Chapter 4 My Speech

Earlier that day, Mario stood in front of the about-to-be-opened, newborn store. It was glorious, at least on the outside. Mario felt as if he was staring at a diamond as he looked at it. About forty five percent of it was covered in reflective glass, which showed not only the ground and the people standing on it, but also the sky. The radiant blue made the whole place shine, promising the onlookers a place of unity and peace.

"I've gotta say, Peachy," Mario said as he turned to look at the Princess. "The builders really outdid themselves."

"Mmhm," Peach said with a nod. She placed her hand on Mario's shoulder. As she rubbed it with the same gentleness petting a kitten garnered, Mario's heart melted into a puddle. A mushy, gushy, lovestruck puddle. He could purr, standing here receiving the touch of her dainty, soft fingers.

However, what Peach said next brought Mario right back down to the real world, and did it in a way that was not pleasant in the least. "Are you ready for your speech?"

Mario hesitated. The speech. Now, given how Peach had front loaded all the information about the store and a desire for Mario to give a speech into a text sent less than three hours ago, he didn't exactly have a lot of time to prepare. At most, he had run down possible things to say in his head as he took the pipe to Shroomberg. So yeah, while not going into this completely empty handed, he was going into this with a speech that could barely be considered a work in progress.

"Umm…I guess?"

"Oh. I see." Peach hung her head. "I understand that you haven't had a lot of time to plan out what you're going to say. So, if you want, I can be the one to do most of the speaking."

"Oh no!" Mario said as he placed his hands on Peach's shoulders. "No no no!" He smiled, the action meant to display his bravery and dedication to her. "I can do it, Peach. I'll gladly do it."

Despite those words, Peach still looked guilty and unsure. "Are you sure? I mean, this is important…"

"All the more reason why I have to be the one to do it!" Mario's smile grew wider, if that was even possible. "I'm Super Mario! I've battled evil Koopas and other baddies without so much as batting an eye! If I can handle that, I can certainly handle giving a speech."

Peach blinked. "But…if you don't have a plan…"

"I'll wing it!" Mario chuckled. "I'm quite good at that."

While Peach still looked uncertain, she still managed to nod (after taking a minute or two to think about this, of course). "Okay. As long as you're sure you can do it, then who am I to say no?"

Mario breathed a sigh of relief. He could do this. There was no reason the Princess needed to worry about him. Like he said, he had dealt with much more difficult and much more stressful things than this. He could give a speech; piece of cake! Oh, that made him wonder; could Peach maybe make him a cake once this whole thing got wrapped up?

Well, he didn't get the opportunity to ask her. Over the course of the next half hour, toads and humans alike gathered in a crowd in front of the store. If their lively chatter and smiling faces were any indication, they were all excited. And really, why wouldn't they be? This was a fancy shopping mall. It wasn't everyday that a new one of these opened to the public. And based on the walls creating the outer shell for the plethora of stores, the quality of this mall put others like Coconut Mall to shame.

You know…that made this speech all the more important. The words that needed to be delivered at this extravagant event needed to be inspiring and sophisticated. A speech that would mark the long and prosperous lifetime of a mall such as this one needed to be powerful. It needed to make people want to enter this store, more so than the beautiful architecture did. It needed to be meaningful words that were delivered during Mario's speech, not empty platitudes and vague, hollow promises.

And…yeah, the realization of those facts caused Mario to start sweating.

"Thank you, thank you!" Peach said as she stepped up to the podium around noon time. "It is so good to see you all here!"The crowd cheered, and once they quieted down, Peach spoke again. "Thank you all for your presence, as well as your excitement regarding the Star Mushroom Mall! This building has been under construction for almost a year, so we are all very excited to finally open it to the public." That last sentence got a lot of cheers and applause. Peach giggled right until that applause died down. "And now, to officially open this exciting new era as well as this gorgeous new mall, I would like to allow a special hero some time to deliver a few words. Ladies and gentleman, toads and goombas, please give it up for Mario!"

The applause at the mention of Mario's name was so lowed it could be mistaken for a hurricane. Peach flashed the red-clad plumber a smile as she stepped down from the podium. It was meant to be reassuring, but it did very little to stop him from sweating bullets.

Could he do this? He had been so confident before, so sure. And yet, in the half hour since his conversation with the princess, where he assured her that he knew what he was doing, his confidence had dropped significantly. He was almost tempted to ask her to go back up there and offer the rest of the speech like she had said she would do.

Almost. He ultimately didn't do it because of one realization. That being, he didn't want to disappoint her. She was counting on him. This crowd was counting on him. Was Mario the type of person who ran away from a problem, who let everyone down when confronted by the least amount of pushback and stress? No. He was not a coward. He was not Luigi.

So, with one last deep breath to calm his nerves, he went up to the podium. As he looked among the crowd, into the eyes of the pure, innocent toads who all held him as the greatest thing since sliced bread, an interesting thing happened. His nervousness was still there, but it was now accompanied by a feeling of pride. He was these people's hero. He was their beacon of hope in the darkness of life. He stood for everything right, everything just, everything great. He had rescued their princess, so therefore was seen as someone who had a royal figure's stamp of approval. Was there a single person who was more fitting to give these people a speech, welcoming them into the doors of a new mall that construction workers and architects alike had poured so much time and money into?

With these thoughts in mind, Mario's confidence was restored. Before, he had very little idea of what he was going to say. Now, the words flowed like a river.

"It is so good to see you all here," he began. "This new mall has been under construction for quite some time, and I believe all of us are at least aware of the story surrounding it. It has been through countless redesigns, countless hours of builders working their butts off, and countless amounts of money that I'm sure many of you present have poured into it. Because of that, this building is more than just a shopping mall. It is a labor of love. It is a symbol, a symbol of all people of the Mushroom Kingdom coming together to make a new dream become reality. It is a symbol of unity. It is fitting then that the glass panels on the front reflect the sky; the same sky that every single one of us look up to, no matter what corner of the Mushroom World we originate from."

That last sentence got quite a few people in the audience to applaud. This action caused Mario to puff out his chest. This was going well. This was going much better than he had anticipated less than five minutes prior. What a relief.

"Because of this," he continued, "I believe that the Star Mushroom Mall is going to be a place that will be enjoyed for years to come, by many people of multiple generations." He smiled. "The hours of work and the amounts of sweat and tears put into this magnificent, wondrous, beautiful place will be recognized whenever someone enters this mall. They will be commemorated every time someone walks down the hallways, admires the scenery, and marvels at the structure. I hope from the bottom of my heart that everyone, Toad, Human, and Goomba alike, will appreciate and enjoy this place." He leaned in close to the microphone. "Thank you."

With that, he stepped down from the podium. The applause from the crowd rang in his ears, telling him that he had done well, that he did not disappoint. Sure, the speech wasn't perfect. It could have been longer, like a minute or two could have been spent talking about the endless possibilities one will face when shopping in this mall. But overall, he was proud of the speech. He was proud of the symbolism. He was proud of the hope he conveyed. He was proud that he had spoken from the heart, that he had given the Mushroom People an inspiring speech that will stick with them for the rest of the day, possibly even the rest of their lives.

So, Mario had a smile on his face as he watched the Princess cut the red ribbon barring the entrance. He had a smile on his face as he watched the Mushroom Kingdom citizens filter into the mall, laughing, chatting, and smiling as they did. Once the very last person had entered, Peach turned toward Mario with a grin.

"Good job, Mario. For a speech that spent little time being prepared, it was certainly profound."

"Thanks," Mario said. He shrugged. "I mean, it could have been longer." His shoulders slumped. "Oh man, I wish I had made it longer…"

Peach laughed. "You're worrying about nothing." She placed her hand on his shoulder again. This action, of course, sent Mario over the moon. Being so close to the girl of his dreams, having her touch him in ways that told him she was comfortable around him. Their relationship was far from what it could be; Mario still hadn't asked her out, after all. But still. This was nice, by every definition of the word.

"Thank you again." He paused before chuckling. "Your majesty."

Peach elbowed him. "No need for such formalities around me, Mario." She laughed again. "Now, I don't know about you, but I'm hungry. What do you say you and I go grab something at the newly opened food court?"

Mario's eyes lit up. "I say let's a go!"

Mario's heart pumped, sweat ran down his face. He stared at the burger Peach had ordered for him, shaking so much you would think he was staring into the eyes of a monster. His hand shook as he picked it up. He swallowed a lump, unwilling to eat it. Really, was there any fast food item worth eating, anything served at a place like Goomburger that didn't taste like garbage?

Oh yeah, they had gone to Goomburger. This irked Mario, mostly because there was an even more appealing Italian place just a few stores down. Why couldn't they go there instead? Why did they have to eat here, the place that could very easily be renamed "Garbage Central" without anyone batting an eye?

"Mario, are you going to eat?"

Mario sniffed. He needed to eat this. He needed to, despite every bone in his body telling him that he shouldn't. He raised the burger to his lips, taking a tiny bite. Just as he feared, it tasted awful. Mario liked burgers as a general rule, but these? These tasted like they had been deep fried in toilet water. Regardless, he knew that saying that aloud wouldn't satisfy the princess, so he forced on a smile.

"Pretty good."

Peach chuckled. "I couldn't agree more." She took another bite. "I don't go to Goomburger often, but I always appreciate when I do." Her eyes twinkled. "Especially with someone I care about."

That made Mario's frustration all the more powerful. He remembered the conversation he had with Luigi earlier this morning, how his brother had suggested that he take Peach out to Goomburger on their first date. Of course, those words had partially been tongue and cheek, but….

Here they were. Chowing down on stuff that had been made and cooked at Goomburger, With this realization, Mario's face turned red. Sure, this didn't actually count as a date (the question "do you want to go out with me" had never actually left Mario's lips), but still. Mario had already given Luigi shit for suggesting this place, and yet, here they were in this place.

"Mario, are you okay?" Peach asked.

The Mushroom Kingdom's hero pushed his burger to the side. "I…I just remembered. I need to get home; a lot of cleaning I need to take care of."

Peach's brow furrowed. "Oh." She placed her burger down on the table. "Well…I really liked spending time with you today." She beamed. "I still think your speech was incredible."

"Th…thanks. I'll remember you said that." He chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Anyway…bye, Peach."

With that, he left.