Author's Note: Happy Very-Early-Tuesday-Morning friends and neighbors. I hope everyone that observed Easter this past Sunday had a very fun time.
Now read this next chapter. And please enjoy it to your fullest extent.
Chapter 17: "Super Miscreant Brothers Act Three: A Woman's Touch"
Monday... The slowest day of the week for Joe's Gelateria...
It almost felt pointless to be there. Mona would have easily admitted to being bored out of her wits as she rested on a stool behind the counter and stared up at the suspended television rather blankly, viewing some daytime talk show that she couldn't even hear since, for whatever reason, Manager Joe insisted on keeping the television set muted at all times.
Because that made a lot of sense.
Someone needed to come in. It was two in the afternoon after all. Where were all the high school kids that were just released for the day?
Probably off somewhere that was actually warm.
It was surprisingly chilly that day to be honest. Autumn was still in its early stages but it was obvious a cold front was rolling in. Who would want to come in for ice cream when it was already so frosty outside? And on that note, just how lively would the place be once winter came arou-
Ding-a-ling-ding.
Ooh, customers.
"Welcome to Joe's Gelateria!" Mona greeted cheerily as she quickly stood from her stool and took her position behind the counter. She was pleasantly surprised to see such a large group stroll in: two Human boys, two Human girls, one Toad boy and one Toad girl, all of whom looked to be around the same age. Mona could only hope that they decided to eat in the restaurant; eavesdropping on their conversations would certainly be more entertaining that staring at a silent television. "What can I get you all today?"
Two vanilla scoops on cones for the blond girl and the boy in red, one scoop of chocolate on a cone for the boy in green, one order of strawberry in a cup for the brunette girl and a banana split for the two Toads to share. Apparently not the most adventurous group there ever was, but at least the orders were easy.
Twenty-eight coins was the total tender for the group, and, to Mona's pleasure, they all decided to stay and gather around a nearby booth until they were done with their treats. Of course, Mona had to pretend that she wasn't listening in (soon going back to her stool and staring back up at the television), but the next several minutes of background conversation was definitely welcome after nearly half an hour of utter silence. And the subject matter of the chat proved to be quite interesting.
Evidently, the Toad girl just got out of the hospital the previous day and she was living with her boyfriend. That must have been an interesting living arrangement for a pair of teenagers. Her boyfriend's parents must have really trusted them.
And it was so obvious that the boy in red and the blond girl liked each other; playful hints were constantly tossed between the two and almost everything they said was tailored toward one another. It was pretty amazing they weren't going out with each other; they seemed to be really close from what Mona could observe.
The same went for the brunette girl and the boy in green. They weren't quite as obvious as the other two, but there was definitely a subtle spark between them.
Oh, she just took a lick of his ice cream. Well, that was pretty bold of her. Maybe they weren't that subtle after all. Aw, how cute; she just fed some of her own ice cream to him! How in the world weren't they a couple? They just seemed so adorable toge-
"Hey Mona, you clean the bathrooms yet?"
What? ...Oh. It was Joe. Of course that silly Dog would show up and ask about the bathrooms when Mona finally had customers to listen to.
"Not quite yet Joe," Mona answered her spectacled, blue-vested manager as he walked over to the ice cream counter.
"Well your shift's almost over, so just make sure the bathrooms are all nice and tidy and up to code and everything before you clock out," Joe said as he put on his white hat, ready to take up Mona's position at the counter.
Ah man...did she have to leave? For the first time all day there was something interesting going on...
Reluctantly, Mona stood up from her stool and began to slump her way toward the door leading out of the work station. On her way, she made sure to playfully bump into Joe and let out a falsely exasperated groan, to which Joe would reply with a simple smile. Mona always did that after a slow day of work, showing off her relief about finally being allowed to head home.
Dawdling ever so slightly to squeeze everything she could out of the nearby conversation, Mona made her way over to the men's bathroom first (may as well get the overall more intimidating of the rooms out of the way). She made sure to knock first of course, following up with poking her head inside and asking if anyone was there (though it was quite obvious nobody was) before finally stepping in and giving her sweeping inspection of the surroundings. Thankfully, the place was quite spotless, still retaining its cleanliness due to sheer lack of activity.
Checking off the men's room from her mental "to-do" list, Mona promptly escaped the uncomfortable area and walked next door to the more familiar ladies' room. Just as empty as the men's room, Mona felt free to walk amongst the stalls and make sure everything was up to code. Seeing that the first two were fine and expecting the same out of the third in the back of the room, Mona mentally prepared herself to go ahead and leave, switching her thoughts over to figuring out what to do with the rest of her day. Before she could come up with a solid plan though, she heard the door to the room open up and a pair of voices enter the room.
"Whoa, slow down Peach. What's up with you all of a sudden?" one of the voices spoke up with a chuckle.
"Daisy...they just asked us out on a date..." the second voice answered with something of a worried tone.
Ooh, that was definitely interesting... Perhaps Mona could stick around just a bit longer in that back stall...
"I'm not really sure what to say..." Peach continued on. She was evidently pacing, for Mona could hear several footsteps coming from the one part of the room.
"'Yes' might be good," Daisy responded laughingly. "You're always talking about how much you like Mario. Here's your chance to go out with him."
"I know..." Peach said with a long sigh that hinted a certain dreaminess and worry at the same time. "But...if we do start going out with each other...I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep the fact that I'm a princess a secret. I mean-"
Hold on a second there. A princess? ...Did Mona hear her correctly? Did Peach really just say what Mona thought she said!?
...No way. No. Way! Hoooly crap, there was an honest-to-God princess standing mere feet away from her at that very moment! What in the world was she doing in a puny little ice cream shop like that!? She was the type of person that could buy her own-
Wait, shut up. They weren't finished talking yet. This was too good to miss out on.
"Then just tell him Peach; that's what I plan to do with Luigi," Daisy responded rather nonchalantly.
"Really?" Peach spoke up rather incredulously. "I thought your father wanted you to keep it secret too though."
"Who cares what my father wants," Daisy muttered with a hint of anger in her voice. "He wants me to marry Prince Peasley when I graduate. Doesn't mean I'm gonna do it."
Wow...so the other girl was a princess too...and it sounded like she had some serious drama going on in her life. Man, that conversation was getting really good. It sounded like a situation straight out of a novel or something; it felt too unreal to even believe it was actually happening. Huh, that long day of work was finally paying off it seemed...
"Don't tell me that your father set up a planned marriage for you..." Peach said, only to be met by a small groan from Daisy.
"I'd rather not talk about it right now."
No no, please do! Pleeeaaase! Mona was absolutely dying to hear more; overhearing stuff like that was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence!
"But I'll tell you everything later. Right now we should probably give these boys some answers," Daisy suggested, lightening her tone a fair bit as she forced thoughts of her father out of her mind. "They're probably sweating out there waiting for us."
Oh fine...
"You're right..." Peach muttered in response. "...But I'm nervous Daisy. I've never been on a date before..."
"Neither have I," Daisy admitted brightly. "It can't be that bad though can it? It's pretty much just hanging out with the possibility of a kiss at the end of the night."
"A kiss... But what if I'm not a good kisser?"
"I guess you won't know until you kiss him," Daisy spoke in a rather hurried voice, evidently urging Peach to get over her insecurities so they could leave the bathroom already. "If it would make you feel better, we can practice on each other later, 'kay?"
What!?
"What!?" Peach mirrored Mona's thoughts.
"I'm kidding! Come on, let's go! Move move move!" Daisy commanded cheerily as she literally pushed Peach out of the door, and in a few moments the room was empty and quiet once again, allowing Mona a comfortable pocket of time to step out of her stall excitedly and quickly follow the two out the door. Using the guise of clocking out from behind the counter, she'd be able to witness the two princesses give their answers to those two lucky boys.
Judging by the smiles that instantly spread all around the table, it was quickly evident that a date was to take place in the near future. The very near future actually. Eight o' clock that night to be exact; a double date between the four at a pretty nice restaurant that had grown rather popular in Toad Town: a place called "Goombee's". Mona had only been there once before with her family, but she remembered falling in love with the warm and friendly atmosphere of the place instantly. Once she thought about it, that was an excellent choice for a date. She was sure that all four of them would enjoy themselves.
"See ya same time tomorrow Mona," Joe spoke as he leaned against the counter casually, giving a smile that his employee soon returned.
"Bye Joe," Mona responded sweetly, her mood having been lightened significantly thanks to the situation she was lucky enough to witness. She would be leaving the parlor with soaring spirits that day, nearly skipping along as she rushed home to share the few minutes she observed with everyone that awaited her. It was rare that she had an interesting story to tell about work and the thought of actually having one that day made her feel ecstatic.
A pair of princesses... Was she really that close to royalty for those few fleeting minutes? Mona never thought she'd even see members of the royal families let alone actually be in the same room as them...
What if nobody believed her when she shared her story though? She could hardly even believe it herself to be honest; really, how often did actual princesses decide to just visit a regular ice cream shop?
Well, how would she know? Mona had no idea what royalty did in their spare time. They couldn't really be expected to stay within the castle at all times unless they were coming out for a special occasion could they? That'd be an awfully boring life.
Then again, those two did hint that they were keeping their status secret. The boys they were going out with for dinner didn't know they were princesses at all, so it was evident that the girls were probably leading something of a double life.
Ooh, now that was interesting... Regular school girls by day, royal princesses by night perhaps? One minute they're running to a class and the next they're running an entire kingdom. Man, just thinking about it was so exciting!
If only Mona could sit down and talk with one of them about what it was like... She'd probably never even see them again though. Well, unless she decided to be creepy and stalk them to the restaurant that night...
Hm, it wouldn't be creepy if she actually had a reason to go though... Maybe she could ask her parents to take everyone out to Goombee's that night. Who knew, perhaps they'd go for it. Perhaps.
Whether or not they would agree though, Mona would have to wait to ask. It looked like her parents took the kids out on yet another trip in her absence, for their cars were no longer in the driveway. She never particularly minded that she was often left out of the events, but it would have been nice to know that nobody was home at least. But oh well, it didn't really matter much in the end. She would just have to keep her story under wraps for a bit longer until everyone got back.
Hm... Or maybe she didn't.
Not surprisingly (she merely forgot about them for a moment), Mona found that Waluigi and Wario were the only two still in the building once she entered. The two young men proved to be quite the antisocial duo over time, yet they were rarely found separated from each other. It was a wonder what those two boys did for hours on end when they weren't in the orphanage, but it was pretty clear to Mona that they were probably up to some kind of questionable activities when she wasn't keeping an eye on them (Waluigi had yet to give a straight answer as to how his hair got burned away just a few days ago, and Wario seemed to be coming across a fair amount of money as of late). Neither of those facts mattered however, for Mona's excitement about sharing her story greatly overrode her suspicions of the two boys and she soon found herself wrapping them in conversation over in the kitchen.
"You two are never gonna believe who showed up at the ice cream parlor today," Mona spoke excitedly as she untied her headband. Neither of the boys seemed to pay her much mind, for Wario was busy eating (when wasn't he?) and Waluigi was being his typical brooding self, staring off into nothing as some unknown thoughts wandered about his mind. Mona didn't care though. Even if the story fell on deaf ears, she wanted to tell it anyway.
"So, it was a pretty slow day, just like pretty much every Monday is," Mona began as she moved over to the nearby fridge and peered inside, hoping to find the bowl of grapes she left inside to enjoy after work was over. Thankfully it was still there and she happily retrieved it from near the back of the fridge. "And I was starting to think I wouldn't have anymore customers before I left," she continued, closing the fridge door and joining the two boys at the dining table. "But just when my shift was about to end, this big group of teenagers suddenly came..."
She trailed off as she witnessed Waluigi give her an exasperated glare, silently begging her to either get to the point or shut the hell up. It wasn't really that rare for him to give her looks like that, but, this time around, something about it seemed to be filled with a certain degree impatience that didn't usually present itself in Waluigi's features. And the last thing Mona wanted was to get on Waluigi's nerves.
Silently popping a grape into her mouth and looking away from Waluigi for a moment, she decided it might be best to go ahead and get to the punchline.
"A couple of girls came in today and I overheard them saying they were princesses," she informed rather quickly, feeling that every word she said brought her closer to ultimately frustrating Waluigi.
She was about to get up and move to a different room, feeling that the boys wouldn't care to talk about the event, but, surprisingly, both of them suddenly appeared quite interested; Wario even put a hold on his eating to glance up at Mona for the first time since she arrived.
"What'd they look like?" Wario asked, causing Mona to slowly sit back down with a raised eyebrow. She noticed Waluigi shoot a disapproving look at Wario the second he spoke.
"Huh, what's up with the sudden interest?" Mona asked with a smile.
"We're not interested," Waluigi answered immediately with a slight growl. But, of course, Wario had to push the subject, much to Waluigi's dismay.
"We might have seen those same girls the other day," Wario spoke up, ignoring Waluigi completely. "They're the reason Waluigi's hair got burned off."
"Shut up you stupid fat ass," Waluigi growled, smacking Wario in the back of the head immediately. The rotund boy wasn't fazed at all by the attack and Mona's smile soon became a bit brighter. Maybe she could finally find out what happened.
"How'd they end up burning Waluigi's hair?" she asked, forcing Waluigi to give his nastiest glare to Wario, urging him to keep his mouth shut about the incident. As before though, Wario utterly ignored him.
"It was just some accident at the park," Wario stated simply, attempting to keep himself from giving away the fact that he and Waluigi were in the business of thievery. Mona seemed to catch on rather quickly though, for she heard all about that particular incident from a pair of customers that entered the shop the very same day it took place. If the information she was given was correct, she could plausibly make her next assumption with full confidence that she was correct.
"That accident wouldn't happen to involve you trying to steal a purse, would it Waluigi?" she asked with a sly smile, looking over at the boy in purple as he gave a noticeable wince in response to the question. How the hell did she find out about that? It wasn't like there were a lot of people that would have noticed that he was trying to get away with a purse, especially considering there was a fire that took place so soon after he nabbed it.
But, then again, it did only take one pair of eyes to witness him stealing the purse. And Mona managed to hear a lot thanks to where she worked...
"Look, it was one incident alright," Waluigi said defensively, unconsciously leaning over the table a bit and lowering his voice slightly. "That was the only time I tried something like that, and look what happened as a result. So just drop it alright?"
"You're such a liar Waluigi!" Mona countered with a chuckle, causing Waluigi's eyebrow to twitch ever so slightly in response. "I know that's not the first time you tried to steal something, and I'm pretty sure that's not the last time either. I am able to put two and two together you know."
The missing walkie-talkies. The extra food that the boys tried to hide away in a hidden space in Waluigi's room. The mounds of money that Mona found Wario counting on a few occasions, somehow acquired despite the fact he didn't have a job. Wario and Waluigi found that Mona was acting as a natural-born sleuth those past few days, even though most of the information she gathered was due to their own inability to properly keep their work a secret. And Waluigi knew that it would be no use to try and talk her out of believing that they were up to nefarious deeds; the girl was smart, and once she knew she found the truth behind something, there was no way to dissuade her.
"Alright, so you know that we've stolen a few things," Waluigi muttered as he slunk back into his chair with a harsh frown. He could tell that Mona was thoroughly enjoying herself as she placed another grape in her mouth and smiled at him brightly. "So, what, are you gonna tell your parents on us or something?"
Looking back and forth between the boys, Mona suddenly felt a sense of power wash over her as she assessed the situation. Of course, simply "telling on them" to her parents probably wouldn't do very much to change their ways (they were quite the anti-authority pair anyway), but what they didn't know was that Mona actually had some dirt on them that could serve to separate them. Permanently. And what she had in mind for "punishment" was something neither of the boys would expect at all.
"Actually...I think I might want to help you boys out," Mona admitted as she sat back in her chair comfortably, forcing both boys to hang their mouths slightly open and raise their eyebrows at the same time in response. "If I was hearing you correctly before, you tried to steal something from one of the princesses the other day and failed right? Well, I know where they're both going be at eight o' clock tonight," Mona mentioned coolly as she dropped another grape into her mouth happily. "And if you don't let me help you, then I can always go to the police and let them know what you two have been up to. Not to mention the fact that Wario here is staying with us illegally," she added with a sly glance to Wario, who only appeared to be confused by the information Mona was laying on him. "Only the owners of an orphanage, their family, and actual orphans are allowed to live in an orphanage. Wario, having left his own household willingly, is a classified 'runaway'. So, on top of juvenile theft charges, you can be forced to be sent home against your will buddy. And all the coins that you stole will be taken away from you in the meantime, and I know you don't want that to happen now do you?"
Mona spoke so sweetly and casually that it sickened Waluigi to the very core. Who the hell did she think she was, using blackmail to get her way with the two boys? Hell, the situation itself was crazy enough as it was. Why would a goody-two-shoes like Mona want to help them steal? Did she just suddenly decide to cast away her purely obedient and good nature in favor of helping them rob princesses on a sheer whim?
"Why the hell do you want to help us in the first place?" Waluigi grumbled, folding his arms tightly as he glared evilly at the girl as she casually bit down on yet another grape. How could she just continue to eat like that during the current conversation? Wario hadn't even touched the food on his plate since Mona opened her mouth for God's sake.
"Do I need a reason?" Mona asked with a small shrug shortly before looking back at Wario. Suddenly, she unconscious gained a look of longing as she gazed at the boy, dressed up in his biker outfit yet again that day...
Something about that outfit just made Mona yearn for adventure; it urged her to seek some excitement out of her own mundane life. She was just so sick of it, doing the same thing day in and day out, living life by the book and never daring to take a step over the edge. Was it really so horrible that she just wanted a little spice in her life? Was it that bad that she just wanted to do one wrong thing? It was just a petty theft job after all. And the princesses...heck, they were princesses. It wasn't like they wouldn't be able to replace whatever they were missing...
"Sure, you can help us," Wario mentioned out of the blue, promptly returning to his double-decker ham sandwich. Mona immediately smiled at the hungry boy, tossing another grape into her mouth happily as Waluigi shot a glare at his stubby partner.
"Great, then we can head out to Goombee's at eight o' clock tonight," Mona said happily, not noticing that Waluigi was only becoming more exasperated by the second.
"If she's gonna help us, you can count me out," Waluigi informed with a small sigh as he stood from his seat and began to head for another room before Mona called out to him.
"Oh come on Bro, it'll be fun."
Waluigi immediately came to a halt as he heard this, his blood apparently boiling as he balled his fist for a brief moment before letting out an angry sigh and speaking up once again.
"First of all, I'm not feeling up to pulling a job tonight as it is," Waluigi muttered back without turning to face her, trying very hard to contain himself as he spoke. "Second, the princess already knows my face, so she's likely to spot me pretty quickly if I was there anyway. And third, I'm not your 'Bro'; I never have been, I never will be, and I never want to be. I'm just a guy who's forced to stay here because nobody else wants to take me. Is that enough reason for me not to come with you?"
Although Wario wasn't fazed by the speech whatsoever, Mona found herself feeling quite heartbroken once Waluigi mentioned that he wasn't her "Bro"... Sure, it was a fact, but, even though it wasn't true that he and she were blood siblings, she honestly did look at him and regard him as a big brother. He was the only other person in the world that Mona had known all her life besides her own parents. She had a bond with him that she felt was special... And he seemed to just cast it away at that moment, without a second though, with the utterance of a single sentence.
Why did he have to be like that? Seriously, Mona wanted to help him for goodness sakes... What had she done that made him act so harsh towards her...?
Taking the silence as an opportunity to go ahead and leave, Waluigi continued on his way without another word and without anymore resistance. The stillness of the air persisted for another few small moments and Mona absently put another grape into her mouth. She suddenly wished that she never even mentioned the princesses at all. It was all thanks to her initial eagerness to tell a story and revealing that she knew what the boys were up to that led to the current situation after all... She wasn't excited about finally being able to live a bit on the wild side at all anymore. She simply wanted to stay home and try to figure out what she'd done to make Waluigi so upset with her...
"Just ignore him," Wario suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence as Mona glanced over him with rather sorrowful eyes. "He's always sayin' crap like that. He's just a freakin' downer."
"I'm surprised I never noticed before..." Mona muttered somewhat sarcastically. She noticed from the very beginning that Waluigi was like that. He just never took it to such an extent before...
"Just focus on helpin' out tonight," Wario grumbled between bites. "We messed up last time, but we gotta get it right this time. Those princesses gotta have a crapload of valuable stuff; we'd be rollin' in coins if we got a hold of that."
"Yeah, I guess," Mona muttered, standing from her seat in order to head over to the fridge and replace her grapes within rather slowly. She stared at the ground as she closed the door and tried her hardest to focus on raising her spirits back up. She had to get excited. That night was going to be her first job after all. And she would be going with Wario. He always seemed like the calm and collected type and he was always a pretty cool guy to talk to. He managed to say things that were surprisingly insightful sometimes, and, unlike Waluigi, he never got randomly emotional over just about nothing. If Mona was gonna go out for a night of theft and robbery, Wario was certainly the person she'd want to be with to do it. And she would have to focus on trying her best not to mess up. Worrying about Waluigi could come later...
Still though. It would be nice if she could only figure out how to make him smile at the very least.
Waluigi... As far back as Mona could remember, Waluigi never spread a single smile across his lips. Not even once...