I know, I know. It has been a hot minute! So sorry everyone-life is just so crazy busy even when there is nowhere to go! Hope you are all staying safe and healthy. We are getting close to the end of the series, just six chapters left including this one. Thank you again for coming back and reading my stories-I really appreciate it. I don't own Star vs the Forces of Evil.
21). Unicycle Tricks
"So why did you tell them you could ride a unicycle?" Marco groaned as he dragged the cycle across the Echo Creek Academy parking lot toward his little sister, who shifted from foot to foot awkwardly. "You are literally about to graduate college, Mari! Couldn't you just google this and learn how to do this yourself? Plus-how does that help your get a job?!"
With a snort, Star dashed over to the siblings, sporting a wicked grin. "Ahh, come on Marco! Who hasn't fibbed on their resume? I mean-Buff Frog even said he was an experienced assassin when he applied to work at the castle!"
"Umm, Star, he was."
"Yeah, yeah, sure he was, Marco." Star waved her hand at the pair, plastering a kiss onto her husband's cheek, and quickly hugged her sister-in-law before heading back to the car. "I'm dropping off the kids with Mom and Dad for the afternoon so I can go shopping with Pony! Byeeeeeee!"
As she peeled away, Marco gave a goofy smile in her direction before shaking his head and turning back to his sister. She assessed her brother with a raised eyebrow. "Really Marco? You guys have been married-"
"Anyway-the art of unicycling." Marco cut her off, bowing to his little sister with a slight dip. "First, you must learn the meaning of the essence of yourself."
Mariposa blinked twice, giving him a dubious look. "And by essence you mean…"
"Do you want to learn how to ride a unicycle or do you want to learn-"
"Okay-okay, Marco! Chill! I'll learn the essence! Yeesh! So am I supposed to ask Mom and Dad how I was born or was conceived or go all the way back to Abuela-"
Marco huffed, crossing his arms with pierced lips. "You know Mom and Dad are driving down the coast for their sixth honeymoon so you just got me." Throwing his hands out in front of himself for emphasis, Marco closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Now, to find your center. Be one with yourself. Dive deep into yourself. Be the unicycle."
Rolling her eyes, Mariposa shook her head. "Yeah, maybe I can just ask Meteora to…"
"NO! You shall not ask Princess Cranky-pants!" Flourishing his hands, he lifted his head up to the sky. "Fine. I guess a demonstration is in order to show you just how important being one with yourself is to mastering the unicycle."
As if out of air, Marco whipped out a unicycle. Mariposa jumped back in surprise, raising an eyebrow. "Do you just keep that tucked away somewhere or-oh, you're already riding it." Mariposa watched her brother with a doubtfully pierced lip, raising an eyebrow at him. Blinking in surprise, she realized he was actually pretty good.
"Alright, Mariposa. This is an easy one for beginners. It is called 180-Twist." Marco began to rev up, pedaled forward quickly, then twisted 180 degrees on the cycle and started riding in a new direction. "Oh-and this one is the One-Foot Ride." He began to ride with one foot moving a pedal, the other propped up in the air. "And-and-and this one is 90-Unispin. And this one is-" Marco began going so quickly, getting caught up in riding a unicycle, that Mari had to widen her eyes to take it all in. Mariposa's vision began to blur as her brother started to do tricks so rapidly, she couldn't keep up. Smacking her head slightly, she blinked and shook her head for clarity. Wow-who knew Marco had skills? Finally, Marco did a full flip, landing firmly in place. "TA-DA! And so…oh. Sorry, Mari. I may have gotten a little caught up in riding. It has been a while…So-what do you think?"
Sheepishly, Marco got off the cycle and guided it over to his sister. Mariposa bit her lower lip and looked at her brother. "Well, it can't be too hard if you can do it. I mean, it's only got one wheel!"
"Fine! Let's see you do it then!"
"Fine!"
Whipping the unicycle away from him, Mariposa stuck out her tongue at him and snatched the cycle into her hands. "This won't be too hard. So I just gotta balance…maybe if I put my foot here…no, wait, let's try…" Wobbling, Mariposa finally got the unicycle to stand up. "Hey look! I'm doing it! I'm doing it!"
WHAM!
Promptly, the young woman slammed forward onto her face. "Owwww…"
Marco burst into laughter, hands falling to his knees. Peeling herself off the asphalt, Mari glared at her brother while blowing a piece of brown hair from her face. "Wow. What a loving, protective brother I have-HEY DON'T!"
With a click, Marco snapped a picture on his phone and grinned at his sister. "Sorry, that's what older, loving, protective brothers are for!" Still grinning, he glanced back down to assess his blackmail. Mariposa noticed his face freeze and his smile slowly fall.
"Marco?"
"Star called like…57 times. She hasn't done that since Ludo stole the Spell Book and we were almost sucked into a black hole. Hold on-she left a voicemail." Quickly holding the phone to his ear, Marco listened to the message, his brow furrowing more with each second. Suddenly, he dropped the phone, face blank. Mariposa's heart pounded in her chest. Before she could ask what was going on, Marco lurched forward and grabbed the unicycle "Hop on." He clamored up, balancing with perfect ease. Mariposa had never seen him with a face like this before. "Mari! Hop on!"
Mariposa wanted answers, but Marco was really freaking her out. Jumping onto the seat and holding herself up by her arms, she tightened her fingers on his shoulders as Marco suddenly raced forward. Mari's legs began to cramp as she held them up to keep out of the way of Marco's frantic pedaling. Echo Creek flashed by them as the siblings zipped through the town. Mariposa noticed some friends from her university give her funny looks as she road past but she didn't even give them a wave. Something was wrong. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Marco skidded to a halt. Mariposa blinked in surprise before her heart began to sink.
They were at the hospital.
"STAR!" Marco hopped off the unicycle, dropping it like a rock on the ground. Star dashed over to her husband, throwing her arms around him. She glanced over at Mariposa and with a start, Mari realized her blue eyes were filled with tears. Without explanation, Star gestured for them to follow her into the waiting room. She immediately raced up to the receptionist and banged on the glass wall. The Mewman behind the glass glared at her and threw back the partition. "Oh great-back to yell at me some more? And you brought your boyfriend and your…whatever she is."
"Look, they are immediate family, please let someone in to see them!" Star thrust her hands into the air, angry tears spilling down her face. The receptionist and Star began to argue back and forth but Mariposa tuned them out as Marco tugged her arm and pulled her aside.
"Marco-what is going on? I'm kinda freaked out and you haven't said anything! Why-" Suddenly, Mariposa paused as tears began to form in the corners of Marco's eyes. "Marco…"
Taking a shaky breath, Marco pulled his sister into a hug. Mari felt his muscles tighten as he held her closer before he began to explain. "Mom and…Mom and Dad were in a car wreck and they are-" He paused, and though Mariposa couldn't see his face, she could picture his eyes shut tight and face pinched. "They are in the ICU and the doctors aren't sure if they are going to make it."
Time froze. The world went silent and a strange ringing filled Mariposa's ears. Her heart began to pound heavily in her chest. Thrusting Marco away from her, Mari stared at him in disbelief. With a jolt, she swerved around to dash toward the receptionist desk. Star was now banging on the glass partition repeatedly while the receptionist stood behind the glass, shaking her head and writing some report. Nerves on fire, Mari made a move to race forward but Marco held her back. "Let me go Marco! They are wrong! There has to be something we can do-there is only-"
"Mariposa-they are in surgery right now. All we CAN do is wait."
Defeated, Mariposa deflated, all the energy suddenly rushing out of her body. With a sigh, she followed Marco to a seat and began to wait.
And wait .
And wait.
The clock seemed to inch by on the wall. After a while, Star joined them and the three sat in silence, holding hands. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the doors to the hospital waiting room burst open. With a jolt, Mari realized she had drifted off on Marco's shoulder. Suddenly, the yells of little children filled their ears as Tommy, Cassie, and Comet all rushed into their parent's waiting arms. Mariposa sprang up just as former Queen Moon and King River raced in after their grandchildren.
"Daddy! Daddy! Are Abuelo and Abuelita dead?" Tommy gasped, giving his father a penetrating look he obviously inherited form his maternal grandmother.
With a wail, Cassie and Comet both began to sob, tears streaming down their faces. Star pulled them into a hug as she looked up at her own parents. Mariposa's heart tugged when she realized that she may never be able to do that with her own parents again and fought back tears. She glanced back down at Marco as he brushed tears away from his son's eyes.
"Abuelo and Abuelita got a big boo-boo and need to see the doctor." Mari could tell that it pained her brother to say that lie to his son but they just weren't old enough to know how much pain their grandparents-much less father-were in.
Comet began to dry his eyes as he blinked rapidly, tugged at something on his elbow, and held it up for his dad to see. "Here. This will make it better. And a kiss from Mommy!"
Marco paused as he looked at his son before catching his wife's eye. A small smile softened his serious face as he pulled his other son in close. As he was about to open his mouth, the doors opened again, revealing two doctors in green scrubs and white coats. One of the doctors was a monster who looked like an elephant but with deer antlers. Seeing the family, he quickly trotted over to them.
"Are you the Diaz family?"
"Are you the doctor taking care of my Abuelo and Abuelita?" Cassie asked, looking up at him through her eyelashes.
"Doctor Elephant Guy-my abuelitos have a boo-boo, could you give them this band aid and make them all better?" Comet thrust his used, slightly damp band aid in the doctor's face. The doctor blinked, his trunk twitched before kneeling down and smiling at the young boy.
"Thank you, I will give this to your abuelitos." Gently, he took the band aid from the boy and gently patted him on the head with his trunk. A serious look crossed his face as he stood up and glanced over at Marco and Mariposa.
Before she could stop herself, Mari exploded. "So how are they doing? Are they okay? What is their condition? What can we do to help? Where-"
Clamping a hand over her mouth, Star gave a pinched look at her sister-in-law. Sheepishly, Mari took her hand away and sighed awkwardly. "Sorry."
The doctor gestured toward the three children who were looking up at him expectantly. "Maybe we should talk away from the kids."
"Right! Onward, my grandchild! We shall go hunting and return once the doctor finishes giving your least favorite grandfather the bandage! HUZZAH!" River thrust his arms in the air, trying to excite the children. In confusion, the three kids looked at one another before thrusting their arms half-heartedly into the air.
"Remember to give that to my abuela!" Comet called as he raced after River and his sibling through the lobby door.
Everyone turned to Moon, who looked out the open doors after her husband with a frown on her face. She turned, patted Marco on the shoulder, and followed them out the door. "I'll make sure they are back soon."
Once all was quite in the room, Mariposa turned expectantly to the doctor. Pressure squeezed her hand and she looked down to see Marco crushing her hand with his. He had been trying to be strong for his kids. Star stood behind them, placing a hand on both their shoulders. The clock stopped as Mari held her breath.
"WELL?!" Marco finally couldn't take it anymore-Mariposa was glad she wasn't the first one to crack.
"The doctor wiped his forehead with his trunk before turning toward the family. "I can't be sure. It was very touch or go for a while. We had to resuscitate your mother twice." Mariposa's heart stopped. The words coming out of the doctor's mouth seemed foreign, alien.
Star tightened her grip on her family's shoulders, asking the question both were dreading to ask. "So, what does that mean? Will they be alright?"
Trunk twitching, the doctor nodded slightly. "I can't promise anything-but the worst has passed."
Time suddenly sprang forward. People talking, laughing, shuffling around, birds singing outside-dozens of wonderful noises replaced the ringing in Mariposa's ears. Marco's shoulders deflated as he grinned over at his sister. Star whooped, jumping into the air in excitement. The doctor grinned, raising his hands in front of him. "Look, don't get too excited yet. Don't leave the hospital-they aren't completely out of the woods yet but they should be okay. You can see them in a few hours once they are out of recovery. There are some restaurants just next door-why don't you go grab something to eat and we will page you if anything goes awry."
All three repeatedly thanked the doctor over and over, appreciating him for being honest and having the children not hear about what had happened. As the doctor turned to leave, he gestured toward Mariposa. "Did you apply to our nursing staff?"
Awkwardly, Mariposa nodded, eyes wide.
"I'll remember that. You kept a cool head through all this. Plus-that is awesome you know how to ride a unicycle. You could use that skill in the children's ward! The kids would love it!" With a wave, he went back inside to check on their parents.
Mariposa shook her head, clearing her thoughts. Turning toward her family, she noticed them flopped in exhaustion against one another in two chairs.
"They'll be okay." Marco smiled, then turned and pecked Star on the check before leaning his head against the wall. "Man-that was absolutely terrifying."
"Way scarier than fighting Meteora-ahh, I mean Mina! So, should we call Meteora? Let her know what is going on?" Star awkwardly chuckled. Mariposa raised an eyebrow at her but was too relieved to really care what she was talking about.
"Why don't we go get some food and call your dad before your kids end up hunting down the Bogbeast of Boggabah at the park again?" Mariposa asked. The couple laughed, following her outside to the Chinese-Mewman fusion restaurant next door-though corn dumplings were not something Mari was really craving.
As they walked out the door, the trio stopped cold, staring at the sidewalk. Marco's unicycle lay with a boot on the wheel, propped against the 'Do Not Park' sign on the street. With a groan, Marco rolled his head back and looked angrily at the sky.
Flipping her long, blonde hair, Star tried unsuccessfully not to smile at her husband. "So think you can un-ticket yourself, Detective?" Marco just gave her a blank look.
Mariposa grinned, something earlier that day she wasn't sure she would ever be able to do again. "Well, at least now it is tricked out."
With a groan, Marco smacked his face.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I am so sorry it took so long to write. There are so many times where scary things happen and time seems to slow down, but once it is over the world seems to come back alive. (So, yes-a metaphor for Coronavirus.) Thank you again for commenting, following, favoriting, and reading my story! Hope you are all safe and please let me know what you thought of this chapter. Until next time!
Sugar: I am so glad you liked that episode. It is so true, everyone feels insecure, no matter how amazing they are. Plus, it is so fun to write about nervous Tom and Janna being-well, Janna! And yes, I agree-despite how we shouldn't objectify women or men, it still happens subconsciously. Studies have shown how people feel that more attractive people have better traits and qualities. And Star is such a beautiful girl who has great self-worth. It is important to remember that even if you doubt yourself, you are still beautiful! Thank you for commenting!
Starco4everr: Thank you so much! I am glad you enjoyed the chapter! Hope you keep enjoying them and are staying safe.
EDD17SP: So glad you are enjoying the stories. Thank you for letting me know what you think! Chapter 5 was also one of my favorites to write! Thanks for the encouragement.