"Mooooommm, do I have to go?"

"Yes, dear. Mommy has to go help at the castle today."

Biblio would never admit it out loud, but he was an avid eavesdropper. It was never done out of malice, though—only out of curiosity. He just couldn't help it, if he was being honest. But after being caught periodically throughout the years, he had become rather skilled at eavesdropping in secret. He could look distracted, hum a tune, or work on the computer while doing so. He even managed to learn to read while eavesdropping, too.

So, when a mother Toad and her rather rowdy child walked into the library, Biblio opened up the nearest book on his desk and began to read, all while listening to their exchange.

"Can't I go to Kooplea's house until you get back?" the child begged as they entered, drawing some stares from other people in the library.

The mother sighed. "Kooplea is visiting her family. She won't be home for a few days."

"What about Greyson's house?"

"Greyson and his parents are building new houses in Goomba Village."

"The Boo twins?"

"Their auntie grounded them, honey."

"Buzzy B.?"

"...Didn't you say Buzzy is mean to you at school?"

"Well, yeah," the young Toad huffed, crossing his arms. "But I don't wanna be here! There's no kids to play with!"

"Nonsense!" his mother chuckled. She pointed to the corner of the library, where a small circle of children were seated on a colourful rug, chattering excitedly amongst themselves.

The boy groaned, turning back to his mother. "But they're, like, 3! Isn't there anyone my age around here?"

"I'm sorry, sweetie," the mother said dejectedly, obviously exhausted from the conversation. Biblio bet that the kid was whining long before they got here. "But I can't leave you at home alone. I'll only be a few hours, alright?" She patted him on the head, striding back towards the door. "Play nice, Dennis! I'll be back soon." And with that, the woman was gone, leaving her grouchy child behind.

Now, to the uninitiated, leaving a child alone in a library didn't seem like a good idea. But this particular library was special—it was the home of a daycare. The daycare was mostly used by low-income families, since most of the white-collar folks preferred to hire a babysitter. Besides, few parents wanted to leave their kids with a Koopa to watch them. Not many adults trusted Koopas, although they wouldn't say it out loud. As such, the daycare was very small, being used by only 15 kids. Biblio guessed that the child and his mother were new. He hadn't seen them in the library before.

The child, presumably named Dennis, wandered to the adult part of the library and sat down at a table, his head resting upon his hand. Biblio decided it must've been his first visit to the library. Putting down the random book he grabbed earlier (titled "The No-Tummy Mummy Diet," a book he was planning on throwing away later), the Toad walked over to the child, trying to act naturally. "Hey, bud," he began, smiling gently. "What brings you to the romance section?"

The younger Toad eyed Biblio up and down scrutinizingly. Frowning, he quickly looked away, resting his head on the tabletop. "Mom had to go shopping. I have to stay here until she's done."

Biblio sucked the air through his teeth. "That's rough. Sorry about that." Ignoring Dennis' odd expression, he continued talking. "Well, if you're bored, storytime should be starting soon. I can save you a seat if you'd like."

"No thanks," Dennis muttered. He twirled his fingers along the edges of his chair absentmindedly. His eyes were glued to the wall, and he didn't seem to be planning on moving anytime soon. "I don't like stories anymore."

The librarian gasped loudly, clearly exaggerating. "You… don't like stories? But there are some good ones out there. I'm sure we can find one you'll like."

Dennis managed a small laugh before turning away. "Nah. That stuff's for little kids."

Biblio hesitated at first, but simply shrugged after a moment. "Suit yourself, bud. You can always come if you change your mind." Pretending he didn't hear Dennis grumble a quiet "whatever," the librarian paced over to the small crowd of children. Most of them were Toads, but there were a few Goombas and Koopas, as well as a lone Boo child. Standing near them was the daycare Toad, Bess. She was an older woman, kind and gentle. But somehow, even with her frail body, her presence commanded respect whenever she entered a room. Needless to say, everyone loved her, including Biblio. Without her, he probably wouldn't even have a job.

When Biblio arrived and took a seat in front of the kids, they all perked up, falling silent. Bess smiled, taking the chance to retreat for her lunch break. She would be back when storytime was over, as usual.

"Hey, kids," Biblio began, waving at the crowd. "How'd you like to hear a story?"

The children all nodded excitedly, with several of them scooting closer to Biblio's chair. The librarian simply smiled, reaching for the book beneath his seat. "Ahem! Today…" The book was slowly opened to the first page, and the kids stared intently at the narrator. "I'm going to tell you the story of Star Spirits and Good Wishes." Sneaking a peek at Dennis, who wasn't paying attention, Biblio began to read. "Far, far away, beyond the sky, waaaaay above the clouds… it's been said that there's a haven where the Stars live." Dennis scoffed, and a few Toads turned to look at him, but Biblio simply continued. "In the sanctuary of Star Haven, there rests a fabled treasure called the Star Rod, which had the power to grant all wishes."

Biblio reached behind his chair and pulled out a small stick with a paper yellow star on the end. "It looks a lot like this."

"That thing can grant wishes?!" a Goomba kid piped, overly excited. "I made a wish once! And it came true! Did the Star Rod do that?!"

A Koopa child grinned at this. "Ooh! What did you wish for?!"

The rest of the kids loudly shushed them, and the Koopa and Goomba ducked their heads out of shame. Biblio simply chuckled, twisting the fake Star Rod in his hand. "That's great, Gordon. Wishes are very cool." His expression turned more serious. "The Star Spirits think they're cool, too. They used the Star Rod to watch over this world. Carefully… very carefully." Having successfully nabbed his audience's attention once again, Biblio flipped the page for the children. "And then…"

Suddenly, Biblio paused. He turned the book towards himself, hiding the book from everyone's view. The kids muttered to each other as Biblio stared incredulously at the page he opened. "Oh dear," he murmured. "What the…?" A few of the braver kids ran up to Biblio and peered into the book, gasping when they saw the thing Biblio was looking at. Taped right above the picture of the Star Rod was a paper cutout of a Magikoopa flying on her broom. Biblio rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Who stuck this weird thing into the story?" he asked to no one in particular.

Suddenly, someone began to laugh from somewhere in the library. "Ha ha ha! Yeah! I did!"

A few kids squealed in horror at the sound. The Boo hid her face and began to quiver, and the Koopa child retreated into his shell. The rest of them crowded around Biblio's legs, unsure of what to do. The other people in the library shook their heads and chuckled, watching bemusedly as a figure stomped out from behind the nonfiction shelf. Sporting a spiky shell painted green, a pair of shiny cardboard horns, and a tail made out an old sweater, the figure flashed a toothy grin and roared.

The Boo girl peeked at the figure from behind one hand, no longer trembling. "...Mr. Waluigi?"

Biblio withheld a snicker. "No, Boodette, that's the Koopa King, Bowser!" The librarian narrowed his eyes, holding the book tightly against his chest. He snuck another glance at Dennis, who was watching the events unfold with interest. Filled with newfound determination, Biblio put on his best angry voice. "What do you want from us, you fiend?!"

The crude-looking Bowser laughed again. "That's easy! So I can, at long last, beat my archenemy, Mario…" Stomping forward, he stuck his hands on his hips, growling at the cowering children. "...I'll take this Star Rod!" He struck a pose, pointing behind the nearby bookshelf. "Do it, Kammy Koopa!"

A second figure lumbered from behind the nonfiction books, grumbling something nasty under his breath. It was a cruder version of a Magikoopa; the person in the outfit clearly put no effort into his performance. His robes weren't properly dyed, and his broom was actually a mop. "Yes, Your Ugliness," the person sighed, skipping over to Biblio with the mop between his legs. He lazily grasped the paper Star Rod from Biblio's hand, rolling his eyes and passing it to the Bowser behind him.

The kids all gasped as Biblio tried desperately to nab the rod back. However, due to the fake Bowser having ridiculously long arms, he couldn't quite reach. "No, you mustn't do that!" he cried, leaping and jumping for the rod to no avail. "Cut it out, Bowser!

"Yeah! Now let's try using it!" The costumed Bowser made a show of waving the wand around in the air, and suddenly, seven cards appeared in his hand. Each one was printed with an image of a Star Spirit.

"We have captured the Star Spirits and trapped them in cards," the fake Magikoopa monotoned. "Hooray. You are unstoppable now, Lord Bowser."

The fake Bowser shot a glare at his Magikoopa partner, but shook it off, laughing heartily. The two began stomping off towards the staff room with the rod in tow. "That was a piece o' cake! Gwaa ha ha!" The Employees Only door slammed shut behind him, leaving the fearful kids and a rather giggly Dennis alone in the kids' section.

Biblio exhaled softly, walking away from the scene sitting back down on his chair. He gestured for the kids to join him, and they obeyed, albeit timidly. The librarian reopened the book again to a new page. "Now, Star Kids may rise to Star Haven to deliver people's wishes," he said grimly, "but those wishes will not come true. Whatever can they do?"

"We gotta find Bowser!" a green Toad cried, standing up. "We have to get the Star Rod back!"

"Nah, you're fine," Dennis said from across the room. The kids turned to see him, and Biblio smiled when he noticed a grin on the Toad's face. "Mario will stop him. He always does."

Biblio hummed, closing the book. "Maybe he will... I don't know. I guess we'll have to read again tomorrow to find out."

Just then, a small crowd of adults entered the library, taken aback as their kids scrambled to them and rambled about what just transpired in the library. "Bowser came, mom! He took the Star Rod!" "Is Mario gonna come next time?" "I don't wanna go home…"

After a few minutes, the parents had all managed to calm their children down. "Thank you for entertaining them," the mother of the Koopa kid whispered. "He loves coming to hear your stories."

"Anytime, ma'am," Biblio replied with a small bow. "Alright kids, I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Bye, Bib!" the Boo kid chirped, waving. Biblio waved back as she and her father floated away.

As the parents and children filed out one by one, the library was left quiet and empty all of a sudden. Now there were only a few adults left, along with Dennis, who was trying to restrain himself from laughing so hard. Biblio chuckled and sat with him, plopping the book on the table. "M—Mr. Wario and Waluigi looked so stupid," he snorted, fighting back the laughter even harder. "That was really funny."

"I'm glad you liked it," Biblio said softly, patting the book on the table. "Maybe next time, you can help me out. I always need more storytellers." He winked, and Dennis actually nodded, much to his surprise.

"Sure. As long as I don't have to wear a dumb costume like they did."

"Dennis?" someone asked as another Toad walked in. It was Dennis' mother, carrying a few bags of what seemed to be groceries and school supplies. The library was almost empty now; all who remained were a few older Toads, as well as Bess, who was cleaning the kids' area.

"Hi mom," Dennis replied, looking up from his book. Biblio was seated beside him and greeted the woman with a nod and a smile. "You should've been here. Mr. Waluigi was dressed like Bowser and took the Star Rod! Not the real one, but still. And then Mr. Wario kidnapped the Star Spirits!"

"Goodness!" the woman gasped, grinning. "That sounds scary. I sure hope someone will stop him!"

Dennis rolled his eyes. "Yeah, mom. Mario will probably end up doing it. Besides, it's just a story. It didn't actually happen." He slid the book towards Biblio and stood up. "Thanks for the story, Mister."

Biblio blinked, then nodded firmly. "Of course," he winked. "Even if the stories are fake, they can be fun to read, don't you think?"

Dennis was about to agree, but the young Toad spotted something in the librarian's eye. A faint twinkle of mischief, right behind his iris. Before Dennis could comment on it, Biblio chuckled and walked away. Dennis was left standing there, confused. Those stories... They were just stories, weren't they?

"Come on, dear." His mother tugged gently at his sleeve. "We have to go home before it gets dark." She turned towards the door. "Thank you again for taking care of him, Mr. Theca."

"Okay, mom," Dennis replied absently, watching Biblio pick up the book and place it gently on his chair. The boy frowned, then turned to his mother as they began the walk home. "Hey mom, can I go back there tomorrow? I promised I'd help out with the kids."

His mother smiled, tightening her grip on her son's hand. "Why, of course you can."