Part II
Daisy Chained
Luigi felt kind of stupid going out and buying a leash for Polterpup. He didn't want the ghost dog biting every unwelcome ankle he sees, but then again, Polterpup was a ghost. He could just shake the collar off him and run off to who-knows-where.
In fact, Polterpup didn't like the idea of wearing a leash. He didn't like being restricted. Sure, Luigi let the little guy sniff every nook and cranny they passed by, but the pup didn't like it.
The two were on their daily walk around the town. By now, everyone was used to the idea of a ghost dog living in the kingdom, so Luigi didn't receive any wary looks from locals.
Luigi's eyes and mind wandered somewhere else as Polterpup barked and picked up the pace. "Stop," Luigi tugged on the leash, but it was no use, "Stop!"
Polterpup growled and turned invisible. The collar fell to the ground. Luigi sighed. There was no way he was going to find him. People would hate him for keeping the dog around. He knew it was a bad idea to start with.
"Ow!"
"Watch it!"
"Who pushed me?"
"My bags!"
Luigi looked up at the chaos. Everyone was getting rammed aside by an unseen force. Luigi followed the trail of complaining people.
"Now that I think about it, it was a bad idea to come back here. I mean, just look at everything that's going on. People are getting tossed aside by some invisible being. It's too crazy here. Just wandering the streets in broad daylight is a bad ide – OH! Well aren't you adorable!"
Polterpup appeared again, sniffing the woman's feet. He could see that she was talking to herself, and her sent was that of flowers. To him, this woman was a walking, talking daisy.
She sat down on the edge of a fountain. "Come 'ere little guy," she patted on her lap and Polterpup happily jumped up, making himself comfortable.
"THERE YOU ARE!"
Polterpup looked up and cringed.
"You DO NOT understand what I had to go through just to find –"
"Hey, Luigi!"
" - You are not going to . . . D-D-Daisy?"
Daisy waved and Polterpup barked in her lap. "When did you get a dog? He's adorable!" She started playing with his ears.
Luigi gulped and rubbed his neck. "I got him a while ago."
"Cool." She looked down at Polterpup and he looked up, quickly licking her face. He was taking a fast liking to her. Daisy couldn't help but giggle a little bit.
Luigi blinked, That laugh . . . Oh sweet Grambi, that laugh gets me every time.
Luigi had spent most of his adult life around Daisy and somehow, he could never find the right thing to say to her. He still didn't consider it a 'romantic' attraction (because he had his fair share of romance watching the princess and Mario blush around each other for hours) but she did make him feel insecure and just plain stupid.
Daisy scratched Polterpup's back before looking back up at Luigi. "I was wondering what was going on with you these past couple of months and I was wondering if maybe you want to catch up sometime soon."
"Okay."
"Maybe we can grab lunch somewhere tomorrow?"
"Okay."
"I know this great café down the road."
"Okay."
Daisy smirked with some sort of satisfaction. She couldn't lie – she found it entertaining when she made him stutter or say the same things over again. It was like her daily goal whenever he was around. "So, we meet there by one?"
"Okay."
"Sweet. See you then."
Polterpup hopped off her lap and she stood up. Daisy disappeared somewhere in the crowd. Luigi was left standing with a blank stare and an empty mind. Polterpup barked. Luigi turned back to reality.
"Tomorrow?"
Polterpup panted heavily and wagged his tail. Luigi looked down at him. Did this dog just arrange a date for me? Polterpup couldn't hear what his master was thinking, but he kept his little smile and wagged his tail even faster.
The rest of the day was uneventful and consisted mostly of Luigi sulking in the corner and eating his emotions. He was a loser, and he was acting like one, too.
Polterpup bit the bottom of his shirt and tugged on it. He let go and whimpered. Luigi looked at him, "What?"
Polterpup wagged his tail. Luigi didn't know what he wanted. The ghost dog barked. He still got no response from his master. Polterpup ran into the grandfather clock by the stairs. He changed the time to 12 o'clock P.M. The clock chimed twelve times and Polterpup hopped out, pleased with his poltergeist work.
Luigi stared at the time. He then looked at his dog. "You better change the clock back."
Polterpup's tail drooped and his head went down.
"Listen, I've had a long day and I'm not in the mood for anything. Go play in the back yard or something."
Polterpup whimpered, but followed his master's orders. He slowly trotted his way through the back door, looking at Luigi with sad eyes.
Luigi paid no attention. His mind was focused on ten million things at once: The men were going to come back any day now and take the deed to the mansion. Mario didn't care what happened to his brother. Daisy probably thinks Luigi's an idiot for: A) Owning a dead dog. B) Letting that dog cause chaos all over town. C) Not telling her that he had a dog (because he knew just how much Daisy liked dogs) and D) stuttering in front of her like a fool.
Maybe he'd figure out how to deal with these problems after a good-night's rest. That worked sometimes . . . but only sometimes.
As Luigi crawled into bed with a stomach full of ice cream, Polterpup was outside, sniffing around in the back yard. He picked up a scent. It smelled a lot like that girl from earlier today. He liked that girl – she was really nice.
He turned back to look at the house. Would his master mind if he spent the night? Well, master didn't care for tonight's walk, so he was sure master wouldn't care if he spent the night with someone else. Anyway, Polterpup saw the two talking, they must've been friends.
Polterpup ran through the woods, following the smell of daisies.
Luigi walked downstairs and into the kitchen for breakfast. He was still a little bit full from last night, but what did it matter? He'd rather die full than starve.
He walked past the grandfather clock and opened the pantry door. He began to yawn until he realized what time he saw.
"It's two already?" He ran over to the clock and looked at it. It read 2:00 and on another dial it was flipped to P.M. "Oh, great job, Luigi. You slept until two in the afternoon. That must be an all new rec –" he stopped and recalled last night's events. Polterpup had changed the clocks for some weird reason. It wasn't two, it was ten.
Thinking back to Polterpup, where was he? Luigi hadn't seen him all night. He assumed that the little guy must've slept in the back yard.
The door bell rang just as Luigi was making cereal. He groaned, "Coming!" and walked over to the door. He looked through the peek hole and saw Daisy standing outside, looking around.
He stepped back. Luigi was just wearing his pajamas. He couldn't answer the door wearing a t-shirt and sweat pants.
Or could he?
. . . He shook his head. No. That would make him feel even more insecure about himself. He didn't have the time to actually look good, so he grabbed the first jacket he could find and put on some jeans before answering the door.
"Hi, Daisy," Luigi greeted her.
"Luigi, hi, I was just . . . Luigi?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you" – she swallowed her laughter – "Are you wearing a leather jacket?"
Luigi looked down and studied his outfit. He closed his eyes and breathed in. He looked up and opened them. "Yes. Yes, I am."
Daisy nodded, "'Kay. Well I know that we were going to meet up down the road in a few hours, but I thought I'd come earlier. I found a friend of yours in my bed last night."
Luigi shook his head. "What?"
"Your little dog has magical powers. He can walk through walls and everything!"
"Well, he is a ghost, so . . ." Luigi trailed off before he asked her, "Where is he?"
"Oh! He's in my room. Peach doesn't like animals in the castle, so I made sure the door was locked."
Luigi sighed. "Good. He should be fine there for now."
"Mind if I come in?"
"No, not at all," Luigi let the princess in. "I'll be back down in a minute." He ran upstairs, tossing the leather jacket on the floor of his room.
Daisy looked around. She admired the little pictures n' things Luigi scattered across in the living room. It made the place feel a little more home-like.
Luigi came back down wearing the same jeans but his signature green shirt. "I like this picture," Daisy said, turning around. "When did you take it?"
Luigi walked over to her, looking at the picture. "That? That was after I . . . after I put the Dark Moon back together and saved Evershade Valley." He said that quickly, feeling kind of embarrassed for some reason.
Daisy looked at him. "Saved Evershade Valley, huh? Well look at you, Luigi! Being all heroic and stuff."
Luigi could feel himself start to blush. Daisy never really complimented him before, so this was a first. He turned away as she looked back to admire the picture a little longer.
He didn't really notice that Daisy had gotten slightly taller than him over the years. He guessed that factor also contributed into making him feel smaller whenever she was around.
Luigi cleared his throat, "I think we should head back to the castle. Polterpup doesn't like to stay in one place for too long."
Daisy nodded and they both headed for the door. Just as Luigi opened it, two Koopa Troopers raised their fists to knock.
"Oh, good morning," one of them said. "We are part of an organization in the kingdom that takes into account the wellbeing of the citizens. You must be Luigi."
"Of course he is! What other guy in this town would have that bush on his lip for a –"
The first one covered the other's mouth. "Excuse my partner. He's new."
Luigi nodded. "Ah."
"Anyhow," the first one continued, "We have some reports of disturbances all over town. We have reason to believe that they are all being caused by your dog."
"Impossible," Daisy shouted, "That puppy wouldn't hurt a fly!"
"Princess, are you aware that this dog is a ghost?"
Daisy slouched. "A ghost?" She looked at Luigi. "Your dog is a ghost?"
Luigi nodded again. He also forgot how slow Daisy could be. She was perky and aware, but she was slow to react or to notice.
"Yes, well," the second Trooper added, "we found him causing a bit of a disruption in town both last night and this morning."
"He must've gotten out when she left," Luigi thought aloud.
"Right-o, my friend, your dog can go through walls. He's been pushing townies every which-way and we have no other choice but to keep him locked up."
Luigi took a step back. "What? But, he's –"
"A nuisance," the first said. "Therefore, we will keep him locked in a special cell so he won't escape. He'll be fine once you're ready to keep him under control."
"Good day, sir," The two Troopers walked away, taking notes on their clipboard.
Luigi grabbed his head and sighed. "This is all my fault."
"Awh," Daisy put her hand on his shoulder, "don't say that, sweetie."
"No, this is literally all my fault. If I had just been a better owner, none of this would've happened." He looked up. Polterpup gave him a sign that he wanted to go for a walk, but Luigi was too busy sulking in the corner to notice, or care.
"I have an idea," Daisy said. "Why don't we go bail him out?"
Luigi looked up at her. "But, they said when I'm ready to put him under control I can have him back. We can't just take him like that."
Daisy rolled her eyes. "Forget about what they said. Do you want to get your dog back or not?"
"I do."
"Then let's go!"
"But we can't just barge in there."
"Luigi, work with me here. We'll get your dog back!"
"But, Daisy, I –"
She grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the house. "Let's go!"
"What can I help you with?" A secretary pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose and popped her bubble gum bubble.
"Hi, I'm Daisy, and this is Luigi," she pulled him closer, "and we're trying to get his dog back. His ghost dog."
The secretary smiled. "Are you kidding? We don't give animals back. When we take them, it's because they've caused trouble. His dog deserves to be here! That ghost dog knocked me over last night! I still have a bruise on my back!"
Daisy frowned. "But surly you can –"
"Nope! Nothing I can do, sweetheart." The secretary gave a little chortle. "You'll just have deal with it."
Daisy let go of Luigi and shrugged. The secretary stopped them before they could leave. "Wait! Aren't you Mario's brother?"
Luigi looked up and turned around. "Yes," he said, happy to be recognized.
"Tell him Clara says 'hi!' I'm a huge fan!"
Luigi's smile faded. "Okay."
The two left the building. Luigi couldn't believe it. He put himself before one of his best friends.
The week was going downhill fast.
If you couldn't tell, this is one of my up-beat humor stories. At least, I try to put some humor in there. I'm no Kevin Hart.
Well, I don't know what to think.
Criticism or not, all reviews are appreciated!
- Great Mistake
