Chapter 6 Glimmer of Hope

The seat of the police car was uncomfortable. It was as hard as a rock, and thus caused Celia's butt to feel like it was throbbing. She tried to shift position so that she could get more comfortable, but doing so proved to be futile. She whimpered as the police Koopa drove her away from the safe and into the unknown.

As the police car bumped down the road, Celia wondered what exactly would become of her. She had absolutely no idea what her punishment would be, but she knew it would be bad. She wouldn't be given the death sentence for something like this. Right?

She watched the scenery of Neo Bowser City pass her by. The tall, colorful buildings filled her with dread now that she knew that she wouldn't see them again for at least a few years. The people on the streets stared at the passing police car. Celia didn't know if it was her imagination, but she could have sworn that she saw them squinting at her. Their expressions were as dark as night, as threatening as the maw of a lion. She turned away from the window and put her head in her hands, trying to hide her frequent sniffles from the police Koopa at the steering wheel.

When they finally got to the police station, the police Koopa grunted and heaved his heavy body out of the car. He made his way over, opened Celia's door, and hoisted her out. Celia cringed, for her butt was sore from sitting in such an unforgiving seat.

"Come with me," said the police koopa.

Like I have a choice, Celia thought as beads of sweat began to form on the back of her neck.

The Koopa led her into the station. The lights were dismal and dim, making Celia feel that much more helpless. The people she saw glared at her with judging expressions, their eyes as cold as glinting steel. Celia lowered her head to the ground as shame clawed at her heart.

She knew the feeling of shame very well; it was not new to her in the least. She had felt it day in, day out in her childhood. She felt it everyday of her life, for that was commonplace for someone like her. It was all a normal part of being abnormal.

The police Koopa's nails practically dug into her shoulder as he led her to a very specific part of the station, causing very warm and very big tears to form in her eyes. She bit her lip, hoping to prevent the dam from bursting. When they got to their destination, Celia swallowed a lump upon seeing the cell that she would stay in for who knows how long. She sighed, about to make her way into it.

"Wait," the police Koopa said gruffly. He pointed out a phone that was resting on a table in an office just outside of the cell. "As a prisoner, you have a right to make one phone call. It has to be less than five minutes, so I suggest that you make the most of it."

With that, the police Koopa removed the handcuffs from her hands. Celia approached the phone, feeling her heart sink like a stone. Who could she call? Her mother? They hadn't spoken in six years, and Celia didn't even know if she wanted to speak to her. There was no way that she would call Ruby.

"Well?" The police Koopa said. "What are you waiting for? We don't have all day."

Celia sighed. There was no one who she could call, no one who would be concerned to hear that she had been brought in. Realizing this fact, she lowered her head and stuffed her hands into her pockets.

And that was when she felt it. She pulled out the phone card that Roy had given her the night before. She stared at it, blinking her eyes out before she turned to the police koopa.

"I know who I want to call."

….

Roy was sitting in the common room with a root beer in his hands. Larry was currently watching his favorite show of all time, Meeting Myself. Roy wasn't really interested in the show one way or the other, at least not right now. His mind was elsewhere, flitting about in a void of heartbreak and misery.

He still couldn't take his mind off of Judy. He knew that he probably should try to take his attention off of her, if for no other reason than to not have Iggy lecture him every two minutes. But he just couldn't.

He remembered a time when he and Judy went to a special garden. It was right when they started dating; about two months after the fact, to be exact. Judy had loved the flowers to death, especially the forsythia. Because of that, Roy had decided to make her a flower crown. She had loved it then and had worn it for the rest of the day.

Roy sighed. The flower crown hadn't lasted. He remembered Judy showing him that it withered away. Now, their entire relationship was in a similar state. Roy put his head in his hands, a gloom taking over.

Larry turned towards him. "You okay, Dude?"

Roy looked at him with a sinking face. "Am I allowed not to be?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Roy shook his head. "Iggy says that I need to move on from Judy. That must mean it's bad that I can't stop thinking about her."

Roy didn't exactly know if it was his imagination, but he thought that he saw Larry's face fall a little. However, it rose back up again within no time at all, and he laughed. "Dude. Do you really want to listen to what Iggy says?"

Roy thought about this a little bit. "I...well, no…"

"Then don't! You dated her for two years; you deserve to get a chance to think about her."

Roy's heart sank. Even that advice sounded a little...wrong. He didn't know if it was because he had been hearing nothing but the advice Iggy had been giving to him, but still. It felt wrong.

Roy sighed and shook his head. "Okay." He rose to a standing position. "I'm going to go take a walk."

With that, Roy left Larry in the dust. The sights of the castle did nothing to help him, absolutely nothing. Maybe it was because he had seen them over half a billion times; he didn't know. Either way, the gloom in his soul was building, building, and building, like a tower that cast a shadow over the rest of his heart.

Roy stopped when he got to the courtyard. He took in a deep breath, allowing himself to take in the air. He couldn't remember ever bringing Judy here. He wished he did, as he knew that she would have loved it. Roy made his way over to a bench and took a seat, imagining that she was sitting right next to him. If he closed his eyes, he could almost feel her touching his forearm.

"Master Roy!"

Roy opened his eyes and saw one of the Koopa troopa servants named Bloke. Bloke had a phone in his hands as he ran toward the bench.

"What is it, Bloke?" Roy asked.

"You have a call. The person on the other line said she needs to talk to you. It's urgent, apparently."

Roy felt confused. "Urgent? Who is this girl?"

"She said her name is Celia Patch."

Roy remembered that name. That was the human girl who he had encountered last night. If she was calling him, that must mean that she managed to get her hands on a phone. Well, good for her. That meant she and Roy could decide when she would get to meet Bowser.

"Give me the phone." Bloke handed the phone over before going back to take care of his duties. Roy held the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

When Celia spoke on the other side, her voice sounded desperate, distraught. She also talked a little fast. "Roy! I need your help! I've been arrested, and you're the only one who can get me out of jail!"

It took a minute for Roy to process that statement, not only because Celia was talking so fast, but also because of how shocking the contents of the message was.

"Wait. You've been arrested?"

"Yes! I have!"

Roy scrunched up his eyebrows. "So...you're a criminal."

Celia paused for a minute. "Well, yes. I suppose that you could say that."

Roy felt an emotion he had never felt before overtake him. So the girl he had been talking to last night was a felon. A felon that had wanted to meet Bowser. Just that thought was enough to make Roy sick, especially considering that he had given her the tools to set up a meeting with him.

"And you think that I'll be willing to help you, after the crimes you committed?" Roy scoffed. "That's an even dumber idea than the ones I come up with."

Roy was just about to put the phone down. Before he could however, Celia practically yelled into the speaker. "Wait! Please, Roy! You need to help me. You need to!"

"And why do I need to help you?" Roy spat out.

"Because...because…." Celia hesitated before saying something that was more ridiculous than anything that Roy had heard so far. "Because Bowser is my father."