Chapter 46: 46 Exams and Kelly

They studied all morning and no one mentioned Kelly not being there. They had all seen what happened before the English exam and it seemed like she and Arnold were in a bit of a rough patch.

When lunchtime arrived, nearly half of the students in the Library went to the cafeteria as a group, then everyone sat around Arnold and his regular lunch group. They all ate lunch and then almost as one, went right back to the Library and to the tables they had been at before. They studied all afternoon until the school bell rang to end the day.

“Thanks, Arnold.” One said.

“Yeah, thanks.” Two said and finished writing down a reference note. “I really need to work on memorizing that last formula.”

“I can't believe the teacher expects us to memorize it!” Three said and started to pack up. “It's awful!”

“Arnold, how did you memorize it?” The guy that liked Two asked.

“I made words from the letters.” Arnold said.

No one said anything for several moments.

“Can you show us?” The girl at the end of the table asked and handed him a piece of paper.

Arnold wrote out a sentence, then directly underneath it, wrote out the long and complicated formula. It even included the atom numbers which were also integrated into the sentence in the proper spots. He handed the paper back to her and she stared at it like it was the long lost holy grail.

“Let me see that.” Her boyfriend said and read the sentence, then his mouth dropped open. “Goddamn! It's so simple!” He said and looked at Arnold. “You're a genius!”

“Hey! Pass it over!” Two said and the guy that liked her plucked it from his hand and handed it to her without looking at it.

Three looked over her shoulder and read it, too. “Arnold, if you didn't have a no kissing anyone but Kelly rule, I'd kiss you for this!”

“Quick! Pass it around!” One said and Two handed it to her as Arnold packed his things into his backpack and slung it over his shoulders.

“What is it?” A guy at the next table asked as Arnold walked away from the group.

“Arnold's answer for remembering that huge formula!” One said and handed it over.

“Holy shit!” The guy said. “Chris! Look at this!”

“What the... are you kidding me?!?” Chris exclaimed and waved at the guys around him. “You need to see this!”

Arnold passed by the Librarian, who was going in the opposite direction to see what the loud voices were all about. He left the school and waited for the bus in his regular spot, then rode it home when it came. He had no idea that his simple little solution was being spread to the entire class.

The next day, Arnold showed up at school and nearly everyone from his class greeted him in some way. Some waved, most said hello, and a few pat him on the back and said thank you. He thought that was some odd behaviour, considering how he was usually treated, and he went to the right classroom and saw Kelly.

“Hi, Arnold.” Kelly said.

“Hello.” Arnold said and sat down in his seat.

Heather let out a soft chuckle. “Don't tell me you broke up already!” She said loudly.

“No.” Kelly said. “I'm grounded and my parents don't like him.”

“Ha!” Heather barked a laugh. “Your perfect parents don't like him? What did he do? Try to kiss your mom?”

Kelly didn't like how close to the truth that was and it made her angry. “It's because he dated you first!”

A complete hush fell over the classroom and everyone barely breathed, even the teacher.

“You've had so many boyfriends that my parents are afraid he wants to have sex as much as you do, and no matter how many times I tell them that it's not true, they won't believe me!” Kelly spat at her. “My mom even tried to get him to kiss her to prove it!”

Heather was angry at first, then sad, then angry again, because Kelly was blaming her for it. “We only had sex once!”

“I know! I told them that! Arnold told them that!” Kelly said. “The problem is my mom embarrassed herself and now he's not allowed in the house!”

The bell rang and everyone sat down in their seats. The atmosphere was pretty thick with accusations and relationship problems, and everyone stayed quiet as the teacher walked around the class to give out the exam papers and scrap sheets to work on.

The teacher didn't give any explanation about the exam or the time limit. He just looked at the clock to wait for the minute hand to strike twelve. “Begin.”

Everyone flipped their papers over and got to work. As usual, Arnold finished after about an hour or so and raised his hand.

“Already?” The teacher asked and came to the desk to get it. “Huh.” He smiled. “All right, get out of here and enjoy the rest of the day off.”

Arnold nodded and left the classroom. He called his mother as he walked towards the front of the school and he waited for her at his regular spot until she came to get him.

This pattern repeated for the rest of the week and the next week, with each morning another exam with only an occasional day off in between, except for biology. That had the written part in the morning and a practical lab in the afternoon. Needless to say, Arnold blew through everything without any problems. At the end of the second week on Saturday morning, Arnold sat down to eat breakfast and received a text.

'Arnold! I'm finally allowed out! Can I come over?' Kelly typed.

'If you want to.' Arnold typed back.

'Thanks! Come to your front door and let me in.'

Arnold put his phone away as he stood up and then he walked to the front door.

“Arnold, I didn't hear the doorbell or...” Annie started to say, then Arnold opened the door and a slightly sweaty Kelly stood there. “...oh.” She chuckled. “Come on in, Kelly.”

“Thanks!” Kelly said happily and stepped inside and Arnold shut the door. “Arnold, it's really nice to see you.” She said and put a hand on his chest. “I know it's been two weeks, but... can I... can I have a kiss?”

Arnold leaned in and gave her a four second kiss. “Good morning.”

“Good morning.” Kelly said with a smile and they went into the kitchen.

“Did you run all the way over here?” Annie asked with a laugh when she saw Kelly's slightly sweat soaked and wrinkled shirt. Her shorts weren't in much better shape.

“How can you tell?” Kelly laughed and grabbed the front of her shirt and moved it in and out with a hand to try and cool off.

“Go on upstairs to the bathroom and grab a shower while Arnold finishes eating.” Annie said. “I'll loan you a similar outfit until I wash those things.”

“Are you sure?” Kelly asked. “I don't want to be any trouble.”

“We cleaned the house from top to bottom last week, so there's nothing else for me to do this weekend.” Annie said. “Doing a small load of laundry won't take more than an hour.”

Kelly looked at Arnold and then down at herself, and nodded. “Okay.”

“It's the first door on the left at the top of the stairs.” Annie said and Arnold sat down to finish eating.

Kelly left the kitchen and went to the stairs and climbed them. She couldn't help herself and took a quick look around and saw there were four doors. Two on the left and two on the right, and they were all closed.

The first door on the right was a large closet filled with towels, blankets, toilet paper, boxes of tissues, and paper towels. The second door was a bedroom and she assumed it was Arnold's, because of the desk and his backpack hung on the chair. The second door on the left was another bedroom, she assumed was Annie's, and the first door was a large bathroom.

There was a separate tub and shower area and there was a large counter with two sinks. Tile was everywhere and in an eye-pleasing pattern and Kelly stepped into the room and shut the door. A small rack of towels was beside the walk-in shower and she had to assume there wasn't a bathroom in each room. It was the only way that there could be enough space to have such a large bathroom.

Kelly decided that she liked it and quickly stripped off, put her clothes in a pile, and stepped into the shower. She turned it on and adjust the temperature to what she liked and hit the lever to shunt it to the oversized shower head. It felt wonderful as the water cascaded out and over her like she had been caught in the rain during a downpour.

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Kelly used the best smelling bar of soap on the little shelf and took her time as she made sure to wash everywhere, then she used the shampoo and conditioner on her hair. She stepped out of the shower half an hour later and she felt positively refreshed. She wrapped her hair in a towel to let it dry and then dried off the rest of her body and wrapped the towel around herself.

She walked over to the bathroom's door and wondered what she was going to do about clothes, since she couldn't walk around practically naked in her boyfriend's house. She took a deep breath and slowly opened the bathroom door, making sure to hide enough of herself behind it so she wouldn't be seen, and let out a happy sigh at the small pile of clothes on the floor right in front of the door.

Thanks, Annie. Kelly thought and snatched the pile of clothes from the floor and shut the door, then saw the small handwritten note. The underwear is new. She read and smiled. She would have been a bit unnerved if she had to wear another person's underwear, washed or not, so knowing they were new definitely gave her a feeling of relief. She sighed as she slipped them on and the cottony softness rested against her skin.

Kelly finished drying off her hair and gave it a quick brush with the clean brush on the sink. She dressed in the shorts and very baggy oversized t-shirt that was quite a bit bigger than her sweat soaked one. She almost laughed when she read the tag and it said it was extra large. She tossed her dirty clothes onto the towels, propped her bra on top so it wouldn't be damaged, then carefully closed the bundle and picked it up with one hand.

Kelly left the bathroom and went downstairs and heard the television in the living room. She walked over to it and looked inside to see Arnold laying down on the couch with his head on his mother's lap.

“Are you done already?” Annie asked and Kelly held up the bundle of clothes. “I assume your bra is just as bad as the t-shirt was?”

Kelly nodded and Annie eased out from under Arnold's head and came over to her.

“I've got a small sink in the laundry room for soaking delicates, so don't worry about it.” Annie said and took the bundle. “Go ahead and take my place on the couch.”

“No, I... I mean... I shouldn't...” Kelly stammered.

Annie chuckled. “It's all right. Really. He just likes having his chest rubbed.” She said and walked away.

Kelly stood there for a moment, then she walked over to the couch and Arnold looked up at her. “Can I sit here?”

Arnold lifted his head and she sat down and moved in close, then he rested his head on her lap and looked up at her. “You smell nice.”

“Thanks.” Kelly said and he turned his head and watched the television. “What are you watching?”

“I don't know.” Arnold said and took in a deep breath and let it out.

Kelly looked at his chest and thought about not doing it, then gave in to her need and put her hand on it. She started to make slow circles and caressed his chest muscles, and she was surprised when she could almost feel his breath entering his lungs. Half an hour passed, then an hour, and Kelly continued to rub his chest and they watched television together.

Annie stood just outside the living room and nodded mentally. She was glad to have a confirmation that Kelly really was a great girl. She wasn't taking advantage of Arnold's passive state or tried to twist an innocent comforting act into something sexual. She left them alone and went back to the laundry room to put Kelly's clothes and the towels into the drier. She checked the bra in the sink and pulled it out, then hung it to drip dry. She could toss it into the dryer just before the cycle ended and that would finish drying it off.

Annie made a quick lunch after that and brought it into the living room. “Anyone hungry?” She asked and put the plate of sandwiches on the coffee table and took one for herself.

“Arnold?” Kelly asked and Arnold sat up. She felt the absence of his warmth on her lap and stopped herself from sighing at the loss. They both grabbed a sandwich and started to eat.

“So, what do you two plan on doing today?” Annie asked.

“That's what I was going to ask you.” Kelly said. “I've been going over everything Arnold has to do for the college and I came to a conclusion. He needs a computer.”

Annie smiled. “You're not just saying that so you can play games together, are you?”

“What? No!” Kelly vehemently denied. “He's going to need to learn how to use a word processor and how to properly format reports, fill out online forms when it's necessary, and also to help with the inventory at the lab and do up invoices and order forms.”

“I know he needs one, I'm just teasing you.” Annie laughed. “You really put a lot of thought into it.”

Kelly nodded. “His start date is the day after graduation, so we only have a week to get him prepared.”

“It's a good thing we have you here, then.” Annie said. “Neither of us has any idea what kind of computer to get for what he needs it for.”

“You want me to pick one?” Kelly asked, a little surprised.

“You know a lot more about it than we do. Who else would we ask?”

Kelly looked at Annie and Arnold and saw that they weren't joking. She felt flattered that they would trust her for such an important purchase. “Well, depending on how much you have to spend...”

“I have twenty five hundred and thirty dollars left of my college fund.” Arnold said. “It's in the can on top of the refrigerator.”

Kelly caught her breath and was about to tell him that he's not supposed to tell her that, when Annie pat her hand.

“We both trust you. Since we're going to spend it, it doesn't matter if you know where it used to be.”

Kelly let out a sigh and nodded. “Okay, we can do a bit of searching online and see what's available before we head to the electronics store.” She took out her cell phone and went to the local store's website and checked the deals, the out of stock items, and the summer specials. “No, none of them would be good. You need the ability to expand and to add new parts when...”

Annie and Arnold watched her with a bit of awe as she searched through dozens of different web pages and checked different models and accessories within only a few minutes.

“Okay, I think I have an idea.” Kelly said and showed them the link she found.

“A custom computer?” Annie asked.

“Normally you can get away with buying a higher-end computer and it will last you a while, usually for about two to three years after they come out, depending on the processing speed of the computer. The problem is, they are usually called dead-end systems because they can't be modified.” Kelly said. “A custom one is a bit more expensive to buy at first; but, it's designed for replacement parts and each time a new item comes out, like a better video card or a faster hard drive, you can just add it or replace the old item and you don't have to buy an entirely new system.”

Annie looked at it and thought about it, then she had an idea. “How old is your computer?”

“Seven.” Kelly said with a smile.

“Seven!” Annie said, surprised. “But, you said...”

“I can still play the newest games.” Kelly said and smiled at Arnold. “Upgrading it for VR was easy, too.”

“What are you saying?” Annie asked.

“Instead of spending eight hundred to twelve hundred dollars every couple of years for a new computer, you can spend about two thousand for a custom one that only needs occasional updates every two to three years.”

“How did you learn all of this?” Arnold asked.

“The same way I learned about game tricks and tips.” Kelly said. “Experience, reading online, and help from the game players online.”

“How long will it take to make a custom one?” Arnold asked.

“It just depends on what parts they have in stock.” Kelly said and clicked the link with a smile. “Let's see what they can do for us.”

The three of them hovered around the cell phone and went over everything that could be found for a computer. Once Kelly checked that all the parts were available, including the VR upgrade, she saved up their choices and stood.

“If we're lucky, there's a good guy at the store and he can have the thing built and tested in an hour.”

Annie stood as well. “I'll be right back.”

Arnold stood as well and took Kelly into a hug. Kelly caught her breath when her chest in the baggy t-shirt pressed against his chest in a tight t-shirt. She stared into his eyes to see if he was going to say anything, and he gave her a quick kiss.

“Thank you.” Arnold said.

Kelly was about to ask him what he was thanking her for when Annie came back into the room.

“Here you go.” Annie said as she held Kelly's bra out to her. “If we're going out, you need some support.”

Kelly nodded her head several times, grabbed the bra, and almost ran up the stairs to go to the bathroom to put it on.

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