There are only a few differences between myself and my brother: age, size, height and popularity. I am only a couple years younger than he is. I'm also a bit taller and leaner than him as well. My brother, however, is far more popular than me. Every time we leave the house, everyone cries out his name. Everyone tries to dress like him, and some of them are quite hysterical, I must say. My brother is the kind of man that you would want to introduce to your mother and sister. His heart is of genuine gold and he'll be there for you when you need him.
I, on the other hand, have nothing compared to his courage and popularity. I am usually in his shadow wherever we go. Not a lot of people notice me. If I am outside alone, people notice me as a wimp and someone who can't defend himself. I used to be like that, but I slowly grew out of that phase. Keyword: "slowly". I still have my fears and doubts, but they are slowly and surely decreasing.
I suddenly realized that my thoughts were running, and shook my head to recollect myself. There was a kitchen sink in front of me, with warm water partially filled and the rest covered in an abyss of soap bubbles. I suddenly remembered what I was doing, and grabbed a sauce-covered plate and soaked it in the water. Rummaging through the bubble abyss, I managed to find a cup and started drying it.
"I was wondering how long you would stand there staring into the bubbles." I jumped as my older brother laughed softly. "I didn't mean to scare you." He walked over to me and looked inside the bubble-infested sink, "What were you staring at, anyways?"
I flipped bubbles in his face. "Your pasta-infested plate." I answered finding a scrub brush, "Do you know how hard it is to get pasta noodles off of plates if you don't soak them like I tell you?" My brother smiled as bubbles flew into my face.
"Well, you have to stop spacing out. I just got a call from Daisy." He turned and started to walk away, "Says you two need to talk."
My heart completely stopped. I looked at my brother, but he had left the room by that time. Man, it usually wasn't good if Daisy wants to "talk". Either I: (a) forgot about an event (b) did something wrong or (c) both. And it's a hell of a job to get her to forgive me, too. She isn't the type who you can just shower gifts on her and all will be well. No, that's not Daisy. She is completely different from the other girls here in the Mushroom Kingdom/Sarasaland area. I finished the dishes and headed into the living room, waiting for her arrival. Daisy is a very active individual whose definition of "having fun" is not all about fingernails and designer labels and talking about who is the cutest guy. She is a complete tomboy; she plays tennis, soccer, even football! Football alone just proves that she is a more active individual than I am.
My thoughts were completely cut off when the door knocked lightly. I stood up, but my older brother cut me off and got to the door first. He opened it and there she stood. She greeted my brother and walked in. She sent me one of her soft, shy smiles. I probably looked scared because she hugged me. Realizing it, I started breathing again. I hugged her back. She backed away, looking me over.
"Cleaning, I take it?" Daisy asked acknowledging the black apron tied around my waist.
"Mainly dishes." I responded with a shy smile. "Why do we need to "talk"?" I asked using the index and middle fingers on both of my hands making air quotes.
"Do you know what today is?"
I closed my eyes, thinking. It wasn't our 5th year anniversary of dating. Today is definitely not her birthday; that is on July 31st. A couple minutes later, I opened my eyes and told her that I had no idea. She shook her head.
"Luigi," she spoke to me in a whisper, "Tonight marks the tenth year of Mario being Chosen. Did you forget?"
"Huh, Well I guess I did." I lied.
I knew all along what today was, and I always regretted this day. I know; I know that I should be happy for Mario. I am happy for him, no doubt about that. The only thing I really don't like about this day is that everyone wants to be with him every single minute of the day. Half the time, I don't even see him. Every year, the Mushroom Kingdom honors the people who have achieved the most in the previous year. Every year, Mario is honored not only for rescuing Princess Peach or beating Bowser; he gets honored for being a good citizen and setting examples and such.
"Luigi?" Daisy's voice broke through my thoughts, "Are you okay?" I blinked a few times, trying to recollect myself and my thoughts. I looked at her, and smiled a little; to not worry her. She smiled back in response. I turned and saw Mario start to head out.
"Will you excuse me for a minute, Daisy?" I asked her. She nodded, and I turned to Mario "Hey, bro. Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Can it wait 'till tomorrow?" Mario asked growing impatient, "I have a ceremony to attend to, you know." And with that, he swung open the door only to smack someone in the process. He started to close the door a bit to see a girl flat on her butt. "Oh gosh Rose I didn't see you coming up. I'm sorry."
"That's fine," The girl, Rose, responded as she stood up rubbing the red spot on the right side of her forehead that was quickly making its home, "I know you are in a rush. Go on ahead." Mario nodded and left quietly.
Unlike Daisy's hair; Rose's hair reached the small of her back and it was straight and black. Her eyes were green; showing that she was not city-born. Her outfit consisted of a light blue tank top, a nice pair of denim pants with a pair of black heels. Apparently, she felt like wearing heels today because she usually wears either flats or tennis shoes. She smiled and waved shyly at both Daisy and I. I offered her inside the house, and she walked in, thanking me. I closed the door, and turned around to see the girl taking off her shoes next to me.
"Good." I remarked, "You know my biggest pet peeve."
"I don't think it is your biggest one." She responded as she took off her other shoe and started putting on a pair of socks, "But it is quite big."
"First of all," Daisy said, "That's what she said." I groaned, "Second, I know you have told me about a hundred times, but my memory is not that great. Where did you say you were from, Rose?"
"Toad Town," The girl responded, "A couple miles south from Star Hill."
"Would you like anything to drink?" I offered to both girls as I walked towards the kitchen, "We've got water, tea, milk you know the drill." I pulled out the cold tea and what lemonade we had left, already knowing what Rose would want. As I was mixing the drink, I heard Daisy explaining to her what tonight was and why Mario seemed a bit impatient. I came in, giving the glass to Rose as Daisy finished explaining. "My little flower, you didn't tell me what you wanted to drink."
Daisy smiled and her cheeks turned pink.
"Rated G, please." Rose commented the glass on her lips.
"You like it, though." Daisy responded as Rose rolled her eyes. She turned to me, "I wouldn't mind having what she is having."
"Don't get me wrong; I'm glad you two are dating and all that junk. I, personally, am not a big fan of seeing two people drown into each other's arms." Rose commented shooting a sideways glare towards me. Taking it as a hint, I retreated into the kitchen and prepared a drink for Daisy.
"Well, if we decide to do that, we will let you know." Daisy responded holding my hand when I came back, "I'm sure you will find your special someone soon, Rose. Our apologies to you for grossing you out. We'll try to keep it to a minimal."
"You better warn me if we are going romance on everyone." I responded handing her the glass. Rose laughed. "Shouldn't we go to the Ceremony?"
"Why are you asking us?" Rose responded as she set her empty glass down. "Well, I'll have to get my shoes back on. It may take me a bit, though."
It didn't take as long as I had expected it to; us getting ready that is. We all headed out in the surprisingly warm October night. It was around 11:00 and the Ceremony was still in full swing. It had been since 6 in the morning. Balloons shaped as Stars were flying into the cloudless sky filled with the white twinkling lights of other distant Stars. Cheerful music was playing from all directions and children were shrieking at all the different colors. The smells of Cinnamon Pastries and Cotton Candy filled the air as we approached the main attraction of the evening: The Blessing Ceremony. The words were printed on almost every surface imaginable. I turned my head towards Rose, who looked extremely confused.
"Can I be of any help?" I offered.
"What are Blessings?' Rose responded, "I'm not from around here, remember?" she added quickly before either Daisy or I could comment.
"Blessing is a term loosely used for giving good fortune towards someone." Daisy gave the dictionary answer. Rose shook her head and I rolled my eyes. "Blessings are awards given to only to the people who have achieved the most and the best throughout the year. They are kind of like rewards for volunteering. Mario gets a few every year for saving Peach, defeating Bowser, and some other event that he did every year. Last year, he got a Blessing for volunteering 100 hours at local charities."
"But aren't Blessings biased?" Rose asked concerned, "Like would Luigi get a Blessing for doing the same thing?"
There was a beat of silence. Thankfully, an intercom with the Princess's voice cut off the awkward silence.
"Attention, citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom!" Peach's high pitched voice projected from the speakers, "The Blessings will starting soon, so please head towards the Star Pavilion."
All three of us, conveniently, were in front of the entrance, so we continued on in. Thankfully, we got the front row in the center. I am not picky about where I sit or anything like that; I just wanted to be front and center for Mario.
Even big, well-known and loved heroes get a little stage freight once in a while.