Chapter 19 The Joy's of the Sea

Toadette was worried about...well, she was currently worried about a lot of things. What if Sunny didn't recover properly? What if she and Bank didn't manage to save the rest of the Brigade? What if she got food poisoning from some of the food served on the ship, forcing her to go to the medical bay? What if she died while she was in the medical bay?

"Hey," Bank said. "Is everything okay? You aren't touching your food."

Bank's words drew the Mushroom girl out of her head, if only briefly. She looked down at her fruit salad, elegantly put in place in a coconut bowl. It looked appetizing, but Toadette really wasn't that hungry.

"No, everything is not okay," Toadette said with a sigh. She started picking at a slice of watermelon. "I...Bank, I'm scared."

Bank looked at her with a little bit of empathy shining his eyes. It certainly was an odd sight for Toadette to see.

"I'm scared too. But we need to stay strong. The Brigade is counting on us."

Toadette nodded and looked down at her food again. She nibbled on a piece of cantaloupe.

"That is exactly why I am worried, Bank. I mean, our friends are counting on us! If we don't do this right, then..."

Toadette burst into tears. Her worries were just too much to take. She now understood why people like Captain were so moody. The adventures were fun, but there was certainly a lot of risk involved. There was too much at stake. Toadette felt like she was going to crack under the pressure.

"Hey, hey there," Bank said. His voice sounded odd, as he clearly wasn't used to being the one people turned to for comfort. "We can get through this. We just need to stay positive."

Bank nearly choked on that last word, causing Toadette to swallow a giggle.

"I'm good at staying positive."

"I know you are," Bank replied. He directed his eyes out toward the turquoise ocean. "Honestly, that is what I think is the coolest thing about you, Toadette. I mean, whenever you enter a room, you always seem to brighten up the whole space. It's..." Bank laughed. "It's amazing." Then his face fell. "Honestly, I wish I could do that."

Toadette became curious.

"Well then, why don't you?" she asked.

Bank sighed.

"I try. Believe me, if I could be positive, I would. I would give anything in the world to be a cheerful person. But...I can't. I guess it's just because I know what we risk when we go on adventures. After all, these adventures aren't just merry little romps. There is a very real risk that some of us Brigade members could die." Bank chuckled. It sounded hollow, though, hollow and brittle. "I am honestly really jealous of people like you. You and Yelliw are really amazing. I don't know if you know the danger and just try to ignore it, or if you don't know what you are up against. Either way, you both have a lot of guts."

Toadette normally would have blushed at a compliment like that. Now, however, she just directed her eyes out toward the sea.

"I actually didn't know about the dangers, Bank. After all, you guys made it look so easy. You five have traversed through countless lands, sometimes entirely new galaxies. But you always seemed to be happy about it. Well, most of you." Toadette laughed, and Bank did so as well. "I never really understood you, Bank. You always seemed to be just one big sourpuss. Now...now I can see why."

Bank smiled at put his palm on top of Toadette's hand.

"Well, I guess you and I can be sourpusses together now."

Toadette laughed and looked into Bank's face. For the first time since Toadette remembered seeing him, his eyes were happy. His face was happy; HE was happy.

"Bank?"

"Yes?"

Toadette let out a nervous breath.

"Do you think..."

Before Toadette could finish her sentence, she heard someone approaching l. She smiled.

"Sunny!"

Sunny smiled, his golden hair twinkling in the light of the setting sun.

"Hey, guys. How are you?"

"We're great," said Toadette. "How are you?"

"Much better." Sunny displayed his bandaged up foot to the two Toads. "The doctors really know what they are doing."

Bank looked at Sunny with a semi-happy expression.

"It sounds like they are real lifesavers."

Sunny laughed.

"Literally!"

Toadette laughed right alongside the dragon Koopa. Then she became more serious.

"The captain says we are going to Isle Delfino."

Toadette thought she saw a glimmer of hesitance in Sunny's eyes. However, it quickly melted away and was replaced by a smile.

"Oh, awesome! How long do you think it will be until we get there?"

Bank glanced out to sea and smiled.

"Probably in the next half hour."

Toadette looked and nearly jumped for joy. The dolphin shaped island was just on the horizon!