Chapter 15 Why Universe?

Celia kept her head directed toward the floor as she walked down the hall. The meaning of this action was twofold. For one, she wanted to avoid making eye contact with anyone who could potentially be staring at her. After all, there was such a thing as out of sight, out of mind. The second reason was because she was lost in thought. And most if not all of those thoughts were centered around the news that Ms. Tish had given her earlier that day.

Her facial features contorted into a scowl. There really was no escaping fate, was there? The subject of this project felt like a kick in the teeth, even more so when compared to what happened with Iggy. Why did fate have to have such a twisted sense of humor? Why couldn't Ms. Tish have given her another project? There was a whole slew of potential subjects she could have assigned Celia, like…well, she couldn't name them off the top of her head. Then again, maybe she could if she wasn't worried about this project!

"I flipping hate this place!"

Celia turned around at the sound of Roy's voice. The Koopaling growled, the sound low and frightening. He held his helmet underneath his left arm. A liquid of some kind streamed down the sides of his face. Whether this liquid was water or sweat, Celia couldn't say for sure. That was, until he caught up to her. With him standing right by her side, she got a whiff of the foul smelling odor one usually associated with the bathroom.

"Oh, Roy. You didn't get a swirly again, did you?"

Roy nodded, his teeth barred as he did. "I did!" He whimpered and wiped his mouth. "What's more, this time they decided to use a toilet that WASN'T clean!"

Celia's eyes grew wide. "Are you serious?"

"YES!" Roy put on a pouty face. "I've been covered in the nasty water ever since lunch! And let me tell you; if you thought it was hard enough eating regular cafeteria food, then you should try having toilet stink lingering in the air around you!"

Celia's heart sank. "I'm so sorry, Roy." She reached out to hug him before realizing that wasn't the best idea. So, instead, she patted him on the shoulder. This seemed to appease the Koopaling, but the scowl on his face refused to fall away.

Roy sighed. "I'm telling you, man. This school stinks." Celia giggled, which made him blink before giving the tiniest traces of a smile. "Pun not intentional, but I'll still take credit for it." He puffed out his chest. "Man, if only Lemmy was here. I'm sure he would be ultra proud of me for that one."

Celia chuckled. Even when he was in an agitated mood, Roy still remained as pure as a cinnamon bun. She patted him on the shoulder again before making her way toward the exit. She wanted to get as far away from this place as half humanely possible.

"Hey," Roy said as he raced up to her side. "What's wrong?"

Celia blinked. "You can tell something is wrong?"

"Well, sure. It's one of my many awesome talents." Roy chuckled at his own joke before gently placing his hand on her shoulder. "But seriously, something is bothering you. What is it."

Celia paused. Maybe it would be best if she told Roy about her dilemma. Sure, it wouldn't make her an less uncertain about her future, both at this school and onwards. But at least it would give her a good way to vent.

She grunted, the sound practically soaked in her frustrations. "I got assigned a project."

"Ooh, really?" Roy smiled. "That sounds fun."

Celia snorted. "Not really. Especially when you consider what it's about." Roy blinked, causing her to elaborate. "I have to do a project on what I want to be when I graduate."

Roy's jaw dropped. "Wow! That's REALLY cool, Celia!" He wore a disappointed expression. "In my English class, I was assigned a project about a book."

"Hehe." Celia's laugh had a hollow quality. "Well, you can certainly call me jealous."

Roy blinked. "Why are you jealous? Books are the invention of the devil! Your project actually sounds like it could be a lot of fun!"

Celia bit her lip. "Except I don't know what I want to do when I'm older."

Roy's face fell in realization. "Ohhh. Right, we talked about that before." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'm really sorry."

Celia shook her head. "It seems that the universe itself is out to make me answer this question." She resumed with walking toward the exit. She gripped her right hand into a fist as she did. Her mind filled with rage. "Why does this have to be the case? Why? So what if I don't have a dream, or a plan, or a map for how the rest of my life is supposed to play out? Why can't the universe just leave me alone about this!" She took in a breath. While this was meant to help her cool down, it did so in a way tat made her feel gloomy. "If this is the universe's doing, I think that it is widely wasting its time and resources."

Roy walked beside her, the look on his face concerned and empathetic. "I'm sure that's not the case." He smiled. "I mean, look at it this way. If this really is the universe's doing, then that means that the universe must really care about you." He laughed and gently slugged her in the arm. "You're important! Feel happy about that!"

Celia snickered. If this was what it meant to be important, she would much rather stay on the sidelines. Or, even better, she would prefer to spend her time in the shadows. She had already spent a majority of her life in the shadows. In the past, she had wished that she could escape from those shadows, that she could be brought out into the shining sun. But now? While she didn't wish for a total return to the darkness (that darkness left her fatherless and living in the sewer), she did want to draw away from the light. Even just the tiniest bit.

But she couldn't. She was stuck in this school with a dreadful project hanging over her head. She couldn't get out of it. She couldn't withdraw from going to this school. The only thing that she had to be happy about was that Roy was here by her side. And even then, he wasn't with her twenty four seven.

Although….while it wasn't twenty four seven, it was still something. And something was better than absolutely nothing.

She wrapped her hand around his. "Thanks."

Roy grinned an extra wide grin. "Aww, I made you feel better!" He did a fist pump. "I've earned good boyfriend points!"

Celia giggled. "Yeah. You've earned enough to help you move up a level on the likability meter."

Roy actually jumped up. "WOOHOO!"

"SHUT UP, KOOPA, OR YOU'LL GET ANOTHER SWIRLY!"

Roy blinked before the scowl from before returned to his face. "WHY DON'T YOU BE THE ONE TO SHUT YOUR PIEHOLE?!" The response he got to this was a wrinkled up ball of notebook paper throw right at his face. Once it hit, he looked at Celia in concern. "We should probably get out of here." He knocked on his breast plate. "There's only so many fights this armor can take."

"Sounds good," Celia said with a nod. She and Roy made their way toward the exit. As they did, Celia thought about the project for the umpteenth time. How could she possibly hope to complete it? How could she answer that one burning question, the question that was determined to knock her to the ground? No matter how she looked at it, each answer to that question left her insides squirming. She lowered her head even further than it had been before.

I hate you, universe, she thought. I really hate you.