Chapter 7 The Story of Viv

Pom Pom's anxieties were close to making her explode. She turned her head away from Wendy, starting to shake as she did. She wasn't crying, thankfully, but she knew it wouldn't be too long until she did. She had been backed into a corner before at multiple points in her life, and right now those familiar feelings were making themselves known.

"Uh… um…" She snatched the pill bottle off the bed and stored it in her hammerspace. Sure, she knew there wasn't much of a point to that because Wendy had already seen it, but still. Her heart pounded, making her entire chest ache as Wendy adorned a contemplative expression.

"So… uh, we're almost to Frosted Glacier. I would recommend you get ready."

Pom Pom blinked, gawking at Wendy. "You…" she looked down at her hands. "You aren't concerned?"

"Why would I be?" Wendy asked, looking genuinely confused.

"Well…" she sighed. "I just… you know…."

Wendy slowly nodded. "Well, if this is about your meds, I don't hold anything against you for that." She cleared her throat. "I'm thinking we fight Mario in the crow's nest for your fight; it'll be a little chilly, but it isn't too…"

"You really don't hold anything against me? Really?"

Wendy stopped. She looked at Pom Pom with a sort of shock, one that was subtle while also being combined with concern and sympathy. "Of course not!"

Slowly but surely, Pom Pom smiled. She sniffled, drying a tear from her eye. "I… thank you. That wasn't at all what I thought you would say."

Wendy blinked. "Why? What did you think I was going to say?"

Pom Pom's face grew warm. "Well, I… I don't know. I guess I expected you to be more… angry."

Wendy chuckled. "Pom Pom, there's nothing to be angry about. So you take prescription meds. Big deal. More and more people are being prescribed meds to help them out with mental health issues. It's nothing to be ashamed of." She smiled. "I know I don't view you as any lesser."

Pom Pom put her hand to her chest. Was this actually happening? It felt too good to be true, that someone wasn't judging her for this. And… sure, she hadn't encountered too many people who were willing to judge her for her problems, but still. Whenever she met someone new, she would also worry about what would happen if they found out. Maybe that was an irrational fear; she didn't know. But she was always scared to talk about her issues with someone new. That was why she usually didn't, why she always kept the pill bottle just out of sight.

"Thank you, Princess Wendy."

"You're welcome, Pom Pom. And please, it's just Wendy."

Pom Pom smiled. "Right, right, I forgot." She took in a breath and got up from the bed. "Thank you, Wendy."

"Of course." Wendy's face shifted into a questioning look. "Um… I know this DEFINITELY isn't my business, but… what do you have?" Pom Pom gave her a horrified look, prompting her to hold up her hands and stumble over her words. "Sorry, sorry; that was rude, I'm sorry." She bit her lip. "I'm just asking because…" she put her hands down. "I want to be able to make accommodations for you if I need to. I mean, if it's something like anxiety or PTSD, then that could interfere with your career as a solider. And considering how well you performed and how much promise you have… I just want you to be the best you can be while you're in the Koopa Troop."

Marveling at those words as well as the kindness they contained, Pom Pom wondered what she should do. She didn't usually talk about her condition. There were multiple reasons why, but one of the biggest ones was because…

"It's complicated." Pom Pom backed up over to the bed again and lowered herself in. Wendy stepped closer, and Pom Pom tried to find the courage to discuss the one subject that terrified her. "I…" she frowned, pressing her lips firmly together. "It's kind of a mixture of a lot of things, and most of it stems from an event from when I was a kid."

Wendy didn't say anything, instead she just kept her eyes glued to the cadet as she took a step closer to her. While Pom Pom did struggle over the words, she could at the very least say that the compassion Wendy showed her was making the idea of opening up and coming out of her shell more appealing.

"So… the story happened when I was about six. I… well, as you can probably tell from looking at me, I have a stockier build than most other girls, and… yeah, that was the case when I was a kid too. I never really fit into most people's definition of beautiful."

"I think you're beautiful!" Wendy objected.

Pom Pom smiled. "Uh… thank you. That's very touching; thank you." Her face fell again. "But a lot of the kids who I interacted with in school didn't think so. I got picked on a lot. I would get teased on the playground, kids would call me names… you know, stuff like that. It wasn't just kids in my grade either; older kids who somehow found out about me and join in on picking on me. It… it got really bad."

"I'm so sorry." Wendy took a seat beside her on the bed. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

Pom Pom let out a breath. "Thank you." Seriously, how was it that Wendy was so kind? It was borderline miraculous. "And… well, like it said, it got really bad. So much so that my mind did something… strange."

Wendy blinked, unwilling to take her eyes off Pom Pom. The cadet struggled harder than she normally did. When was the last time she had needed to explain this to someone? Most of her loved ones already knew the story, and strangers didn't usually ask. When she thought about it, this was probably the first time she had to explain her past to someone in years. Could she do it? Did she have the courage?

"One day, I was in the forest in our backyard…" Wendy did a double-take, prompting Pom Pom to chuckle. "We lived in the Mushroom Kingdom at the time."

"Oh. Yeah, that makes sense."

"Yeah." Pom Pom looked down at the ground. "Come to think of that, that might have been part of the reason I was bullied so consistently…" She shook her head and decided to continue. "Anyway, I was in the forest exploring; you know, just minding my own business and being just a typical kid. At least, until I saw…" she stopped. Oh goodness, she might not have the courage.

"You saw what?"

Pom Pom wiped a tear from her eye. "There was this strange creature hanging out near one of the trees. She wasn't like anything I had ever seen before or at any other point in my life. She looked like a being made of purple shadow. She had golden eyes, cotton candy pink hair… overall she looked really interesting."

Wendy gawked at Pom Pom. "Oh my."

Pom Pom cringed, already imagining the thoughts running around in Wendy's head. "Yeah… I…" she took in a deep breath; she could do this. "Needless to say, I was curious and decided to talk to her. The creature called herself Viv, and we got right to chatting. And we actually had a lot in common. She understood me, she… she was kind to me. And… when you're a bullied kid who feels alone and like you don't belong… well, it didn't take much for me to latch onto Viv. We became fast friends." Her eyes were misty, making her vision blurry. "For about a month afterward, we would always meet in the same spot. We would play, talk, console, and comfort each other…" she chuckled. "Viv was… kinda the perfect friend."

Wendy scooted closer to her. "What happened to her?"

Pom Pom blinked, surprised by that response. She would've assumed that Wendy would've labeled her as crazy at this point, given the description she gave of Viv. After all… well…

"Nothing happened to her." Pom Pom looked down at the ground. "I went into the forest one day and tried to find her, but she was gone. I searched everywhere, but I couldn't find Viv. I was… I was in tears, as you can imagine. I went home to my parents, and I told them about Viv for… what was actually the first time. I hadn't mentioned her to my parents beforehand, as I thought it was kinda a nice little secret to keep." She let out a hollow chuckle. "But I did then, and I will always remember the way they looked when I told them about her. I gave them the same description of Viv that I gave you; made of purple shadow, candy pink hair. And when I finished telling them about it, they just exchanged a look… and told me that I imagined her."

A silence befell the scene for a few minutes. "Why would they do that?" Wendy asked.

Pom Pom laughed. Seriously, Wendy's responses to her story were so far detached from what she actually expected that it was comical. "Why would they not? I mean… when was the last time you've heard of a being made of purple shadow?"

Wendy directed her gaze away from Pom Pom and toward the floor. "Well… never."

"Exactly. And it wasn't just you and my parents who had never seen a girl like Viv. No one I talked to had seen anything that was remotely similar. So… the only explanation was… I imagined her." She sighed. "It was the only explanation that made sense, after all. But even still, I remembered her so vividly; I THOUGHT she was real. I thought she was real so strongly, which… just made what happened all the more concerning. So, I got assigned to a psychiatrist and a therapist, and… well, here we are."

Wendy's jaw dropped. She lifted her head, looking at Pom Pom with a furrowed brow. That look made Pom Pom shrink back.

"And now that I've explained all that to you, you probably think I'm a nutcase…"

"No! No, I don't!" Wendy scooted closer. "It's… it's fine, Pom Pom. Trust me, it's fine. I just… I was just surprised by it. That's all."

"I see." Even with those words, Pom Pom was really starting to regret telling Wendy the story. She should've known better. Especially since Wendy was the princess of the Koopa Kingdom. Technically, Wendy could be considered Pom Pom's boss. And she had given her boss reason to believe she belonged in a psych ward.

Pom Pom began crying. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Trust me, it's alright. It's more than alright." Wendy smiled. "It's just something that happened to you. It doesn't make you crazy. Not to me at least."

Pom Pom dried more tears. "That's good…"

"Yes. You aren't a nutcase, Pom Pom. Trust me on that one." Wendy seemed to think about something for a little bit. "And… this might be a little weird to say, but… I think there's a possibility that Viv wasn't made up."

Pom Pom gasped. "You WHAT?" She rose out of bed, giving Wendy a shocked look. "Do you hear yourself?"

"Yes." Wendy stood up herself. "I do. And I stand by it. Sure, I had never heard of a creature like Viv before, which to some can be concerning. But… we live in the Mushroom World. There are so many fantastic creatures and people in this world. There are talking penguins, there are two completely different types of talking mushrooms… heck, my siblings and I met a human koopa hybrid a while back! If all those things exist, what's to say that Viv doesn't?"

Pom Pom sniffled again. "I get what you're saying, but…" she was close to sobbing. "I'm sorry. I know I'm a soldier and that I…" she shook her head. "I'm sorry, Wendy."

"Hey. It's fine." Wendy stepped closer. "Sure, this may be one of the more… unorthodox first days for a new Koopa Troop recruit, but…" She seemed to consider something again. "Trust me, Pom Pom, everything is alright. I said it before and I'll say it again: I don't hold anything against you." She looked into Pom Pom's eyes. "I just want to make sure that you have a good time in the Koopa Troop. That's all."

Pom Pom stood still. This was kinda too good to be true. Maybe that was simply because she had come to think that people would automatically think she was crazy when they heard her story for the first time, but still. Wendy was… she was being very kind to her. Almost undeservedly so.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Wendy stood still for a second. "Do you still want to do the first boss battle? I can face him first and you can face him second if you…"

"No." Pom Pom put on a serious face. "With all due respect Wendy, I can handle Mario." She gripped her hand into a fist. "I am more than capable."

"I wasn't saying you weren't, I just…" Wendy sighed. "Okay. Whatever you want to do, we can do."

"Thank you." All at once, Pom Pom felt like a weak little girl again. "Just… please don't tell anyone I told you this, okay?"

Wendy looked a little hurt, which might be because of Pom Pom's inflection more than anything else. Regardless, she nodded. "Your secret's safe with me."

Pom Pom smiled. Giving her one last nod of appreciation, Wendy exited the cabin. Once she did, Pom Pom just stood in place contemplating things. Did she feel better now that Wendy knew? She honestly didn't know. After all, when it came to the subject of Viv, all of Pom Pom's certainty went completely out the window. So many emotions welled up inside her, all of them familiar and horrible.

Pom Pom sighed. She just hoped her first fight with Mario went decently.