Chapter 16 Big Board

Kamella let out a breath as she opened the door and let her and Junior into the house. She set her wand down on the table and looked over at Junior. Her son. Her new son that she had only just now adopted, and yet felt as though she had known him her whole life. She gave him a smile. He smiled right back at her.

"Thanks for taking me out to breakfast, Mom."

So touched by the use of that name, Kamella put her hand to her heart as her face grew warm. "Of course, Buddy." She reached out and ruffled Junior's hair. He giggled in the cutest way possible, sounding as though he was on Cloud 9. Well, if he was, then Kamella was right there alongside him. She felt this fluttery sensation in her chest, one that she hadn't felt in… well, ever.

"So." Kamella straightened her cap and looked down at Junior. "What would you like to do now?"

Junior blinked before putting his hand to his chin. "What to do…" he puzzled over the answer to that question for a few minutes in what was potentially the cutest way possible. Kamella adored his expression with every fiber of her being. She wanted to capture that image and preserve it for the rest of time. Even when she was old, gray, and slowly deteriorating, she would remember this expression and how button-cute it looked.

"Uh…" Junior tapped his foot in a fast rhythm, which just added to the cuteness. "Do you have any video games?"

Kamella snorted. "Video games…" She chuckled and shook her head. "I don't, honey."

"What?" Junior gave her a look made of pure surprise and shock. "How can you not have any video games? Video games are awesome!"

Kamella chuckled. "They aren't my thing. I have no reason to keep them in my house." Kamella thought about this before she grinned a cheeky grin. "But you know what is my thing?" Junior took a step further, his face looking like it was right on the cusp of lighting up. "I like board games and card games."

Silence set in over the scene. Junior looked upon his new mother as if she had just sprouted an extra head. "Board games?"

"Yep. They're what old-fashioned kids used to have fun back in the day."

Junior shook his head. "I know that! I played board games with my siblings all the time growing up!" He directed his gaze away from Kamella. "I just… how could you like board games over video games? That doesn't make ANY sense."

Once again, Kamella couldn't help but giggle. But this time, instead of the giggle being caused by Junior being adorable, it was more so because she wanted to… one-up him wasn't really the right word, but she did want to prove him wrong. She wanted to show him that video games weren't the kings of entertainment like he thought they were. She wanted to show him that there was a way to have fun away from video games, a way that one could stimulate their brain without needing to stare at a screen."

"Well then." Kamella gestured for Junior to follow her into the living room, and she pulled some board games out from underneath her couch to show to him. "Allow me to show you how fun they are."

…

It was about ten hours later, and Kamella and Junior were having a blast. While the former prince hadn't seemed that enthusiastic about board games beforehand, Kamella quickly won him over. They had played a whole bunch of board games one after the other; Monopoly, Sorry, Operation. And, much to Kamella's delight, he LOVED them. He was all smiles during these events, looking like he was going to shout from the rooftops how entertained and happy he was. It was such a satisfying sight. And on top of being satisfying, Kamella also found it kind of wholesome. It was wholesome in a way that she had never really experienced before.

"Okay." Junior bit his lip. The two of them were now playing Candy Land, and Kamella was beating him. Her blue gingerbread man was so far ahead of Junior's red one that there was practically no question of who was going to win. Nevertheless, the game wasn't over yet. The two of them could still experience a miracle, something that would propel Junior to the top of the leaderboard. Of course, as Junior picked up his next card, Kamella SERIOUSLY DOUBTED there was anything that could happen…

"Oh my gosh!" Junior exclaimed. He bounced to his feet and jumped up and down. "I can't believe it! I can't!" He showed Kamella the card, and when she was what it said, her eyes grew wide.

"No!" She snatched the card out of Junior's hands and stared at it with a dropped jaw. "You get to go straight to the Chocolate Swamp?"

"Yes! Yes I do!" Junior sat back down and moved his gingerbread man. "Which means…" he giggled like a gremlin as he set it down on the Chocolate Swamp space. "I am officially ahead of you!"

Kamella finally found the strength to close her mouth. "You little…" she stopped herself, laughing and shaking her head. "No, I can't even call you a rascal because these cards are randomized!"

"Yeah, you can't! I'm ahead by sheer, dumb luck!" He whooped and did a fist pump. "MAN it feels good to be able to win a game… ANY game for a change." He looked up at Kamella. "When I was still living with my old family, my older brother, Larry, won EVERY game. Every. Single. Last. One. It didn't matter if it was a video game, a board game, one based on skill, or one based on luck. He ALWAYS found a way to win." Junior frowned. "And, on top of that, he would always gloat about it after the fact. He had this OBNOXIOUS dance he did when he won Mario Kart specifically, and it was… Oh my God, it was SO annoying!" Junior shook his head. "And Mom, if I ever start acting as bad as Larry, I want you to punish me and punish me HARD!"

Kamella laughed and shook her head. "Well, I can certainly punish you, but I won't do it just because you're happy you won a game. I'll punish you for something you ACTUALLY did wrong. Is that okay?"

Junior sat still for a minute before sighing. "That's fine. I guess." He gestured toward Kamella. "Your turn, by the way."

Nodding, Kamella picked up the next card, which had a green square on it. "And for what it's worth, Junior, you don't seem nearly as bad as that," she said as she moved her gingerbread man ahead. "I mean, you did win at Monopoly and Chutes and Ladders during this play session, and you didn't make a complete donkey out of yourself." She beamed at him. "So, you are nowhere near as bad as your brother."

Junior sighed. "Okay. That's good. I guess I can feel better now." He picked up his card, which made him go to a purple square, and moved his piece. "And hopefully, with the more time I spend here with you, the more of my family I'll be able to forget."

Kamella blinked. "Forget? I knew you wanted to start a new life without them, but forget them completely?"

This question caused Junior to pause. "Uh… well…" he looked away from the game, instead staring at a random spot on the carpet. "It hurts to think about." He stayed silent for a little bit. "Like, it hurts a lot, and I don't think anything I can do will change that."

"I see." Kamella picked up her next card. "Still though, forgetting about them seems a bit silly."

"No," Junior stated, his voice firmer than it had ever been. "No, it's not. It's really not." He gripped his hand into a fist and gritted his teeth. "They aren't my family. They really weren't. Technically, we aren't even related, so… they weren't really my brothers and sisters."

Kamella frowned. "But you clearly think about them as your brothers and sisters."

Junior whimpered. "Well… I was stupid." He wiped a tear from his eyes. "They have no reason to care about me. And based on the things Ludwig said about me before I left, I think they really don't care about me. They see me as a spoiled brat. Which… I might've been and probably was, but…" he sat still, doing his best to think about what to say next, before groaning and placing his head in his hands. "I… I don't know…"

Oh wow. For a few seconds, Kamella really didn't know what to say to him. This was mostly because of his voice. It sounded so… dejected. It sounded as though this boy had been through the wringer. Whether or not he actually had been meant very little; the fact he had so much hurt and sorrow in his voice was more than enough to sell the idea that he had been.

And he wasn't done. "And honestly, a spoiled brat is the least that I am. I'm… I'm not a regular koopa. I wasn't made the way a regular koopa was, and the path that my life is supposed to follow is already determined. Nobody knows their future, and yet, mine was set up before I was even born." He sniffled again. "And me being brought into the world as a clone of my dad only made that more official. I'm… I'm a monster…"

That pang Kamella felt upon hearing those words… nothing could describe it. There wasn't a feeling named that truly encapsulated how Kamella felt during this moment, listening to Bowser Jr and how much his life had brought him pain. She wanted to comfort him, but part of her knew that doing so would accomplish nothing.

That wasn't going to stop her from trying, though. "Oh, baby." She got up from her seat at the table and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "It's okay, Junior. You can let it out." Junior obeyed, sniffling as the tears fell onto and stained Kamella's robe. She patted him on the back, holding him super close. She didn't say anything, but she didn't need to. Not only was there nothing she could say but sometimes… well, sometimes simple signs that you were there for someone was all a person needed.

The two held onto each other for a good five minutes. Kamella's robe got wetter and wetter, but she could honestly care less. She thought back to her own childhood, about her missing a father. That didn't cause as much pain as it probably could've, but it still made her hurt when she thought about it. Was that pain in any way close to Junior's pain? Did it hold a candle to the trials and tribulations this prince had, living a life that got off to a rocky start and that some would argue (wrongly) should never have even been started in the first place?

Kamella gave Junior an extra hard squeeze. Eventually, he pulled away from her, looking her right in the eye. She gave him a sad look, reached out, and wiped the tears from his eyes with her fingers. He let out a sigh as she did this. He didn't object though, which to Kamella was the most crucial factor of all of this.

"I'm here for you, Junior," Kamella said softly. "I will always be here for you."

Junior raised his hand and laid on top of Kamella's. "I know you are. And… I'm glad that you will be."

Kamella nodded. She didn't take her eyes off Junior for a little bit, but eventually she looked back at the board game. She debated over whether or not she should suggest that she and Junior return to it, but eventually decided against it. Something told her he wasn't in the mood.

"Why don't we get cleaned up here," she said. "It's getting late after all."

Junior nodded. "That's fine."

And so, the two put the board games away. It didn't take that long, which Kamella was extremely happy about. She stuck the board games back under her couch, where they could be saved for later.

She sighed before turning back to Junior. "I need to go check my mailbox. Why don't you head to your room?"

Junior nodded and left without a word. Kamella smiled at that; he was such a well-behaved kid. Keeping that thought in mind as she went to check her mail. As she pulled her mail (most of it junk, unfortunately), she couldn't help but feel incredibly lucky. Everything was working out. For what was possibly the first time in her entire life, things were working out. She had a son, a son who she loved, and a son who loved her back. A reality that may have seemed impossible just a few days earlier was now hers. And she couldn't feel happier. Thinking about Junior, about his smile and how genuinely adorable he had looked earlier that day… it was just wonderful. Almost indescribably so. She was going to keep Junior close to her heart, come Hell or high water.

"Junior?"

Kamella seized up. Turning her gaze away from her mail, she looked forward. Just down the street were two koopas. Koopas that Kamella instantly recognized.

"Junior?" One of the Koopalings called out. "Bowser Jr!"

Kamella's breathing grew shallow. Without another word, she bolted back inside.