Chapter Two
Ziggy and MOMO: Ziggy's Problem

MOMO stared listlessly out of her window, leaning heavily on her arm with a sigh. Her mother was going away to another Sub-Committee meeting in the city, which meant that little darling MOMO would have to be left with a sitter. Again. MOMO drummed her fingers on the window sill, waiting for the dreaded sitter to arrive.

"MOMO," her mother's voice came from behind. The girl turned slowly. Juli Mizrahi was already dressed and ready.

"Yes, Mommy?" she asked, standing from her seat. Juli smiled weakly.

"The old sitter won't be coming to watch you today," Juli admitted, taking her eyes to the window. "She's still recovering from that broken sternum." MOMO looked sheepish.

"Ziggy promised that he would never throw a football that hard ever again, Mommy," MOMO said with glittering eyes. She personally thought it was very funny. Juli smiled nervously, thinking of the poor hospitalized woman, who had refused to press charges when faced with the stare of the cyborg.

"You'll have a new sitter. I have to leave before they arrive, but I'm sure it won't be long." Juli leaned down and kissed her daughter on the forehead before moving out of the door. Soon, she was gone. MOMO laughed at long last. She had known why Ziggy had hurled the lethal football at the sitter. She'd given MOMO broiled cabbage, her most hated food. Hopefully, the new sitter would know the dangers of her cyborg friend.

Soon, there was the ring of the doorbell, and MOMO cheerfully went to answer.

It was only another split second before Ziggy was assaulted with an embrace strong enough to kill a bear. Ziggy grunted a "hello" and gently pried the girl off of his metal body.

"Your mother asked me to look after you today," Ziggy said as he ushered MOMO inside and closed the door after them. "She claims that within the babysitting community, the Mizrahi name has become something of a curse." He vaguely smiled at the girl.


It was Ziggy's turn to stare out the window. MOMO had fallen asleep on the couch almost 15 minutes ago, and he was left in silence. The girl stirred, and Ziggy quickly averted his eyes to her, then back to the window when all was deemed safe. The poor cyborg. He never knew what was to be his fate.

Why is Ziggy always so sad? MOMO's mind rolled the question about. She had feigned sleep in order to consider it. She had remembered seeing fathers walking along quite happily with their daughters and wives-

Wives.

MOMO's eyes shot open. An epiphany! Ziggy needed a girlfriend! Oh, it was perfect, perfect! She quickly leapt to her feet, which caused the pensive Ziggy to jump straight from his chair in shock. He was horrified to find her tossing object after object from the Mizrahi Family Junk Drawer to the floor, where a pile of things sat at her feet.

"MOMO," he gasped, entering the room, "what's going on?"

"I can't find Mommy's phonebook, Ziggy," she answered cryptically, her face deep inside the abyss of the junk drawer. Ziggy raised a questionable eyebrow.

"Do you need to call Dr. Mizrahi?"

"No, I- AHA!" She produced the tiny little scrap of a book, its green cover long tattered from abuse and page-turning. "Don't worry, Ziggy. I found a way to make sure you're never sad again," she said as she sat heavily at the dinner table and began to scribble notes on a piece of paper. Ziggy stepped forward.

"What are you talking about?"

Just as he said it, MOMO produced the piece of paper with flourish. It had been folded into a tiny book, no bigger than the palm of his hand. MOMO grinned like an imp.

"Ziggy, I'm going to set you up on a date!"

The wizened cyborg's face visibly blanched, and he suddenly became short of breath. He backed away a step.

"I don't think that's the best idea, MOMO..." Ziggy pleaded, his face white as the paper she was dangling in front of him. She edged closer, and he backed further away, terror in his eyes. Finally, MOMO had him just where she wanted him. Just as the back of his leg touched the couch, she leapt at him, pinning him to the soft cushions. Ziggy knew better than to struggle against the little girl.

Before another five minutes had passed, MOMO had Ziggy's U.M.N. communicator in her hand, calling up one of the names in her mother's book. Ziggy sat, wringing his hands, on the couch. The little paper book that MOMO had made was sitting in his palm. He glanced up at MOMO, who was engaged in conversation with a woman, then back down to the tiny book. Tentatively, he opened the flap of the first page and read the quickly scrawled handwriting of the Realian girl.

It read: "If I said you had a great body, would you hold it against me?"

Ziggy dropped the book in surprise, snapping his head toward MOMO.

"MOMO," he said in a harsh whisper, frightened out of his life, "where did you- How did you... Why did you write that, MOMO?" She smiled.

"I heard that if a boy wants to impress a lady he has to say nice things like that to her. So I wrote a few down for you to use." She went back to her conversation, which was ended a moment later.

Ziggy stared in horror at the little paper booklet as if it would catch fire at any moment.

"I... I don't think that these are the things that women like to hear, MOMO," he said with a slight tremble of fear in his voice. MOMO sat next to him and gave the booklet back to him.

"Don't worry, Ziggy. I'm sure that you and your girlfriend will love each other, especially with my help."

Girlfriend? Ziggy thought, feeling a lump of apprehension forming in his throat. He tried to force it down. Love?

MOMO patted him solidly on the back, her childish grin not fully comprehending Ziggy's worst fear:

Going on a date.

He hadn't even thought about it in over 100 years, and the full force of the terror weighed down upon him like a pregnant beached whale. He opened his mouth a few times, and nothing came out. Again, he tried to speak his apprehension, but no voice would come.

Finally, with a pleading look from MOMO's golden eyes, Ziggy managed to squeak the word that she had been wanting to hear: "Okay..."

MOMO leapt from the couch with a squeal of joy. She circled the couch, her jovial voice calling, "Ziggy's got a daaate! Ziggy's got a daaate!"

Ziggy hid his face in his hands.


AN (TSO):
This chappie is all mine. I love poor sad Ziggy, with his fear of women. It r0x0rz my s0x0rz. Happy reading, my sis will write the next one.