Chapter 20 Basil

Celia's eyes grew wide. She stared at the young boy, holding onto Ms. Tish's hand like she was the guide that will help him get through all the trials in life. Basil's blue eyes sparkled as he studied Celia. His gaze traveled between both of the new people, taking in their features with an excitement that only a little kid could express. As his eyes took in both Celia and Roy, Celia turned toward her boyfriend and noticed that he was just as awestruck as she was. He lifted his head up, looking at Ms. Tish for any kind of answers. Before he could say anything however, the host came out of the restaurant.

"Ivona Tish? Your table is ready."

Ms. Tish beamed. "Thank you." She walked into the restaurant, her smile so bright it rivaled the sun. "Well, come on! That food isn't going to eat itself!"

Celia and Roy took tiny steps after the teacher and her child. As they trailed behind them, Roy turned toward Celia and whispered in her ear.

"He doesn't look very koopa-ish to me. Am I the only one?"

Celia shook her head. "No, you're not." Her eyes settled on Basil's back as he skipped to the table with his mother. "Doesn't have any of the features a koopa human hybrid would have."

Roy smirked. "You should know; you're an expert when it comes to hybrid…ism." He sent her a confused look. "Is that a word? Hybridism?"

"If it is, it's not a word I know." Celia snickered. "It kind of sounds like a vocabulary word Ms. Tish would teach to me."

Roy nodded with a snicker of his own. Once they finally got to their table and were sitting down (Roy and Celia sat next to each other while Ms. Tish and Basil sat on the other side), Ms. Tish handed Basil the kid's menu.

"What do you want to eat, Basil?" She pointed to one of the menu items. "Do you think that sandwich looks good."

Basil looked at the sandwich for a minute before shaking his head. "Looks like a normal sandwich to me. I don't like normal sandwiches."

Celia couldn't help but smile at the sound of his voice. It still had the childlike innocence and high pitch that defined youth. It was such a joy to listen to.

Ms. Tish chuckled. "Oh, that's right. How could I forget?" Her chuckle transitioned into a laugh. "Guess I won't be getting the Mommy of the Year award."

Basil looked up at her with a smile of his own. "Is that anything like the Teacher of the Year award at your school? Cause you won that."

Ms. Tish's face turned a little red. "Yeah. I totally won that and didn't make it up in order to impress you." When she chuckled this time, the sound was laced with nerves. "No siree." This got a laugh out of Basil, a joyful laugh that managed to bring Celia's spirits soaring up.

She turned back to Roy. "He's cute. Isn't he cute?"

Roy focused on the young boy before nodding. "Cute as a button. A little button shaped like a heart."

Celia smiled. "Couldn't have said it better myself." She and Roy looked down at their menus, then Celia stole another glance at the mother and son duo. Despite the fact that they were completely different species, they clearly cared about each other a great deal. The way they joked around, the smiles they had on their faces as looked at each other…on some level, it reminded Celia of her parents. Two people from completely different walks of life who, despite all odds and everyone around them telling to look for someone in their own species, managed to forge a relationship with such a strong bond that no amount of hardship would ever split them up.

Although, Celia couldn't help but wonder about Basil and Ms. Tish. What was the story here? Her parents had a story, and a sad story to boot. While she didn't have any evidence to support this suspicion, especially considering the happy and warm front that the two had, Celia couldn't help but feel like there was a sad element here as well.

Wanting to find out more, Celia cleared her throat. "So, Ms. Tish…" she looked back at Basil. "This is your son."

"Mmhm," Ms. Tish said with a nod. She looked back down at the little human boy, ruffling his mess of blonde hair. "I adopted him a long time ago."

Roy gasped. "Oh! You adopted him!" He laughed. "That makes more sense than what I thought you did."

Ms. Tish raised an eyebrow at him. "What did you think I did?"

"Well…" Roy scratched the back of his head. "I thought you created Basil in a lab." This got a snicker from everyone present at the table, causing Roy's face to turn red. "What? You're a teacher, so you're clearly smart! I don't think concocting a living being in a test tube was too out of the question."

Celia smirked at him. "Did you hear what you just said?"

Ms. Tish shook her head as Roy's face turned even redder. "No, I didn't create Basil." She smiled at her son. "I adopted him when he was a itty-bitty baby!" She tickled Basil on the tummy, causing him to squeal.

"Mommy, stop! You're being so embarrassing!"

Celia laughed. Every thing these two people did together was so sweet it could cause her teeth to rot and fall out of her head. She was so happy thinking about this that she didn't even worry about the nasty looks their Toad waitress gave them when they placed their drink order.

"So you adopted him," Roy said. "That's really a good thing to do. I should know."

Ms. Tish looked at him curiously. "Oh. You're adopted?"

"Yep!" Roy puffed out his chest. "By King Bowser Koopa!" This caused Ms. Tish to burst into laughter, causing Roy's face to fall. "What? It's true; I am!"

"He really is," Celia said as her teacher's laughter died down. "He's Roy Koopa, the adopted prince of the Koopa Kingdom." Ms. Tish blinked before laughing again.

Basil looked at her in confusion. "Mommy. They said it's true. Why don't you believe them?"

Ms. Tish dried a tear from her eyes. "I'm sorry…" she cleared her throat. 'I'm sorry, Roy; I was just caught a little off guard."

Roy sunk into his seat, looking like his ego had suffered a permanent injury. "It's alright…"

Not too long after that, they all got their drink orders. As they placed their food orders, Celia kept her eyes focused on Roy. She patted him on the shoulder, hoping that doing so would help him feel less like…well, a buffoon (not that Celia thought he was a buffoon; she just figured that was how he felt in the present moment). Once she comforted him enough to help him fully sit up again, she decided it wouldn't hurt to start up a conversation. After all, fun talks could easily defuse an embarrassing situation.

"So," Celia said. "Is there…" she suddenly felt nervous asking her teacher this possibly very personal question. "Does Basil have a Daddy?"

An interesting look flashed across Ms. Tish's face. It was only there for a brief moment, but the hurt that it contained was so strong that it practically announced its presence through a megaphone. Celia was about to apologize for asking until Ms. Tish cleared her throat.

"No. Not anymore."

Roy raised an eyebrow. "Not anymore? What happened to him?" He gasped. "He isn't…dead, is he?"

"No," Ms. Tish replied (although the reply held as much grief as saying the opposite answer would have). "We're divorced."

"Oh." Roy sunk in his chair. "I'm sorry about that."

Ms. Tish nodded, all without making a sound. The awkward silence remained until the waitress brought their food (based on her expression, Celia wouldn't have been at all surprised if the waitress had spit in their meals). As they got to eating, Celia didn't know what to say. Sure, since she had food in front of her, she had a perfect excuse to not talk at all. But still, she felt like she should say something. She just had a gut feeling that doing so would be a good idea.

Thankfully, Ms. Tish was ultimately the one who broke the silence. "So, Celia. You have about a month until your big end of year project."

Celia seized up. "Yeah," she said, chuckling nervously as she got the word out. "Yeah, I do."

Ms. Tish smiled. "I do look forward to seeing the end product. It's honestly my favorite part of being a teacher, seeing what the students' dreams and ambitions are. It helps the job feel a little more rewarding in a sense."

Celia nodded, her gaze now on her Ceasar Salad. Somehow, this topic felt much more uncomfortable than the silence did.

Roy must have noticed this, because he placed his hand on her back and changed the subject. "So, Basil. I see you got the mac and cheese." He laughed. "You have got great taste, little dude."

Basil snickered at him. "Thanks. Although, I wish I could order off the grown up menu."

Ms. Tish laughed. "Not until you're twelve, baby."

Basil wrinkled his nose at her. "I'm not a baby! I'm nine!"

"You're still my baby, whether you like it or not." Ms. Tish wrapped her arms around Basil, much to the child's annoyance. He didn't try to wriggle out of it or anything, but he still looked pretty relieved once she let him go.

Basil focused on Celia now, his gaze unmoving from her. It felt a little uncomfortable honestly, as it always did when she was on the receiving end of a stare. Celia squirmed a little in her seat.

"What?"

Basil smiled. "You're yellow."

"Basil!" Ms. Tish snapped. That didn't stop Basil from talking, though.

"You're yellow, just like Mommy!" He giggled. "You're pretty."

Celia felt her face grow warm. "Oh." She chuckled a little. "Thank you."

Basil looked up at her head. "I like your hair too. Did you dye it?"

"Nope." Celia smiled. "It's just a genetic gift from my koopa dad."

Basil gasped. "Cool! You have a koopa parent just like me!"

"Yeah, I do." Celia looked at her teacher. "Although, I only have one koopa parent. My mom is human!"

Basil beamed. "Cool! You're exactly like me!"

Celia and Roy blinked, looking at Basil in shock. "What do you mean, little dude?" Roy asked.

"My Daddy is human!" He pointed toward Ms. Tish. "He and my Mommy tried to have a baby before!"

"Basil…" Ms. Tish looked just about ready to cover her son's mouth. Unfortunately for her, Basil had said enough to get Celia really interested.

"You…you did?!"

Ms. Tish's face turned pink. "I…I…" She cleared her throat. "I have to go to the bathroom."

With that, she left the three of them a the table. Celia knew that she had hit a nerve by asking that. The only question now was…which nerve had she hit?

"Excuse me," she got up from the table and looked at Roy. "Keep an eye on Basil. I'll go see if she's alright."