Chapter Text
I’m not going to be late, I’m not going to be late! Penelope repeated in her head as she rushed down the crowded sidewalks of the city.
She was hired as a runner for Finland’s gothic metal band, His Infernal Majesty, and she refused to get fired on her first day. She couldn’t count how many people she’d bumped into, only shouting apologies as she raced ahead. Penelope almost tripped over herself making a sharp right up the stairs of the entrance to her destination. The skyscraper in front of her was so tall, it made her feel dizzy, but she had no time to dally around. She yanked on the door and leaped inside, the clack of her crocodile boots echoing on the marble floor as she sprinted to the front desk.
“Um.. Penelope here… here for my first day. Band… Runner.” The dirty blonde said heavily, not panting, but heart racing fast.
The woman sitting behind the brown desk giggled as she opened a folder and slid some papers into it. “Good morning, Miss Laine. Don’t worry, you're right on time.”
Penelope looked at the large glass clock behind the woman as it struck 11. “Thank Gods…” She mumbled.
“I love your hat, I think the color suits you.”
Penelope raised her hands to the lime green beret she’d almost forgotten she was wearing. “Aww, kiitos paljon!”
“Olet tervetullut. Please take this up to the 8th floor where the band is shooting,” She handed the yellow folder to the girl “-and give it to Mrs. Vanshield. I’ll let her know you weren’t late, and you’re on your way immediately.” The brunette grabbed the black corded phone to make a call.
“Kiitos.” Penelope said again and darted off to the elevator, which opened as soon as she pressed the top arrow button. She hit the number 8 button a few times before the doors closed, and she was encompassed by silence. Her heart pounded in her chest as she fixed the brown scarf around her neck. Tingles and stomach butterflies filled her body as the elevator slowly inched its way up, making her grip the manilla folder tight.
It stopped. The doors seemed to open slower than they closed and a gust of cool air came from the dim room. She had to force herself from her stone stance as goosebumps crawled across her arms.
There was a small cart and a wall in front of her; nothing could have prepared her for the massiveness of the room when she turned the corner. People scampered back and forth, shouting things to each other around a giant glass cube in the middle of the room. A few workers were inside the cube looking at lights and setting up what Penelope assumed was the band’s equipment. She aimlessly walked forward but stopped when she heard the click-clacking of heels rushing towards her. It was a tall woman with raven black hair done in a sleek 60’s updo that complimented her sharp crimson cat-eye glasses and red lipstick. She wore a black and grey striped skirt suit, the tight skirt flaring at her knees. Clean, black stockings covered her long legs that led to those bright red, 5 inch heels. There was no doubt in Penelope’s head that was Mrs. Vanshield.
“Hi, you must be-”
“Are you the runner with my package?” Her voice was deep, cutting Penelope off without a care.
“Uh- yes ma’am.” She held out the yellow folder.
The woman’s irritated look lifted as she grabbed it from the girl and slid it under her arm. “I’m Margarete Vanshield, Mrs. Vanshield to you.” She held out a dangerously sharp manicure to Penelope.
She gently took her hand to shake it. “I’m-”
“Penelope, yes.” Mrs. Vanshield interrupted again. “I wish you’d gotten here sooner so we’d be able to introduce you to everyone, but the production can’t wait for the belated. You’re off the hook now, but early is better. I might be your overseer, but you’ll have more to answer to should this happen again.”
“Right. I’m so sorry, the train had a delay-”
“No excuses, Miss Laine. Your job as a runner will be crucial to how smoothly we run. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be more punctual.”
Mrs. Vanshield smiled again, making Penelope feel a little more confident in her standing.
“Please, follow me.” She took large strides, the short blonde taking awkwardly long steps to keep up. “We’re filming a music video today, I’m sure the papers you read told you about that?”
“Right Here in My Arms, correct?”
“Kyllä! We’re just about to start, and your job will begin soon after.”
The two women stopped on the other side of the room where a girl, shorter than Penelope, with mousy brown hair, stood eating what looked like M&M’s from her palm. She looked up at the intimidating woman sheepishly, shoveling the rest in her mouth.
“Miss Etlo. This is Penelope Laine, your new assistant runner. I’ve got to check on Miss Sarasalo and see if she’s ready. I’m sure you’ll know what to do with her?”
“Yes ma’am!” She exclaimed, voice garbled from chocolate, and raised her arm in a sharp salute.
“Good.” Mrs. Vanshield turned and made her way back across the room.
The girl swallowed. “I'm Karolina, but you can call me Kay.” she wiped her hand on the side of her pants and held it out. Penelope didn’t want to make a bad first impression so she eagerly took it into a hearty shake. “I’m so glad to have a new partner! And don’t worry about Mrs. Vanshield, she can be a real fun person, but shooting music videos always stresses her out. Especially with this band.” Kay pointed at a group of men sitting in directors chairs, getting preened by men and women in aprons right next to the large glass cube.
Penelope furrowed her brows. “Are they hard to work with or something?”
“Oh yeah. Well, the four of them are fine; Mige, Linde, Juska, and Gas. That’s just his nickname. All pretty nice, but Ville, the one in the wife-beater, that man may as well be enough trouble equal to a whole band just by himself.” She huffed. “You’ll have to see for yourself though, I only hope he doesn’t run you off like the last one.”
Penelope gazed at the man Kay called Ville. He stared up at the makeup artist with pouty lips as she put a light coating of lipstick on him. “What happened to the last one?” She asked, her eyes not moving.
“I’d rather not scare you off on your first day, just know he’s a total loser who’s stuck too far up his own ass.”
“He can’t be that bad, can he?”
Before Kay could respond, the lights buzzed loudly as they dimmed.
“Ladies and gentlemen I think we’ve wasted enough time.” Mrs. Vanshield’s voice boomed throughout the area as she walked in with a tall dark brown haired girl in a brown cropped shirt. “There’s only so much daylight, and I’m tired, so let’s get rolling please. We’re doing Ninja’s scenes today, and we don't have her for long, so do not be sloppy!”
The people in the lit up box turned them off and scurried out, and the makeup artists backed away as the band members started standing up. As the members made their way inside the glass and into their positions, Penelope’s eyes followed Ville, mesmerized by his swaying walk. Her mind refused to believe a man that pretty could be bad.
I’ve heard a couple of their songs… They’re so sweet. No way he’s an asshole. Right?
The girl Penelope assumed was Sarasalo flipped her hair over her shoulders as she stood a couple of feet from a lever. The room went almost completely black save for a small light that illuminated the actress.
“3…2…1… Action!” A man’s voice called out. Guitar over the speakers filled the room and Sarasolo put on a vexed face as she took a few steps over to the lever and pulled it. As she strutted to the glass box, a thousand lights on the ceiling of it sprung to life, illuminating the band members inside.
As the scene played in front of her, Penelope watched in amazement. The music was loud, but she could barely hear Kay mumbling along to the words and swaying her hips. “So… we just stand here?” She leaned over to whisper into Kay’s ear.
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Think of this as like an on-call job. We stand by until we’re needed. It’s pretty neat, but can get really annoying at times.” She paused and laughed as Ville started humping the glass.
“One time Ville called me at like 3 am to make him some coffee. I would’ve been more upset if the band wasn’t having a late night writing session and just needed a little pick me up.”
“All that, for coffee. Could they not make any themselves?”
“What can I say? I make a mean cup of joe. And anyway, we’re supposed to be in tip-top shape when it comes to fulfilling our roles. We do what we do, so they can do what they do. Ya’ feel me?”
Penelope frowned, but Kay had already turned her head to watch the band. “Yeah.”
“That’s a wrap! Good work everyone!” The lights flared awake as everyone started clapping and hollering.
“That’s our cue.” Kay said, grabbing some juice boxes and towels from the table behind her. She handed two and two to Penelope. “Give these to Gas, the big boy, and Linde the one with the long hair. They’re really friendly, so don’t be afraid.” She giggled. “I’ll be right behind you.”
With newfound adrenaline, Penelope sped over to the bandmates. Luckily for her, her targets were already close to each other, laughing.
“Um-hello! These-these are for you guys.” She awkwardly handed each man a box of juice and a towel.
“Thanks little lady.” Gas threw the towel over his head as Linde draped it around his neck.
She smiled wide. “I’m Pene-”
“Where the hell is ours?” She heard a deep voice shout. “Your arms look big enough to carry five towels, eh?” Ville snickered. Before she could say anything, Kay came over with three towels and juice boxes. She shoved Ville’s two items into his chest without a word and calmly handed Juska and Mige theirs.
“Everyone, this is Penelope, my new fellow runner.” Kay walked over and squeezed her shoulders with a friendly vigor. “Now that I have some help, you won’t have to worry about things being done later than normal.”
They all gave hellos and introductions, thanking Penelope for being there. All except Ville, who remained quiet, eyeing her up and down intently. His eyes rested themselves on her midsection, and he sneered ever so slightly. Penelope had gained a bit of weight over the winter, but she hadn’t thought anything of it. Her Äiti and Isä said she looked cute, her small pudge poking over her low-rise jeans, but the look on Ville’s face made her skin crawl as he moved his eyes to stare into her own. He gave her a sickly smirk.
“Ville.” He said simply. “Pleasure.” Ville threw the towel over his shoulder and walked towards the doors that led to an outside balcony, taking a cigarette out of its carton and putting it in his mouth on the way.
The other band members looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
“Don’t take it personally.” Mige said. “He’s like that to everyone.”
Kay nodded her head at him like she was trying to say, See, I told you so.
Trying not to let the idea of him get her down, Penelope shoved her feelings to the back of her mind. She would deal with them later. “Well it’s nice to meet all of you! I’ll do my very best.”
“If you’re learning from Miss Karolina here, you’ll do fantastic.” Juska said, playfully punching Kay’s shoulder.
Mige shoved his free hand in his pocket and pulled out a carton of cigarettes. “I’ve been itching for one of these all morning. Um, there’s nothing I need, ladies. If these bozos don’t need anything, you’re free to go.” He said, putting a cigarette between his lips.
The other three looked at each other and shrugged, muttering that they were fine.
“Alright, well text me if you need anything, guys! Oh, and you all did fantastic!” Kay said.
They all gave their thanks as they followed where their lead singer had gone.
“Well that went better than I thought it would.”
Penelope sighed, “You think?”
“Mhm. Ville doesn’t count.” She chuckled.
A grin replaced the blonde girl’s worried expression. “If you say so.”
“While I have you here, we’ll go through the community refrigerator and restock, then you’re free to head home. Oh, go ahead and give me your phone number, and I’ll send it to them so they can contact you.”
She didn’t like the idea of Ville having her number, but knew she couldn’t not give it up. Reluctantly, she did, hoping with not much confidence she wouldn’t get 3 am coffee texts.
As Penelope handed Kay milk cartons to line up in the fridge, her mind thought back to the other runner mentioned earlier that day.
“Hey, Kay?”
“Yeah?” Kay replied, half her body hanging out of the cold metal rectangle.
“Could you-”
Penelope was interrupted as Ninja walked in. “Oh!” She jumped. “I didn’t know anyone was in here.”
Kay climbed out of the refrigerator. “Ninja! Yeah, sorry, we’re doing a last bout of upkeep before going home. What can I do ya’ for?”
“Hide me from that creep outside.” She replied, only half joking. “He followed me outside and would not stop harassing me.”
“Ville?” Penelope questioned.
“Who else? Can I get a glass of limonadi please?”
“Sure thing.” Kay reached for a round pitcher in the fridge and poured it into one of the glasses from the drying rack.
“I love your nails.” Penelope said, admiring the dark, glossy chocolate brown color as Ninja reached over to grab the half full glass of lemonade.
Oh, thanks, girl!“ She took a large sip. “I thought they’d work well for the video.”
“Amazing job today.” Kay chimed in.
“Eh… All I did was walk around a box. It was almost amusing watching how much that man wanted to fuck himself.” She shivered. “They should’ve sealed it shut.”
They all giggled, and Ninja finished her glass. “I'm going to leave this here and head out that way.” She pointed to the door next to the refrigerator that led into a back hallway. “If he comes around asking, I wasn’t here.”
Kay brought up that sharp salute again. “Roger that! Have a wonderful day Ninja!”
“You too, girls! Hyvästi”
“Bye!” They called back as Ninja slipped out the door.
“Well that was a nice surprise.“ Kay said. “Wish it was under better circumstances.”
Penelope nodded her head. They stood there in silence for a bit until she had the courage to speak. “While the topic is fresh in my mind now, could you tell me about the last runner that was hired?”
Kay raised an eyebrow at her.
“I promise I won’t quit. I’m just curious.” She gave Kay an awkward smile.
Kay sighed and crossed her arms. “It’s not right of me to keep it from you after I’m the one who mentioned it. That’s on me. Ville likes to mess with everyone he can. When he figured out she had a terrifying fear of spiders, he surprised her on her birthday with a shook-up box full of them.”
Penelope's eyes widened in horror. “That’s awful!”
“I’ll never forget the look on her face when she opened it.” Kay frowned. “She left with some PTSD, but also twenty-seven hundred euros and a long apology note from the company. Not enough in my opinion.” She leaned against the metal table behind her.
“Is that why the pay is so high?”
“I don’t know what they offered you, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was.”
“Well damn…”
“Promise me you’ll stick it out as long as you can?” Kay looked at her with pleading eyes.
Penelope nodded. “I promise. I just won’t let Ville know what I’m afraid of.”
They both chuckled nervously as Kay opened the refrigerator door and went back to restocking it. Neither of them talked, but Penelope didn’t mind as she was deep in thought and wanted to keep it that way.
Spiders? Harassment? There’s no kidding, he really is a loser.