Chapter 10: A New Emotion

The next day, Diddy was leaving his house, although this time... he kept receiving playful and suspicious gestures from Donkey, who had been reminding himof what he discovered in his notebook the night before. Diddy was just trying to downplay it and now he made an excuse that it was a detail he did for all his friends.

Then, Diddy headed towards Kong Kollege. For some reason... he wasn't feeling so nervous this time about going; he didn't know if it was because he had now been left thinking more about Donkey's embarrassing discovery, or if he was really more confident of making it to school.

Diddy tried to go with long steps in the vicinity of the schoolyard, when suddenly, the four bad kids appeared in front of him without further ado.

"Here you are, silly vermin!" Jemky said, taking him by the shoulders.

Suddenly, Diddy gave Jemky a hard look, grabbed his arms and pushed them away forcefully.

"Hey, what are you trying to do, you idiot monkey?!" Jemky replied, trying to hold him down. "To us-"

But this time, Diddy grabbed him tightly by the shoulders and pushed him away until he fell to the ground. Then, he continued walking.

"Hey, what do you think?!" Rocky said, going to grab him forcefully by the arm.

Instantly, Diddy gave him a hard push, swallowing the fear that they might respond to him in a worse way. Mandrew and Melenky tried to pounce on him, but Diddy grabbed their arms tightly to each one while looking at them as if he didn't fear them.

"Miserable monkey!" Mandrew said about to beat him.

"Hey, why do you call Diddy that?" Dixie suddenly appeared.

The four of them turned to look at her, while Dixie began to move her ponytail as if she was threatening them. She was in every position to fight, although this time, the quartet didn't show themselves in the same way, but rather, they began to give some apparent forced smiles.

"Oh, hi, Dixie," Jemky said with a forced smile. "Nice to see you... And we were just greeting Diddy," he added, addressing Diddy. "How about you, Diddy? Nice to see you too."

"Ah, yes, yes, it's true," Rocky added in the same way. "How have you been, monkeys?"

"Yes, what has become of your lives? How are you doing?" Mandrew added, patting Diddy on the shoulder.

"Hey, we're not going to fight?" Melenky asked, looking confused, but then Rocky seemed to have given him a light pinch, while smiling his teeth at him. "Ahh, sure, how have you been, Diddy and Dixie?" he added with a forced smile.

Then, looking at the four of them strangely, Diddy headed towards Dixie and beckoned her to continue on their way to school. As they walked, Dixie also looked at them strangely and suspiciously. For some reason, the four of them didn't chase them this time, so they were both able to walk calmly to the courtyard. Diddy and Dixie only shrugged their shoulders after seeing that unusual behavior in those bully children.

Later, Wrinkly arrived and all the other children entered the classroom. The class was much better that day, in fact.

During the break hours, Diddy and Dixie walked together taking their lunches and talking about their days, and also about the four bully children... who this time, none of them approached them.

At the end of the day's class, Diddy and Dixie quickly headed for another shortcut that Diddy had planned to escape the quartet of evil children, although to their bad surprise, they accidentally ran into them when they were crossing some bushes. Both put themselves in position to fight with all the attitude, but this time... the four of them just looked at them two with some seriousness. Suddenly, Jemky started smiling at them a little.

"Oh, look who came," said the orangutan boy, though in an apparent sweet tone.

"But if it's the silly monke- I mean, our little friends," Rocky added in the same way.

"Let's see, let's see, who are our favorite monkeys?" Mandrew said as if talking to little children.

"I think we should all hug each other!" Melenky exclaimed, showing emotion.

Suddenly, the four threw themselves into hugging Diddy and Dixie as a group, earning some looks of great strangeness from both.

"Children, what are you doing?!" Wrinkly suddenly appeared on the way, encountering the 'friendly' scene. "Oh, how nice it's to see how you have become good friends."

"Ahh, yes... yes, of course, Mrs. Wrinkly," Jemky replied with a forced smile along with the group. "We're best friends, and with Dixie too."

"That's very good, I'm very glad," Wrinkly replied, smiling at them, before continuing on her way. "Well, I'll leave you, kids. See you tomorrow, have a nice day."

"See you tomorrow, Mrs. Wrinkly," they all replied at the same time with forced smiles.

As Wrinkly walked away, Diddy and Dixie began to untie themselves from the four and escape, while looking sideways at each other and smiling forcibly. Immediately, both began to run until they got lost in the vegetation so as not to have to deal with those four bad children.

"What happened to those four today?" Diddy asked with a look of surprise when they were already away.

"Maybe they were going crazy," Dixie said with a small smile from the side. "Hmm, could it be that they gave up fighting?"

"Let's see if it's true," Diddy said in the same way, shrugging his shoulders. "I was still a little amused by their faces."

Then, both continued walking towards their homes, until they had to separate.

"By the way, Diddy, will you go to my house today?" Dixie asked him on the way.

"Of course, why not?... Did you understand today's lesson better?"

"Of course I do," Dixie replied cheerfully. "I already feel more prepared for next week... Wow, Mrs. Wrinkly is too kind."

"Yes, she's a sweetheart," Diddy added in the same way.

"How come she, being so sweet, married Cranky who is a... grouch?" Dixie asked with a little laugh.

"In fact, she's the one who knows how to master him best," Diddy replied with the same expression. "I don't understand that either, so don't blame yourself for asking."

"Have they only had one child?"

"Practically yes, my grandfather: Donkey Junior," Diddy replied, smiling a little, before getting serious. "But you know, he... he departed from this world in that conflict that took place many years ago; it's what was assumed because he never came back... And you know? Cranky and Wrinkly said they also had another twin son of my grandfather, but they lost him from a very young age because in the circus where they were he was bought for another circus."

"What?" Dixie exclaimed with shock. "So... did they sell him?"

"Not them, but the owners of that circus, sold him against their will to another circus, and never heard from him again... They hardly want to talk about it, by the way.

"Wow, that sounds terrible," Dixie said earnestly. "They couldn't see their son anymore... So, practically Donkey and your father were like their sons years later?"

"Yes, and in fact, they ended up growing up with them, and that," Diddy finished before stopping later on the way. "Well, I guess here is where we have to leave," he added with a small smile.

"Then I'll see you later," she replied in kind. "How about we then go out with Tiny, Kiddy and Chunky and have some coconuts?"

"Sure, it sounds good," Diddy said, smiling. "See you then, Dixie."

Both little kongs finished saying goodbye and each continued on their way home, but not before... saying goodbye for the last time from a distance while smiling at each other.


In the afternoon, Diddy was again taking his things to Dixie's house. In the previous days, he had been calm in those moments, but this time... he didn't stop feeling some embarrassment after seeing Donkey give him suspicious looks and even joked about that matter that was now manifesting in him regarding Dixie.

"Oh, are you going to visit Dixie yet, little buddy?" Donkey said, giving him little pushes playfully.

"Hey, don't bother! I'm going to help her with homework," he replied as he picked up a couple of notebooks. "And I already told you that I wrote that because she is my friend, and to all my friends I write the name like that."

"Oh, yes, yes, yes, of course," Donkey exclaimed mockingly. "And by chance, I remembered when I also wrote the name of Candy as well."

"Well, over there with you; it's different here with me," replied Diddy.

"And now I see that you hang out with her a lot, huh? It looks like your friendship could grow into a... something else," he added, looking up.

"Donkey!" Diddy exclaimed somewhat blushingly as he walked out the door.

"Oh, look how you blush," Donkey pointed at Diddy's cheeks.

"Donkey," Diddy said again, trying to hide his blush. "I already explained to you well about the notebook, what you say will never happen and it's your assumption."

"Sure, if you say so," Donkey said with a little laugh. "Okay, good luck, little buddy," he added, patting him on the back.

Diddy finished saying goodbye to Donkey amid the banter, and then came down from the house. On his way to Dixie's house, he couldn't stop thinking about how he was feeling now... That new sensation he was having, began to occupy much of his thoughts and even make him imagine situations... with Dixie.

"No, no, no! It can't be," he told himself in his mind.

Even so, Diddy tried not to get carried away by those sensations; he never thought that something like that could happen to him... He was even feeling a little more excited than usual to go see Dixie at his house, but he tried to stay calm and think that he would only help him solve her homework like the good friends they had been until now.

Diddy arrived at his friends' house, being greeted by Dixie at first and then by the other three kongs... the latter being the ones who looked at Dixie with some suspicion at the time she went to meet Diddy.

"Come on, Diddy," Dixie said before heading together to their corner where they did their homework.

Both settled in and took out their sheets and other belongings to begin.

"Can we practice for next week's lesson?" Dixie asked.

"Don't you want to review this last exercise first?" Diddy asked, pointing to the sheet. "That is, it can be more complex for you."

"I was reviewing it a bit and it's almost like the previous ones. Come on, I want to try," she said with a look of pleading.

"Hey, but I'm serious, it's going to be more complicated like this."

"Are you telling me I won't be able to do it?" Dixie said with a stare fixed and mockingly.

"I don't speak that, but you really have to see how this is done here."

"But if I've seen it... Or let's bet five coconuts that the first one I'll do well," she said with a defiant look.

"Okay, if you say so," Diddy replied with a mocking look.

On the other hand, Tiny, Kiddy and Chunky were again behind the window looking at them and laughing quietly. And this time, Diddy and Dixie were also seen laughing and joking between the two while doing their homework. Between moments, one of the two looked at the other in moments of distraction and smiled, which raised more suspicions.

It was a couple of hours later until Diddy and Dixie returned to the house. As Dixie had proposed before, in the remainder of the afternoon, they went out together with Tiny, Kiddy and Chunky to have some coconuts and take a short walk in the nearby area as they had not done for weeks.

When the evening hours came, everyone returned to the house. It had been the last day Diddy helped Dixie catch up on school teaching. At the time of leaving, Diddy was together with Dixie, who had gone to say goodbye to him outside.

"Hey, Diddy… Thank you for helping me," Dixie said, smiling. "You are very smart."

"It's okay, Dixie," he replied, smiling back. "Don't forget to keep practicing for the next week... And make no mistake in that step of numbers," he added with a smile this time mocking.

"And you thought I wasn't going to be able to solve that last one?" she replied in the same way and crossing her arms. "By the way, I won the bet."

"Hey, it's not true, if in a resolution you had to cheat," Diddy replied with a mocking smile.

"Or you know what? Better if I get the top grade the other week, I'll win this game," she added with a defiant smile.

"Well, deal done," he replied with a few small laughs. Then, he patted her shoulder before leaving. "See you later, Dixie."

"See you soon, Diddy," she said goodbye in the same way.

Finally, Diddy left, but not before saying goodbye in the distance to Dixie and making some sign or joke between the two while smiling. Then Dixie returned to the interior of her house... but not before staying at the door for a while, watching Diddy until she lost sight of him, while smiling and even emitting a sigh before closing it. But then, she turned and gave herself a little scare when she realized that Tiny, Kiddy and Chunky had been staring at her and smiling at her quite suspiciously.

"Oh, no! You guys again!" Dixie exclaimed, slapping her forehead. "You're going to get started."

"Did you see? You stare at him until the end," Tiny said with a mocking smile and giving her little pushing.

"Oh, admit it, Dixie," Chunky asked, arms crossed and his eyes raised. "Has Diddy been getting your attention?"

Dixie was only silent for a few seconds, while she couldn't help but blush when they asked that question.

"Uhh, well," Dixie replied, smiling with some nerves. She remained quiet for a while and stared down at the ground while her sister and cousins continued to look at her suspiciously. "You see... It's just that…"

"Tell us!" Tiny replied, giving her another little push. "Or are you going to tell us again that you were now looking at the trees?"

"If wesaw you clearly," Chunky added in the same way. "You can't hide anything from us."

"Oh, okay, okay!" exclaimed Dixie, calming them down and trying to calm herself. "You see, the truth is... I guess so."

Immediately, the three of them changed their faces little by little, and then they were excited at Dixie's response.

"I knew it! I knew it!" Tiny exclaimed, jokingly shoving her sister along with Kiddy.

"Wow! So, it's been true, huh?" Chunky added in the same way. "And since when has Diddy been... getting your attention, huh?"

"Well... I don't think for long," Dixie replied with a little laugh as she blushed intensely. "But what can I tell you... I admit... Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"And do you like him too much, but too much?" Tiny asked rather curiously.

"Well, the truth is that he is a very cute monkey and has a nice way of being, from what I have seen," Dixie added with some shyness and a few small laughs.

"That's more than clear," Tiny said, nodding and paused before continuing. "Why don't you ask him for a date or something?"

"W-what?! Are you crazy?!" exclaimed Dixie, instantly confused. "I wouldn't do that, it would be... strange."

"Hey, yes! That would be a good idea," Chunky added with some excitement. "Hang out the two of you alone, where you no longer talk about schoolwork or anything like that, but... of you. So that you become close friends."

"But how am I going to do that?! How do I tell him?" Dixie asked, still confused. "I-I mean... how could I tell him to hang out?"

Dixie had no idea how to do it; that had never crossed her mind and she had never had a situation like that.

"Just tell him!" Chunky replied.

"But don't say to him: 'Do you want to date me?' But something like: 'Can we go out somewhere?', so it won't sound so direct. Don't be that fast either."

"When you see him at school, you can tell him," Chunky suggested. "Or else, in a while when we meet with the other kongs."

"And that... would be a good idea?" Dixie asked with a look of strangeness.

"Yes, I'm sure he'll say yes; you two have become good friends," Tiny said, smiling excitedly. "Come on, Dixie, it will only be a friend outing, just like we have all done together, only this time it will be just the two of you."

"Yes, I bet it will turn out well and you will get to know each other better," Chunky added in the same way. "Go, see what happens."

Dixie wasn't sure what Tiny and Chunky were telling her... But at the same time, she thought that maybe she would lose nothing by trying. After all, Diddy had become somewhat closer to her in recent weeks, so she wanted to think that it wouldn't be so complicated to receive a positive response from him.


On a weekend night, there were Donkey, Candy, Diddy, and Funky gathered at a table outside the latter's house. Diddy was sitting reading a magazine, while Donkey and Candy were saying their love things to each other and getting affectionate, as was usual when they saw each other.

"My precious Candy," Donkey said, hugging her.

"Oh, my Donkey Kong," Candy replied tenderly.

"You're the most beautiful girl, you're the loveliest one I've ever seen," he said as he hugged her and gave her a few kisses.

"Oh, no," Diddy exclaimed quietly, covering his eyes at such a love scene.

Donkey and Candy continued to express themselves with loving gestures, which gave Diddy some grace, but at the same time, as if he got tired of seeing so many love scenarios near him.

"Would you like to be like that with Dixie too, brother?" Funky whispered, giving him a scare and a little push. "Hmm, so with Dixie, right?"

"W-what?!" Diddy exclaimed, looking at him strangely. "No, of course not!"

"Oh, yes, of course, of course," Donkey interrupted in a mischievous tone, joining in annoying him.

"No, what are you talking about?!" replied Diddy struggling not to blush noticeably.

"That face, Diddy," Funky pointed out with a playful tone. "It seems to me that here we could have a new couple, right?"

"You're going to start!" Diddy said, dropping his head against the table.

"Who knows, brother, I'm just saying," Funky added with a few small laughs, to which Donkey and Candy also did the same. "Hey, I'll be right back; I'm going to continue adjusting a little bit the airship I was repairing this morning."

Funky retired for a while, while Donkey and Candy continued in the same place along with Diddy... to whom they kept giving glances with playful smiles.

"So, there's a certain matter with Dixie, isn't there, Diddy?" said Candy in the same tone.

"Uhh, n-no, that's not what you think," Diddy replied, trying to sound true.

"Wait a minute, and what are you reading?" Donkey asked, taking the magazine Diddy had in his hands. Afterwards, he gave a small laugh when he saw what Diddy was reading. "Hmm, 'Is this love.'"

Immediately, Diddy opened his eyes to the fullest upon hearing Donkey utter the title of the article he was reading.

"N-no... I wasn't reading that!" Diddy exclaimed quickly, closing the magazine immediately.

Donkey and Candy laughed a little at Diddy's reaction.

"Tell the truth, little buddy," Donkey said, giving him a little push. "Does Dixie catch your attention or something?"

The two stared at Diddy with a playful smile waiting for him to admit it, to which he looked at them seriously and not knowing what to answer.

"Well... I think so," Diddy replied, scratching his head. "I guess," he added, smiling nervously.

"That's more than clear," Donkey said with a small laugh. "Hey, but don't worry, we won't say anything to Dixie; we promise... By the way, haven't you thought about taking some first steps with her?"

"Huh? And what am I supposed to do?" Diddy asked, confused and looking at them strangely, before being a little nervous at what he said. "Oh, I meant... should I do anything about it?"

"Well, first you have to become good friends, of course," Donkey added. "I mean, you're friends now, aren't you? But you also need to be much more."

"And since when do you like her, Diddy?" Candy asked.

"Well... I don't know," Diddy replied thoughtfully, since he really didn't know since when he was feeling that way; it was as if, without realizing it, he already had a crush on. "Maybe a few days or weeks ago."

"And do you feel those nerves when you are with her?" Donkey began to ask. "And have you been thinking about her all day? And does any love situation remind you of her?"

Diddy thought about it for a few seconds before Donkey's questions... And he realized that he had an affirmative answer to all of them.

"Well... Yes... all that," Diddy replied, smiling with some embarrassment.

"It's normal at first," Donkey said with a shrug. "You start to see that girl much more than a friend, you get nervous when you have contact with her and out of nowhere you smile when you remember her, look at her or spend time with her."

As Donkey continued to speak, Diddy kept looking away after realizing that that was the same thing that had been happening to him during the previous days.

"Hey, but don't worry, that can happen to anyone," Donkey said with a little laugh. "Just look at me and Candy... But sure, that feeling is something you should know how to carry," he added, pointing to him. "Do you think about taking a step with Dixie?"

"Well, I don't know," Diddy replied, smiling with some confusion. "I-I mean... It could be, but... Oh, I don't know what to do," he added, crossing his arms. "And what could I do?"

Donkey watched Diddy carefully. He realized that his little nephew had come to him for the first time in his life with that famous feeling and, therefore, he knew that the time had come when he should give him a few tips in time, and that seemed to be a good time to do it.

"Well, you'll see, little buddy, I know what's happening to you. But first of all, there are some things you need to know, and it's very important that you know them now and have it well recorded," Donkey said as he got ready to talk to Diddy. "First of all, you would need to know much more about her and see how her way of being is, her way of thinking and even any defect she has. If after that you still feel the same or much more, that's when you can be sure that you are really... in love."

"Also, you should know that not everything will always be perfect," Candy added. "You must be very careful about the high expectations you are going to think about her."

"That's right, little buddy, and this is very important: never, but never "put her on a pedestal" or think all the time that she is the most wonderful thing there is; just think that Dixie is a living thing like you, and at the same time, she may not be like you in some aspects. Yes... maybe that sounds weird to you, but just as love is a wonderful thing, any disappointment hurts, and it hurts a lot, and not everything always goes exactly as you expect at first. That's why you should take the time to get to know her well."

Diddy was more confused now; he had never understood or heard deeply about love situations.

"And how am I supposed to get to know her even more?" Diddy asked, still confused.

"Well, you could ask her out," Donkey replied. "That is, don't say to her 'Do you want to date me?', but something like 'Could we go out somewhere?' That way it won't sound so direct."

"Exactly," Candy continued. "It's not a hang out in plan to date, but something rather friendly, as you hang out with her and her family, only in this case it would be only with her."

"But there's another detail," said Diddy, even more confused. "I have no idea how to conquer someone, I don't know how to be... 'romantic' or anything like that."

Donkey smiled somewhat tenderly at Diddy before continuing.

"No, don't worry about that, little buddy, believe me. Look, just remember this: don't forget to be yourself; never, but never change or force yourself to be someone you're not to impress her; never do that; this is not for you to treat yourself badly."

"Just... be myself?" Diddy asked, still confused.

"That's right, and believe it: if something were to happen between the two of you, that would be the best way to see if she really loves you: for how you are, for being just yourself... Of course, as long as you remain the good monkey that you are. And likewise, you must allow her to also show herself as she is."

"By the way, how about inviting her one of these days or after school?" Candy suggested.

"B-but how do I do that?" Diddy asked, getting a little nervous just thinking about it.

"Just tell her," Donkey replied. "But you know, it would be an outing only of friends, you're not going to be so fast and direct so soon. That's also important: you should always respect her boundaries and her decisions, just as she should also do the same with you."

Suddenly, Diddy tried to process everything Donkey told him... And he realized it made sense. But what he wasn't quite sure about was being able to invite only Dixie out. He had previously hung out with Dixie along with Kiddy, Chunky and Tiny as a group, but never alone with Dixie. Even so... he wanted to know what would happen if he tried.