Chapter 4 I Don't Have a Problem!

Ludwig stirred his oatmeal. His siblings were currently engaged in a conversation at the breakfast table, talking about all sorts of things. Ludwig took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The blending of the voices and the different levels of dynamics was, in all honesty, beautiful. Wendy's voice was very similar to a flute, Larry's sounded like a saxophone, Morton and Roy were the percussion, and Iggy was the violin. The music that each of his siblings was making was a joy to Ludwig's ears. He opened his eyes and got a piece of blank sheet music out of his hammerspace. As he started writing down the notes, he heard the door to the dining hall open. It then slammed shut so hard that the entire table shook. Ludwig and his siblings lifted their heads to see Lemmy standing in the doorway.

And boy, was he in a mood. His face was sour, hard as rock. His eyes were glimmering with disappointment and hurt. He was biting his lip so hard that Ludwig could see blood. Nevertheless, when Lemmy saw his siblings, he smiled. The storm turned into a rainbow so quickly that it was frightening.

"Hey guys!"

Ludwig did a double take. The others exchanged looks of interest and concern.

"Hey...Lems," said Larry.

"Are you okay, Lemmy?" Wendy asked. Lemmy bobbed his head up and down.

"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?" He started making his way over to the table. His eyes lit up when he saw what was in Morton's bowl. "Ooh, oatmeal! Sweet!"

Lemmy proceeded to sit down at his usual spot. The waiters came out and placed a bowl of oatmeal down in front of him, to which he eagerly began chewing on it.

"Mmm, that's good," he said. He met his siblings stares with a smile. "Well, don't stop talking just cause I'm here!"

The other Koopalings faces slowly shifted away from their concern. Iggy put on a soft grin.

"Well, okay then," he said. "As I was saying, I have been doing some fascinating research. Based on a psychological study I conducted, people are more likely to perform better if they put on an outfit based on the job they are doing!"

Ludwig put on a grin.

"I think that there is merit to that. When I put on the symphony, I made sure to choose my outfit carefully. I wanted it to help put me in the mindset of a performer."

Roy laughed.

"That's stupid! You're already a performer! You don't need help!"

Ludwig shrugged.

"Even still, it's nice to have a little extra support." His mouth curved into a smile. "And I think both Lemmy and I did a good job."

Lemmy let out a growl. Ludwig turned and was surprised to see that he was fuming. He was muttering under his breath and was stirring his oatmeal with extra intensity. His teeth were gritted so tight that one could mistake him for a pitbull. Ludwig raised an eyebrow.

"Lemmy…"

"I'mfineI'mfineI'mfine!" Lemmy said at a ridiculous speed. He took a huge bite of his breakfast, not even bothering to clean up the goop that had gotten on his chin. "I'm on top of the world. I am just peachy!"

Ludwig raised an eyebrow. Iggy looked at Lemmy with incredulity in his bespectacled eyes.

"What is troubling you, Lemonade?"

"Nothing!" Lemmy objected. "Didn't you hear what I said? I'm doing extremely well today!"

Ludwig was able to see the light nuances in Lemmy's body language that gave away the lie. His body was trembling, the veins in his neck were sticking out. He leaned toward his brother.

"Lemmy, what's going on?"

"I said I'm fine!" Lemmy shouted, his face red. He let out big, labored breaths. His teeth were still locked in their gritted position. He gripped his spoon and raised a shaky hand up to his mouth. He ate with speed and concentration, like a fussy little toddler. His face had a pouty expression on it. None of the other Koopalings dared to talk to him as he cleaned out his bowl. When he was finally finished, he stood up. He forced on a smile.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I forgot to put on my socks," he said. He made his way out of the dining hall, causing the door to sound like a thunder crack as it slammed shut. Roy scratched his head.

"Socks? He doesn't wear socks! He's a reptile!"

Larry snickered and dug his face in his meal.

"I guess Fussy Felicia couldn't think up a good excuse," he said quietly. Iggy looked at the oldest Koopaling.

"Ludwig, do you think you could go see what's…"

"Already on it," Ludwig said as he got up from the table. He made his way up to the room that he and Lemmy shared. When he got there, he found Lemmy crying on his bed.

"Lemmy?"

As soon as he said that name, the tears disappeared. Lemmy sat up and smiled.

"Ludwig! Isn't it a beautiful day today? It's a perfect day to go out and play!"

Ludwig gawked. How could Lemmy be down in the dumps one minute and then sunshine and rainbows the next?

"Okay seriously, what has gotten into you? You're acting really weird today; what is your problem?"

"Problem?" Lemmy asked. "I don't have a problem."

"Uh huh. And I don't burst into flames when I get mad," Ludwig said sarcastically. Lemmy sighed and got up.

"Everything is fine, Ludwig! Honestly, it is!"

Ludwig continued to keep his eyebrow high in the sky.

"Honestly, huh?"

"Yes!" Lemmy said with an exhausted breath. "Honestly, everything is fine!"

Ludwig did not know what to make of this. Lemmy was a terrible liar, yet he wasn't willing to talk about what was bothering him. So, Ludwig ultimately decided to just drop the matter. Lemmy would talk about it when he wanted to talk about it.

"Okay. Whatever you say." He turned toward the bathroom door. "I need to use the bathroom, I'll be right back."

…

Lemmy watched as the bathroom door closed. Now that Ludwig was gone, he could let out the breath he was holding.

Honestly, it wasn't that big of a deal! People criticized other people's work all the time! It's not like it was the end of the world. There is no reason for Lemmy to get upset over this!

But then again, he was upset. He was upset and angry...he felt as if his heart had been punctured.

With this thought in mind, Lemmy started to clean the room. He had seen Ludwig clean whenever he was having an off day, so maybe doing so would help the littlest Koopaling out. He got gunk out from under the bed and rearranged his sock monkeys. Once he had finished with that, he went into his and Ludwig's closet. When he turned on the light, he saw that it was mostly clean. However, there was an odd piece of cloth sticking out from behind the bookshelf. Lemmy made his way over and tried pulling the cloth out. When he did, he gasped. It wasn't an old piece of useless cloth. It was a Halloween costume.

Lemmy stared at it. The costume resembled that of a very famous detective. It had a magnifying glass, a bubble pipe, and a plaid hat to complement the jacket. Lemmy wondered if it still fit, so he put it on. Sure enough, since he hadn't done much growing since he was ten, it fit him like a glove. Lemmy chuckled as he set the hat on his head.

"This is neat," he said. He took put the bubble pipe and gave it a puf. "Very neat indeed."

He went out and glanced into the mirror. He looked very suave and stylish. Lemmy took another swig of the bubble pipe, and when he spoke he used a lower voice than his normal one.

"Looks like I need a name for myself, now don't I?" he thought about it and smiled. "I know! I'll call myself...Shellock Holmes! The greatest detective to ever grace the four corners of the Mushroom World."

Lemmy, or rather, Shellock, took another swig of the bubble pipe. He looked at one corner of the room thoughtfully.

"Looks like I need to get to work cracking some capers."