109Welcome, one and all... to the very first episode of a brand new story arc for 'Oh Rhonda!'. That's right, after taking some time, I considered going through with the idea of reviving the series, and thus, making brand new stories for Arnold, Rhonda, Olga and all of the gang from the original stories! And how am I going to kick this off? Why, by doing this! Anyway, enjoy this very first episode... or at least, the first part of it!
ORANGE RATCHET PRESENTS...
OH RHONDA!: THE NEW ADVENTURES
ARC 9
It had been about a month or so since Arnold's belated birthday party. And what a celebration it turned out to be! Thanks to Arnold's parents accepting Arnold and his life, and even accepting Rhonda into their lives as well, they were slowly coming to terms with living in Hillwood for a good while... though the matter of finding jobs were still an issue, but they were getting around the red tape. Still, if it meant spending more time with their son, they were going to take every single opportunity.
But, because Miles and Stella have to focus on finding a job for right now, it left Arnold and Rhonda little room to do whatever they wanted. Thanks to Olga, Rhonda had been put on a budget, as was Arnold as up in his room, Arnold was counting up his savings.
"Ten, twenty, thirty..." Arnold counted up his money that he saved up as Rhonda was looking through Arnold's bookshelf.
"To Kill a Mockingbird, Moby Dick, The Times of the Prehistoric Era..." Rhonda said as she was looking over the top books, before going to the middle shelf. "Deja Vu, the Sensation that You Are Doing Something You Have Done Before, Deja Vu, the Sensation that You Are Doing Something You Have Done Before, Deja Vu, the Sensation that You Are Doing Something You Have Done Before, Deja Vu, the Sensation that- you know, Arnold, you have a lot of these Deja Vu books."
"They're presents from my maternal grandparents in the country." Arnold explained. "I just don't have the heart to tell them that I already have the same book. It would be considered rude to refuse the gift."
"You know, you should consider selling some of these. Then we can have enough money to purchase some new books." Rhonda explained.
"Maybe so, but I would like to put in a little money for ourselves. You know, if we ever needed to go out on a date or something?" Arnold raised an eyebrow. "Hint, hint."
Rhonda giggled as she shook her head. "Hey, just because we have a bit of a late Christmas break coming up doesn't mean we shouldn't waste money willy nilly. Speaking of which, what are you getting me for Christmas, hm?"
"Rhonda, we both agreed, no telling." Arnold gave a smirk towards his girlfriend.
Rhonda laughed as she shook her head. "You know me too well, buddy boyfriend. How's our money situation?"
"I have about forty-five dollars." Arnold said. "You?"
"Seven dollars." Rhonda said simply.
"Seven? How do you have seven dollars?" Arnold asked. "Doesn't Olga put you on a bi-weekly allowance of ten dollars?"
"She does, but..." Rhonda blushed. "See, I may have spent some of my money on some new jewelry..."
Arnold gave a sigh. "Only you, Rhonda..."
Rhonda sighed as she tapped her foot. "You know, what we need is a job... our own business if you will."
Arnold paused. "Maybe, but... what business can we possibly do?"
Rhonda looked over the books on her shelf and smiled as she spotted something. "Hey, Arnold. Did you know you had this book?"
"What book?" Arnold asked as Rhonda pulled out a book from his bookshelf.
"'How to Make a Living Selling and Making Food'." Rhonda read the title of the book... as Arnold and Rhonda's eyes lit up, getting an idea.
"Our own restaurant?" Arnold said in surprise.
"Yeah..." Rhonda smiled. "We could try and make a fortune by making our own eating establishment!"
"And this book could tell us how to do it!" Arnold smiled. "We can even hire some people who can help us in our restaurant business!"
"Yeah, and I know who we can use to head the charge!" Rhonda smiled.
"Olga, I'm betting." Arnold smirked.
Rhonda scoffed. "No... your parents! They're still looking for a job, right? Well, maybe if we can get them to do some skills by helping us with our restaurant idea, maybe it'll help them get inspired to find work, or maybe some lucky people will know who they are and help them get a job somewhere!"
"Rhonda..." Arnold's eyes went wide in delight. "That is a brilliant idea! We have to bring this up with Mom and Dad right away!"
Arnold then kissed Rhonda on the lips as he said, "You're the best!"
Rhonda giggled as she said, "Aren't I, though? Let's go talk with them!"
"A restaurant, hm?" Miles said as he took the book from Arnold's hands and examined it as he, Arnold, Stella and Rhonda were sitting in the kitchen. "You know, it's been a while, but I think my kitchen skills are pretty down."
"It's true, your father can be a pretty good cook." Stella smiled. "You really think this could help us with our financial troubles?"
"Pwease, wet us do this, pwease?" Rhonda said as she started to widen her eyes out a little, trying to pull off a bit of a cutesy look. "We pwomise to be wesponsible."
Miles and Stella paused as if to think about the idea as Arnold said, "If you help us with our restaurant, we can have our friends help out and get everything set up. Besides, it's just something to help us get off the ground."
"Well..." Miles paused as he and Stella looked at each other... then smiled as he said, "All right. We could use the finances to help us improve. Tell you what, if we do well, we'll let you two keep the tips."
Arnold and Rhonda pumped their fists at the same time as they gave a couple of cheers. Stella laughed as she said, "Now, we have some things to prepare, so run along and play, kids."
The two ran out of the room as Stella and Miles smiled. Stella paused as she turned to Miles. "You think this restaurant idea could really work?"
"Just to keep us busy until we find actual jobs." Miles smiled. "Besides, it's all for the good of these kids. At least they're learning first-hand the manner of business."
"Speaking of business, you better prove those cooking skills worthy." Stella smirked.
"I'm getting right on that." Miles said as he got up and headed straight for the kitchen.
The next day, while at school, Rhonda, along with her friends Nadine, Phoebe and Lila, were sitting together at the lunch table as Rhonda was describing her and Arnold's idea.
"I have to say, Rhonda, opening up a new business is a good idea, but it might be tough." Phoebe explained.
"Yeah. I mean, we're glad you two are starting up something new, but how are you going to get the money to afford your own restaurant building?" Nadine asked.
"Oh, it won't be a building. We're just setting something up in the backyard, putting in a couple of tables in the den and making sure we maintain a well-clean establishment." Rhonda smiled. "Besides, this is where we ask you guys to come in."
"What do you want us to do?" Lila asked. "Be humble waitresses?"
"That's the initial idea!" Rhonda smiled.
"Well, if anything, it helps us keep our minds off the fact that we're getting a late Christmas break, so..." Phoebe smiled. "Why not?"
Over at another lunch table, Arnold was sitting with his three friends, Gerald, Tucker and Lorenzo, discussing his plans.
"I have to say, man, you better hope you pay us as well." Lorenzo pointed out.
"Don't worry. At the end of the day, we'll split the money evenly from the tips we get." Arnold said. "We may start off slow at first, since we just started, BUT... I'm sure we'll get it done in time."
"How do you expect everyone to know about the restaurant?" Tucker asked.
"That's where you guys come in. I'm going to need you to spread the word that the Shortmans are opening up a new restaurant in my street." Arnold smiled.
"Ah, I see." Gerald smiled. "That way, we can help your business..."
"...and help my parents get some attention so that they might get actual jobs someday!" Arnold smiled. "Think you can help us?"
"Hey, man, we're in." Lorenzo smiled. "Just say the word and we're there."
Arnold smiled. "I knew I could rely on you guys!"
And so, throughout the week, the news of a new restaurant had been spread, thanks to word of mouth. As Miles and Stella, along with the boarders, Phil and Gertie helped set up the downstairs to make way for a new restaurant, Arnold and Rhonda, along with their friends, were doing their best to help promote this new restaurant as everyone seemed to be gaining interest in it.
It all came to a head when Saturday afternoon, the day that the restaurant would officially open, that an eager crowd was gathering around the boarding house in curiosity... some adults and a few kids, but it seemed the promotion had worked.
Olga Pataki took a deep breath as she peeked out at the crowd and turned to Arnold, Rhonda and their friends, who gave her a thumbs up. Olga smiled as she nodded, coming out to the crowd as she smiled. "To all who come to this hearty place, welcome. Our restaurant is your restaurant. As of today, the Sunset Arms Restaurant is officially open for business!"
Everyone applauded as Olga smiled, pulling away the ribbon as people were walking in eagerly as the kids were helping some of them to their tables. Rhonda smiled as she noted Curly, along with two human friends, had walked in. Of course, those human friends of Curly's happened to be Curly's friends from other worlds in disguise, but nobody but him knew that. "Ah, Curly, Kiki, Bucky, welcome!"
"So, this is your restaurant, hm?" Curly asked in interest as he, Pudding and Bucky walked in as Rhonda led them to their table. "So, what do you have on your menu?"
"Here in the Sunset Arms Restaurant, you don't need a menu. You can order anything your heart desires!" Rhonda smiled.
"And if you order something that our lovely staff cannot possibly fix, you get free meals for a month." Arnold smiled.
That caught Bucky's attention as he said, "Free food? If we can order something YOU can't possibly fix?"
"That's our motto!" Arnold nodded.
Bucky gave a big grin, hatching a wonderful plan. "Can you give us some time to think about it?"
"Sure." Rhonda smiled. "I'll be back to take your order."
As Rhonda left their table, Bucky smirked as Pudding and Curly raised eyebrows. Curly sighed as he said, "Hatched up a brilliant idea?"
"You bet! We can have all the free food we want as long as we order something they can't fix!" Bucky smirked.
"I'm sure it's just a promotional thing they do..." Pudding said.
"But think of the possibilities!" Bucky said. "If we can make up a big plan, I get free tuna for a month, Curly can have free potato salad... and Pudding... you have all the free candy you can eat..."
Pudding, hearing the sound of candy, started to salvitate from her mouth. "That... does sound like a good deal."
Curly sighed. "All right, I'm in, but this is crazy, even for me."
The three friends nodded as Rhonda came up to their table. "Ready to order?"
"Yes we are." Curly nodded. "For my meal, I would like to order... shark fin soup with garlic pepper."
Rhonda paused as she looked up at him. "Excuse me?"
"You heard right. Shark fin soup with garlic pepper." Curly smirked.
"For me, I'll order... boiled buffalo hooves with sweet potatoes." Pudding smiled.
"Boiled what with what?" Rhonda's eyes widened.
"And for my order..." Bucky smiled. "I want a grilled cheese sandwich... but not just any grilled cheese sandwich, but a grilled cheese sandwich made to my needs... first, I want one side of the bread burnt, and the other side not so burnt. As for the cheese, it should be cheese made from a cow named Bertha. As for the bread, make it sourdough... with the emphasis on sour. And on the side, I want curly fries, but not just any curly fries, I want curly fries made with sea salt from the Mississippi River. And finally, I want to have it with a pickle, shaped in the form of a cube."
Rhonda had written all that down as she examined the meals. "Are you trying to exploit our motto?"
"What? We ordered food." Bucky smirked.
Rhonda gave suspicious glares to the three, then said, "I'll see if we have your order."
As Rhonda started to walk off, Curly, Pudding and Bucky started to snicker.
"You're kidding? That's what we have to make?" Miles said as he, Stella, Phil and Gertie examined the order.
Gertie scoffed as she said, "Child's play! Let's cook it!"
"But... do we even have half those ingredients?" Stella asked in worry.
Gertie laughed, "You two seem to forget... I'm an expert!"
With that said, Gertie started to pull out some ingredients, some that even Miles and Stella were surprised that she had in the kitchen.
About twenty minutes later, Curly, Pudding and Bucky were talking amongst themselves as Curly looked up to see Arnold and Rhonda carrying a tray. "It'll be a matter of time..."
"Free food, here we-" Bucky snickered... before the two stopped at their table.
"Shark fin soup with garlic pepper!" Rhonda smiled.
Curly's eyes widened in shock behind his glasses as Pudding and Bucky blinked in confusion.
"Uh... that's me." Curly said as Arnold handed over a bowl of soup with a shark fin sticking out of it.
"Here you go." Arnold smirked.
"Well what do you know. They had the makings for shark fin soup with garlic pepper." Bucky said in surprise.
"You had the boiled buffalo hooves with sweet potatoes, right?" Arnold said as he handed the plate of food to a shocked Pudding. Bucky looked shocked too, and rolled his eyes.
"Okay, you may have gotten that order, but I bet you couldn't get my order..." Bucky smiled.
"You mean... this grilled cheese sandwich... with one side of the bread burnt, the other not so much, cheese from a cow named Bertha, very sour on the sour dough bread, Mississippi River sea salt curly fries, and a cubic pickle?" Rhonda said, putting the order down, along with a note. Bucky paused as he picked up the slip.
"Did you know I happen to raise cows in my early days? Signed, Cook Stella." Bucky paused as his eyes widened in shock. He groaned as he put his head on the ground.
"Enjoy your meals." Rhonda smiled as Curly, Pudding and Bucky just stared in shock as the two started to walk off.
Arnold and Rhonda began chuckling to each other as Rhonda turned to Arnold, "Who knew your grandmother and parents can be awesome in what they do?"
"Never doubt my family." Arnold smirked.
Pretty soon, the first day of the restaurant was more or less a success. By the end of six o'clock, which was closing time, the family had gathered around and was counting up the money.
Miles whistled as he said, "Not bad for a first day. We made over at least three hundred dollars."
"Wow!" Arnold said as he was holding on to the tip money. "This is great news!"
"Not bad for a trial run, if I do say so myself." Stella smiled.
"Tell me about it. People are even wanting to come back for more!" Rhonda smiled. "You think we can keep this going?"
"Yeah, I think we could... just for a little while." Miles said. "We don't want to make it our every day thing."
"Of course we shouldn't. It's still a boarding house, after all, not a bed and breakfast!" Phil said as he started to get going upstairs. "Well, I don't know about you, but I feel pretty exhausted after today. I'm going straight up to bed."
"Good night, Grandpa." Arnold said as Miles and Stella nodded. Arnold laughed a bit as he said, "A bed and breakfast, hm? I'm pretty sure we won't be able to do that..."
"Now that would be silly." Miles said as he and Stella looked at each other... their minds formulating some sort of plan. Arnold and Rhonda didn't notice as they were getting up.
"Well, I'm going to sort out the tip money and see how much we can split between our friends before going to bed." Arnold said.
"And I promised Olga I would do my homework tonight, so I better get to that." Rhonda said as the two started heading upstairs. "Good night, Mr. and Mrs. Shortman."
"Good night, kids." Stella smiled as the two of them started to head upstairs. As soon as they were sure the kids have left, she started to smile as she said, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Oh, I do..." Miles smirked.
The next morning, Arnold and Rhonda got up as they were walking downstairs, both of them in their regular clothes. As soon as they came down though, they looked out the window as their eyes widened to see Miles and Stella outside, attending to a line of people. Immediately, Arnold came out as he asked, "Mom, Dad, what's going on?"
"We've been thinking about last night, and decided we want to expand the restaurant business a bit!" Miles said. "Maybe make it into something more!"
"Why do I have a feeling we're not going to like what we're going to hear next?" Rhonda muttered.
"Kids, as of today, the Sunset Arms Restaurant/Boarding House have merged... into the Sunset Arms Bed and Breakfast!" Stella announced in delight. "Isn't this exciting?"
Arnold and Rhonda looked at each other in worry as they both had the same thought... that this was not going to end well.
And thus, the first part of this episode has come to an end! How did you guys like it? Next time, the conclusion of the first episode! I was originally planning on releasing this on the 24th, BUT... considering I have a very busy week ahead, I decided to release this first part early, so either way, hope you guys are anticipating more Oh Rhonda! And yeah, I'm going to do my best to have most of these being slice-of-life stories, with an occasional bout of craziness once in a while. Either way, hope you guys are enjoying this! Anyway, read, review, criticize and suggest, folks!
