Author's Note: Getting the therapy scenes done felt like pulling teeth, but I feel content with how they turned out. Also, I gave Dr. Bliss the first name Katherine, after her voice actor, Kathy Baker. I did the same thing with Chocolate Boy last chapter, giving him the name Jordan after Jordan Warkol. Should I give Mr. Hyunh or Peapod Kid first names? I'm leaning towards no...

Review Responses:

The J.A.M. a.k.a. Numbuh i: You'll be seeing a little bit of the interaction between Helga and her two neglected female classmates. I'm almost kind of dreading writing them as the series didn't give me all that much to work with, especially with Nadine. I think I can make it work, though.

I know Bob sells cell phones. Olga just bought Helga a phone from a different store because if Bob knew she had money he might bug her for a loan.

The jumper is the one that Helga wears in some scenes of the Jungle Movie. You can see her in it on the main TV Tropes page for Hey Arnold, for example.

And we'll see more of Cecil, just not yet...

HumanDictionary: Oskar getting the job is mostly so I can make Married... with Children-esque jokes. Also, I didn't even think of having Helga wear the pink jacket with the black floral dress. Nice idea for a stylish combo!

Previously: Helga and Olga go to the mall and do some shopping. Several hours after they leave, a familiar young man drops into the jewelry store, hoping to have a necklace fixed whose pendant holds a picture of Olga...

Previous Married... with Children Reference: Besides Luke Ventura, the statue of Halfoffius is what kicks off the plot of the classic episode "Married... with Aliens." Al bangs his head on it when he is trying to get money out of the mall fountain, and that makes his family skeptical of his claims that little aliens are coming into his bedroom at night and stealing his socks.

Chapter Nine: Therapy

Thursday, August 21, 1997

Four Days Before the Start of Fifth Grade

Helga sat in the back of Olga's Firebird. Her hair was back in its normal pigtails and she had her usual pink bow back in her hair. She was wearing her new jumper, though, as Olga drove them to some video game store she had mentioned.

Having just picked her daughter up, Olga asked how things had gone that morning. "So, did you have fun at the park with Arnold?"

Helga smiled. "Yes. We flew kites, played catch, sailed his new remote controlled boat..." Her grin turned down to a scowl. "Too bad Geraldo had to be there too."

Olga sighed. "Helga, he's Arnold's best friend. If you want to get closer to Arnold, you're going to have to learn to get along with him."

"I have to learn!? He's the one carrying a grudge!" Her daughter protested.

Olga tried to soothe her daughter. "I know. I know. He is the one who has to learn. But you can help by continuing to be nicer and more friendly than you used to be. He needs to realize the old Helga is gone and the new Helga is not only genuine, but here to stay." She pulled to a stop. "Anyway, we're here."

Getting out, Helga saw that the building was christened "Jake's Game Corner". Posters for various games such as Final Fantasy VII and Mario Kart 64 covered the windows.

"Final Fantasy VII? What happened to four through six?" Helga asked, having played her mom's copy of III for several hours last night.

"Final Fantasy II is actually the fourth game, and III is actually the sixth. The second, third, and fifth games haven't been released here in the states."

Helga stared at her mother. "You are such a massive nerd."

Olga rolled her eyes. "I know, Helga. Now come on."

As they walked in, Olga turned to her daughter. "Helga, I'm going to pick up a Nintendo 64 and some games for it. In the meantime, you can search through the NES and SNES games they have."

Helga frowned. "A Nintendo 64? From what I've heard, PlayStation is where it's at."

Olga hummed. "I'll talk with the owner, see what he thinks."

Looking around, Helga was surprised at the variety of things in the store. They had games for consoles past and present: Nintendo, Sony, Sega, Atari, and even a few she didn't recognize. What the heck is an Intellivision? There was also a sizable section for books of both the normal and comic variety.

Deciding to stick with the video games this visit, Helga wondered over to the SNES section. Spending a little more time with Olga's games, she came to favor the newer console over the older one. It wasn't so much the newer graphics, as it was the fact that the newer games seemed less archaic in their design and difficulty compared to the older ones. Plus, the NES could be a pain in the butt to get working.

Looking over the selection, she picked up a game called Super Metroid. The cover had some dude in a metal suit firing an arm cannon at a Dragon... pterosaur... thing, while a bigger monster stomped around in the background. Looking at the back, Helga shrugged. Could be good.

Another game then caught her eye, namely because its box was huge. "Earthbound?" Looking it over, Helga decided to grab it too. She'd been wanting to get some more story based games after playing Final Fantasy III, and Earthbound looked like it'd fit the bill.

She walked over to the counter, where Olga was animatedly chatting with a bald man in his forties or fifties, presumably Jake. A boxed Nintendo 64 was on the counter alongside several games, mostly Mario ones. The man noticed her. "Hi there, little lady. What've you got?"

After Helga put the Super Nintendo games on the counter, he looked at them. "Nice, nice." He then turned back to Olga. "So, you really want to get the PlayStation as well?"

Olga nodded. "Yup. Helga, you can go pick out several games for it as well. Grab me a copy of Crash Bandicoot, please."

Helga raised a brow. "Isn't that a lot of money to spend in one day. On games."

Her mother shrugged. "It isn't too much."

Helga's eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything as she went over to the PlayStation games. One day, I will get her to tell me how much she has stashed away. Maybe I can threaten to tell Bob that she has money...

Finding the game starring the orange marsupial as her mother had asked, Helga looked at the rest of the games. She knew Olga would forbid her from getting anything M-rated, so Doom, Resident Evil, and Psycho Dad: Shoot 'Em Dead were out of the question.

One game that definitely caught her eye was Final Fantasy VII. Grabbing the double-size case, she also looked for something she could perhaps play with Arnold or Olga, preferably a shooter or something with vehicles.

She had just selected a game called Twisted Metal 2 when she heard a voice. "Hey toots!"

She turned around to find a smirking boy about her age, who was busy looking her over. He had gelled brown hair and was wearing a biker jacket that was oversized on his lanky, preteen frame.

She scowled at him. "Who you callin' 'toots', Fonzie?!" The kid looked like he stole his clothes from a character from Grease.

He ignored her hostility as he continued to flirt. "You have the prettiest blonde hair. I used to be a blond when I was younger, but I guess God decided I looked better as a brunette."

"Did he make you so insufferable as well? Get lost, loser." Helga turned back around to look at the games.

He started to pout. "You're mean. I'm new in town because my old foster family decided they didn't want me anymore. I... I just wanted to have a cute girl show me around town."

While Helga felt a pang of sympathy for the boy, he was still obnoxious. "Sorry about your home life. Maybe try a little tact when you ask a girl out and you'll get somewhere."

Helga thought that would be the end of it, and went back to scanning the games, but he missed the hint that he should try with some other girl.

"Would this pretty girl be willing to show little old me around?"

Helga didn't even turn to look at him. "Sorry, I'm busy. Try someone else, bub."

Suddenly, she felt herself being pushed. She fell against a spinner rack of magazines, knocking it over with a loud clang. As Helga sat up, the boy stood over her, a look of fury on his face. "No one rejects me like that, bitch! Seven gets what he wants, or he gives 'em ten." He held up both fists.

Helga was about to introduce her "ten" to Seven's teeth when the boy was wrenched away from her by an angry Olga. "GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER YOU LITTLE CREEP!"

Helga's mother hauled him around and almost threw him towards Jake, who grabbed him by the front of his jacket. "I thought I told you that you were banned after I caught you stealing the last time you were here." He let go of the boy. "Now get out of here and don't let me see you again, or I'll call the cops."

Smoothing out his jacket, the boy sneered and started towards the entrance. "It's not like I actually wanted any of your crappy games anyway." He then looked at Helga and called her a name that would make a sailor blush.

"You little-" Olga tried to lunge at the boy, only to be held back by Jake.

"I know he's a rude little criminal, but he's still a kid. He's not worth the trouble." Once Seven was gone from view and Olga had calmed down, Jake released her and started to fix the display as mother checked on daughter.

"You okay, honey." Olga asked, worry evident on her face.

"I could have handled it. Just a few more seconds with me and he would have had to gum the word he called me. You actually did the creep a favor." Helga picked up the games she had selected from where they had fallen.

The T-rating on the covers of the non-Crash games caught Olga's eye, eliciting a sigh. "Helga, those games are rated 'Teen' for a reason. They're not appropriate for your age."

"COME ON, OLGA!" She looked at the back of Final Fantasy VII. "I'm going to be traumatized by a little blood and language? I would have been covered in that jerk's blood if you hadn't intervened, and he called me worse than they will ever allow in an M-rated video game!"

"Helga, I don't want to argue with you. Maybe we can discuss this later, but for right now, please just find a few more games that are age appropriate, like this one." She reached for one called Bubsy 3D only for Jake to stop her.

"Uh, I really wouldn't."

"But it's got a cute little pussycat." Olga whined.

"It's really, really bad. I've been meaning to put that one in the five dollar or less bin with the rest of the low quality crap, like Shaq Fu or Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

Ignoring the exchange, Helga picked out two platformers called Pandemonium! and Rayman. She had wanted more variety than just platformers, but most of the other games that stuck out to her weren't "age appropriate."

After Olga paid for everything and they hauled it out to her car, they shared a quiet ride back to the boarding house that ended when Olga pulled into the garage next to Phil's Packard.

Turns out Olga was the only boarder with a vehicle, so Phil let her use the garage. Helga was at first surprised that none of the others had a car, but it made sense when she thought of it. Most of the boarders chose Sunset Arms because it was a cheap option; a vehicle was an expense they probably couldn't afford. Olga on the other hand seemed to have a good amount of money squirreled away... Helga still wasn't sure why her mother chose the boarding house over a nicer apartment, but she wasn't complaining, as the quality time she had shared with Arnold so far very much outweighed any close calls or embarrassing situations.

Getting out, Olga took the boxed PlayStation and Helga the Nintendo 64. Unlocking the kitchen door, they saw Arnold at the kitchen table eating a snack. Seeing both of them lugging boxes, he asked if he could help.

Olga answered. "There's a bag of games in the car. Could you grab it for us, Arnold?"

With a "Sure" he went out to the car. Once everything had been brought up to Olga's room, Arnold ran back down before coming back with her mail. "Here. I, uh, noticed one with 'final notice' stamped on it."

"Thanks, Arnold. Want to stay and try out some of these new games?" Olga asked.

While Helga was hoping her beloved said yes, that wasn't his answer. "I'd love to, but maybe later. I've got some more chores I have to help Grandpa with."

Helga voiced her worry that this would be a common occurrence. "Are you usually this busy helping out?"

Arnold shook his head. "It normally isn't this bad. Grandpa just wants to knock out a lot of the yearly maintenance before school starts up again, that way he isn't taking away from my free time when I have less of it."

Olga smiled. "Your grandfather has a good amount of wisdom. I wish I could say the same about my father..." The smile disappeared as Olga crossed her arms and looked down.

Sensing the awkwardness, Arnold decided to leave. "Uh, I'll see you two later." And he was out the door as Olga continued her staring match with the floor.

Helga rolled her eyes over her mother's sudden moodiness. I accepted that Bob's an idiot, why can't she? She walked over to take a look at the envelope, hoping to get her mom out of her sudden funk. "So, what's the deal with this. You blow probably over six hundred dollars on games, but are neglecting to pay a bill to the point they're stamping it final notice?"

Olga finally looked up from the floor. "Huh? What?"

Helga picked up the envelope and read the return address. "Sue's Storage?"

Olga walked over and took the envelope. "Uh. Don't worry about it, honey."

Helga thought for a moment, and then a realization struck her. "Wait a minute. Several months ago, Bob said he was giving all your awards to you for safe keeping... and yet I haven't seen a single one of them." A smirk came to her face. "You stuck 'em in a storage unit then forgot about it, didn't you!"

Olga looked out the window. "I didn't forget. I... I just didn't want them anymore. I-I couldn't get myself to just dump them in a dumpster, so I rented a storage unit, and put them there. I figured I'd pay for the unit, and when Mom and Dad got back on their feet I'd give them back to your grandfather so he could display them again, but... when that first bill arrived I just couldn't bring myself to pay it." Feeling the tears welling in her eyes, Olga started to sniffle. "I know Bob will be furious, but I just want them gone... forever."

Helga cringed. She had wanted to snap her mom out of her depressing train of thought. Instead, she had just hitched a few more cars to it. She really did hate the life she had led... Helga thought, listening to her upset mother. Still glancing at the street, Olga didn't notice Helga come up behind her and wrap her arms around her.

The hug was brief, but it calmed Olga down. Helga stepped back and coughed. "I, uh... let's test out some of those new games before our therapy appointments."

Olga smiled. "Sure. Which one do you want to try first?"

Ignoring the Nintendo 64 with its stack of Mario related games, Helga pointed at the PlayStation. I've played several games with the fat plumber before, so how about we try out the one about the cartoon marsupial?"

Lugging the box over to the television, Olga smiled. "Sure. I'll just hook it up. And Helga?" Her daughter looked at her. "Thanks."

"Why do I need the book again?" Helga looked down at The Last Unicorn as they drove to the Hillwood Medical Center. She was almost done with it already.

Before answering, Olga glanced at the copy of Game of Thrones lying on the car seat next to her. "My appointment doesn't start until you're halfway into yours. Once yours is finished, I want you to wait in the lobby for me."

Helga groaned. "Why can't I walk home? The medical center isn't that far from Sunset Arms." She had previously ridden the bus when going from her old home to her appointments, but now that she lived at the boarding house, the center was maybe fifteen minutes away by foot.

"Because I don't feel comfortable letting you walk around town alone anymore. That's part of why I bought you the cell phone. I didn't mention it, but I wasn't happy seeing you sitting alone at Gerald Field yesterday."

"I have walked around town alone probably hundreds of times, and I have been perfectly fine." Helga countered.

"You've been lucky. What if you ran into an adult who acted like that juvenile delinquent from the game store? He could have hurt you badly, or even worse..." Olga let the silence stand for all the unpleasant possibilities.

"Fine." Helga would bow to her mother's request, but she wouldn't be happy about it.

Once they arrived, Helga went inside, grunted hello to the secretary, and started up the stairs as she had been doing since February. Knocking on the door, she heard her therapist tell her to come in.

Going into Dr. Bliss's office, Helga saw the child psychologist who had helped her these past few months. Dr. Bliss had comforted her during the hard times, like when the fallout of Bob's deal with Scheck hit, celebrated with her during the good times, like when Miriam finally got sober, and she had helped Helga improve herself so, so much. The girl had come to view her like an aunt she had never had. Well, Bob did have a sister, but Helga hadn't seen her in years.

"Hello, Helga, how have things been." Dr. Bliss had a cautious smile on her face as the girl sat down on the couch. She had been expecting this to be a hard session.

"It... it has been a long, long week so far, Kathy." Dr. Bliss was about to speak, but Helga added one last thing. "And it definitely wasn't the week I had been expecting."

This peaked the psychologist's curiosity. "What happened, Helga?"

Helga stood up and started walking around the office, trying to figure out where to start. The young girl's pacing didn't bug the psychologist too much, as it was rare for Helga to remain seated for any length of time during a session. "Well, for one thing, I haven't been living in the Beeper Emporium. Instead, I've moved in with Olga."

Dr. Bliss was happy that the girl had an actual home but was concerned about Helga's previous feelings of hostility toward her sister, especially if she was now living with her. "I know when we talked a week ago you still hadn't made much progress with your sister. Have... have things gotten any better?"

The woman tensed when Helga exhaled, preparing for the worst. "Things have been... better, but I'd like to talk about that a little later. There's something a little more pressing."

"And that is...?"

"Well... I've been living with Olga, and Olga's been living in the Sunset Arms boarding house... Arnold's boarding house." Dr. Bliss's eyebrows shot up at that.

"Have you been doing okay? You haven't fallen back on any of your old defense mechanisms, have you?" Helga shook her head as she grabbed the darts and started flinging them at the dartboard.

"Nah. The closest I've come to returning to old habits is I did a monologue at Gerald Field yesterday. Nobody was around though." She almost hit bullseye. "...Except Brainy, I guess. Didn't hit him, though."

"So, things are going fine? What's so pressing then?"

"Well, there's been a few... embarrassing incidents." Helga felt her cheeks get warm.

"What kind of incidents?" Dr. Bliss inquired.

"Nothing life ending. The biggest was he turned as red as a tomato when he saw my training bra."

Dr. Bliss chuckled. "Well, he is at a confusing age, Helga. Puberty may be harsh on us girls, but it isn't easy on the boys either."

"Yeah, and I know the worst part is yet to come. 'The joys of womanhood' my butt." She rolled her eyes as she scratched her back where the bra's strap was. "Anyway, things have actually been really good."

Dr. Bliss smiled. "That's great, Helga! Tell me about it! If you want," she added.

"Well..."

As Helga told Dr. Katherine Bliss about the time she had spent with Arnold the last few days, her mother stepped into the office of her therapist, Dr. Joyce Schumacher. Seeing the young woman, the elderly psychologist smiled at her. "It's good to see you, Olga. Have things gone well with your daughter this week?"

"Yes. She moved in on Monday." A big grin lit up Olga's face. "And she knows! She knows and she doesn't hate me!" In her excitement, she got up and hugged the woman, who patted her on the back.

After Olga let go, she sat down on the couch as Dr. Schumacher took her seat in her chair. "That's good to hear Olga. I'm very proud of you. How did you tell her?"

Olga's smile wavered. "Well, I didn't actually tell her..."

Linebreak

"...And we had such a good time at the park today." Helga finished relating her adventures with Arnold since the week began.

"That's great, Helga!" Dr. Bliss smiled.

Helga frowned. "Yeah. I guess it is."

"Is there something wrong with that?"

Helga sighed and shut her eyes. "It's just... I feel like I should do something, like tell him how I feel, but I'm... I'm scared... so scared."

Dr. Bliss put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Remember what I told you. Do what you feel comfortable doing. You don't have to feel pressured to act. Your feelings belong to you and you alone."

"I wish Olga would understand that..." Helga grumbled, as she started swinging her fists at the punching bag.

Dr. Bliss eyebrows raised at that. "I take it your sister knows, then."

Helga nodded. "Yeah. She figured it out while she was our student teacher. She keeps insisting I need to do something about my feelings, like she did with-" Helga then clammed shut.

Seeing the girl go silent this way made Dr. Bliss once more grow concerned. "Helga? Is everything going okay with your sister?"

Helga took a seat on the couch and looked down at her hands. "I... I guess I should tell you. Monday night I was looking though the attic at Bob's request, and I found this old photo album. Going through it, I-I learned that... that Bob and Miriam aren't my parents. And Olga isn't my sister. She..." Helga took a deep breath and exhaled. "She's my mother."

Dr. Bliss used her notepad to hide her momentary shock, before quickly regaining composure. "H-how did things go after that?"

Helga described her confrontation with Olga and the ensuing make-up. "...And it turned out she was telling the truth when she said she hated the 'perfect' lifestyle she had led for so many years. She even disposed of all her trophies and ribbons. I guess I should be glad I didn't show the same aptitude Olga did when she was little, or Bob could have pushed me to be another wind-up doll like her."

"I'm glad she's no longer under that pressure. I assumed that she felt a need to act that way when you told me about the time you changed her grade... anyway, you two have been getting along better, right?"

Helga, who was sitting on the windowsill now, watched her feet swing back and forth. "I mean, yeah. We like some of the same music, and even though it turned out she's a huge nerd, she's at least a discerning one when it comes to books and video games. Besides her pushing me when it comes to Arnold, she's also been rather strict when it comes to what's 'age appropriate.'" Helga said in a mocking voice.

Hopping down, she continued. "She's been getting on my case about my safety and 'mental wellbeing.' She thinks that watching horror movies and playing violent games will mess me up or something." Helga started to get exasperated. "I mean, come on! I've already read and watched things wildly inappropriate for my age, and it didn't make me any more messed up than I already was!" Besides maybe making some of my poetry a little more explicit... She shuddered as she remembered the poem that damn parrot kept repeating.

"Helga, from what you tell me, she knows that you haven't had enough parental supervision and is probably trying to fix that. I also kind of agree. You probably shouldn't be watching R-rated movies or playing... whatever the video game equivalent is."

"She won't even let me watch things that are rated PG-13!" Helga protested.

The psychologist shook her head. "It's still her choice Helga. I would recommend you sit down and talk with her about it."

"Don't you think I've tried!" Helga growled.

Dr. Bliss sighed. "Helga, our session for today is almost over. I don't want to end it with you angry, so how about we talk about something else..."

Helga felt ashamed. The woman had helped her so much over the past half year, after all, and here she was getting mad at her.

Not meaning to make the girl feel guilty, Dr. Bliss decided to bring up a subject. "You mentioned that Olga had told you about your father. Would you like to tell me about him?"

Helga smiled. "Sure. For one thing it turns out he was both a nerd and a klutz... I guess that made him perfect for Olga." She laughed as she thought about Olga's description of the French boy.

"How'd she meet him?"

"Well, he was an exchange student from France..."

"So, everything has been going well?" Dr. Schumacher asked.

"For the most part, yes. The only thing I've really been butting heads with her over is that she keeps wanting to get into things that I think aren't appropriate for her age. Earlier she got angry because I wouldn't let her buy any video games rated T for 'Teen'. I just want her to be a kid and not think about stuff that's inappropriate for her age. Is that so wrong?"

The older woman shook her head. "I don't think so. As her mother it is entirely up to you... but I do think maybe you should give her a little leeway."

"Huh?"

"From everything you have told me about her, it seems your daughter is a very smart girl. I don't think she should be watching anything with a lot of graphic violence or gutter talk, but she could be feeling constrained by what is perceived to be appropriate for most girls her age."

"So, I should..." Olga trailed off.

"Do what you think is right. But do think about it."

Time passed and they moved onto other topics. Once time was up. Olga said goodbye to the older woman and headed for the lobby. Helga was sitting there, the closed book on her lap, bookmark lying on top of it.

"Ready to go?" Mother asked daughter.

"Yeah. I finished the book about ten minutes ago, so I've been sitting here counting ceiling tiles." Helga growled.

The fact that Helga was already done with the book surprised Olga. While The Last Unicorn was age appropriate for Helga, Olga hadn't been sure her daughter would get all the themes in the book, and that it would take her at least a week and a half for her to get through it.

As they got in the car, Olga made a decision. "Hey, I'm going to stop by Jake's Game Corner. Is that alright with you? It shouldn't take long."

Helga grunted out a "sure." After a pause, she eyed her mother. "You're not going to buy that cruddy game about the bobcat, are you?"

Olga hummed. "Maybe."

As they arrived there, Olga told her to stay in the car, as it would only be a moment. Sure enough, after maybe five minutes, Olga came back carrying a bag.

Getting in her car, she handed the bag to Helga. Looking inside it, Helga's mouth dropped open. Inside the bag was not only a copy of Final Fantasy VII, but also of Twisted Metal one and two.

As Helga looked at her mother for an explanation, Olga just looked at the road as she started driving homeward. "Helga. I realized that maybe I've been a bit too strict. You're really smart for your age. You know right from wrong, and while I still want you to enjoy your childhood, I think you can handle some things that are meant for teenagers." She then shot a grin at her daughter. "Plus, I'm going to enjoy demolishing you at those Twisted Metal games."

Helga smirked. "Good luck at that, Mom."

Olga felt a warm feeling in her chest. Whether Helga realized it or not, it was the first time she had called Olga "Mom."

Arnold yawned as he got into bed. He had stayed up late playing games with Helga. At about eleven, Olga had finally made the two ten-year-olds go to bed. Sitting up, he was just about to plug in the wire that would make his alarm clock go off in the morning when his hand hesitated.

That dream he had had yesterday morning came back into his mind, and how it had been interrupted by the alarm clock. What if I have another one... And it gets interrupted too? It's not like I have much planned for tomorrow anyway, so what does it matter if I sleep in?

Making his mind up, he turned off the light, the wire still not plugged in...

Some notes about the new characters:

Seven is another character from Married... with Children. In that show, he appeared exclusively in season seven. His parents named him that because he was their, uh, seventh kid (one, two, three, four, five, seven. Sounds about right), and he came under the care of the Bundys after said parents abandoned him. He was added to be a cute Cousin Oliver-type character, but like Cousin Oliver, he was annoying as hell, and the creators and writers quickly realized this, so after two episodes they reduced him to having maybe a line or two until his contract ran its course, at which point he disappeared without explanation. My explanation is that after he tried to light the family dog Buck on fire the Bundys dumped him into the foster system and he bounced from family to family until ending up in Hillwood.

Unlike Luke, I plan on having him make regular appearances. I'm thinking of having him be a bully alongside Wolfgang, since I don't feel like using Torvald or Ludwig (Torvald because I feel he was on a road to redemption and has perhaps been moving up the grades to rejoin the other kids his age, and Ludwig because he's too similar to Wolfgang). Plus, while Seven isn't physically imposing like those bullies, he'll make up for it in pure nastiness. It's kind of my revenge on him being an annoying character in his home series. No disrespect to his actor is meant though, as Shane Sweet was only a young kid when he portrayed the character. He probably did better than I would have.

Jake was inspired by one of my coworkers who has some retro games. His name isn't actually Jake, but his real name is shared with someone else who is going to be making an appearance in a few chapters, so I asked my friend what he wanted the character to be named instead. He said either Jake or Snake. As you can see, I did not choose Snake.

Dr. Joyce Schumacher is named after family. Joyce is my great-grandmother's first name, and Schumacher is the maiden name of one of my grandmothers.

Next: Dinner for Three