Chapter 13 Pick Up

"Oof!"

Ruby gasped, just noticing for the very first time that she stood in the middle of the walkway, obstructing the path people commonly walked down. She turned toward the Toad who had bumped into her. He had been carrying a crate full of power ups, and now all the items were scattered across the floor. Mushrooms, flowers, and stars alike all looked saddened, which was quite interesting because in all her years working at this factory, Ruby had never seen the expressions on the power ups' faces change.

"I'm so sorry, Warren T." Ruby bent down and picked up as many power ups as her arms could carry, all while keeping her concerned gaze on her fellow employee. "I wasn't paying attention; I really am sorry!"

Warren T. adjusted his glasses, giving Ruby the weirdest of looks. On the one hand, he looked like he was angry with her; aggravated was probably the right word to use. At the same time, he did at the very least appear receptive to the apology that Ruby had issued him. Plus, the fact that Ruby helped put the power ups he carried back in the crates did seem to be softening him up. He rose to his feet, watching the poor woman as she picked up every single last item that he had dropped.

Once she finished, Warren T. nodded at her. "Thanks, Marksmite." He went on his way, taking the power up bin toward the stairwell that would lead to the boss's office.

Ruby let out a breath. Good, that was one disaster averted. She turned back toward the conveyor belt, picking up stars and mushrooms and placing them in the boxes at her feet. She did so slowly though; not because she was concentrating, but more so because she delved right back into getting lost in thought. She didn't focus on anything, barely cognisant of the power ups going past her as the worries and problems that she had on her plate consumed her.

"Ruby? Ruby!"

Ruby did a double take, gasped, and noticed that a pile of power ups built up at the end of the conveyor belt. "Darn it!" Picking up as many item boxes as possible, she made her way over. With the haste of a child who left their homework for the last minute, she stuffed the items into the boxes. Pick up, stuff, close. Pick up, stuff, close. It was a boring routine, one that Ruby had committed to muscle memory in the fourteen years she had worked at this factory. But this particular time, she did it with shallow breathing, with worry plaguing her mind. Oh, she didn't want this to result in any potential disasters. She needed this job, and the boss was strict about any hold ups or delays on the assembly line. The fact that Ruby had stayed here for over a decade wouldn't matter; she was still in danger of getting fired if she didn't do her job properly.

"Hey." The Toad who had gotten Ruby out of her worry-induced stupor, Terri T, went up and helped Ruby along with the job. While she packed the power ups away, she gave Ruby a furrowed brow. "This is so unlike you, Ruby. You never get distracted." Her brow furrowed some more. "Is something wrong?"

Ruby bit her lip as she stuffed a one-up mushroom inside. "Just…family stuff."

"Oh." Terri T. nodded, looking forlorn and somber as she continued working. "That's too bad." She looked right into Ruby's emerald green eyes. "It is understandable though. I mean, being married to a koopa is bound to produce some interesting scenarios."

Ruby glared at her. Sure, what she had said wasn't outright racist or offensive, but still, Ruby had grown very sensitive over the past two decades. She didn't tolerate any jabs at her husband, her daughter, or her. Sure, everyone in town viewed the Marksmite-Patch family as an oddity, something that should be observed like an animal in a zoo or a freak in a circus. Like an animal, people didn't want to get too close for fear of getting hurt. And like a circus freak, people often laughed at them, mocking them for how unusual they were and how bizarre they looked from the outset. Plus, the added racism and prejudice towards Koopas in the Mushroom Kingdom made the situation a million times worse. Even still, Ruby wasn't tolerant of anybody who was disrespectful towards her or her life choices.

Terri T, noticing the glare, backed away and cleared her throat. "What I mean, is uh…" she struggled over the right words to say before her shoulders slumped, indicating that she officially gave up in trying to salvage the interaction. "Sorry."

Ruby sighed. "It's okay." She stood up too, putting the item boxes to the side and going back to her station. Terri T followed too. Once they were situated at their stations parallel to each other, they continued on with the rest of their work in silence. Ruby put in an extra amount of effort this time around, not letting herself get distracted by Alicia being missing and her having to be the host to her spoiled brat of a son. Avoiding those thoughts took a real force of will, especially during the times when she thought about not only how Alicia had treated her in her house, but also while they were growing up.

Thankfully though, Ruby managed to put those thoughts to the side and put them in a box in her mind. By the time three o'clock rolled around, she could honestly say that she had successfully done a good job. Sure, it wasn't a perfect job, but it was more than serviceable. The boss wouldn't be breathing down her neck about being a lackluster worker, no sirree.

So, ultimately, she was able to leave the factory in time. As she got her belongings out of her locker, she decided that she wanted to pick up Celia from school. This wasn't done too terribly often, but Ruby wanted to do it now because…well, in all honesty, Celia was probably just as stressed out over Alicia and Albert as she was. Being there to pick her up would alleviate both of their stresses, therefor killing two birds with one stone.

With this thought in mind, Ruby made her way out of the workplace. She walked with an impressive stride while outside of the factory. She held her head up high, practically marching as she made the journey toward her daughter's high school. It was like she had turned into a royal figure, as she carried herself in the exact same way. She didn't bother looking at the ground, always looking forward despite the looks that the toads and humans she passed gave her. In this moment, she wasn't one to care about what people thought. In this moment, she was a mother with a mission.

It didn't take long to get to the school, and it took an even shorter amount of time to find Celia. The half-koopa girl was just making her way out of the front door when she saw Ruby, causing her face to brighten up.

"Mom!" She ran up to Ruby and gave her a hug. Even though Celia couldn't see this because of her face buried in her Mom's chest, Ruby noticed that a bunch of students sent dirty and even disgusted looks in their direction. Because of this, Ruby placed her hand on Celia's head, feeling like she should hide Celia's bright hair for just a minute in order to give the two of the a moment of peace.

Eventually, Celia let go. "It's so nice to see you." Her brow furrowed. "Is there a reason you're here?"

"Oh, I just wanted to pick you up," Ruby replied. "You know, be a good mom for a change."

Celia wrinkled her nose. "First off, you already are a good mom. Second…" she squirmed as she said this next part. "Is this about Albert and Aunt Alicia?"

Ruby pursed her lips. "Well…" she considered how to answer this for a minute before ultimately shaking her head. "It doesn't matter." She wrapped her arm around her daughter. "Come on."

Celia looked unsatisfied, but still ultimately followed. They walked through the Mushroom Kingdom countryside, the silence between them lingering. Cicadas filled in the gaps in the sound, but even still, it was a bit of an awkward silence. At least, from Ruby's perspective. She wanted to break it, but she also wasn't sure if doing so would garner the best results.

Ultimately, it was Celia who broke the silence. "Have you been thinking about them too?"

Ruby bit her lip before sighing. "Of course I have. Everything about the situation is strange." She lifted her head. "Which reminds me, I need to go to the police station."

Celia nodded. She hesitated for a minute before speaking again, and doing so with an apologetic tone. "I'm sorry, Mom."

Ruby blinked. "About what?"

"About going behind your back. I mean, they are family. But I should have checked with you first before inviting them."

Ruby nodded. "That would have been appreciated."

"Yeah." Celia looked into her eyes with her ruby red ones. "Still though, I'm glad we're helping Albert. He is disagreeable, but he is family."

Ruby felt a pang, for multiple reasons. Family. Some good that concept has done her in the past. The fact that she and Alicia were family never seemed to matter to Ruby's supposed older sister. She didn't come to her and Singe's wedding. She never stopped to visit, never once acknowledging that she and Celia existed as they struggled in the world of the prejudice Mushroom Kingdom. Yeah, it was obvious to anyone with eyes and ears that Alicia didn't view Ruby as family, as her younger sister. That fact had been made obvious sixteen years ago. Not just when she walked into the hospital and screamed at the sight of baby Celia, but also because of something else that….

Ruby almost shook her head. She didn't want to think about that. She had already spent almost two decades being bitter of what Alicia has done, the promise that she stubbornly and wickedly refused to keep. Sure, did it sting? Of course it did; it was always going to fucking sting. But was it good to dwell on? No. Ruby needed to keep moving on with her life. She didn't need to speak about it, think about it, nor acknowledge it. She was living her life, and she had a family to take care of. She didn't need to get hung up on the sins of her older sister.

She also didn't need to discourage Celia from doing the right thing. Sure, Ruby hadn't agreed with Celia going to the hotel and inviting Alicia and Albert to the house. But ultimately, her intentions were good. She had done what she had thought was the right thing to do, which wasn't something anybody should scold her over. Least of all her own mother.

Realizing this, Ruby rubbed Celia's shoulder. "You're very sweet, Cee. It's very sweet of you to think of family first."

Celia pressed her lips together and pushed Ruby's hand away. "I mean, it is what's important."

"It is." Ruby hesitated, trying to think about what was the right way to word this. "But…Cee, you have to realize that sometimes the bonds you form with others, the family that you find is way more important than the family that you're born into." She hesitated. "Everyone has to choose their own family in certain cases. And, unfortunately, Alicia didn't choice me. She didn't choice me, your father, or you." She gave Celia a grave look. "So…well, just be aware of what Alicia prioritizes. I don't want you getting hurt." Her heart ached. "Least of all by her."

Celia's eyes grew a tad bit wider. "I…okay."

Ruby nodded. Celia clearly didn't understand all of what Ruby had just told her. This saddened Ruby; she felt that she needed to. If she didn't grasp it now, she probably wasn't going to grasp it until she learned about it the hard way. This caused Ruby to worry, and worry more than usual. She didn't want Celia to learn it the hard way like she did. It would be much less painless to learn it the easy way.

Of course, that's not how most people operated, now was it?