Author's Notes: Thanks to everyone who has read my story so far. This will be the last chapter for a couple of days, but I'll get back to this as soon as I feel inspired. Please follow, favorite and review if you're so inclined.
If it wasn't obvious enough already, I do not own any characters in this story. In addition, I am not associated with any musicians referenced in this story. Enjoy!
Chapter 3: Who Are You?
Heaven let its light shine down through a window, revealing the sprawled form of a young woman lying across her bed. One leg along with her orange bedsheets dangled precariously. Upon her face were two closed eyes with delicate eyelashes. Directly below was a wide-open mouth, with just a little bit of saliva hanging out, dripping slowly onto the woman's yellow t-shirt.
Sara was awakened as she felt the ground begin rumbling along with the sound of an engine starting up. She hurried over to her window, nearly tripping over the numerous magazines that litter her floor. Her face carried an annoyed expression as she pushed her curtains off to the side of her second-story window.
"Dammit pops, if this is your idea to wake me up, it worked." grumbled Sara as she peered outside with half-opened eyes.
Her tired eyes widened in surprise to see that her father's ancient Volkswagen Beetle was not outside, but rather a person she had never seen before. His attire was that of a typical greaser: tinted aviators, a black leather covering a white t-shirt, worn blue jeans and a pair of boots. His brown hair was done up in a pompadour style while sideburns lined the sides of his face. Below him rumbled a stylish white motorcycle. The mysterious figure revved up his chopper's engine yet again. Although Sara could not see this person's eyes, she could tell he was looking directly at her.
Sara gasped as her face broke out in a blush as she remembered she was suffering from a major case of bedhead, as she usually does after waking up. She frantically reached for the hairbrush she keeps on her bedside table and began nervously brushing her orangey hair. The biker continued to watch, seemingly taking pleasure in watching her struggle with her hair.
Sara's gaze remained fixated on the stranger, noticing a smirk stretch across his face. Her blushing face heated up to a darker shade of red. After she was done with her hair, the stranger held a hand out with his index finger repeatedly curling towards him as if to say "Come here, sweet thing."
Sara's heart nearly stopped at the gesture, as she quickly nabbed a pair of shorts on her bedroom floor and slipped on pair of sneakers, not even remembering to put on some socks. She burst out of her room, pushing the door open with a loud "slam" as it crashed into the perpendicular wall. She met the flight of stairs leading downwards. Rather than going down each step, Sara slid down the railing despite knowing full well that her parents hate it when she does that.
Sara dashed through the front door, leaving it swung open as she exited into the sunlit driveway. She skipped with each step in pure excitement. She finally approached the biker. Just then, he dragged his shades down to reveal two crystal-blue eyes.
"Hello, I love you. Won't you tell me your name?" spoke the leather-clad man.
"Hi, I'm Daisy!" squealed Sara excitedly.
The biker smiled. "Daisy is a beautiful name."
Sara's face was now fully red as the biker patted the seat behind him, offering her atop his bike.
Sara held onto tightly to the biker with no intention of letting go. She dug her ecstatic face into the back of his jacket, enjoying the scent of leather. "Don't you have a name?" Sara finally asked.
"Oh, me? Of course. My name is DAISY GET YA BUTT OUTTA BED WE GOTTA BIG DAY TODAY!"
"What?" Sara removed her face from his jacket with one eyebrow raised.
"DIDN'T YA HEAR ME DAISY? I SAID WAKE UP!"
Sara's eyes hastily opened up with her eyebrows close together in annoyance. "DAMMIT POPS! I'll be right down!" shouted Sara as she turned to her left, where a calendar hung on the wall. "Ugh. Monday again…" sighed Sara as she unenthusiastically hopped out of bed. She walked over her window and shut the curtains to hide the dreary gray clouds from her view.
Sara aggressively brushed her messy hair and began dressing herself in a white blouse and a yellow skirt. She remembered her mother's advice, "Even if your day is off to a bad start, that's no excuse to dress poorly!" As much as she hated to admit it, Sara was inclined to agree with her mom. She eyed her collection of shoes before deciding on a pair of hiking boots, just to be different.
Sara sighed as she looked back into her room before closing the door. "It was just a dream, huh?" Turning around, she saw the same flight of stairs she saw in her dream, but instead of sliding down the railing like usual, she slowly climbed down each step.
Downstairs, Sara's parents were already eating their breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon until they heard the clunk of boots going down the stairs. "Look who's up!" said a gruff but nonetheless jovial voice.
"Good morning, Daisy!" squeaked a quiet, feminine voice.
Sara plopped herself down at the dining room table, sinking her defeated expression into her forearms. Her muffled voice barely escaped through her arms. "…don't call me that."
"Sorry, sweetie. I can't help it!" Sara's mother apologized. "Why don't you have some eggs?"
"…don't want no eggs." grumbled Sara.
"C'mon! Ya gotta eat something! Nobody can sell newspapers on an empty stomach!" Sara's father chuckled before diving back into his meal.
Sara shot daggers to her dad, who was having too good of a time teasing his daughter. Sara finally spoke up. "…can I call in sick today?"
Sara's mother immediately took the back of her soft, pale hand and pressed it towards Sara's forehead. "Hmm… You don't seem to have a temperature, but that doesn't mean you're not sick. What are your symptoms, sweetie?"
"…broken heart." Sara admitted with a couple tears running down her cheeks.
Sara's father slammed his fist down on the table and began cackling. "HAHA! Ya haven't been on a date in years and suddenly your heart's broken? I'm gonna call BS on that one!"
Sara's mother gasped in shock. "Richard! How can you be so insensitive? Our daughter is clearly upset!"
Sara glared at her dad again. "…don't be such a dick, Dick."
Richard ignored his daughter's comment and focused on responding to his wife. "Ya know just well as I do that I'm telling the truth, Lily! She just wants to get outta going to work!"
Sara's tears continued to flow. "…you're wrong, pops. I've never been on a date."
Richard smirked victoriously. "See that, Lily? Proof positive she's faking it!" Now Lily began glaring at him.
"I won't justify that one with a response. Daisy, why don't you tell your old momma what's wrong?" Lily stood up from her chair and hugged Sara as she still lay with her head in her arms.
"…only if he pisses off." Sara's muffled voice coldly stated.
Lily turned towards her husband. "You heard her."
"Yeah, yeah. I got some new shipments to pick up anyway." Richard's large frame left the dining room and headed outside in the rain to his comically tiny car. Part of him wanted to taunt Sara more, but he decided against it, fearing his wife's wrath.
"Are you ready to talk now, sweetie?" Lily looked over to her daughter.
Sara raised her head from her arms and nodded quietly. "I had such a great dream this morning. The most awesome guy ever showed up at our house and took me away on his motorcycle! But before I got to learn his name, pops woke me up…" Sara slammed her head back onto the table. "…pretty pathetic right?"
"Oh… Daisy! That's not pathetic at all! Believe it or not, I remember having dreams like that when I was your age." Lily looked down at Sara and kissed her forehead.
"…you did? What does it mean?" Sara's eyes shined in wonder.
"Well, I read about this philosopher named Carl Jung when I was in college. He said that when you dream about stuff like that, the person is your animus. I'll spare the details, but basically, you're destined to fall in love with your animus."
"I am?" Sara's head shot back up upon hearing that.
"That's right! But you've got to find him first. Who knows? You might even meet him today!" Lily explained happily.
"You're right! You usually are, mom! Thank you." Sara sprung out of her table and back into her room to find something amidst the storm of junk that covered her room.
"There you are!" Sara shouted excitedly as she held up her pair of binoculars and placed it into her satchel. In addition, she pulled out some of her favorite jewelry and put it on. "I've gotta look good if I'm gonna meet my true love today!" A yellow umbrella with orange polka dots rested against one of the walls in Sara's room until she snagged that too.
Outside, Richard never left the driveway, so he went back into the house once he noticed Sara leaving the dining room. "Heya dear!" shouted Richard as he walked back in to see his wife and then giving her a kiss. "What's the scoop?"
"Oh! Daisy's going to work today."
"That's great! How'd ya convince her?"
"I told her about Jung and how she'll meet her true love."
"I read Jung a while back, too. Did he really say that?"
"No, but Daisy doesn't need to know that."
The couple laughed until Sara came back downstairs. "Pops, what are you doing here?"
Richard just ignored her question. "So, you're coming to work? I'll give you a lift!"
Sara sighed again as she sat back down at the dining room table and shoveled cold eggs and bacon into her mouth. "Alright. Let's go."
Sara did not speak much during the car ride with her father, instead opting to turn on the radio. Richard could not help but notice how her mood suddenly improved and drove quickly while Cool for Cats tinnily squeaked through the worn radio. She looked into the leather satchel that now sat in her lap, digging through a pile of crumpled receipts to pull out a pack of gum. Sara did not have enough time to brush her teeth this morning, so she chomped down on the minty stick of gum as a substitute.
"OH! Gimme one a' those!" Richard's gaze turned towards the gum as its scent was unavoidable.
"Get ya own, pops!" Sara roared.
"Don't think I haven't seen ya nabbing gum from behind the counter! Now gimme one 'fore I tell your mother!" The car then reached a stoplight as Richard held his mouth open.
"Ugh, fine." Sara was about to hand her father a stick of gum until a figure entered her peripheral vision. "Could it be?" To her left she saw a rugged man riding atop a motorcycle. However, his hair was blonde, and he did not wear a leather jacket. "Aww…"
Richard glanced over to whatever was distracting his daughter. All he could think to say was "That dumbass really oughtta be wearing a helmet! Now don'tcha have some gum for ya pops?" Richard did not really care about this biker dude; he just wanted some gum.
"Oh, right." Sara pulled out a stick of gum and handed it over to her father, not even looking towards him. Her gaze was still fixed on the biker to her right. The light then turned green, and the biker turned right, not to be seen again.
Sara pressed her hand to the glass, which made tapping noise.
Richard kept his eyes on the road but noticed the sound Sara made. "Cool ya jets, Daisy. If that guy really is your true love or whatever, you'll see 'im again."
Sara jumped in surprise, finally turning towards her father. "H-how did you know about that?!"
"Your mother told me!" Richard claimed proudly with his signature grin plastered upon his face.
Sara groaned. "I shoulda known better that she wouldn't keep her mouth shut…"
"Quit ya whining! We're here!" Richard's blue Beetle pulled into a cramped parking spot behind the family newsstand. "Now why don'tcha be a good girl and man the store while I get today's shipments?"
"Quit patronizing me, pops!" Sara walked over to the cash register and unlocked it to begin counting the money within.
"I'm ya pops! It's my job to patronize you!" cackled Richard as he exited. "See ya in a bit!"
Sara ignored him again and turned her attention to the clock behind her, which read 7:19. Sara took a metal rod in the corner of the room and used it to pry open the metal cover that shrouded the store in darkness. After doing so, the sun shined brightly directly into Sara's eyes, causing her to wince at the sudden adjustment.
Outside, floods of commuters crowding the newsstand, much to Sara's annoyance. "Can't ya read? The sign says we open at 7:30!" But alas, the crowd would not let up, leaving Sara with no choice but to sell everyone their daily papers. As she was handing a paper over to another one of the nearly identical city dwellers, she noticed a magazine with a motorcycle on it. The piece of machinery was disturbingly similar to the one Sara saw in her dream, complete with the ivory finish that drove her wild. Once the crowd dissolved, Sara decided to take the magazine down and began reading.
Her reading was interrupted with a gasp. "These things are really expensive!" Sara placed the magazine face down in disappointment. "There's no way I can get my hands on one of those…" She rested her head on her two tanned arms and stared longingly through the newsstand's opened window. Just then, Sara noticed someone who stood out across the sea of faces.
The first thing that caught Sara's attention was his hair, which matched the hair in both color and style of what she saw in her dream, but turned wet from the pouring rain. She watched in disbelief as the fellow dressed in a gray suit with a green necktie struggled to find something. Sara's intrigue grew as she remembered the binoculars that she placed into her satchel. Quickly grabbing them, she noted a slip of paper that lay next to the suited man's shoes, a bus schedule.
He continued to search frantically on his person but appeared to sigh in defeat upon failing to find what was right underneath him. Sara just had to laugh at the irony of a well-put-together individual losing his cool. Part of her found it adorable too. Sara remembered that her folks' newsstand carries plenty of extra bus schedules, so she grabbed one and began to shout towards the stranger.
"Yo! Suit guy! Whatcha lookin' for?" It seemed that the suited fellow did not hear her. So, she tried again. "Suit guy! I'm talkin to you!" This grabbed his attention now as he began spinning around. Sara found this adorable, too. "Good! You know who ya are! Now follow the sound of my voice!" Finally, Sara got what she wanted as the sharp dressed man proceeded towards her.
"Lookin' for one of these?" Sara asked as she dangled the bus schedule over the man's head. She now finally had a good chance to examine his features. His skin was pale, but not to the point of looking sickly. His large nose was hard to avoid as it was the most prominent feature on his face. Directly underneath lay a well-trimmed jet-black mustache. Sara found it a little strange that the hair on his head was brown while his mustache was black, but she quickly got over it. But what really drew her in were his eyes. The pair of crystal blue eyes before her displayed an air of cautiousness about its owner, but these were the exact eyes that Sara saw in her dream. She began to get lost in thought. Is this? No, couldn't be! This is the last guy who would own a motorcycle. Besides, if he did, why would he be waiting for the bus?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the meek sounds of the man's voice. "A bus schedule! How did you know I need one?"
Sara grinned as she explained her use of binoculars. But deep in her head, she could not stop thinking. This guy doesn't sound suave like that Casanova I met either.
"Name's Sara. Don't think I've seen ya 'round here before!"
The man followed suit and introduced himself too. "Oh! Hello… My name is Luigi."
"Luweegee?" Sara struggled to pronounce the foreign name. "That's hard to say. I think I'll just call ya 'Lucky.'" She noticed the man smile despite her butchering his name.
"'Lucky' is the last thing I would call myself. I nearly lost my way to my new job and now I do not even have an umbrella." he explained. Sara had already noticed how wet his body was because of the rain.
That's kinda hot… she thought to herself, admiring how his stiff suit pressed in on himself, showing off a pronounced chest and ribcage. Maybe this guy really is my animus or whatever. Can I really be sure? Sara remained fixated on Lucky's damp appearance until she noticed he was also distracted by something. No way… He's looking at me with those eyes.
Sara snapped out of her stupor before Lucky did. As much as she enjoyed the attention she was getting from his gaze, she continued the conversation. "Awww… That's too bad, Lucky. But hey! Ya got your schedule now!" said Sara pointing towards the jacket pocket that Lucky placed the slip into.
Sara giggled as her words caught Lucky off guard. "Right! I forgot to thank you! So, thanks, Sara!"
"No prob at all! Say, what happened to your umbrella anyway?" Sara could not help but wonder as she began envisioning all sorts of scenarios that Lucky could have gotten himself into.
Lucky explained that he lost his grip on the umbrella, which caused it to land in the road and get crushed by a truck. But while he was saying all this, Sara could tell that something was off about his story since his nose was twitching while he was telling it. I bet he's stretching the truth here. Obviously, he's trying to make his life sound less exciting than it actually is! After all, my true love would lead an action-packed life, right?
Despite Sara's doubts, she did not want to see this man suffer anymore under the howl of the driving rain. "Well, in that case, Lucky, please share my umbrella." said Sara quoting a song she once heard on one of her father's records. Maybe I should listen to that song again… She took the yellow and orange umbrella she brought with and held it out towards Lucky.
Lucky's face turned red as his lanky arm reached out to the umbrella. "A-are you sure?"
"Yeah! My folks run this newsstand, so I don't have much use for an umbrella now anyway." Sara really liked the way Lucky's face lit up at her offer. "'Sides, you can just return it tomorrow, right?" She was about to hand over the umbrella until she got interrupted by the sound of banging. Dammit pops, not now. "Just a mo', Lucky! I gotta take this."
She opened the door to reveal her father holding the new shipment of magazines that came in today.
"Daisy! Need ya help here!" Richard shouted upon seeing his daughter open the door.
Sara was tempted to slam the door back in his face. Wait, if I do that, then Lucky will see… "Pops! I told ya not to call me that anymore! 'Daisy' is such a kid name!" she shouted back at her father. I always hated my name. The only 'Daisies' you see out there are two-year olds or cows. With a hint of anger, Sara took the box from her dad's hands and swiped a boxcutter across it, revealing a stack of generic beauty magazines. Even though Sara hated flipping through them when she got bored, they did sell very well.
"Oh right, you're 'Sara' now. Whatever! You'll always be my Daisy!" Richard held his arms open for an embrace, but Sara was not having it. It took her everything she had not to cause a scene last time, but now she was at her limit.
"Piss off, pops! Can't ya see I'm with someone?" Sara quickly turned around from her dad, avoiding his hug and diverting her attention back to Lucky, who stood confused at the situation. Crap! That wasn't very ladylike of me, was it?
Richard also turned his attention towards Lucky. "So ya are… Say, this guy kinda looks like that David Byrne guy wit' the suit an' all!" I was going to say Elvis Costello, but that works too.
"Hey, be nice to Lucky! He's having a rough start!" Despite the fact she agreed with her dad, Sara would not miss an opportunity to call him out.
"Oh fine, Dais…" Don't say it, pops. I swear to God, if you say it. "…Sara." Richard then removed his hood and rolled up his drenched rain jacket sleeve and held it out over the newsstand counter. "Pleasure to meetcha, Lucky!" Sara noticed Lucky's hand shiver as her dad's hand approached his.
"A-actually, sir… My name is Luigi."
"Luweegee, eh? That's hard to say." Sara watched in horror as her father's intense handshake left Lucky bouncing up and down.
"That's what I said, pops! Getcha own ideas next time!" Sara's disapproving look turned away from her dad and back to Lucky. "Lucky, this is my pops, Richard, but everyone calls him 'Dick.' I'm sure you can understand why." A small chuckle escaped Lucky's lips upon hearing this.
Rather than being offended, Richard let go of Lucky's hand and looked towards his daughter. "Eh, I better get outta here 'fore I touch any other nerves. I'll be back in an hour wit' more magazines, so you better have 'em all sorted!" Sara's face heated up in annoyance upon hearing that.
"I'll get right on that once ya piss off, pops!" That wasn't ladylike either. Sara noticed a gigantic smile sprawl on her dad's lips as he left the building. "Sorry ya had to see that, Lucky. Now where was I?" The umbrella now lay on the newsstand floor. "Oh, right. Here ya go, Lucky! No charge!"
As Lucky took the umbrella from Sara's grasp, she heard him speak quietly. "Daisy is a beautiful name." Oh fuck… There's no way. That's exactly what I heard in my dream.
"Whatcha say, Lucky?" Sara's voice shot up an octave in shock.
Lucky jumped as his face turned beet read. "I-I did not say a word!" You're lying. You said just the words I wanted to hear.
"Oh yeah ya did!" Sara feigned anger towards Lucky.
Suddenly, Lucky's demeanor changed from that of meekness to confidence. "I think 'Daisy' is a beautiful name! I can say it again if you need me to!"
Sara nearly jumped at this change. "That's what I thought you said, Lucky…" In a whisper, she said "Nobody's ever said that to me before…"
Thankfully, it seemed that Lucky did not hear that last part since he responded by saying "I-I'm sorry, Sara. I did not mean to offend you!" If you are who I think you are, nothing you say could possibly offend me.
Lost in thought, Sara began fantasizing about the dream she had. She did not even notice how Lucky was staring directly into her daydreaming eyes, seemingly imagining something himself.
The sounds of the city brought Sara out of her fantasy, much to her chagrin. "Say, Lucky. Don't ya have a bus to catch?"
Lucky jumped again as if he had forgotten the whole reason he came to the bus stop. "Y-you are absolutely right!" Sara giggled quietly at his reaction as he ran back to the stop.
Just then, a thought arrived. "HEY! Before you go, Lucky. I have something else for ya!" Lucky stopped dead in his tracks and quickly turned back around. Sara turned to her right and plucked a daisy from the nearby vase. Even if she hated her name, she still had a soft spot for the flower she was named after. "It's for good luck. Because you're Lucky even if you don't feel it now!" Maybe I'm the lucky one here.
"Th-thanks, Sara… but I really ought to go. Maybe I will see you again tomorrow?" Bingo. Just what I needed to hear. Sara spied Lucky examining the flower before sticking it in his jacket pocket with a smile.
"Ya better Lucky! I'd be so pissed if ya don't give me back my umbrella!" Sara began waving goodbye to Lucky as he jogged back over to his bus stop.
"Then it's a promise, Sara!" he shouted while simultaneously running and waving!
When Lucky reached the stop, Sara could not help but pull out her binoculars again to check him out. Thankfully, he was too busy checking his watch and bus schedule to notice. She saw that he was now wearing a pair of reading glasses, which excited her greatly since they reminded her of the aviators the mystery man wore.
After his bus arrived and he embarked, Sara flipped over the magazine she was reading before her encounter with Lucky and examined the cover. Suddenly, Lucky appeared on the cover, riding the metal horse. But he was not wearing the same gray suit, rather a leather jacket and jeans. Oh my God. It really is him.
Sara's face was so red, that she suddenly used the rod to close the store and hung up a sign that read "We'll be back in a New York minute!" She rushed to a nearby restroom and despite the filthiness, found a spot in a stall.
After calming down from too much excitement, she returned to the newsstand and resumed her post sorting magazines but keeping the motorcycle issue underneath the counter so that she could keep looking at it.
I call him 'Lucky,' but I think I'm the lucky one here.
Author's Commentary: Chapter 3
Originally Written: Saturday, July 30th – Sunday July 31st, 2022
This chapter doubled the entire length of this story. Fancy that! Since this chapter is a retelling of chapter one from Daisy's perspective, there is a lot of reused dialogue (for consistency's sake), but I think I added enough interesting stuff to make this feel like a whole new reading experience. Oh! And if you haven't figured it out already, whenever I write in italics it's the character's thoughts talking.
A trained eye will also note the increased number of music references in this chapter, whether subtle or explicit. I only reference songs that I like, all of which can be found in my Spotify playlist (if you know, you know). Hey, if you're nice, I might even tell you where you can find it!
Some other things to note: Richard and Lily are references to DeviantArt user Nintendrawer and her characters that share the same name. In her lore, Richard and Lillian are the names of Daisy's parents. Since Nintendrawer is such an influential figure in Mario fanworks, I'm happy to reference her in this story. She really was a big influence on me even if she doesn't know who I am.
Before getting on writing this chapter, I have been reading a lot of other Luigi and Daisy fanfics for inspiration and sentimental value. I was reading one that I really enjoyed, but guess what? It doesn't have an ending! That pisses me off something fierce! In fact, the author seems to have vanished off the face of the Earth three years ago! Now, I'm no stranger to abandoning my work, so I know what it's like, but I would like to give you, dear reader, my word that I will finish this series before I disappear again. I will admit, I have already gotten a little burnt out which is easy to do when you're writing an over 8000-word epic. Still, it is my full intention on finishing what I have started.
I'd like to end this edition of author's commentary by stating how proud I am of this chapter. I think I am finally starting to understand the tone and world I am trying to establish. Because of that, I may return to chapters one and two and brush up some things. For now, they're mostly identical to how I originally wrote them.
As always, thanks for reading! The next chapter will finally have Luigi getting to work. Poor guy's had quite the day already…