Chapter 14 An Interesting Koopa

The rest of the tour wasn't what I would call very special. Mushroom Village, for the most part, was actually kind of small and rather unimpressive. Kind of made sense that Aunt Ruby's house, which more or less had the exact same issues, would be in this town. Seriously, as somebody who has seen sights such as Princess Peach's Castle, Mushroom City, and has even traveled to the heights of World 7 during a vacation when I was younger, Mushroom Village didn't exactly scratch my travel itch.

It didn't help that it was a duo of koopas who directed the tour. Unfortunately, I didn't have much of a choice who accompanied me, so for the most part, I did my best to not let it bother me. Even still, whenever Uncle Singe or…whatever the other koopa's name was (I will refer to him as Shady til the day I die) directed their gaze onto me, I couldn't help but squirm a little. My insides shook whenever I was on the receiving end of their look. Knowing my luck, these two koopas probably had one goal on their mind: to make my life a living hell.

After all, that's what Mommy said filled a koopa's mind.

Anyway, the tour dragged by, with the two koopas showing one drab sight after another. The shades-wearing koopa tried to build up the sights, as he spoke with the same volume and enthusiasm as a game show host while displaying them. Sure, the effort was probably an impressive feat (and would probably be appreciated if it wasn't a koopa displaying it), but it didn't help that these sights were a total snooze-fest. I seriously wanted to go back to Aunt Ruby's house, forgetting about all these mundane scenes and focusing on what was really important; finding out where my mother had mysteriously disappeared to.

"So, that's pretty much the entirety of Mushroom Village," said Shady after what felt like three hours had passed. He faced me with a smile, which didn't do the squirmy feeling in my stomach any favors. "What did you think?"

I snorted. "What do I think?" I shook my head. "This is one of the most unremarkable towns that I ever laid eyes on. If I wasn't stuck here without my Mom, I would take the nearest warp pipe out of this place."

Shady's face fell. He opened his mouth to say something, but Uncle Singe beat him to it.

"Yeah, it is rather simple." He put on a smile. "But overall, I appreciate it. It's easy to get to know all your neighbors in a place like this."

"ROT IN HELL, YOU KOOPA SCUM!" a toad called out.

Singe scowled. "Granted, there are some people in this town who I would rather not know."

I nodded. I honestly didn't have the vaguest clue what the best response to that would be.

"Well, anyway…" Singe gestured for the two of us to follow him. "Let's go back to the house. With any luck, Ruby and Celia should be back already."

So that's what we did. I kept quiet while walking, keeping my eyes on Singe's red shell. Those spikes…were so sharp. I could easily see myself getting impaled on one of them. Oh man, just thinking about that possibility sent shivers down my spine. I remembered something that Mommy had said to me, how koopas used their spikes to attack people and kill them. Remembering this, I turned my gaze away from Singe's back.

Unfortunately, that meant I was now looking Shady right in the face. Looking at him made my heart pound and my breath come up short and fast. I once again remembered what happened last night, how Shady almost beat me up. That just proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that koopas were just as monstrous as Mommy made them out to be.

You know, the only reason he did that was because you were being a jerk.

I blinked upon thinking this thought. It was one of those thoughts that you had no idea would ever enter your head. It…it almost sounded like someone else's voice, like a secondary source was feeding me this idea. I almost laughed out loud when I hear it.

But I didn't. For some reason, I didn't. Instead, my stomach churned and my heart beat at an odd rhythm. Is…is this guilt?

"Are you alright?" Shady asked.

I let out a breath. "I'm fine." I averted my eyes away, knowing that I shouldn't waste my time with him. He nearly beat me up. He exploded at me when I did absolutely nothing wrong. HE was in the wrong yesterday. I was in the right.

Right?

I shook my head just as we arrived at Aunt Ruby's house. Singe opened the door, and it doesn't take long for me to realize that the house is empty. There's no shuffling that is associated with moving feet, no voices coming from one of the other rooms, nothing. Aunt Ruby and Celia aren't here yet. It was just me and the koopas.

Me and the koopas. Just…why?

"Well, I guess I'll start cleaning up in the kitchen," Singe said. He made his way there. "Man, I wish I was a magikoopa. Would make doing the dishes so much easier," I hear him mutter.

I actually snicker at that (thoroughly surprising myself), and go down to sit on the couch in the center of the living room. As I laid myself down on the cushion, I do my best to not yawn. Sure, the tour had turned out more tiring in the end, but now wasn't the time to go to sleep. I had to stay awake and alert, especially seeing how I was accompanied by two reptiles who could possibly breathe fire.

So, I started thinking. I thought about Mommy, and where she could possibly be. Why would she just leave me alone in the hotel? Why would she leave me alone with the family that she had made a point of saying she didn't want me or my siblings associating with? It's…it's just too bizarre. It's so unlike her. I'm almost tempted to believe that this whole day was just a bad dream, that I'm in a deep sleep and cooking up scenarios based on my own fears. That would make sense. But…oh, who am I kidding? This most definitely isn't a dream. I never had dreams this lucid, this vivid, and realistic.

"Hey."

I did a double-take and look up at Shady. To my surprise, he had taken off his sunglasses, allowing me to see…concern in his eyes? Wow, either this koopa was a really good actor when it came to forming fake facial expressions, or…or koopas don't have hearts made of stone. I…I don't know what the case is here, and I'm not about to make a guess either.

"We'll find her," Shady said. "We'll find your mom if it's the last thing we do."

My eyes grew wide. It's almost like he just read my mind.

"Th…thank you." I have to exert extra effort to get those two words out. I looked up into Shady's face again, marveling at the expression I never would have thought possible to appear on the face of a koopa. For some reason, my mind goes back to when we were in the restaurant, and how he was willing to share his breakfast with me. It's…it's almost if…

"Do you have any siblings?"

I did a double take a second time, looking up at Shady with a raised eyebrow. He was asking me this? Why; what was the point? If it was any other species, I would say he was trying to break the ice. But this is a koopa; there has to be an ulterior motive of some kind.

"Why do you ask?" I finally said.

Shady shrugged. "No reason. Just wanted to get to know you better."

"Hmm." I turned away from him, weighing my available options before deciding that there's not too much to lose when it comes to answering his question.

"I have five siblings. I'm the oldest."

Shady's face liit up like a fireworks display. "That's so cool!" He took a step forward. "I've got six siblings; two older, four younger." His smile brightens up every corner of the room. "Let me tell you, life is so much more interesting when you're in a big family."

I blink. "I…I feel the same way." I chuckled as a memory of one of my siblings pops up in my head. "I remember when my youngest sister Mallory made a finger painting for me. It was just a mess of colors on the page; no form or a clear image." I chuckle again. "Definitely not art museum material, but it was still appreciated."

"Yeah." Shady chortled and shook his head. "Little siblings really are the best. Sure, they can be pains sometimes, but at the end of the day, I wouldn't trade them away for anything." He laughs. "No matter how much our Dad jokes that he wants to sell us to the Shy Guys."

I laughed at that. "Mommy actually makes the exact same joke sometimes. I always find it funny."

Shady laughed, meaning that both of us were laughing at the exact same time. An odd scenario and an even odder sensation, but…I don't know. It's not the worst thing in the world. It's…actually kind of enjoyable.

Eventually, the laughter died down. I sat in silence for a minute, keeping my eyes off Shady. I suspected that the silence would start to become awkward, as most silences do. I didn't know if I necessarily wanted to be the one to break it though.

"Hey man, I'm really sorry about yesterday."

I lifted my head, looking into Shady's face with wide eyes. "W…what?"

Shady cringed. "Yesterday was…well, it wasn't cool. I shouldn't have let my temper get away from me." He sighed. "I imagine that I scared you, so…yeah, an apology is definitely required."

I blinked multiple times, not believing what I was hearing. "You…you're actually apologizing?" I furrowed my brow. "A koopa is apologizing to me?"

For a brief spell, Shady looked offended by what I said. The offense wears off after a little bit as he puts a smile back. "Well, yeah."

I do another double-take. "Man, this has got to be the weirdest day of my life. I wouldn't be surprised if I grow a third arm by sunset."

Shady burst into laughter. "Hey, a third arm may be weird, but it would certainly be useful. I would love to have an extra appendage."

"Your tail doesn't count?" I asked, looking at the said tail with interest that I'll admit to not usually possessing.

"Oh no!" Shady stole a glance of his own down at his tail. "This thing is useless! The most I can do with it is wag it like a goddamn dog." He put his shades back on. "No, third arms are where it's at."

I chuckled and shook my head. "You certainly are an interesting specimen." A thought crosses over my mind. "You're Celia's boyfriend, right?"

Shady blinked. "Uh, yeah?"

I leaned forward. "How did you manage to win her over? I imagine that took a while."

Shady pressed his lips together. "It…it did. I wanted to get together pretty much right away, but she wasn't even close to being ready. So…I had to respect her boundaries. It…it wasn't easy, but I think things turned out alright in the end due to that."

"Hmm. A koopa respecting boundaries…" I smirked. "That's pretty interesting."

A silence lingers as Shady paused and thought about what to say next. "Well…" he raised his finger before closing his mouth and sighing. "I can't blame you for being amazed. Our king never really respected boundaries."

"So I've heard." I snickered. "So I've heard."

Another silence came over the room, only broken every so often by Uncle Singe working in the kitchen. I looked up at Shady, feeling…interesting feelings. I don't know how to describe it, but…well, Shady was certainly an interesting person. Especially for a koopa. He…well, he…

Again, I don't know how to describe it. Shady…well, Shady is Shady. I don't know how else to describe him, but…I kind of appreciate him.

Only kind of though. He is still a koopa after all, so letting down my guard completely while around him probably wouldn't be a good idea. Mommy has said that they are vicious after all.

Right as I thought this, the door opened I blinked upon seeing my aunt and cousin coming into the room. My heart rate actually picked up upon seeing them.

Without much thought, I raised myself off of the couch and walked over to them. "Did you go to the police station?"

Aunt Ruby hesitated. "We…we did." She gestured toward the table. "You might want to sit down…"