AN: Hey everyone. It's been awhile since I last updated this particular story. Sorry about that; my goal was to make some progress on Episode 30: Wisdom Imparted before I dipped my toes back into this one. And…well, I did end up making some progress like I had hoped I would. So…yeah, this is back. I hope you enjoy this; I don't know how often I am going to update this story, as this, Episode 28, and 30 are kind of…well, they don't get much attention to start off with. However, I will try my best.

Enjoy.

Chapter 12 Le Tour de Koopa

Celia leaned over a worksheet on her desk, trying to figure out the answer to the algebraic equation that school had forced her to solve. She bit her lip. She reasoned that one good way to find the value of x was to do the FOIL method, but…

She shook her head. No no no! This wasn't going well at all! Sure, Celia wouldn't consider herself a math genius, nor would she say that she was good at math. For the most part, math equations were the bane of her existence, and this fact had only grown more prevalent and relevant as she "learned" (in the loosest sense of the word) more about the subject. However, that fact was honestly irrelevant in this particular instance. Even if she was the wizziest math wiz to ever math, she wouldn't be able to fully engage in solving this equation due to the fact that her mind was filled with worry.

Albert. Thinking about him and how his situation was the activity that her mind was preoccupied with. She…she honestly didn't know how to feel about everything. Did she regret the fact that she had invited him and Aunt Alicia to the house? Uh…not really? Sure, right now, she was beyond tempted to think of them as irredeemable. The way they acted reminded her of her grandmother, Mavery Marksmite. Stuck up and racist, judging anybody who didn't fit her definition of the "right type of person." In fact, not only were there a lot of traits they shared with Mavery, but there were also traits of their own that made Celia's blood boil even more. Albert being super attached to his "Mommy." Alicia clearly being rich and snobby. The fact that they had tried to force her boyfriend to do something illegal over a card game…and yelled at him for reacting in a way they disliked (and deserved).

So yes. There was a lot of negativity to be found here, a lot of points that Celia could use to form an argument that inviting Alicia and Albert was a mistake. However, she wasn't willing to do that. Sure, she hated anyone who bore a resemblance to her grandmother. But she didn't want to believe they were irredeemable. Why? Well, because of one simple fact.

People could change.

The reason Celia knew this was because of her interaction with her late grandfather, Saliday Marksmite. In his past, he was arguably…no, definitely just as bad as Mavery. He refused to view humans positively, he strongly disapproved of Singe having a baby with Ruby, AND he had threatened Singe with a curse if he went anywhere near Celia's mom. With that laundry list of crimes, there was a good argument to be made that Saliday was a bad person. And he had been; he really had been.

But he didn't stay that way.

Celia delved deeper into thought. She remembered when her grandfather had taken her and Roy to a diner, and how he had explained what happened between him and Singe to Celia. Looking back, Celia really wished that she hadn't had treated Saliday as harshly as she did. Sure, he admitting his crimes had been…hard to hear. But he had really been genuine. His tone of voice, his body language, the fact that he had cried…not only had he been apologetic, he had been repentant. He realized how awful his actions had been, and had wanted to atone for them. Sure, Celia had been unable to forgive him then, but she had grown up a little. Now she wished that she had given him another chance.

Maybe that wish for giving Saliday another chance was why she wanted to give Albert another chance. She thought back to what Roy had said in the house, how there might be a deeper reason for Albert's prejudice. That memory only made her desire to see this through to the end even stronger. She wanted to find out as much about Albert as possible. After all, at the end of the day, he was family. Whether Albert liked it or not, he was Celia's cousin. And she wanted to treat him in a way that a cousin deserved. She wanted to provide him with help; despite how nasty he had been, she both wanted and needed to help him find out what happened to his mom. After all, what was more important than family?

"Celia?"

Celia did a double take. She looked at Ms. Tish, giving her a furrowed brow at the front of the room. Celia once more remembered that she was doing a worksheet. She flushed, furiously writing down the numbers that she was supposed to be working with.

"Sorry. Zoned out."

Ms. Tish nodded, slowly and hesitantly. "That isn't like you."

Celia sighed. "I know…" she paused with writing and looked back up at her teacher. "But don't worry. I'll finish the worksheet before it's time to…"

BRRRRIINNNG!

Celia froze. Ms. Tish chuckled, her expression sympathetic.

"Looks like you have homework now."

Celia groaned and put her head in her hands. Note to self, don't spare Albert a second thought again.

…

Admittedly, the idea of a tour of the town was an idea that not only appealed to Albert, but also, Roy. He had already spent a whole heck of a lot of time in this particular town, what with all the times he had stopped by to see his girlfriend. So, he knew it like the back of his hand! He could give a tour in his sleep (heck, some people might get a better experience if Roy was asleep)! This was going to be a piece of cake.

'Well, this is the town square," Roy said. He gestured around. "As you can see, it's circle shaped, so…yeah, the name is kind of misleading."

Albert nodded. He looked at the various shops situated around the circle, as well as the fountain in the middle. He kept his eyes on the latter for a long time. He even smiled a little.

Roy went up to him. "Yeah, it's a pretty nice town, when you get a good look at it." He reached up to pat Albert on the back. "Glad you came here as opposed to staying cooped up in Nowheresville, am I right?" It was at this point that he gave Celia's cousin the pat he had prepared himself for.

Unfortunately, while he was prepared for his action, he hadn't at all been prepared for Albert's reaction. The young man pulled away. He turned his head toward Roy. He trembled a little, showing Roy that he had clearly freaked him out a little bit. For the most part though, he mostly glared at the koopa, with a scrunched up brow and squinted eyes.

"Don't touch me," Albert said.

Roy pulled his hand away. "Sorry dude. I was just trying to be friendly."

Albert's eyes grew wide. He gawked at Roy, who honestly didn't know what to do. Obviously, Albert had been surprised. But what about? That Roy had tried to be friendly? If that was the case, that was a pretty bizarre thing to get surprised over.

"GET OUT OF HERE, YOU KOOPA SCUM!"

Roy blinked. He saw a Toad, glaring at him as he stood in front of a store that he either worked at or owned, if his uniform was any indication. Roy exchanged a look with Singe, who looked more disappointed than anything else.

"No matter how many times I go there," he muttered, his voice low, "I can never get Percy T. to see that I'm not the type to cause trouble!"

"DID YOU HEAR ME?!" Percy T. started walking; stomping actually. "GET OUT OF HERE!"

Well, Roy didn't need to be told twice! He picked up the pace, running away from the store with Singe close behind. Albert lingered a little, but he still followed after the two of them.

When all three of them were a decent distance away, Roy turned to his company and chuckled a little. "Well, at the very least, we can be thankful he didn't throw anything!"

Singe snorted. "Sure. I guess that's one way to look at this half full glass."

Albert didn't say anything. He just looked at Roy, not moving for the better part of thirty seconds. Roy honestly didn't know if he would prefer Albert talking. After all, he wasn't saying anything nasty. At the same time though, waiting for him to say something nasty was suspenseful as all hell.

Eventually, Roy let out a breath. "Well. Why don't we continue on the tour?"

Singe nodded, and Albert followed as the two koopas lead the way. Roy pointed out some really nice places; a cafe where he and Celia had gone on a date, a park bench that new mothers tended to sit and nurse their newborns on, and a bakery that, according to Celia, had provided Ruby and Singe with their wedding cake. All these sights didn't seem to appeal to Albert though. Sure, he didn't show disgust or disdain for any of these places, but at the same time, he didn't look particularly impressed. That is, until they got to a flower store.

"Oh, this place is nice!" Roy giggled. "Always a good place to stop if you're in the need for a last minute bouquet!"

Singe snickered. "I can vouch for that; this place has saved me from not being able to get Ruby a gift on special occasions."

Roy laughed. "You might want to stop here when you get a girlfriend, eh Albert?" Roy noticed that the young man wasn't in his immediate line of sight, causing him to blink. "Albert?"

Roy turned his head. He noticed Albery staring at a flower; a purple tulip to be more precise. Roy approached, going out of his way to keep a good distance away.

"Like that flower, don't you Albert?"

The tiniest traces of a smile appeared on Albert's face. "They bloom in the spring. They always make the mansion where I live so much more pretty to look at." He turned to Roy, giving him a positive look for the very first time. "I've done some reading up on them. Apparently, there are about seventy five species of this plant." He looked back at the tulip. "However, this kind has always been my favorite. I really like the color purple."

Roy puffed his chest out and grinned. He didn't know exactly why he found this to be a compliment; probably because he himself had a purple shell. Sure, the compliment wasn't directed at him, but it was still a pretty nice thing to hear from him.

"Yeah, purple's awesome," Roy said.

Albert sighed. "Yes." He looked down at the plant, a forlorn expression dominating his face. "I just wish Mommy would let me be a gardener or a florist. The royal guard…well, it's a highly esteemed position, but it's…"

His voice trailed off. The way he had spoken had been silent, as if he hadn't really been addressing Roy to begin with. However, that statement did get the gears turning in Roy's head. Albert wanted to be a florist, but Alicia was forcing him to do otherwise. Kind of a backwards way of doing things; there was nothing wrong with being a florist. And if Albert was passionate about the subject, why discourage him from chasing a dream?

Roy approached, not touching Albert but still doing his best to look reassuring. "Hey. For what it's worth, I think you'd make a great florist."

Albert blinked. He looked back at Roy, still giving him the wide-eyed surprise. Then, he smiled. It was a small smile, barely on his face for a second, but it was certainly there.

Then, just as quickly as it appeared, his face fell. "If you say so, Koopa."

Roy's heart sank. So close. He had gotten so close to Albert giving him a genuine complement. Oh well; if nothing else, he could consider the smile a consolation prize.

"Come on, guys," Singe called out. "Let's go continue on the tour."

"Oh right!" Roy grinned, launching right back into tour guide mode. "There's still a lot more to see, Albert. And I think you're going to like it."