Chapter 5 Caught

Celia let out a breath. Her heart pumped like she had just finished a round of exercises, her palms were starting to feel a little extra clammy. She breathed in and out, hoping that the circulation of air would help to calm her down. She pulled out the phone card that Roy had given her. In the light of Neo Bowser City's neon lights, the writing on it was perfectly visible.

Celia put the card back in her hoodie pocket. There was no possible way that she would be able to call Roy anytime soon, as much as she wanted to. And yes, she actually did want to. She wanted to call him up as soon as possible, to try and set up a meeting with Bowser. She had longed to see Bowser for most of her life after all. Now, she actually had the perfect opportunity to do so, to make her wish come true. But she couldn't take advantage of it. The phone card was useless without a phone. If anything, it was now just taking up space in her pocket, like a useless piece of junk.

Celia decided that she had better cut down an alleyway in order to make her trip back to the sewer a little bit faster. As she turned left, she recalled Roy's suggestion. Why doesn't she ask her parents for a phone? That suggestion, now that she had time to think about it, actually caused her hands to curl into fists. It was almost as if he was insulting her, taunting her. He was berating her for not having her parents around, for living in a sewer and living a crappy life (no pun intended).

Of course, there was no way that he actually could have known about Celia's problems. Regardless, the suggestion still made her blood boil. If she could just….grr. She wanted to punch Roy in the face now. She wanted to yell at him, step on his toes, kick him in the shins. She wanted to do anything….anything to show him what an object, insensitive moron he had been to her

Oh well. She didn't want to bother with doing it now, as she was already halfway to her sewer home.

Celia finally got out of the alleyway, which was a benefit because it creeped her out to no end. The sounds of the city blazed around her. She heard chattering and laughing coming from people who were standing in line at a restaurant called Where Ends Meet. She had heard great things about that restaurant, things that made her mouth water. Perhaps, then, it would be a good idea for her to sneak in at one point. The place probably had a pantry and fridge that was overflowing with delicious food. If she could get her hands on it, she would be more than prepared for the week ahead of her.

Yeah. Yeah, she would do that sometime soon. She would make sure that she would have her fill, that she could eat until she could eat no more. Unfortunately, she couldn't do it now with how packed the restaurant was. However, she would make sure to do it sometime over the weekend.

With that, she walked past the restaurant. She kept up a swift pace, and made sure to keep her head to the ground as she stuck to the shadows. She couldn't let anyone see her. Even allowing herself to have that conversation with Roy had been risky enough. Now, she had to make sure that nobody could see her face, that nobody was following her.

And for good reason too. As she passes by a lamppost, she saw something that caught her attention. Right there, plastered to the post between a missing cat poster and a sticker of Bowser's emblem, was a wanted poster. A wanted poster with her face on it. Sure, it wasn't perfect. Her nose was too small, her mouth too crooked. However, every other detail, from her cherry red eyes, goldenrod skin, and of course fiery hair, was pretty spot on. Celia swallowed a lump. She had no idea when the poster was made, as she had been robbing houses for the past six years and had been seen a total of twenty times. The picture could have been drawn after any of those robberies. For all she knew, it could have been put up after her first robbery, and therefore, caused people to search for her for the past five years.

This gave her even more reason to pick up the pace.

Celia bolted down the sidewalk, keeping her head to the ground and her hood pulled up. It was difficult to do of course, seeing how Celia needed to see where she was going in the dark. Thankfully, she managed to get all the way to the manhole cover without running into anybody. She breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled the cover up and climbed down the ladder.

When she got to her grungy, fraying mattress, she pulled her hood back. There was no need to keep herself hidden now that she was all by herself. She curled up into a little ball on the mattress, feeling sleepiness overtake her entire being. Within minutes, she was asleep.

…

Celia woke up in fine spirits. She yawned and stretched her arms up to the ceiling. She had no idea what time it actually was. It could be 5:00 in the morning, or it could be 12:00 noon. However, she was just happy that she had managed to go to sleep without any troubles. She picked herself up off the mattress and started making her way over to the manhole cover. She wasn't actually going to get out of the sewer yet; she only left the sewer if it was nighttime. However, she just wanted to see the sunlight, if only for a few minutes.

So, Celia grabbed hold of the rings and pulled herself up toward the manhole cover. She breathed steadily now, unlike last night. Perhaps getting a good night's sleep was all she needed. Perhaps, in reality, there was nothing to worry about. Now that she had a clear head, she realized that she really didn't need to feel offended by Roy's little suggestion. It was just a suggestion after all; no one would make it in an attempt to be offensive.

So, with a smile on her face, she pulled the manhole cover back. Sunlight streamed down on her, making her scalp feel as warm as a mug of hot cocoa. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, happy that she was able to experience this even for a few minutes.

"Hello."

Celia nearly dropped the manhole cover on her head at the sound of a voice addressing her. She opened her eyes, looked up, and gasped. Standing right above her was a Dragon koopa. A Dragon Koopa in a police uniform.

"I've finally found you," he said. He grabbed hold of her hand and hoisted her out of the sewer. Before she could object, he pulled a pair of handcuffs out of his pocket and strapped them around her wrists. "You've given a lot of people in this city a lot of trouble, missy. It's time that you get your just desserts."

Celia swallowed a lump in her throat and put her head to the ground as the police koopa dragged her over to his car. Six years. Six years, and she had never been caught. But now...now, her freedom, the only thing she had left to claim as her very own, was gone. She shed a tear just as she got in the car. The police koopa's glare as he closed the door, officially shutting her in, felt like a spear being shoved right through her chest.