Chapter 28 All Done

It seemed to be turning into a pattern, how hours and even days went by quickly for Celia. Granted, that might be because she felt freer. Since she gave the speech on the last day of school, and has since said her goodbyes to Ms. Tish and Mushroom High (for now. She did feel a desire to go back there next year), this just left her with more time than she knew what to do with. She found this strange, as she had been out of school for years, and failed to actually feel this unsure of what to do. Maybe she had liked the routine? Maybe she had gotten used to and comfortable in the school building? Maybe she liked the time she spent in 's classroom, doing nothing but learning about the world and all the wonder it held?

Celia thought about these questions for a little bit before smirking. The answer, she realized, was all of the above. Going back to school had been… gratifying. The fact that she had managed to find part of herself within those walls also helped to paint the place in a much more positive light for her. Now, instead of living in anxiety and fear, she reveled in the possibility of going back to the building. The desire was like a scent lingering in her nose. More specifically, it was like the scent of chocolate chip cookies; it was sweet, and it held the power to lead her in the direction of something good.

She smiled when she had this thought, noticing the smile was a lot fuller than most as she fluffed her hair in the mirror. Kind of a perfect metaphor for her mood and outlook on life, if she was being honest. Now that she had a goal, she felt better about herself. Now, she no longer had this lingering feeling of guilt resting inside her chest. Sure, there was no guarantee that she would reach her goal, a fact that still made her feel a little squirmy. But… but she at least wanted to try now. Thinking about her, standing up in front of a classroom and teaching dozens of uncertain teens… man, was it an alluring thought.

With that, she finally finished with her hair. She gave her reflection one last smile before exiting the room. Her parents were out shopping, so she, unfortunately, didn't get the chance to say goodbye to them before going out on a date with Roy. Despite that, she still felt good. She swung the door open with all her might and walked down to stand beside the street in front of her house. Maybe it was because her mood was already high, but she was able to pick up on the sounds of birds chirping far more easily. They were like amateur musicians, letting their voices out into the world without any desire for compensation. They just might be better than amateur musicians. As great as the sounds of different instruments were, the natural voice of the common sparrow was so much sweeter (a fact that she would never reveal to Roy's oldest brother, Ludwig). She took in a deep breath as she listened to these wordless tunes. In some way, it kind of sounded like cheering, cheering made for the sake of encouraging Celia. Yes, that definitely wasn't the case. But… well, a girl was allowed to imagine.

After a few minutes of waiting, the sound of propellers fell upon Celia's ears. She looked up, waving at her boyfriend as he descended down in his Koopa Clown Car. Celia's spirits felt like they were at an all-time high as Roy made landfall, turned the engine of his clown car off, and hopped out. Even though there was no visible difference in his appearance compared to how he usually looked, Celia still marveled at him. She felt like she was actually seeing him, being fully appreciative of him for perhaps the first time since they started dating. Could this be because her own heart felt lighter?

"Hey!" Roy said as he approached her.

"Hey!" Celia walked up to him, all while grinning. "It's summer! Isn't that great?"

"Oh, so great!" Roy responded. He puffed out his chest. "Summer is my favorite time of year!" He laughed. "And let me tell you, Cee. I am never… and I do mean NEVER… going back to Mushroom High!"

"Oh." Celia blinked. "Really?"

"Yep! Edumacation is for stinkers!" His face fell a little bit. "So our swirlies, for that matter. And I mean that in more ways than one."

Celia nodded. "Makes sense." She held out her arm. "Walk with me to the restaurant?"

Roy only hesitated for a second before intertwining his arm with hers. They walked at a slowish pace. While not snail-slow, it still allowed both Celia and Roy to soak in the moment. Soak in everything and even build up some anticipation for the fun that they could potentially have now that they weren't confined to a school building.

It was when they were about a quarter of the way there that Celia felt a pang. "I'm really sorry."

Roy blinked. "For what?"

"For letting you come to school with me." She curled a strand of her hair over her right ear. "I never wanted you to have to experience the bullying or the stress or the swirlies or… or…" she sighed, shaking her head. "Well, you went through a lot over the course of the school year, as short as it was. And I'm really sorry about that."

Roy was silent for a little bit before responding. "Don't be. I chose to join you at the school, remember?"

Celia hesitated. "I… I do." She bit her lip. "But if I had known how badly it would've been for you…"

"Hey. It's fine." Roy grinned. "Those bullies were tough, sure. But I have both a thick skin and a hard head!"

Celia paused before snickering. "Uh… you do realize that having a hard head isn't a good thing, right?"

Roy stopped. "Wait, it isn't?" He looked confused. "I thought it was! Why else would people say to avoid touching a baby's soft spot?"

Celia blinked before laughing, and laughing hard. "Okay. I guess in that way, it is good." She shook her head as she let out the last of her giggles out. "So, I guess there's nothing for either of us to complain about."

Roy was still for a second before he smiled. "Nope. No, there most certainly isn't."

Celia nodded as they continued on their walk. "Anyway… I still felt bad whenever we talked about your school experiences. Especially when it came to the swirlies."

"Makes sense," Roy said. "But still, it's okay Celia." He puffed out his chest again. "Like I said, I'm not going back. I'm spending the rest of my time in home school. And sure, Kamek is one of the most annoying and boring teachers of all time, but he is still a VAST improvement over the idiots who Mushroom High decided to hire." He smirked. "Man, those are words I never thought I'd say."

Celia chuckled, her spirits coming back up to much more pleasant levels. "Good. That's good."

"Yeah." Roy beamed. "And hey! You don't have to go back to Mushroom High either! Now that you have a dream, I'm pretty sure Iggy will let you take classes with him again!"

Celia did a double take. She… she never thought of that! Man, Roy was right; she could go back to have classes with Iggy! Things would probably be much more pleasant in his classroom too. Plus, her time spent with Ms. Tish would probably help lessons with Iggy go by a lot more quickly.

After giving it a little bit of thought though, Celia shook her head. "Actually Roy… I kinda do want to go back to Mushroom High."

Roy did the double take to end all double takes. "Wait, what?" He grabbed hold of Celia's head and titled it so he could get a look at the top of her skull. "Did you hurt your head? I don't see any bumps…"

Celia snickered as she pulled herself out of Roy's grasp. "No silly, my head is perfectly fine." She looked him right in his eyes. "To be honest… I kind of came to like my time at Mushroom High. Sure, some parts of it were far from pleasant. But… but it was also invigorating." Roy looked confused, which prompted her to use another, more easy-to-understand word. "And by that, it was pleasant. Much more pleasant than I thought it would be going in, which surprised me." She smiled. "And… when I said that I looked up to Ms. Tish in my speech a few nights ago, I meant it. She is just an awesome teacher. Much better than Iggy could ever hope to be."

Roy burst into laughter. "Oh man! I'd pay good money to see you say that right to Iggster's face!"

Celia shook her head. "Oh no! No way in hell! I like my head attached to my shoulders as opposed to tucked in the back corner of Iggy's supply closet!"

"Understandable." Roy smirked. "Iggy does have a lot of heads there, last I checked." This got both of them to chuckle. "But… but I guess I understand. After all, yours and my experiences within that building were clearly very different. So.. I guess, if you enjoyed it there, I shouldn't take that away from you." He frowned. "Even if my time in the school was so… very not good."

"Thanks," Celia said. She scratched the back of her head. "Yeah, my time in the school was far from perfect. But… I have this feeling that, if I want to try and pursue my dream of becoming a teacher, I should probably stay there for the time being."

Roy nodded, which prompted them to walk in silence for a little bit. Celia delved back into her head during this time, wondering about a lot of things. She wondered so strongly that, eventually, she decided to ask Roy another question.

"Roy?" When Roy looked at her, the inside of her stomach started to feel a little squirmy. "Do you… do you think that I can become a teacher? Like… at all?"

Roy didn't even hesitate. "Of course!" He smiled. "You can do anything you set your mind to!"

Celia sunk a little into the path. "I know everybody says that. But… but is it really true? I mean, there's a lot that could potentially go wrong if I go down this particular path. And… and I… I'm afraid that I met not make it, which would let everybody down." She turned away from him. "Oh man, if I do let people down…"

"Hey!" Roy said. "Don't talk like that!" He turned her head back up so that she could look into his beaming face. "I think now is a good time to share something I learned in that blasted school with you." He stood tall and strong. "According to some studies, having a growth mindset… remember when we talked about that?" Celia nodded. "Good! Well, having a growth mindset and a positive attitude… i.e. believing that you can do something as opposed to can't actually increases the likelihood of you being able to achieve your goals. Many famous people who achieved their dreams and paved their own paths managed to do so because they believed they could. They didn't let any doubts get themselves down." He smiled at her. "I think you should do the same. It'll help lead you down the path of success."

Celia thought about this for a second before letting out a breath. "That… that does sound true…"

"It is!" Roy exclaimed. "Trust me, it is!" He took hold of her hand. "And, on top of that, those people managed to succeed because they also had a great support system backing them up. And… well, I want to support you in anyway I can."

Celia blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah!" They came to a stop, as they now stood outside the restaurant's doors. "I want to see you succeed in the end. Watching someone, especially my girlfriend, achieve a goal they want so badly… well, that does sound like something that will be really cool to see." He put his hand on her shoulder. "So, you've got my support. You've also got your Mom, Dad, and most of the other Koopalings." He gave her a look so warm that it made her heart melt. "So, no worries, girlfriend. You can do it. I know you can."

Celia's face grew warm as the surface of the sun. "Thanks, Roy." She kissed him right on the lips, a gesture that he returned in full force. Once she pulled away, she looked into his eyes for quite a while. "I love you."

"I love you too." Roy gestured toward the restaurant. "Now, what do you say we go eat? I'm starving!"

Celia nodded, and together they walked in. She couldn't believe how lucky she was. She didn't know whether she would succeed in the end, but she did feel good about herself. One of the many things she had to thank Roy about.

AN: Well… it's finished! After two some years, it is finally finished! And let me tell you, that is a big deal for me. A BIG. FREAKING. DEAL. There were times that I thought it wouldn't be worth it to finish this story. But now that I am, I feel so good! Plus, now I am officially caught up with my Super Koopalings Episodes! That is SUCH a relief to me!

Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you guys enjoyed this. And remember, stay safe and stay awesome! :D