Chapter 21 Waffle House

Time flew by, meaning that Mario and the Goldleafs went to the diner within no time at all. During the walk there, Mario thought about the training that he had taken with Opal. He could now go into his shell and use it as a weapon. This was great! It meant that this eternal weight on the plumber's back now had a use, and wasn't there simply to make life harder anymore. He could use it as a weapon, which would work WONDERS in a fight against Bowser. This would especially be the case due to the fact that this new variable would make the Bowser fights more eventful. And sure, some could argue that was a bad thing, that a fight where the outcome was predetermined would be the best possible thing Mario could have given the circumstances. But… he didn't know. He thought that having something to spice up the "Mario beats Bowser" formula would be more than welcome.

But that didn't matter right now. Right now, Mario's only worry was appreciating the time with the Goldleaf family, as well as the meal that they had been gracious enough to buy for him. Mario was all smiles as the family walked toward the diner, with Adam and Gabby being animated little firecrackers. Opal and Michael did their best to calm the kids down, which took Mario back. He remembered when his own family would do the same, whether it be his mother calming him or Luigi down, or his aunt and uncle calming his little cousins down. It struck Mario as sweet. It made him smile as he observed these normal koopas doing normal things.

Eventually, the five of them got to the diner. To Mario's surprise, it was a Waffle House. Now, since Mario was originally from the real world, he had seen Waffle Houses when he and his family had taken trips down south (whether it be to Disney World or the Everglades). How is it possible that a restaurant with the same name existed in the Mushroom World? Now… sure, it could be considered a coincidence. Waffle House was a fairly generic name, after all. Maybe the owner of the diner just thought it would be a good thing to call it without ever stepping foot in the real world.

At least, that's what Mario thought until he actually went inside. The whole place looked exactly like the Waffle Houses he had been in! It had the same layout, same decor, even the same general vibe! How… how was this possible? Did the koopas who own this place ever go to the real world? No, no, that couldn't be it; they would get spotted and would be all over the news (people would probably mistake the Koopas for aliens and say it was the end of the world). So… how…?

"Mario?"

Mario did a double take. As he came back down to reality, he noticed the Goldleaf family had already sat down. His face growing warm, Mario joined them at the table. He scooted close to the table, deciding he wasn't going to worry about this potentially interdimensional diner concept. He sat up straight and faced the Goldleafs, giving them a smile.

"I really should thank you guys for taking me here. It is very kind of you."

"Oh, it was nothing, Mario!" Michael said as the waitress came over. "It's the least we can do for the Mushroom Kingdom's hero!"

The waitress let out a little shriek, almost dropping her notepad. "What? Super Mario is HERE? In the Waffle House?" She began to shake, looking every which way as she began to hyperventilate. "Where? Where is he?"

Mario, despite his shock, joined the Goldleafs in trying to subdue this person. "No! No, ma'am, Super Mario isn't here!"

"Yeah!" said Michael. "I was just saying that… if he was here, I would go out of my way to treat him! And taking him to this lovely place would be the perfect way to do so."

"Exactly," Opal said with a nod. "After all, someone like him deserves the very best."

The waitress put her hand to her chest. "Oh, thank God." She bent down and picked up her notepad. "You guys really had me there for a second."

Adam laughed. "Why? Are you scared of Mario or something?"

"No, no." The waitress paused. "Well… okay, maybe a little." Mario noticed her grip on her notepad grew tighter. "I mean, he plows through goombas and koopa troopas without any remorse. He doesn't ever take the opportunity to worry about who he is fatally injuring. You know what I mean?"

Mario felt a pang. He looked at the Goldleafs, who all cringed as they heard these words. Mario was just about to direct the conversation over to their drink orders, but the waitress just continued on.

"I don't even know if someone like that should even be considered a hero! I mean, sure, he's doing it for the good of his princess; I get that. But even still, he can do a task like that without going out of his way to hurt people. Hell, he can do the task without going out of his way to hurt Bowser! I'm sure if he tried to approach King Bowser through the diplomatic approach instead of charging in guns blazing, things would go a lot smoother and would be a lot more peaceful. But he's never tried that. And honestly? I think it makes him come across as a bit of a sociopath.."

Mario's jaw dropped. How… did this girl even hear what she was saying?

"Excuse me!" Mario stood up. "A sociopath? You think Super Mario is a sociopath?" His face burned. "Has it ever occurred to you that Bowser is too thick to even consider listening to a diplomatic mission? He's stubborn! He's stupid! The only way to get him to listen is to go straight to brute force! And really? You're concerned about the goombas and koopa troopas Mario bounces! They're part of the enemy's army! They are directly responsible for making Mario…"

"Hey!" Mario blinked when he heard Opal say that. He turned his head, almost expecting her to look back at him angrily. Instead, she just cringed, looking more nervous than anything else. "Uh… sweetie, I don't think now is the time for a rant like this."

Mario blinked again. He looked back at the waitress, who stared at him with a horrified expression. While not enough to get him to calm down, this expression combined with Opal's words made him realize that maybe he should pull back. He sat down in his chair, refusing to make eye contact with the waitress.

"I'll have a water if that's okay," he said.

The waitress nodded and got the Goldleaf's drink orders. Once she left, a silence befell the table. Mario kept his eyes down, not making eye contact with anyone as he tossed the waitress's words around in his head.

"Mom, what's a sociopath?" Adam asked eventually.

"Adam, not right now!" Opal said. She reached out and put her hand on Mario's shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Mario felt bile rise to his throat, and he wasn't even sure why. "I… I…" He had more trouble saying anything than a baby just learning how to talk. His palms grew clammy, and it felt as though everyone in the restaurant had their eyes on him. Sure, logically he knew that couldn't be the case. But even still, the logical side of his brain had trouble combatting the emotional side.

"Is that how the Koopa Kingdom sees me?" Mario finally managed to lift his head. "As a sociopath?"

"Okay, seriously Mom, you really need to tell me what that is," Adam said.

Opal flashed him a boiling hot glare before turning back to Mario. "It's…" she struggled. "It's complicated."

"Complicated how?"

"Well… I mean, it's…" She hesitated for about a minute too long, prompting Michael to speak for her.

"A lot of people in this kingdom just believe stuff based on the little information that they are afforded. They don't know the whole story."

Mario bit his lip. "But would that change if they did?" He looked back down at the table. "Would they even want the full story if it was offered to them? Would they accept someone telling them that they got their perception of me wrong?"

Even before he finished that, Mario knew that the answer was no. Why? Because of the look on the waitress's face when he finished his rant. She looked at him in terror, in fright. He might as well have sprouted an extra head; that would be easier to wrap one's head around than a koopa defending the kingdom's enemy.

"Look," Opal said. "Sometimes, people judge without any evidence. They come to conclusions without ever taking the time to properly think about what's correct or even what's right." She paused. "People in this kingdom might view you as a monster. But… but just because someone thinks of you negatively doesn't mean that you are as bad as you say they are."

A silence befell the scene. Not because what Opal said was incorrect. Quite the contrary; she didn't know how right she was. She was right on the money; people judged others without knowing the whole story. The Koopa Kingdom judged Mario without knowing what was in his head. And Mario judged the Koopa Kingdom just because of his poor experiences with Bowser.

He judged them without ever getting to know them.

"Mario, are you alright?" Gabby asked. "You've been quiet for a while."

Mario began to sweat, dreading the fact that he had to speak up eventually. He was actually thankful when the waitress came back with their drink orders, as that meant the topic of discussion could be put to the side for a few seconds. And in those few seconds, Mario thought about everything. He thought about Bowser. He thought about the Goldleafs. He thought about the Koopa Kingdom as a whole. This… things felt so different now. The words the waitress had said had been like a gut punch to him, but now that he was taking the time to think about them…

"Sir? What would you like to eat?"

Mario sat in silence before sighing. "I…" He looked at the menu. "A pecan waffle with a side of bacon would be nice."

"Good choice!" The waitress wrote down the order before smiling at the party. "I'll be right back with your food, alright?"

"Sure thing!" said Michael. The waitress flashed everyone one last smile before turning toward the kitchen. However, she hadn't even taken two steps before Mario decided to say something.

"Wait."

The waitress turned around. "Oh? Did you change your mind?"

Mario thought about those words. "In some ways, maybe." He got up and went over to the dragon koopa, trying his best to smile (it was incredibly difficult to do so). "I just…" he hesitated. "I want to apologize for my rant."

"Oh, that's alright. No harm done."

Mario felt a pang. "R…right." He sighed. "And… and I just wanted to say that I think you are a lovely person."

"Oh?" The waitress did a double-take before grinning. "Well, thank you! That really made my day!" Mario nodded and allowed her to walk away as he took his seat back. As he sat down, he could feel all the Goldleafs looking at him. His stomach churned, but he decided to ignore that.

"You all are lovely people," he said. "You guys… you're really nice."

Opal smiled. "You're really nice too, Mario."

Mario felt yet another pang, one that caused him to sink into his chair. "Not nice enough, apparently."

"Hey," Adam said. "Don't say that. You are super nice, Mario!"

"Yeah," said Gabby. "And I think that having you in our house has been fun so far!"

"It has been!" Adam exclaimed. "I especially loved seeing you train with Mom!" He grinned at Opal. "I never knew you were such a badass, Mom!"

"Hey! Language!" Opal put her hand back on Mario's shoulder. "You're a very nice person, Mario. I don't think you should let any words people in this kingdom might say to you make you think otherwise."

Mario thought about that for a second. "Well… thank you." He miraculously managed to smile. "And… I'm not gonna let anything anyone says in my kingdom make me think that you guys aren't nice either."

All the Goldleafs smiled. "That's very nice, Mario. Thank you," said Opal.

Mario nodded and looked back down at the table, deciding that he might as well let the Goldleafs talk amongst themselves. As they did, Mario did some self examination. He had a lot to learn, didn't he? He had a lot of questions he needed answers to, a lot of things he needed to do if he wanted to be the hero everyone considered him to be. Because… how could someone be a hero if they didn't think twice about harming a specific group? How could someone truly call themselves a hero if they weren't willing to help anyone and everyone, regardless of what they happened to be?

He didn't know for sure yet, but he did know this. He would try to be better. As the waitress came back and set his waffle in front of him, he decided he would try to be better. For his sake, for the Goldleafs's sake, for everyone's sake. He would do his best to be, truly and honestly, Super Mario.