Chapter 4 On the Bench

Roy took a deep breath. The nighttime air of Neo Bowser City was exactly what he needed, being cool and refreshing. He took a few steps toward a bench near the sidewalk. Once he sat down, all the tension that had formed while he was in the nightclub melted away.

Well, almost all of it. Roy took his sunglasses off and wiped his tear filled eyes. His heart pounded, hurting him every time it hit his chest. He kept his head in his hands. Tears flowed down his arms. He couldn't breathe.

All good things must come to an end, they say. But why though? Why did good things have to be immediately followed by bad things? Why couldn't Roy just be happy? Was that so much to ask?

Roy sat at the bench for a while, these thoughts running through his head. The sounds of the city rushed around him, blending with his sniffles and whimpers. The neon lights, as beautiful as they were, did absolutely nothing to take away his sadness. The void in his chest just kept growing, eating away at his organs.

Why couldn't he just be happy? Why? Why? Why?

"Hey."

Roy felt a shock grasp hold of him when he heard someone addressing him. He lifted his head. The first thing that met his eyes was a sweatshirt, as black as a trash bag. His eyes moved upwards. Before he knew it, he was staring into the eyes of a human girl.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

…

Celia had no idea why she stopped and approached the koopa on the bench. She had just been walking around the city, hoping nobody would notice her. Despite living in a sewer, she never acclimated to the smell, and thus had to go for walks in order to clean out her nose.

She had been admiring the dazzling lights of the town square. Neo Bowser City was the capital of the Koopa Kingdom, and it deserved that title just for its visuals alone. The bright colors made Celia think about the Northern lights. She had never seen the Northern lights, of course, but her mom used to tell her stories about them. Apparently, people all around the world would flock to Frosted Glacier in order to get a chance to see them. If that were the case, it was no wonder why Neo Bowser City was the most populated place in the Kingdom.

Anyway, Celia had been walking down the street with her hands in her pockets (mostly as a way to hide the fact that she had stolen money). She hadn't wanted to go anywhere in particular, and she would have preferred if she could run into absolutely no one.

But that changed when she saw him.

The koopa on the bench. He looked...pitiful. He had his head in his hands, rubbing his eyes every once in a while. Thanks to the brightness of the city, Celia was able to see that there were tears in his eyes.

Of course, she hadn't gone up to him immediately. She stopped to consider it. On the one hand, it probably wasn't the best idea. After all, she had no idea who he was, no context of the situation.

But, on the other hand, the pain in his eyes was just so real. Celia felt shudders run up and down her arms just looking at him. On some level, it reminded her of the pain she had experienced (and on some level was still experiencing).

So, she had gone up to him. She had gone up to him and said:

"Hey."

….

Roy stared at the human girl. He noticed that she had red eyes. They looked odd on a human, out of place. Despite that, they also looked at him with sympathy. With compassion.

He shook his head. "I'm fine. I just…" he couldn't even keep up with the lie and swallowed another batch of tears.

The girl's brow furrowed. She sat down beside him on the bench. "Going through a hard time, huh?" When Roy bit his lip and nodded, the girl sighed. "That sucks."

"Yeah, it does." Roy wiped his running nose with his arm. "I wish that there was a button I could press to reset the world from the very beginning."

The girl chuckled. "Don't we all." She looked down at the ground, keeping her face turned away from Roy.

He nodded and looked down at the spot where she was looking. He wiped his eyes, for the tears still came. His lower lip trembled. He took deep breaths.

The girl turned back toward him, concern shining through her expression. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Roy wanted to say no. After all, this was a total stranger. This was a person who he had never met before, would probably never see again, and who probably could care less about his troubles. He should just leave well enough alone. He should just…

"My girlfriend broke up with me four days ago," he admitted. He internally kicked himself, but for whatever reason, that just prompted him to keep on going. "We had been dating for two whole years. Two years! And yet, she just throws me away like I am nothing. She said that I am stupid and she wants nothing to do with me, even though I made an honest mistake! I mean, what kind of person does that?" Roy turned toward the girl, who he was just noticing was staring at him strangely. He shrunk into the bench. "Oh. I'm rambling; I'm sorry." He brushed away a tear. "Way to go Roy. You idiot," he muttered under his breath.

The girl adorned a contemplative expression. She stared at the ground, her eyes squinted. "It sounds like you've got a lot on your mind."

Roy felt a pang. "Yeah. I do."

The girl adorned the tiniest traces of a smile. "I can see why you would want a reset button. That way, you can get your girlfriend back."

Roy nodded. "Oh yes. If I had that, I would go back and undo the mistake that I made. Then Judy wouldn't have broken up with me."

The girl nodded. "Hmm." She looked up into the neon lit sky. "Alas, there is no reset button. We can't go back and undo the mistakes of the past. Nor can we predict whether the future will be good or not. All we can do is just live in the present."

"Well, the present sucks."

"That it does." She sighed. "That it does."

Roy looked at the girl, curiosity taking hold of him. "What's your name?"

The girl seized up. "Uh...Sparky."

Roy blinked. "Sparky?"

"Yeah, man, that's my name. Got a problem with that?"

"Uh, no, I don't. It's just a weird name is all." He smiled. "I'm Roy."

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Roy? You have the same name as one of the Koopalings."

Roy chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "That's because I...am one of the Koopalings."

The girl laughed, hugging her sides as she did so. However, the laughter quickly died down as she stared at Roy. "Wait. Are you serious?" When Roy nodded, she scrunched up her brow. "Prove it."

"Prove it? Um...okay. How do I do that?" He took a second to think about it. "Do you want me to tell you my life's story or…"

"Just show me a valid ID."

Roy hesitated before reaching into his hammerspace (the area between his shell and the rest of his body), pulling out his photo ID, and handing it to the girl. When she saw it, her eyes practically popped out of their sockets.

"No way, she said. She turned to Roy with her jaw dropped. "That's amazing! You...you're…"

Roy smiled. "I know. Feel quite cool meeting a celebrity, don't you?"

"Oh yes, I do!" She handed the ID back to Roy. "I suppose that means that I no longer have to go by Sparky."

Roy blinked. "Wait, Sparky's not your real name?"

"No, it isn't. It's Celia. Celia Patch."

"Oh," said Roy. "Cool."

Celia's face fell a little. "You don't sound excited about that."

"Am...I...supposed to?" Roy asked.

Celia's face fell a little more, which she tried to cover up by chuckling. "Oh no, I suppose not." She then muttered under her breath "Bowser never told anyone about me?"

Roy raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

Celia hesitated and stammered. "I...well...I just…" Finally, she sighed. "It's nothing. I just...have to...yeah." With that, she started walking away.

"Hey, wait a minute?" Roy said. He got up and grabbed Celia's hand. "What's going on?" There was silence for a bit before realization hit him. "Oh. Do you want to meet Bowser?"

Celia hesitated before nodding. "Yes. Yes I would."

Roy smiled. "Well, I think that can be arranged." He reached into his hammerspace and pulled out a card. On it was his telephone number. "When you get the chance, use this number to call me."

Celia looked down at the number, gripping the card tightly between her thumb and forefinger. "I don't have a phone though."

"Oh. Well then, why don't you ask your parents to get you one?"

Celia seemed to seize up. She stuffed the phone into her hoodie pocket before letting out a breath. "I'll think about it."

With that, she turned on her heel and left, leaving Roy puzzled, confused, and bewildered. Not knowing what else to do, he went back into the nightclub with his siblings.