Chapter 15 Competing Against Friends

Lemmy yawned and sat up in bed, putting on a smile as he did. Oh, what a beautiful day it was already! Sun shined down through the window and the entire hotel room had this optimistic vibe that brightened Lemmy's soul…. Oh, this was great! Combining that with the news that Lemmy got yesterday excited the Koopaling. He felt like everything was going to go his way. The disappointment over getting eliminated was a distant memory. Today was a new opportunity, and he was going to take advantage of it!

Still smiling, Lemmy pushed the comforter back and bounced out of bed. "Good morning to you!" he sang. "What a beautiful day! What a beautiful day, oh it's a beautiful day!" He giggled and rushed toward the door. "I feel like everything will go my way, oh what a beautiful day!"

He stepped out of the hotel room and took a deep breath. He noticed other people competing in the competition exiting their own hotel rooms, prompting him to wave at them. This simple action made him even happier. How could he not sing about this?

"The gloom of yesterday is all gone." Lemmy skipped down the hallway toward the elevator. "It vanished as soon as I sang this song." He giggled. "And now I see in a whole new light! Oh, what a beautiful day it is alright!"

Some of the people who were coming out into the hallway blinked at him, staring at him as if he had grown an extra head. That didn't damper his mood at all. Grinning and giggling, he grabbed hold of someone's hand and spun them around.

"What a beautiful day, what a beautiful day!" He dipped the person, causing them to gasp. "I feel like everything will go my way!" He adjusted the person so they stood upright, leaving them behind as he resumed running to the elevator. "There's nothing that I can say except… oh what a beautiful day!"

Oh man, singing like this was probably the most satisfying thing Lemmy had ever done. He let out a breath as he finally got to the elevator. Should he sing while going down… no, no, he wasn't going to do that. After all, the lyrics to the song he sung were improvised, and his brain could only make up lyrics on the spot for so long. Instead, he just wore a smile as he hopped in the elevator. He held the door open for some other people to join him, and with that, they were off.

It was ironic in a way; Lemmy was going down in an elevator, and yet his mood was going up and up. This second chance that sheer luck and chance had gifted to him was the greatest gift. Now, he could potentially win the competition. He could give himself and his family reasons to be proud. And most importantly, he could fulfill his original goal. There were people out there who needed a laugh. They needed Lemmy in a very specific way, so he wasn't going to disappoint them. He was going to perform on stage to the best of his ability, and he was going to blow everyone away. He knew he would. He promised himself right then and there that he would.

The elevator finally got to the main floor. Giggling, Lemmy ran out of it with a burst of speed. He could already imagine the kind of things that the restaurant was serving for breakfast. Waffles, pancakes, bacon… oh goody, bacon! He was going to wolf all that down! He was going to allow himself to splurge, for now was the time to celebrate! Calories didn't count when it was time to celebrate! That went against the laws of physics!

He arrived at the restaurant, feeling a million times better when he saw there was no line for the buffet. He hurried over there and piled all the amazing things he imagined onto his plate. There were the waffles, there were the pancakes… oh, was it even legal to have this much bacon in one spot? There were innumerable bacon strips in the bin, smelling divine. Lemmy took six, promising himself that if he was still hungry afterward, he would come get more. After he finished in line, he looked around to see if he could spot his friends. He didn't see Luanne or Benny, but he did see…

"Chester!" Lemmy sprinted over to the bob-omb, being careful that he didn't spill anything on his plate. He set his food down in the spot next to Chester, letting out a satisfied breath when he got in his chair. "How are you today, Buddy? It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"

"Whatever."

Lemmy blinked. Whatever? That was it? Lemmy started to feel nervous, especially as he took the time to study Chester's face. He looked angry. He only looked angrier when Lemmy made eye contact with him. The Koopaling's heart began to pound.

"Chester? Are you okay?"

Chester grumbled. "Why don't you go see for yourself?" He gestured toward the whiteboard near the entrance, the same board Rouge had set up the bracket for the first round with. "Rouge posted the information for the next round."

"She did? Sweet!" Lemmy chomped down on some bacon. "I'll go see what's up."

Without waiting to hear anything else from Chester, Lemmy got out of his seat. He went over to the board, scanning it to see where exactly his own name was. When he found it, he grinned; seeing it there made the fact that he was advancing feel more official. Unfortunately, he saw what made Chester so grumpy when he found out who he was going to compete against.

"Chester and I are going head to head?" Lemmy stepped closer to the board, reading it again for fear of having misread it. Surely he wasn't seeing things right… no, no, he was right the first time. He and Chester were competing against each other in Round Two.

"Oh man." Lemmy's shoulders slumped. He sent a sad look toward Chester, who gave him a nod laced with bitterness. Lemmy had to put effort into carrying himself back over to the table. As he took his seat, his previous excitement was pretty much nonexistent. "Oh man, this sucks!"

"I know." Chester said. "I can't even believe it."

"Me neither." Lemmy's spirits sank lower and lower. "This is the ultimate form of bad luck."

"You're telling me." Chester shook his head. "And here I thought this competition would be fun."

Lemmy bit his lip. "Well… I mean, you don't have to worry about it being rigged, if that's what makes you nervous. I technically still lost the first round, so… you do have a chance to beat me."

"HA! Oh, that makes me feel SO much better." Chester looked over at Lemmy, the disappointment and irritation making him look almost feral. "You'd think I'd feel happy moving on if it's YOU who would be getting eliminated? You, who got the most lucky break in the history of the planet only to wind up at the bottom again?"

Lemmy whimpered. "I… see your point."

"Yeah." Chester groaned. "This is not fair. This is really not fair."

"No. It isn't." Lemmy took a bite of one of his bacon strips. It didn't taste as good as he thought it would. "Well… whoever does advance to the next round… it'll be someone who really deserves it, right? It'll be the one who truly should advance." He paused. "Know what I mean?"

"I suppose," Chester grumbled. He got out of his chair. "It's dead in here, I'm going back to my room."

With that and one more unamused grunt, Chester walked away. This just left Lemmy alone with his thoughts. This was possibly the biggest slap in the face he had ever gotten. This was beyond unlucky, which was so weird because he had previously had the best luck of all time. Would he even feel right competing now if Chester would be the one he kicked out of the competition? Could even bring himself to put on a good clown act if he knew that the outcome of it, whatever it was, would be bad?

Lemmy sighed. "Oh man." He felt like scum, and not because of any kind of shame. When he had come down to the dining room, he had been on top of the world. That happiness felt so… empty now. It felt hollow and unfulfilling. Honestly, Lemmy kinda wanted to go to Rouge and tell her to change the bracket, to have Lemmy and Chester compete against someone other than each other.

Hey wait. Maybe he should do that! Maybe he should go find Rouge! She seemed like a reasonable woman; maybe she could rearrange the tournament! That would be nice! That would be perfect even! Oh, Lemmy was a genius!

…

"Sorry Buddy, no can do."

Lemmy gawked at Rouge as she sat behind a desk in the Shellturner Theater. "But… but I can't compete against Chester! He's my friend! He's been really supportive of me! How can I compete against someone who's had my back!"

Rouge sighed and cupped her hands on the desk. "Listen, Lemmy, I sympathize; I really do." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a flask that was just like the one she had a few days ago. Blinking, Lemmy watched as she downed what was presumably some alcoholic beverage. "I get it; friendship is a valuable thing, I understand that. But this is showbiz. This is a competition. Number one, if I bent the rules for you and Chester, I'd have to bend the rules for pretty much everyone else. And… well, that would just be inappropriate, don't you think?"

Lemmy's shoulders drooped as his tail curled up. "I suppose that's true…"

"And besides, Lemmy, you came into this competition knowing that there could be one winner. Statistically, even if I don't put you against Chester in this round, at least one of you is going to get eliminated anyway." She shrugged. "I know that might sound pessimistic, but it's just facts." She took another swig of her beverage.

Lemmy sighed. "That is true." He whimpered, feeling lower than low. "I just…." he debated whether or not he should tell Rouge everything that was plaguing his mind about this turn of events. How scummy he felt, how unfair he thought this was. But he decided against it. Number one, Rouge couldn't change things, even if she wanted to. And number two, wouldn't complaining about things make Lemmy look ungrateful? He was only going into the next round at all thanks to sheer, dumb luck. If anything, he should be thanking Rouge for letting him advance at all, regardless of who he could potentially eliminate.

"I understand." Lemmy got up out of the chair. "Thank you for your time, Rouge."

"You're welcome. And hey…" Lemmy looked back at her, and she smiled. "Everything will be okay. I promise."

Lemmy hesitated before nodding. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

With that, Lemmy went out. As he stood outside Rouge's office, he bit his lip. It really was unfair, both in the negative and in the positive way, ironically enough. He was moving on when he didn't deserve it; that was being unfair in the positive way. And yet, he was competing against one of the friends he made here; that was how it was unfair in the negative way. Did these negative and positive methods of unfairness cancel each other out, just making things unfair in a neutral way?

Lemmy shook his head and started walking back to the hotel. Maybe he shouldn't be so down about this. Rouge was right; this was a competition, so emotional attachments didn't really matter in the end. This was essentially Survival of the Fittest, where only the most top-tier competitor would win the whole Laugh-Off. Friendship didn't factor into that, whether Lemmy wanted it to or not. In some ways, some might even say it was stupid that he made friends in these circumstances. Some might even say that doing so was just setting himself up for disappointment. And… yeah. As heartless as those viewpoints might be, Lemmy couldn't argue against them. He wanted to, but he couldn't.

When he got back to the hotel, Lemmy took a deep breath when coming in through the door. He should probably go start practicing for the next round. He wanted to put his best foot forward here, and something told him that was what Chester wanted him to do to. Chester wouldn't appreciate Lemmy going easy on him just because they were friends. He would want a fair fight, a fight where they both had a chance at winning. After all, he had spoken out about how much the competition being rigged against him would be unfair. Would he feel any different if the competition was rigged FOR him?

Probably not. With that thought in his mind, Lemmy made his way over to the elevator. He was going to go to his room, and he was going to practice his butt off. He was going to put extra effort into his performance, for he wanted it to be good. He wasn't going to be satisfied otherwise; he was going to put on the best performance possible. When he got to the elevator and pressed the button, he tapped his foot. He could already imagine the things he could do in his next performance. The elevator opened up, and he was just about to enter it when he saw something at the end of the hallway that caught his eye. A flash of red and blue, dragging itself away like a zombie. When Lemmy saw that, he actually gasped.

"Patty?" Confused, he stepped away from the open elevator. "What's she still doing here; didn't she forfeit?" Confused and curious, Lemmy followed after her.