"I'm sorry, miss, you just aren't right for the part. You're too…peppy."
Olga frowned and stared at her shoes. She hadn't been trying to be peppy, but that was the feedback she'd gotten with every audition she'd been on. True, she'd gotten some good parts, but…all of those characters had been…well…peppy. She couldn't be taken seriously as an actress if she never played any serious roles. Withholding a sigh, she thanked the casting director and started heading home. Normally she had her car, but it was in the shop. Something about her radiator leaking. Honestly, Olga hadn't the slightest idea as to what that meant, save for one detail. She was walking home tonight.
That wasn't so bad though. She would have plenty of time with her thoughts, and then perhaps she would be able to come to the root of her problem. Why couldn't she act seriously? She would have loved getting the part of Lady Macbeth, but no one seemed to think she was cut out to perform Shakespeare. It cut a lot deeper than she was willing to admit, especially considering that her major in college had been Elizabethan literature.
Either way, there was always one thing that could cheer her up, even after the worst audition. As she walked towards her house she pulled out her cellphone and dialed the number, then waited until she got an answer.
"Hullo?"
Just hearing her sister's voice brought a smile onto Olga's face. It as astounding how much closer they'd gotten since Helga got older.
"Hello Helga." Even now it was hard to not call her sister her 'baby sister'. Helga had had to blow her lid off a few times before it finally set in, but Olga understood. Helga wasn't a baby anymore. "I hope I'm not interrupting your date."
On the other side of the line, Helga chuckled uncomfortably, "No, Olga, I haven't left to go and study and Phoebe's yet. You know if I had then I wouldn't answer the stinkin' phone."
Olga chuckled and shook her head, "You really should just tell mommy and daddy about your little boyfriend, Helga. I'm sure they'd love him."
"Yeah, and I'm sure monkeys will come flying out of dad's butt too." Helga replied shortly. "How'd your audition go?"
Olga frowned, suddenly aware of her reality, "They said I was too peppy."
"Yeah, I didn't mean to be a bitch, but you're not exactly the type they'd expect to play a stripper with AIDS."
"Helga, Mimi is a much more complex character than that." Olga declared defensively.
"Yeah, I know, she's a junkie too. I'm sorry your audition didn't go so well. Would it be ok if I talk to you more about it after my study group…thing. I kinda gotta go."
Olga nodded, "Of course, Helga. I'll see you tonight." She hung up, looking forward to talking to her sister some more, but understanding that Helga needed her date night. She hummed casually to herself as played a game of Doodle Jump on her phone on her way home. She didn't even notice the pair of thick, long arms that snatched her off the sidewalk, pulling her into a nearby alley. She squirmed and would have screamed, but she held her tongue when one of the muggers threatened to cut it out.
"Give us your money!" the slimmer and more greasy of the two demanded.
She tried to keep her breathing even as she groped her hip, looking for her purse. Once she found it she slipped her hand inside. She seized her wallet and with shaking hands surrendered what little money she had. She didn't even have thirty dollars on her, and she had a horrible feeling that that wouldn't be enough.
"Where's the rest of it!" The bigger one demanded, slamming her against the wall again.
Olga tried to speak, but she was too afraid. All she could do was avoid eye contact and cry. She could feel her mascara running down her cheeks, but she wasn't in a state to care about such things.
Suddenly, her weeping was drowned out by a voice exclaiming 'MONKEYMAN!'. It all happened so fast Olga couldn't fathom the events unfolding. She collapsed onto the concrete when the muggers released her, screaming in fear and running for the hills, pursued by a rapid, dark shadow.
Olga watched her rescuer vanish, her heart pounding.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"I'm sorry I ruined your date night." Olga finally managed to say from the back seat of an olive green Packard.
"Olga, you got mugged. It's no trouble at all." Helga's boyfriend said from behind the wheel.
Olga couldn't help but smile. Her little sister had certainly picked a good boyfriend. Arnold was sweet, generous, and obviously loved Helga to no end. Her sister turned around from the front seat to look her sister up and down. "What exactly happened, anyway? I mean, I don't think you're lying when you say you got mugged, but you've still got everything on you."
Olga stared out the window and Helga's confusion only grew. Was that…a dreamy look on Olga Pataki's face. "Oh Helga. I was rescued."
"Rescued?" Helga and Arnold asked simultaneously.
"By who?" Helga stated shortly.
Olga smiled and shrugged her shoulders, twisting a lock of hair around her fingers. "Oh you'd never believe me."
"Try me." Helga challenged.
Olga heaved a sigh, "Monkeyman."
"What?" Arnold exclaimed as his foot slammed on the break, sending a flabbergasted Helga G Pataki shoulder first into the dashboard. Once Helga confirmed she was alright she glared at her boyfriend, but did nothing else.
"Let me get this straight, sis." Helga began, "You claim you were saved by some crazy guy who runs around in a shopping cart screaming 'Monkeyman' in the middle of the night?"
"Oh Helga, he's not crazy." Olga giggled.
Helga glanced at Arnold, who only had a shrug to offer.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Olga looked up from the book she was reading when she heard a knock on her door. She smiled and set her book aside when she saw that it was her sister. "Hey Helga. How was your…" Olga smirked before using the code term designated for Helga's date nights with Arnold. "Study group?"
"Oh it was lots of fun." Helga declared with a smile before sitting beside her older sister on the edge of her bed. "You doing ok?"
Olga nodded, "Yes, Helga, I'm fine. It's just…"
Helga stared her sister down and she finally said "It's just what?"
"Well…he saved me tonight." Olga said slowly.
Helga nodded, "Yeah…"
"Well…I just wish…I wish I could thank him. It would make everything so much better. But…no one knows where to find him." Olga finished with a sigh.
Helga scrutinized her older sister for a while before she finally came clean and confessed. "I know where he is."
Olga almost shot through the ceiling with this news. "What?"
Helga nodded, "Yep. I know someone who's…very close with him."
"Helga, you have to take me to go see him!" Olga exclaimed, falling onto her knees in front of the bed.
Helga held up her hands and shook her head. "It's not up to me."
"But Helga!" Olga exclaimed, tears threatening to spill from her eyes once more.
"Does it really mean that much to you?" Helga said with a roll of her eyes.
"Yes! It does!" Olga exclaimed.
Helga stared down at her sister before she finally unleashed a sigh. "Fine. I'll talk to Arnold."
With an ear shattering squeal, Olga pulled her younger sister into her arms and held on tightly.
So I was originally gunna make this a oneshot…but then I lied so this fic will be in two to 3 pieces. Also I need a name for Monkeyman. I was thinking Kevin, but if anyone has any better ideas let me know! Don't forget to review this little fic for my weird ship.