the sleeping sickness which his parents had contracted before they could release the cure. It's also implied at the end of the movie that he and Helga become a couple, as Arnold holds hands with Helga (although Helga pretends to be hostile to Arnold at once in public). Arnold is friends with most of his fellow fourth-graders, with his best friend being Gerald Johanssen, whose friendship dates as far back as preschool. Helga Pataki Helga Geraldine Pataki (voiced by Francesca Marie Smith; voiced by Katie Bartlett as a toddler in "Helga on the Couch") is a 9-10-year-old rough and cynical girl. Like most of the students at P.S. 118 Elementary School she is a mean-spirited sociopath, but is also rude, bossy and deceitful, with a tomboyish front. She is often portrayed as the local bully and as Arnold's arch-rival yet love interest. She constantly bullies Arnold and other people, yet secretly loves him, which is obsessive to the point where she has made many shrines dedicated to him. She is an academically-gifted student and a talented writer of poetry for her age. She despises Arnold because he is a good influence and his football head is different from most others, despite everyone's heads being shaped differently from each other. She becomes the antagonist in some episodes and occasionally expresses interest in pursuing the latter as a career. The reason for this is that she is neglected by her parents and often disrespectfully calls them by their first names because she does not think they are worthy of being called "Mom" and "Dad". Her mother, Miriam, is usually depressed, forgetful, struggling to stay conscious, and frequently drinking smoothies and coffee. Helga relates very poorly to her. Her father, Bob, a successful pager salesman, who suffers from workaholism, rarely notices her existence, favoring her over-achieving, neurotic college-aged sister Olga, who Helga rarely gets along with. He never listens to Helga. Helga is also known for her catchword, "criminy!", which she normally exclaims when stressed. Helga resents her older sister Olga, a perfectionist in her young adulthood. Although Helga will do her best to avoid unnecessary contact with Olga, she has shown feelings of love for her sister from time to time, as in the episode "Olga Gets Engaged", when she intervenes on Olga's behalf, saving her from what would have been a bad marriage, and "Big Sis" when she reveals her jealousy