Chapter 15 Bad News

Roy blinked. The tone that Ruby used wasn't good in the slightest, nor were the words she used. Clearly, something went wrong. Why else would she tell Albert to sit down; people didn't do that unless they were the bringer of really bad news.

Great. Bad news was just what the lot of them needed. Roy looked over at Albert, taking note of his face. The young man must've realized what he did, as his brow furrowed. Despite how much of a jerk he had been, Roy wanted to reassure him. He wanted to give him a hug (even though in all likelihood Albert was going to reject that action). He wanted to tell his girlfriend's cousin that it was all going to be alright, that there was absolutely nothing to get all up in a tizzy about. Sure, those words would be bald faced lies, but they would at the very least soften the blow of the bad news Ruby and Celia were the harbingers of.

Right before he could, Albert stood up, going to the table much more swiftly than his pudgy body looked capable of. Ruby and Celia took seats too, and Roy sat down right after Celia gestured for him to sit alongside her.

"Singe!" Ruby called out. "Come in here! You're gonna want to hear this!"

Within seconds, Singe came out of the kitchen and sat at the table. Now that everyone was here, the number of eyes focused on Ruby was tripled. Ruby smoothed her hair back before clearing her throat and looking straight at her nephew.

"We told the people at the police station the situation." She pursed her lips. "Unfortunately, they said that your mother can't be officially recognized as missing until forty eight hours have passed. Only then will they be able to start a search for her."

Albert gawked. "What?" He was about to stand up, but thought better of it. "But…but…but Mommy hasn't even been gone for twenty four hours yet!"

"Yes," Ruby said with a nod. "It's far too early for them to deem her as a priority."

Albert shook his head, his jaw dropped. "But..but we need to find her!"

"I know," Ruby said, her brow furrowed. "Believe me Albert, we want to find Alicia just as much as you do." Roy took note of her tone when she said that. It almost sounded like that sentence could be followed by "we don't want to have to deal with you for too long, after all." Even though she didn't say that, Roy was ninety percent certain that those were her intentions. Which…yeah, that actually did irk him a little bit, despite the fact that Albert hadn't exactly been all sunshine and rainbows.

Albert's eyes darted back and forth. Little whimpers escaped from his mouth, as if he was trying to form words but couldn't because of an unmanageable tongue and a freaked out mind. Roy felt a pang when he saw this; man, the poor guy must really be freaking out.

"So…so…so what do we do?" he finally asked. He looked Ruby right in the eye. It kind of looked like he was demanding that Ruby tell him. At the same time though, Roy noticed some little details. His hands for example; they shook. They trembled as if they had been exposed to freezing temperatures. It was subtle, sure, but definitely noticeable to the Koopaling. Same thing with Albert sweating; little droplets formed all over his cheeks and chin. This actually made Roy's heart skip a beat.

Ruby didn't seem to notice these things, as she didn't even address them when she spoke. "Well…we'll be more than willing to let you stay here while we wait for the forty eight hours to pass."

Albert's jaw dropped. He looked at Roy, then at Singe, then at Celia. His mouth moved, but no words came out. Just a squeaky little whimper, so high pitched that it was enough to convey some sort of fear.

"But…but I can't stay here! I have a life I need to get back to; I have a job that I'm going to get started on within the next week!" He looked right at Roy. "Besides, how do I know that being around people like you is…" he sank a little. "How do I know that being around you guys is safe?" he whispered.

Roy blinked. Huh. That was quite an odd concern. It's not like the lot of them had shown Albert a violent or murderous side. Unless…wait. Was Albert just afraid of koopas in general? Was that why he had acted so horrible before? Did he fear koopas?

Well, there were certainly a lot of little tells that gave that away. The aforementioned sweating for example; that couldn't be because the room was at a hot temperature. Plus, the hand trembling. Yeah, now that Roy thought about it, Celia's cousin being afraid of koopas made sense. It made double sense due to the fact that the clearly prejudice Alicia would probably nurture that fear, never really educating her son that koopas were people too and didn't wish for his demise all day every day.

Man, now that Roy thought about it, this situation was kind of messed up. Here there was a mother who had taught her son to live in fear and hate. She never took the time to find out if her racist position on koopas was wrong; she just outright assumed that it was and lived her life as if she was always right. That…that was horrible. It actually made Roy feel queasy. How Alicia could be sisters with Ruby, a woman who loved koopas enough to marry one, was a mystery that Roy suspected he would never get the answer to.

"It's perfectly safe, Albert!" Celia protested. She flashed her cousin a smile. "We don't bite; I promise!"

Albert shuddered. Again, the action was subtle, barely noticeable to those who weren't paying attention. The face he put on afterwards, however, was something that even the blind could see from a mile away. And boy was that face nasty.

"I see." He shook his head, which caused Celia's previously happy face to fall. "Well, that's at least one bad thing that koopas avoid."

While Celia gasped and even glared at him for this comment, Roy…well, he couldn't help but feel bad for him. If he was afraid of koopas, and was now in the room with two and a half of them…maybe he just did this as a defense mechanism. Maybe he just did this to show people that he was strong, that he could deal with the very thing that he was afraid of. Sure, what he said was awful. But at the same time, if one viewed it through that lens…it sadly made sense.

Celia wrinkled her nose. "For your information bucko, we koopas are offering you some help. I think you'd be happy about that."

Albert snorted. "Sure. Happy, why not?"

Celia opened her mouth. She looked like she was about to say something else, but Roy decided to step in.

"Celia, can I talk with you in private for a second?"

With that, they walked off into Celia's bedroom. When they were alone, Roy noticed that she was seething. She gripped her hands into fists and grit her teeth, all while her golden yellow skin turned red. Roy bit his lip upon seeing this.

"I can't believe it." She said. She didn't speak loud, more so at a volume that was low but no less effective at getting across her ticked off mood. "He is in no position to denounce us like that. He's in need of help, and we're helping him! Why would anybody and I mean anybody say stuff like that…!"

"Celia." Roy got in closer and put his hands on her shoulders. He looked deep into her eyes, her gorgeous ruby red eyes, and tried to get her to look at him without twitching. He even went so far as to take off his shades. "Cee, it's okay. Just take a breath. Breathe, relax…"

Celia still looked mad, but at the very least did what he said. Roy gave her some room to get her anger to simmer down before speaking up again.

"Look, I know that you're offended…"

Celia sighed. "No, I'm not offended. Just…miffed, I suppose." She ungripped her fists. "I just don't understand, is all. I mean…we've done absolutely nothing wrong, and we have absolutely no intention of doing anything wrong either. But there he goes, talking about us like we're the scum of the Earth." She lifted her head and looked at Roy. "It's…confusing."

"Yeah, I can see that." Roy put his sunglasses back on and rubbed his head. "But…I think there's a deeper reason why he's like this."

Celia blinked. "What would that be?"

"I…I think he's afraid of koopas." Celia opened her mouth, possibly to object, but Roy spoke up before she had a chance. "I know to some it may seem like a stretch. But I couldn't help but notice somethings while we were sitting at the table."

Celia blinked again. "Like what?"

"He was shaking, first off," Roy said. "Especially when you talked to him; he actually looked a little freaked out."

Celia pressed her lips together. "I…I see…"

"Plus, he was sweating. That's a sign that someone is stressed out too, right?"

Celia paused before nodding. "It…it is?" She shook her head. "But what reasons does he have to be afraid of us…?"

"I don't think it's just us," Roy corrected her. "It's all koopas. For some reason, he's downright terrified of us. And him being the son of Alicia might have something to do with it."

Celia snorted. "Yeah, that would make perfect sense." She paused, clearly struggling with what to say next. "So…what do we do?"

Roy bit his lip. "Well, I never really dealt with a situation like this before. But, I think one way to help him is to be nice to him. Treat him with respect, help him in anyway he needs." He smiled. "I'm sure that our actions will prove his thoughts and instincts wrong in time."

Celia stared at Roy for a brief spell before nodding. "I…I guess that makes sense." She snorted and punched him in the arm. "When did you get so smart?"

Roy smirked. "I guess it's just my second nurture."

"Uh, I think you mean second 'nature.'"

Roy's face grew hot. "Yeah. That's…that's what I meant; second nature." He wrapped his arms around her. "But you don't have to worry about a thing. We'll help out your cousin and show him the light." He kissed her on the cheek. "I promise."

Celia beamed. "Thanks, Roy." Her brow furrowed. "But how would we be able to…well, how do we make him feel comfortable."

Roy put his hand to his chin. "Well, I have a thought." He looked back into her eyes. "Tell you what, I'll come back tomorrow. Possibly with something that can help Alber relax."

"Is there such a thing?"

Roy nodded. "I like to believe there is."