Chapter 17 Stress, Stress, More Stress
Roy sighed in frustration as he emerged from the bathroom. It happened again. Some human and Toad putz's had flushed his head down the toilet in the grossest, most evil display that Roy had happened across. He grumbled, considering going to the teachers so that they could chew the kids out. But deep down, he knew that wouldn't happen. The teachers were just as adamant about Roy always being the bad guy as these students. These good for nothing, horrible students who could get away with anything due to the fact that Roy was "evil."
And sure, Roy wasn't about to pretend that he was an angel either. He had personally participated in multiple kidnapping missions. He got that actions liked that were bound to receive karmic punishments. But these Mushroom High students were taking it too far. No being should be on the receiving end of the swirly. It was gross. It was inhuman. It was gross (yes, that detail was so important that Roy was going to mention it twice). Roy seriously wanted to beat those good for nothing Toads to death. He could definitely do it; he was more than strong enough.
But he didn't do that. It would only prove them right. It would do nothing to change their opinions, and it would probably make the amount of swirlies he got in a day worse. So, whether the big guy liked it or not, he had to deal with it. Fighting back would probably result in him getting in deep trouble.
Roy sniffled. This wasn't fair. Nothing about this was fair. He couldn't defend himself, he couldn't change the minds of any of the people who hated his guts. And believe me, there were a LOT of people who hated his guts. The teachers and students alike didn't see past the fact that he was a dragon koopa. And they probably never will.
The only thing he could hope for at this point was Celia having a better day than he was. He prayed that she did as he made his way over to her classroom, ready to walk her home. He prayed that there were at least a few small mercies in this cursed establishment.
However, his prayers were not answered positively this time around. When he finally got to see Celia, she came out of the classroom shaking. Her pupils were dilated, and she seemed jumpy every time a human or Toad sent her a look as they walked down the hall. She looked shell-shocked. Honest to goodness shell shocked.
Roy swallowed a lump. Don't tell me. He made his way over to her, hoping for the best but expecting the worse. "Cee? Is everything okay?"
…
Roy grit his teeth as he clacked away on the switch controllers. Clickity clack, clickity clack. The characters on screen jumbled together in a way that only Smash bros characters could do. Roy aimed a punch at Peach. Peach retaliated with a frying pan smack, sending Roy's avatar sailing across the stage. He managed to prevent himself from falling to his doom, but only barely. He grit his teeth, ready to give the Mushroom Kingdom's Princess the whooping of her life (not that he endorsed beating women in real life; he was a koopa, not a monster). Before he could, however, the Princess got her final smash.
"Dang it!" Roy hissed. His character fell asleep as all the peaches littered the screen. Before his avatar even had a chance to wake up, Peach ate all of the fruits and kicked Roy off of the screen. The match was officially over.
"Oh, come on," He muttered. He gave Peach a glare, hoping that the bitterness could transfer across time and space and show the REAL Princess Peach that Roy was extremely ticked off at her. Because really, he was ticked off by a lot of things as of late. He just hoped that someone would take heed of that.
"Greetings, dear brother."
Roy grit his teeth and looked up at Iggy. The bespectacled koopa had an expression on his face that mirrored the superiority that he believed himself to have, the ego that most people found tiring and annoying. Of course, that could just be what Roy was seeing. After all, he was wearing frustration-tinted glasses constructed from the bitter and embarrassing experiences he had gone through while in the Mushroom Kingdom high school.
Ohhhh. Damn that high school. Part of him really regretted going there. And most if not all of the blame for him going there could be laid at Iggy's feet.
"Nice to see you," Roy said. He would have called Iggy a name, like asshole or dickwad. However, he really wasn't in the mood for a lecture from the Koopa Kingdom's poster child for braininess. So, he turned back toward the screen, biting his lip as he started up yet another Smash bros match.
"It is, isn't it?" Iggy giggled, an action that was probably supposed to paint his ego-boosting comment as tongue and cheek. While Roy was able to pick up on that, it didn't do his frustration any favors. He leaned closer to the TV, ready to beat the ever-living hell out of Pac-Man.
"You appear troubled," Iggy said.
Roy snorted. "Of course I'm troubled.' He button mashed on the controller. "I'm going to high school now."
Iggy snorted. "Ah, yes. Secondary education. An experience I sorely wish I could have participated in." He smiled, the expression leaking nostalgia. "My experiences with the field of postsecondary education have been positive, after all. I have no doubt the riggers and upsides of high school would have done wonders for me."
Roy sniffed. "Wow, you really know nothing about high school." He smiled when his character got their final smash. For once, the game was being nice to him. For once, he didn't have to feel like he sucked at the game. For once, he had the hope that he could come out on top in life. He didn't feel powerful while in Mushroom High. He wanted to have at least a taste of power. It sure would beat the taste of toilet water.
Of course, anything would beat the taste of toilet water, but I digress.
"I know enough to realize that it is ultimately a positive experience, no matter how much people who attend it say otherwise." He patted Roy on the shoulder. "Consider yourself lucky."
Roy grit his teeth so hard that the pressure almost caused them to crack. "Lucky." The world faded away. All sounds, from the game or otherwise, faded into an ether. Colors were gone except for red. Sensations seized except for the pounding of Roy's heart in his mouth. In rage, Roy paused Super Smash Bros. He rose to a standing position, staring Iggy down like he was the spawn of the devil himself.
Iggy blinked. "Uh…Roy?"
Roy took a deep breath. The action wa meant to calm him down. Unfortunately, it did not accomplish its job. Like a firecracker shooting off to the sky, Roy exploded and started yelling at Iggy.
"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT? HOW DENSE CAN YOU POSSIBLY BE! HIGH SCHOOL SUCKS! IT SUCKS ASS!"
Iggy didn't even looked phased at Roy's outburst. He adjusted his glasses, using a handkerchief he had pulled from his hammerspace to wipe away the spittle that landed on various parts of his face. "Roy, calm down."
"CALM DOWN!? HOW CAN I CALM DOWN!? I'VE GOTTEN SWIRLY AFTER SWIRLY AFTER SWIRLY! THE TEACHERS AT THE SCHOOL HATE ME! MY CLASSMATES HATE ME! I'VE LEARNED ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!" His breathing was as heavy as a boulder. "AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"
Iggy blinked again. "My fault? How in anyway is that statement truthful?"
"BECAUSE YOU CANCELED CELIA'S CLASSES!" Roy stared him down, stressed and angry and ready to break down at the nearest possible convenience. "YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE SO WISE, THRUSTING CELIA INTO A SITUATION THAT WAS NOT ONLY UNNECESSARY, BUT ENTIRELY UNPLEASANT!" Roy stopped to catch his breath. He put his hand to his chest, his heart pounding so hard it hurt. He could feel warm, stinging tears welling in his eyes. "I HATE HIGH SCHOOL! I HATE THAT YOU MADE MY GIRLFRIEND ATTEND IT!" He looked back into his brother's eyes. "SHE NEARLY GOT BEATEN BY A HUMAN PUTZ TODAY! ALL BECAUSE SHE WAS FORCED TO ATTEND A PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL IN THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM!"
Iggy stayed silent as a result of witnessing this. He didn't exactly look understanding or sympathetic, but at the same time, he didn't look like he was about to reprimand Roy and shoot down his very real and very severe emotions. Roy started shaking as he opened his mouth again. This time he didn't yell, mostly because his throat was as scratchy as sandpaper.
"It's awful, Iggy. I hate seeing Celia feel afraid like this. I hate that I am the subject of ridicule and scorn." He closed his eyes. "I feel…I feel like there's nothing I can do, and I hate it. I originally went to the school to help my girlfriend out. But it's only gone downhill since day one. Nothing I do or say can change things." He shook his head. "Why couldn't you have just kept Celia's classes going?"
There was silence. Roy almost didn't want to hear Iggy's reasoning. For starters, he already knew what it was. On top of that, any elaboration Iggy would give him wouldn't change that original intent, nor would it change his mind about keeping Celia's classes cancelled.
So, when Iggy finally did open his mouth, his words rang a little hollow. "I did it for the soul intention of helping Celia." Roy almost expected him to say more. But he didn't. He must have noticed that Roy wasn't going to feel any better due to his explanation.
In response to this, Roy sharply exhaled. "Well. You've been a real fucking help, dude." He turned off the TV, too pissed off to stay and play the game. He needed to get to sleep. He had to go to school tomorrow, after all.
Oh, why did he have to go to school tomorrow?
…
Roy tossed and turned in his bed. No position he took made him more comfortable, nor did it help him feel sleepy. He severely wished that he could find someway to leave these awful few days behind, to escape into the dream world where rivers were made of apple juice and horses walked on walls.
Roy picked his phone up to check the time. It was almost one in the morning. This, of course, made his spirits sink even lower. The number of hours of sleep he could get tonight was shrinking fast.
What if…what if he could talk to Celia? Sure, it was really late; she more than likely wasn't awake. But…you know…there was no harm in checking.
So, Roy sent her a message. Hey Cee. You awake? He didn't expect an answer. So, when his phone chimed almost immediately, he was really shocked.
Yeah, I am. You can't sleep either?
Roy sat up, holding his phone close to his eyes. Nope. Nothing I can do can help me sleep.
I feel that, Celia replied.
Roy sat in the darkness, his breath landing on the phone's screen. It was only now that he realized he had no idea what he should say. He wanted to complain about how this was the suck, all suck, and nothing but the suck. But he didn't do that. Something told him Cee didn't want to hear that.
You okay, big guy?
Roy hesitated, thinking over an answer he could possibly give his girlfriend. I'm…he thought about this before deciding to aim for the realm of honesty. I could be better.
Got another swirly again today?
Roy blinked. Man, his girlfriend just had the ability to see all components of any situation, didn't she?
Unfortunately, yes.
It took a minute for Celia to respond. I am so sorry.
It's fine. Roy bit his lip as he typed the next part. I'm sorry about that human putz.
There was about a three minute wait until Celia responded to that one. It's fine.
Roy snorted. He had a feeling that that "It's fine" was just as truthful as the "It's fine" he typed out. So, he just sat there, not knowing whether it was a good idea to probe her or just go along with what she said.
Hey.
Roy blinked as Celia typed through the next few words.
I really appreciate you coming to school with me. I mean, I know it's probably difficult, with the swirlies and the like. But…it really does help me feel better.
Roy's fingers grazed the surface of the screen lightly. Really?
Really. You and Ms. Tish (my teacher) are really helping me through this. Believe me Roy, school is FAR from perfect. But…you being there….it helps. It really does.
Roy's heart melted a little bit. That was sweet. It was really sweet. Unfortunately, the sweetness didn't stop Roy's bitterness from showing through. He felt like complaining; he really did.
But he didn't. It wouldn't be productive. Besides, on some level…seeing Celia type those words…actually did help.
Thanks Cee. He smirked as he typed the next part. I guess we're just two koopas against the world.
Yeah. It certainly seems that way.
There was about four minutes of no reply this time. Roy thought that Celia believed the conversation to be officially wrapped up. He put his phone to the side and got back under the covers. However, he got one more message, and this one was the sweetest one of all.
I love you, Roy.
Roy actually smiled when he saw that. I love you too.
So, with that, he officially put his phone away, chewing on all the things said via text. Yeah, the whole world seemed to be against him and Cee. But hey, at least they still had each other.
And when you thought about it, that was all they needed.
