Chapter 5 Meet my OC

Naturally, being a flustered mess, Star was extremely irritated. She paced around the pink walled room. The pink heart pillows were staring into her soul. The plush magenta carpet underneath her bare feet seemed to sting more than the obsidian. The fact that there were no windows made her feel claustrophobic. A multitude of her thoughts kept rushing around in a circular loop. Not only was she stuck in an alternate world, not only did nobody believe her when she said who she was, not only was she going to wind up in a mental hospital…

*Growl.*

She was also hungry.

Star took a seat on the bed. She looked down at the bottom of her bare feet. They were absolutely coated with dirt, and jagged little rocks were sticking into her heels. She tried pulling them out, but it was hopeless; the pain just increased. She groaned and placed her hands in her pocket. That was when she was hit by a pleasant surprise.

"Oh!" She pulled out a gray string. "I have my string with me! At least there is that!"

Star got out of the bed and resumed with pacing. Back and forth, back and forth. As she did, she unconsciously gripped the string with both hands, letting it twirl around her fingers. Every once in a while, she would shake it, making it wiggle like a worm. The string was a common fidget of Star's. She formed the habit when she was a baby, so naturally, she and strings were inseparable. She was extremely grateful to have it with her, as it made her nerves slightly less jittery.

Maybe Star needed to rethink her plan. She needed to explain herself, or at least find someone who was willing to listen to her. If she explained how she was not from this world, perhaps someone would feel sympathetic toward her and help her.

But then again, that would require her to get out of this locked room.

She stared at the door. Her eyebrows scrunched up and her eyes formed a squint. She slowly approached the door handle and started to jiggle it. Nothing happened. She tried harder. Still nothing.

"Hey!" She yelled. "Can someone let me out?"

No one came. Perhaps they had been told by Ludwig to leave her alone. Not wanting to make an even bigger fool of herself by screaming, she decided she needed another plan.

She needed to break the door down.

With this thought in mind, Star backed up. She wrapped her hand around her closed fist and jutted her shoulder out. She took a deep breath.

"You can do this," she told herself. She started to run. "You can do this, you can…"

Crash!

Star rammed right into the door. Unfortunately, it did not come down. Her self confidence did though.

"Oh, right, I forgot," she groaned as her face was pressed against the wood. "I'm as weak as water. Uhhh…."

With that, she collapsed to the ground. Star groaned as she held her hand to her aching face. It was like she had pressed her cheek against a burning hot electric stove. Her teeth ached too.

"I knew I should have laid off the Goldfish," she mumbled.

She stood up and began to pace again. She had no way of unlocking the door, no one was going to help her, her ego was in pieces, and she was still hungry! Wasn't getting sucked into an alternate world supposed to be fun? Most of the fanfictions Star had read indicated such.

"What on Earth am I going to do now?"

Suddenly, the door knob started to jingle. The surprised Star turned and eyed it, not entirely sure what to do. Perhaps Ludwig had come to take her to the mental hospital he had been talking about! Star's breath started to escalate, sweat started to drip down her head like tap water. She couldn't go to a mental hospital. She would fight Ludwig if she had to!

Thankfully, that did not appear to be necessary. The person who opened the door was not Ludwig or Larry or any of the other Koopalings she had encountered outside. It was Iggy. And his eyes were wide.

Iggy stared at Star. He seemed to be studying her, assessing her. Star nervously glanced from side to side and gripped her string in her right hand.

"Um, hello," she said.

Iggy gulped down a lump. His voice sounded weak when he spoke.

"StarlitDuck?" When Star nodded, he bolted from the room in what appeared to be fright. Thankfully, he left the door open, so Star was able to chase after him.

"Hey!" she called out.

Iggy continued to run. Not even bothering to care about her lacking physical physique, Star barged after him.

"Come back here!"

Iggy still did not stop. Star wondered if, perhaps, she should address him by name.

"Ignatius Magnolia Koopa, get your hindquarters back here!"

That, miraculously, seemed to do the trick. Iggy stopped running and turned toward Star. His pupils were the size of an ant's abdomen as he stared at her. His mouth was also slightly ajar.

"You're...you're real." he said softly.

"Wow, didn't have to use the big brain cells to figure out that one, did ya?" Star retorted. She crossed her arms. "I am real, I am hungry, and in case you haven't noticed, I am dressed in pajamas. Do you think you can be of assistance, Iggy?"

Iggy shook his head, his expression unchanged.

"Is this really happening?" He put his hand to his head and directed his gaze toward the floor. "No, this isn't real! This can't be real! You are only a character in my dreams!"

Star snorted.

"Uh, I think you've got our roles reversed, buddy. You are a character in my dreams!"

Iggy glanced back up at her. His expression started to ease down a little bit.

"Ho...how are you even here? Is this another dream?"

Star shook her head.

"If by dream you mean nightmare, then yes, you're right on the money." She groaned as she looked down at her pajamas. "I mean seriously, this is just indecent of me!"

Iggy slowly approached. He used the same amount of caution that one would approach a sleeping lion with. Once he was about a foot and a half away from Star, he stopped. His breathing sounded thin and fragile.

"I do legitimately want to know what is going on. Can you please explain this to me so that I don't think I am completely crazy? Emphasis on completely?"

Star smirked happily. She fidgeted with her string in excitement.

"Why of course, Ignatius. I would be happy to." Her stomach growled. "After you get me some decent food."