right over there with Tall-Hair boy, so why don't you mosey over to their table and talk with her?"

"All right! And don't forget my Mr. Nutty bar!" Harold said, and trotted off toward where Alice and Gerald were sitting.

"Will do." Hugo said, and stole one more glance at Alice before he ducked off around the wall, hidden from view, and took a breath. He then took out a small school photo of Alice that he had gotten thanks to Phoebe, who had asked the said girl for a school photo of her, claiming she was making an album. It was a simple photo of Alice with a half-lidded smile, and he carried it around with him in his pocket almost everywhere he went. "Alice my love...if everything goes well, I'll definitely take you to that dance, and heck, even to dances in the future. Maybe that night, I can finally...no, I can't do that."

He sighed, tucking the photo away and going into the cafeteria. He spied Harold now talking to Alice and Gerald, and gave a grin.

--

"Alice, you gotta help me with something!" Harold exclaimed.

"What, Harold? What do you need help with?" Alice questioned, putting her sandwich down.

"Well...um, there's a girl...I guess you can say I want to ask to the dance."

"Who?" Gerald wanted to know.

"N-Not important! I just gotta know, what can I do? There's no way she would say yes!"

"Well..." Alice contemplated for a moment. "If you really want to go with her, but you're nervous to ask, maybe what you can do is spend some time with her, hang out or walk her home after school or something. Then that way you guys can be more comfortable with one another, and then you can bring up the dance on a casual note that has nothing to do with asking her, and if she seems into going and has no one to go with, take a chance."

"Well...okay, that's all a good idea, but what if she says no?" Harold said, looking nervous.

Alice gave a sigh, that was never fun, having to reject someone like that. "I-I guess maybe, if she does...you'll just have to respect her wishes and move on. I know it's not easy, but there isn't always much you can do about that. But I guess, if you still like her, you can keep trying to spend time with her, if she's all right with that."

"You think so?"

"It's worth a try."

"Wow...that's so smart! All right Alice, I'll do it!" Harold stood from the table with a determined look. "I'll spend time with Rhonda and then ask her to the dance!"

Gerald's eyes widened and he did a spit take with his chocolate milk. "Say what?! Rhonda? Rhonda Wellington Lloyd?!"

"...Oops." Harold realized, and then glared a the two. "But don't tell ANYONE or I'll pound you!" He punched his fist into his open palm.

"O-Okay, we won't." Alice said, a little nervous.

"Cross my heart." Gerald said.

"Kay, thanks!" Harold gave them an appreciative smile and walked off.

"...What just happened?"

"I don't know, Gerald. But I hope it goes well for him."

--

"Pheebs. I'm doing it." Hugo said bluntly as he planted himself next to Phoebe at the table she was sitting at.

"Doing what, Hugo?" Phoebe asked, looking at him curiously.

"I'm...well, you know, asking Alice to the dance."

"Really?" Phoebe brightened and smiled. "That's wonderful! I'm sure she'd love to go with you!"

"Here's hoping, I guess." Hugo gave a peace sign.

"When are you going to ask her?"

"No idea."

"You don't know?"

Hugo shook his head, casting a glance toward Alice and then back at his best friend. "Pretty much. Sure, those other girls will be crushed, oh woe is them...."

Phoebe giggled. "Well, you did offer it to her yesterday, so I guess since she has an idea that you will go with her, she'll most likely accept it."

"And there you have it, kay, enough about me, let's talk about you." Hugo leaned closer toward her, lowering his voice. "Pheebs, I think you'd better pull a Sadie Hawkins on Geraldo over there."

"Huh???" Phoebe's cheeks turned pink. "W-Well...um...I suppose it is true that girls can also ask a guy to a dance...but I'm not sure, what if Gerald wants to go with someone else?"

"Pheebs, come on, there's no possible way that a girl can be a better catch to him than you. You're already friends with him, so why back down?" Hugo smirked. "Come on, you never know until you try."

For a moment, he felt like a hypocrite saying that.

"W-Well...I suppose I can try." Phoebe said. "Okay, I'll do it."

"That's my girl." Hugo patted her on the back and made a fake sniffle. "My little girl is growing up..."

Phoebe giggled. "Well, that's life, we all grow up and take big steps."

"We sure do, Pheebs." Hugo looked toward Alice again and sighed. "We sure do."

--

"Okay girl, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna go and ask Phoebe to the dance." Gerald announced.

Alice grinned at him. "That's great, Gerald! I'm glad you're finally taking initiative and asking Phoebe to the dance. I really don't think she'll say no."

"I hope she doesn't." Gerald said. "I really like her, Al, she's amazing! I even wanna ask her to be my girlfriend at the dance! Think of it, that's a perfect romantic atmosphere!"

"True." Alice agreed, nodding. "Well Gerald, just go for it. Like I told Harold just now, you know?"

"You're right, I'm gonna have to if I really want to."

"Hey, like one of Dr. Phil's life laws says, Life Rewards Action."

"Couldn't agree more." Said Gerald. "What about you? Anyone you want to go with?"

"Well, um..." Alice blushed a bit. "Hugo offered to go with me...you know, saying he wouldn't mind doing that."

"Hugo Pataki?! Are you crazy?!" Gerald cried. "He'd flirt and dance with every other girl at the dance...except Phoebe and you! You'd just be his back up! You're the girl he'd show up with to make the other girls jealous!"

"Gerald, he's not that bad...I know he's a bit of a flirt and can be sexist sometimes, but...I don't know, there's something about him." Alice said, casting a glance toward the blonde boy. He saw her looking and seemed to look away abruptly, as if he'd been caught staring.

"God Alice, you and him have some kind of connection even I don't understand." Gerald sighed.

"I don't understand it either, Gerald. I can't describe it right, it's as if we're friends, and yet there's something missing. Still, he can be very sweet and kind..." She blushed a little more. "Maybe I'll take him up on his offer and see how it goes."

"Oh man....well Alice, if that's what you want." Gerald gave a shrug. "I'll be there, hopefully with Phoebe, and in case something happens, I got your back."

Alice smiled. "Thanks, Gerald. I hope it all goes well."

"Me too, girl. Me too."

--

"Hey Alice."

"Yeah?"

Hugo took a deep breath, and leaned toward her in his seat, giving a suggestive smile. "I've been thinking, you know, about the dance this Friday, and I did offer to you that we could go together... So what do you say, hottie? Want to go to the dance with me?"

There was something about that suggestive smile of his that sent shivers up and down her spine, so much so that Alice nearly forgot where she was. Opening her mouth, she managed to clear her mind and offer an intelligible answer.

"Y-Yeah, sure, Hugo...if you'd like to go with me..."

"Well doi, I did ask you." Hugo smiled more, and reached over to place his hand on her shoulder. "I'll pick you up at your house at 6:30." His eyes gleamed with glee. "I sure wouldn't pass up dancing with you."

Alice blushed considerably, giving a small nod before turning back to her work, to try to distract herself. Hugo gave a smile of satisfaction, leaning back in his chair. This was going to be a good week.