~Age Fifteen: Distractions~

It was official - Mario hated math. He groaned as he frowned at his textbook before sighing and dropping his face to the table, amusing Pauline who was next to him.

"These questions make no sense," Mario complained, voice muffled by the table beneath him. "Just give me an equation, don't start throwing things in about how many apples Billy is buying, or how many oranges Sally has in her fridge. Because then I start thinking about how stupid these questions are and how weird these peoples lives are!"

"Like how they buy an unnatural amount of fruit at the grocery store?" Pauline questioned, turning her attention away from her science homework.

"Exactly." Mario muttered. He stood, looking at Pauline in curiosity. "Didn't your mom leave cookies for us in the kitchen?"

"She did." Pauline confirmed, Mario brightening as he headed towards the door.

"Want me to bring the entire plate in?" he asked.

"Yes please!"

Mario wasted no time making a beeline for the kitchen, spying the chocolate chip cookies on the counter and grabbing the plate, bringing it back into the room he and Pauline were studying in. Pauline meanwhile had turned on the small stereo, turning the dial to flick through the stations.

"The silence is beginning to grind on my nerves," she explained as she found a jazz station - her favourite type of music. She returned to the desk and thanked Mario as he handed her a cookie, before he wrapped a couple of them in a paper towel.

"Since Weeg is sick, I may as well bring him a couple." Mario explained. Pauline grinned as she turned her eyes towards her homework again, nibbling on the cookie.

"That's nice of you." she replied, lapsing into silence once again as she concentrated on the questions. Mario followed suit, and soon enough the only sounds in the room was the crunching of cookies and the faint music coming from the radio.

"Did I ever tell you why I wanted to be a doctor?" Mario suddenly asked, Pauline jumping slightly thanks to the peace being disturbed. Turning towards Mario, she quirked an eyebrow.

"I think you did at one point, but I can't remember right now."

"Well, remember how I showed you my scar from when I had appendicitis?" Mario explained. When Pauline nodded in confirmation, Mario continued. "Well, even though I was in a lot of pain, I was still interested in what they were doing, and afterwards I researched what an appendix was since I was curious. It stemmed from that, and I like helping people. And Weeg wants to be a doctor because he never wants to see anyone he cares about in pain ever again."

"Wow," Pauline breathed. "That's awesome!"

"And you want to be a mayor because you want to make a change in the world, right?" Mario asked, while Pauline nodded.

"Yeah... but I had contemplated a singer at one point as well."

Mario cocked his head in curiosity. "Really? Are you a good singer?"

"According to my parents I am. But I..." she paused, blushing in embarrassment. "I've got a bit of stage fright. I don't like singing in front of others. Not even in front of my parents anymore." She took the last bite of her cookie and reached for another.

"So... I suppose you wouldn't be comfortable singing in front of me then?" Mario asked, Pauline nearly choking on her cookie at the question.

"Oh... uh..."

"You don't have to if you're not comfortable!" Mario cried, putting his hands out in front of him a comical fashion. "I just... didn't know you sang, that's all."

Pauline hesitated, before taking a deep breath. "I'll sing on one condition."

"Shoot."

"You have to look away while I sing. Otherwise I'll clam up."

Mario nodded, and turned to face the wall. Pauline turned the radio down, and after a few moments of hearing her breathing to calm herself down and feeling really guilty about it, she began to sing.

Yes, her voice was shaky, unsure, and she was a bit quiet, but Mario realized her parents had been right, she was a great singer. When she'd finished singing Mario turned back towards her, noticing how her face was a deep shade of crimson and she was averting eye contact.

"That was amazing Pauline!" Mario complimented. Pauline's eyes met Mario's, a glimmer of hope shining in them.

"R-Really?" she stammered.

"I wouldn't lie to you. Well, I don't lie to anyone, but especially not you!" Mario assured.

"Well, thank you..." Pauline murmured with a giggle in her voice.

"Prego," Mario replied, before he turned his attention back to his homework and sighed. "But I guess enough distractions. We better get to finishing our homework."

Replies

TheGameNguyener: For the record, that's not pathetic in the slightest. And I know what it's like to be an introvert. But off topic, I'm glad you liked the chapter! Thank you for the review!

Anonymous Girl Gamer: Mario's behavior was actually based on my own, right down to the valentine. Except it actually worked in Mario's favor, not so much in my case. Thank you for the review!

GirlOnDarkerSide: Well, Mario and Pauline were a canon couple so I needed them together, and Peach actually won't be making a physical appearance in this story. But I'm glad you like the story, thank you for the review!

NormanWhitesmith: I don't know if you've seen the Valentine's episode of Spongebob, but me on Valentine's Day is like Patrick in that episode. So I feel the same way about Valentine's Day too. But anyway, off topic again. Thank you for the review!

Guest: Heh, thanks! Thank you for the review!

Mariogeek: Thank you for the review!

Mitha Sentro: I'm glad you like their characterizations! (I was a bit worried about how I was portraying them) I dunno, I just feel like Mario would have been a bit on the shy side when he was younger. Thank you for the review!