Chapter 10 Rouge's Oddities

Exiting the main concert hall, Chester and Lemmy made their way into the hallway. Lemmy looked from side to side outside the door, frowning as he did. Rouge wasn't in the immediate vicinity, which was just plain weird. Again, this was her competition. Shouldn't she at the very least be coming down the hallway to the main area? Wouldn't that make the most sense?

"Come on, Koopa, we can't waste time."

Lemmy looked to see Chester was already halfway down the hall. Lemmy sprinted to catch up with him and noticed how grumpy his expression was when he was right next to him. Should Lemmy be worried about that? Chester hadn't been too thrilled to see that he was part of the competition, so… no, no, he shouldn't be bothered by this. Everything was fine. Chester was just stressed out. Anyone would be stressed out when entering a contest. That was a position Lemmy had experienced and something he could vouch for.

"Damn, where is she?" Chester asked. His cynical eyes examined the hallway, and Lemmy did the same thing. Really, it was kinda eerie how still it was. Everything about this situation really rubbed the Koopaling the wrong way and made him feel as though something was going to go wrong. But… that was just being silly! There was no reason to worry about that! Any worry that Lemmy felt was entirely fabricated within his own head, and therefore, he had all the reason in the world to push it to the side.

"Yeah, it is kinda strange." Lemmy spotted a door up ahead. It looked to be some sort of janitorial closet, but… eh, it couldn't hurt to look in it, could it? Like when he was catching up with Chester, Lemmy sprinted over. He reached up to open the closet and… "It's locked."

"Of course it is. When is a closet full of chemicals ever open for people to browse through?"

Lemmy frowned again. "I mean… it was worth a shot." He pulled away from the door. There was no reason to worry, there was no reason to worry, there was no reason to worry! Rouge would show up! They just had to be…

"Oh!" Lemmy pointed down the hallway. "There she is!" Rouge, seemingly distracted, was making her way toward the women's restroom down the hall. Lemmy ran, hoping that he could catch up to her in time, but he was just a minute too late. She was gone, and it wasn't like Lemmy could go in after her. He was a clown, not a pervert.

"Dang." He sighed as Chester came up to stand beside him. "I guess we'll have to wait."

"Uh huh." Chester shook his head (like with goombas, bob-ombs moved their entire body when performing basic actions like that). "Talk about unprofessional. Shouldn't she have gone to the bathroom BEFORE she arrived at the Theater?"

Lemmy gave him a look. "Sometimes your body just does its own thing, Chester. When nature calls, you answer." He examined the bob-omb from head to toe. "I mean, I don't blame you for not knowing that. Don't bob-ombs not have to use the bathroom?"

Chester paused before sighing. "No. Not really. You are right about that." He let out a huff. "But still, the fact that she's already close to forty five minutes late and is going to he bathroom, making herself even later… well, can you really blame me for being irritated?"

Lemmy considered this before sighing. "You're right, I guess I can't." He looked at the entrance to the ladies room. It didn't have a door, instead having a turn that provided privacy. Figuring that while he couldn't go into the room himself, Lemmy should at the very least let Rouge know that he and Chester were waiting. Clearing his throat, he stepped closer to the entrance and raised his voice. "Rouge! It's Lemmy and Chester! We've been waiting for you; are you gonna come out?"

It took about four minutes before Lemmy heard a response. Right when he was about to call out again was when Rouge called out to him. "I'll be out in a minute!"

Lemmy let out a breath and smiled at Chester. "Hear that? She'll be out in a minute! We have no reason to worry!"

Chester snorted. "No reason to celebrate either…"

Lemmy shook his head. Maybe, for the sake of everyone involved, it would be better if he just ignored Chester's attitude. Sure, one could argue that Lemmy knew how to deal with attitudes because he had brothers like Ludwig and Larry, and that argument would be truthful. But considering his own reservations regarding this contest and the emotional investment he had in it… yeah, he wasn't really in the mood to deal with someone's sass.

"Dammit," Lemmy heard Rouge say from the bathroom. He blinked as she heard what sounded like her scrambling. "Man, this outfit is new too…"

"Rouge, are you okay?" Lemmy asked.

"I'm fine! Just give me a little bit!" Lemmy's heart pumped when he heard that. Seriously, what was going on?

Eventually, Rouge came out of the bathroom in a huff. When Lemmy saw her, despite the fact that he was ultimately happy to see her, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her appearance. Her hair for instance; it wasn't unruly or disheveled, but there were some noticeable hairs sticking out on top of her head. There appeared to be dark circles under her eyes, and there was a stain on the front of her white blouse. Lemmy didn't know what it was, and he honestly didn't want to.

"Rouge, what happened? Is everything alright?"

Rouge sighed. "Yes. Everything is fine." She blinked and looked down at her right hand. Lemmy looked there too, and he noticed a flask. That made him do a double take; had Rouge been drinking?

"Whatcha got there, Funny Lady?" Chester asked.

Rouge chuckled and put the flask in her back pocket. "Nothing. Except joy over you affirming that I'm funny."

Lemmy giggled. That was a good joke. I didn't make him forget about the questions he had, but at the very least it made him happy.

"Well, we're glad you're here, Rouge." He stepped closer to her, giggling and bouncing in place as he did. "Now, about the competition?"

"Yes, yes." Rouge ran her hand through her hair, putting on a smile that looked a little frazzled. "We can't forget about something so important, now can we?" She started making her way to the auditorium. "Come on, you two!"

Lemmy smiled. Despite Chester still looking even more bitter than black coffee, Lemmy was willing to admit that he was still excited. After all, Rouge was here, she was ready to get this show on the road, and despite her appearance, she was bound to be at the absolute top of her game. That was what made the most sense, right? Her being late was just one small hiccup in the grand scheme of things. It didn't detract from how exciting this competition would be. It WOULDN'T detract from it.

Anyway, the three of them made their way back to the stage. When they walked in through the door, all the people up on the stage clapped. Some even whistled, which was a sound that filled Lemmy with delight. Looking toward Rouge, he saw her let out a breath and put on a smile.

"Thank you, thank you!" She made her way over to the stage. "Is it sad that I get more applause here than I do at my regular shows?" She laughed alongside some of the others. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" She ran her hand through her hair again. "I'm sorry that I'm late everyone."

Lemmy smiled as she went up some stairs leading up to the stage (huh. Would've been nice to know about those earlier). Rouge really was bringing her A-game. Everything was really was going to be fine. Following Rouge with Chester at his side, Lemmy's heart pumped in anticipation. Rouge was literally minutes away from revealing who would be going up against who in the Laugh-Off. Oh, Lemmy was so excited he felt like his spirit was rising into Heaven!

"Okay," Rouge said once the three of them were back up on the stage. She cleared her throat and gestured toward the lefthand wing. "Benny, would you be a dear and fetch the whiteboard and marker that are in the wings?" Benny nodded, rushed off, and returned with the items. The whiteboard was of a considerable size and was being wheeled around. Lemmy giggled when he saw that; something like that had to mean that things were going to get exciting!

"Thank you." Benny nodded and went back into the crowd. Rouge smiled at everyone. "Okay! I believe that I might've explained the basic outline of the competition in the commercial and when each of you guys arrived at the Theater." She snickered. "Well, I'm in the mood to be annoying and drill basic concepts into your guys's heads, so I'm gonna repeat myself!" She uncapped the marker and started drawing tournament brackets. "This Laugh-Off is going to be done in a tournament style. Each one of you is going to perform your act in front of an audience, and that audience is going to vote for whichever two are competing in that round who they like the most. Whoever gets the most votes in that round moves onto the next, and whoever loses will be packing up and heading straight home." Rouge's black eyes glittered as she turned back to everyone. "Got that?"

Lemmy giggled, nodding as everyone delivered their agreement toward those terms and conditions.

"Excellent! You guys catch on quick!" Rouge giggled. "I mean, I hope you would considering I've repeated this to you guys before, but… hey. Some people are fast learners, some people are slow, and I've gotta account for the slow-minded in the room." She paused and smirked. "Even if I'm literally the only one in this room who would fall into that category."

Lemmy frowned as others laughed. That was a little… too self-deprecating to tickle his funny bone. He was glad others enjoyed that joke, but… eh, whatever.

"Now, as for who is going to be competing with who…" Rouge started writing names in the brackets that she had drawn. Lemmy kept his eyes on the board, wondering who he was going to be going up against in the first round. It took a little while, but eventually, Rouge finished and gestured for everyone to gather around. "Alright, take a good look every one of you. Find your name and memorize the times you will be going up on stage."

Lemmy was the first one to get to the board, which was fortunate as there was no way he'd be able to see over people's heads at the back of the group. He looked at the first bracket, which would apparently have people competing against each other at three thirty today. His name wasn't there. He wasn't listed at four thirty either, nor was he listed for five thirty. Right as he was starting to feel a little down about things, he saw that he was listed for six thirty. And he would be competing against…

"Patty!" Lemmy scanned the crowd for her and went up to her. "You and I are going up against each other at six thirty this evening!" He beamed. "Isn't that cool?"

"It is." A playful glint appeared in her eyes. "You better bring your A-game Lemmy. I take comedy VERY seriously."

"If you do, that means you're doing something wrong." Lemmy giggled as Patty rolled her eyes and smirked. "But I see what you mean." He sighed, wearing a grin. "Oh, this competition is going to be fun!"