Chapter 3 Stopping By

Roy went out of his way to go over to the house the very next day, but not necessarily because he wanted to see what would happen when Alicia and Albert stop by. If anything, he had completely and utterly forgotten about that little event. No, the reason why was more so because he wanted to go on a date with Celia. He had already tried yesterday and failed, going home as a very sad and sour koopa as a consequence. He wasn't going to accept that. If there was one thing that Roy Koopa didn't do, it was fail. Well…okay, there were the times he had gotten defeated by Mario. And the times he lost in Mario Kart races. And when it came to doing anything requiring the use of that thing in his head that people tended to call a brain.

Wow. Roy's kind of pathetic, isn't he?

Roy shook his head. He was almost at Celia's house; he didn't have time to think about stuff like that. Pushing that thought to the side, he put on a grin and adjusted his stride so that he appeared confident. Desirable.

Finally, he got to the house. He cleared his throat, brushing any dust off of his front before tapping lightly on the door.

Tap tap tap.

It took a few minutes, but Celia eventually did manage to come to the door, unlike yesterday. What really interested Roy was her expression. Instead of rising happily, her face fell when she saw him. Plummeted actually.

"Darn it," she grumbled under her breath.

Roy felt a pang. "Wow. Nice to see you too."

Celia shook her head. "No, it's…" she sighed. "I just thought you were my aunt and cousin."

Roy blinked. "Oh. Right. I almost…never mind." His heart dropped a little, his confidence and joy pretty much faded from existence. "So…I suppose that you don't want to go on a date, huh?"

Celia's brow furrowed. "Well…uh, um…I'm not sure."

Roy groaned. "Come on! I haven't had a date with you in over a month!" He made a puppy dog-like face. "Can't you see that I'm torn up inside?" Blink blink, blink blink.

Celia wrinkled her nose. "I would probably be able to see that if that face you're making wasn't in the way."

Roy didn't change expression; he just took off his glasses so that she could see his shiny eyes. He also pouted his lip. "Please, Cee? Can you helped a poor, deprived boyfriend?"

Celia raised an eyebrow. Then, unable to keep the cold act up any longer, she snickered, putting her hand to her mouth to cover up her giggles. "Okay, okay. I'll go talk with my Mom; give me a minute."

She went back inside, leaving Roy standing alone with his puppy dog eyes. When Celia eventually did return, she smiled. "Well, you're in luck, Roy. She said…" she blinked at him. "Really? You're still making that face?"

Roy internally cringed. "I don't make this face very often. I think that I broke my eyes."

Celia giggled. "Well, she said yes."

Roy blinked, allowing both his eyes and pouted lip to return to the default position. He smiled in a jubilant, excited way. "Hey, what do you know! They're fixed!"

Celia laughed before putting her hand on Roy's shoulder. "Come on, let's go. Mom said she wants us out of here before the family shows up."

"Really? Why?"

Celia hesitated. "Um…she said Alicia might be offended by seeing another koopa."

"Oh." Roy's heart dropped again. That…wasn't exactly comforting to hear. "That…that makes sense."

…

Ruby let out a frustrated sigh as she tried dusting the living room. She hated cleaning. She hated it, hated it, hated it. It didn't help that she had been given such a short notice. That just piled onto what was already a mountain of stress.

Singe came in the room as she dusted the couch with a trash bag in his hands. "Keep at it Ruby; you're doing great." He exited via the main entrance to the house.

"I'm doing the one thing I despise," She grumbled under her breath. She tried to dust the ceiling fan, but it was too far up. She tried jumping, but that only allowed her to reach her target briefly. Just as she was about to give up, she felt someone grab her by the waist and lift her up. She smiled at her husband. "Thanks."

"No problem," said Singe. Once Ruby got the dusting part finished, he lowered her back down. That was when she noticed his face.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm a little worried about what might happen," Singe said. "I mean, I've never met Alicia but…I have dealt with people like that before. And believe me, it isn't fun."

Ruby nodded, biting her lip as she did so. "You're right; it's not." She sighed as she put the duster away. "But it's what Celia wants."

"I know, I know. But that still can't stop me from worrying. After all, we haven't exactly been treated the best." He sent her a look that had tears building in the corner of his eyes. "You haven't been treated the best."

Ruby's heart broke. "I…" she paused. "You're right. And I will admit, I'm not exactly thrilled about this either. I think I made my position on that pretty clear yesterday." She approached Singe. "But…let's try to make the most of it. For all we now, Alicia could surprise us."

Singe smiled, an expression that Ruby would never get tired of. She smiled right back.

Knock knock knock.

Ruby and Singe looked at the door. Ruby felt an unease build up in her gut. She swallowed a lump.

"I'll get it."