8B - An Awesome Finish
According to the scoreboard, Mario stood in second place with 26 while Yoshi was in first with 25. After Mario composed himself completely by the end of the hour-long break, he took one last look at the scoreboard before walking off to Hole 10.
"Mr. Morris was right. It IS gonna be a close game," Mario said to himself. Despite making a par on Hole 10, Mario made up for it by repeating the same hole-in-one on the next hole because he remembered how to do it based on the notes he wrote down last night. He wasn't fazed this time, however.
Hole 13 was another eagle; which Mario thought was impossible because the pin was directly next to the fringe that separated the green from the fairway; he didn't want to hit with too much power. Luckily, he sunk it in like a normal chip-in. Starting with Hole 14 onward, the audience chanted Mario's name prior to him teeing his ball because they were confident that he was gonna win it all even though Mario was half sure and half unsure.
Due to him accidentally losing his ball in a river in the center of the fairway, Mario ended up with a bogey on Hole 16, but he was totally cool with it. To his surprise, Mario made another eagle on Hole 17. Although that green had a lot of high bumps all over, the ball rolled past them easily before it went in the cup. Finally, Mario made like what happened at the end of the second day and chipped in for a birdie on Hole 18; however, the ball did not nearly stop short before sinking in. Mario breathed a sigh of relief after he made the birdie but knew that it wasn't over just yet.
There was a 20-minute break before the awards ceremony, where the top three players will be awarded based on their cumulative scores. The remaining twenty-eight players stood in three rows for a couple photos before they took their seats in the front bleachers surrounding a flat podium. The announcer walked towards the podium to the applause of the audience and turned on his microphone.
"Good afternoon, everyone. What an exciting and competitive golf open we've had over the last four days," the announcer stated. "To all the hard-working players who gave it their all and drove those balls towards victory, I congratulate you." The audience applauded in a mellow manner.
"Without further ado, it is my honor to reveal the top three competitors with the lowest scores added up all together," the announcer continued. "As you all know; there's a bronze, silver, and gold trophy for each of the three places. We will hand each of them out one by one. So, are you ready, folks?" The audience applauded with a little more enthusiasm.
"All right. With a total score of 290, the bronze trophy with a cash prize of 10,000 Coins goes to..." A drumroll over the speakers was played for three seconds. "Yoshi!"
The audience cheered at the same volume as when the announcer was about to start to reveal the third-place winner. Yoshi immediately walked up to the podium at the same time a Cheep Cheep Falls employee walked in from the left to hand Yoshi his trophy.
"Congratulations, Yoshi," the announcer praised Yoshi before handing him his cheque. "Here's a cheque for 10,000 Coins."
"Thank you so much, sir," Yoshi answered while shaking the announcer's hand. He then waved to the audience for a couple seconds before walking back to his seat.
"What a good start so far. I'm shaking a small bit, but I can tough it up." The audience giggled at the announcer's comment, but Mario did not laugh.
"Next up is the second-place winner, who will receive a silver trophy and a cash prize of 75,000 Coins. Now that's a lot of money, eh?" the announcer said. In response, the audience responded with either "Yes", "Sure", and "Yeah".
"With a total score of 278, the second-place winner is..." The drumroll was turned up a small bit and went on for five seconds. "Luigi Franco Mario!"
As the audience cheered a little louder than earlier, Luigi stood up slowly and casually walked to the podium. He was shaking too, but it was a bit more than the announcer.
"No offense, Luigi, but you were a tad bit short of winning first just like when you were cut out of 'Super Mario 64' at the last second!" the announcer commented. Luigi and the audience laughed hard at the joke, but Mario didn't laugh again because of him obsessing about not winning first place; he was lamenting on his bad start and how he did on the third day.
"Shut the front door, please," Luigi chuckled. "You know I'm just as equal as Mario is."
"I know, Luigi. I was just kidding," the announcer said while the silver trophy was given to Luigi by the random employee. "Anyway, very well done to you. We're all proud of your efforts."
The audience cheered again as Luigi received his 75,000 Coin cheque and exclaimed, "Thank you so much, everyone! Thank you for your support!" He then walked back to his seat.
"Oh boy... The moment of truth..." the announcer said with anticipation. "I know you all are holding your breaths right now, but it'll be quick. I promise." The audience laughed again.
"Okay. Usually, the first-place winner gets a gold trophy and a cheque for 200,000 Coins, but because he came back at the last moment after getting off to a rough start, we've decided to upgrade the gold trophy to a platinum trophy! How about that?" Again, the audience cheered in response.
"So... If you all are ready...here we go..." the announcer took a five-second break to take a deep breath. "The first-place winner...with a top prize of 200,000 Coins...and a sophisticated platinum trophy...is..." The drumroll was turned up even louder, making everyone including the announcer tense.
Meanwhile, Mario clasped his hands together and prayed silently, "Please, God... I beg of you... Please give me a flipping sign..."
After five seconds, the announcer murmured, "I can't believe I'm gonna say his name..." Another five seconds passed before the announcer called out the winner's name.
"MARIO ARISTIDE MARIO!"
The audience suddenly stood up and gave Mario a standing ovation with four confetti cannons shooting tons of confetti in the air. In addition, the main theme from "Super Mario 64" was played over the speakers.
As soon as the audience started their ovation, Mario fainted on the ground, prompting Luigi to rush over and pick him up. The audience suddenly stopped cheering when they saw Mario pass out and gasped with concern; the song was paused too.
"Oh dear," the announcer said while turning to Mario. "It looks like Mario just passed out right on the spot. Is he okay?" Before everyone knew it, Mario woke up and the audience resumed their standing ovation while the song was restarted. Mario immediately started crying really hard and couldn't move a muscle. Luigi helped Mario onto the podium and sat him down for the time being.
"It's okay, bro," Luigi coaxed Mario in a soft voice. "You nailed it. You did so awesome."
"Am... A-am I...dr-dreaming...?" Mario sobbed.
"No. This is all real," Luigi answered before turning to the announcer. "Sir, Mario's fine. He's just totally shaken."
"That's understandable," the announcer said. "Could you please help Mario up? He's yet to be given his trophy." The random employee rushed in with the platinum trophy at the same time Luigi slowly stood Mario back up. He was still crying, but not as much as after he fainted. Luigi took the trophy before handing it to Mario.
"Sir..." Mario started.
"Yes, Mario?"
"Can... C-can I s-say a f-few words...?"
"I'd love to hear them," the announcer responded before handing the microphone to Mario. Luigi stood to the left of Mario while he gave his speech.
"Hello, everyone..." Mario said after taking a deep breath. "I would...belt out my...catchphrase with joy...but I'm not feeling like it..." The audience gasped again.
"No! I didn't mean it that way! I'm just feeling a whole bunch of...emotions right now..." Mario protested. "First off, I'm VERY thankful to have participated...in this tournament... It had been four years...ago since I last played golf... And I never thought...that I would get back in the swing of things...literally." Everyone chuckled at the pun.
"As soon as I saw the promo for the open, I was hesitant at first, but I mustered up the courage to try out. But I knew I couldn't do it without help. So, I asked Luigi here to give me some tips, but he only knew the basics, so I decided to go with Plan B and seek help from a professional in the Real-Life Earth. You know, the other world like ours?"
"So, there was this young adult by the name of Rocco Peterson, who was shocked at my appearance in real-life, but immediately accepted my request to train with him for the tournament. And I want to thank Rocco so much with all my heart. I can't repay him for that." The audience applauded in response while Rocco whistled loudly from the stands.
"But as we got started and did a couple sessions, there came some unexpected news. You see, when I signed up, I had the intention of showing everyone how good and super I was at golf even though I was struggling so badly. So, what Rocco told me that afternoon was..." Mario started to get emotional again as he was about to tell Alex's story.
"What R-Rocco told m-me was that h-his three-year-old s-son Alex... He... He h-had...ALL leukemia...!" Some of the audience members started crying while Luigi teared up a small bit.
"W-we knew th-that Alex w-was g-gonna d-die if n-not treated well... A-and that h-hit me s-so hard l-like someone sh-shot a b-bullet in m-my chest...! I h-had to change m-my plans..." By now, Mario was sobbing again, and his face was covered in tears. He stopped for a couple seconds before resuming his speech.
"I promised m-myself that whatever I-I win...I will...g-give one-fifths...of m-my prize m-money...to A-Alex's h-hospital's c-cancer charity... And now...h-here I a-am...about t-to m-make my c-commitment come tr-true..."
The audience cheered again while the announcer handed Mario his 200,000 Coin cheque. Mario cried a bit harder at the sight of his cheque.
"Th-this cheque... Th-this i-is...so l-lovely..." Mario cried. "Not o-only a-am I th-thanking R-Rocco for h-his t-tips...and advice...b-but... L-Luigi...?"
"Yes, Mario?" Luigi responded.
"I o-owe it a-all t-to you...!" Mario went and hugged Luigi, causing the audience and the announcer to aww with affection and applaud again. "Y-You're m-my s-saving gr-grace...! I-I l-love you...!"
"I love you too, bro," Luigi whispered before Mario let go of him. Mario then proceeded to go on with his speech.
"Oh, m-mamma m-mia... I-I'm so h-happy...! More h-happy than I-I've ever b-been in m-my life...!" Mario stowed his cheque in his overalls pocket. "I-In conclusion...I th-thank every s-single o-one of you... Y-You have g-guided m-me...this f-far... I c-couldn't have d-done it...w-without y-you... And... I-I..." Mario stopped to think of how to close his speech.
After three seconds, he thrusted his trophy toward the sky and screamed at the top of his lungs, "THIS IS FOR YOU, ALEX PETERSON! WE LOVE YOU!" The audience gave Mario another standing ovation before he cried, "Th-Thank you... Th-thank y-you..."
After Mario handed the microphone back to the announcer, Mario hunched over slightly and Luigi helped him back to his seat.
"Wow," the announcer said while wiping his cheeks; he was moved by Mario's speech. "Just wow. I can't describe how moved I was. What an incredible story. Mario, I give you all the congratulations and praise in the whole world to you." The audience cheered one more time before the announcer said, "Well, ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our awards ceremony. Have a wonderful afternoon and thank you so much for your time. Goodbye."
Mario was the first to leave the bleachers with Luigi walking beside him. He found Rocco standing next to a white tent and gave him a big hug. "Th-thank you...s-so much...!"
"Any time, Mario," Rocco replied. "We both did it. In fact, Luigi did it with us."
"Yeah. I sure did," Luigi chimed in.
"Hey, Mario!" a familiar female voice called out from behind Mario. He turned to see Peach walk up to him.
"P-Princess P-Peach...?"
"I got to say, you're the champion of golf!" Peach remarked. "Don't ask if I'm sure. I swear you ARE the champion."
Mario stood still for a moment to process everything again and set his trophy on the grass. Without Peach knowing, Mario rushed up and kissed her on the lips. Both kissed each other for several seconds before Mario got emotional again and ran away.
"I've never seen Mario so emotional in my life," Peach said. "I guess this is what happens when you win something big and you can't understand what's going on for a long while."
"You can say that again," Rocco responded just as Mario disappeared behind the clubhouse. "It happened to me the first time I won the PGA championship. I was also emotional, but I didn't faint in front of everyone." Peach, Luigi, and Rocco laughed for a few seconds.
"Sorry. I shouldn't laugh," Rocco apologized. "Mario doesn't handle moments like this well. When I heard of Mario having anger and anxiety issues, I was confused because I thought that he was a happy-go-lucky hero like you, Luigi."
"For the most part, he is," Luigi said while picking up Mario's trophy. "But there's another side of you that shows who you really are. No one's perfect after all."
"Exactly," Rocco responded before looking where Mario was running toward. "What a heroic golf athlete. Confident, all about business, big-hearted, and a role model for those in need."
Fast forwarding four days later, Mario went to the National Bank southwest of Toad Town and cashed in his 200,000 Coin cheque for a quarter million dollars, which was put on another cheque. He then proceeded to deposit all but $50,000 in his account.
Afterwards, he visited the Parkland Hospital's American Cancer Society office and handed over his cheque to the ACS director, who gave him a huge thank-you for his generosity and guaranteed that he'll be put on the front page of the Dallas News paper. During the whole day Mario spent to give to the charity, he felt so proud of himself and kept thinking about Alex and how he thought the world of him.
It all paid off for Mario. What was once an unsure decision to show his friends how good he was at golf turned out to be a victorious outcome for those suffering from cancer; especially Alex Peterson.