The Untold Story of a Not-So-Bad Bowser

☀︎2☀︎

September 4th,1972.

I began to bounce with excitement as my mother swung the door open. My anxiety was pushed out of the picture. It was pure joy.

We stumbled through the crowded halls, my mother more nervous than I was. Some faces of my new classmates passed by us, each one eying me curiously.

We approached room #104, a large crowd scattered around the doorway. I nodded to several classmates, each one looking back like I was a freak.

I turned my head to one particularly fluffy kid, almost like a marshmallow. "Hi! My name is Bowser! Nice to meet you!" I smiled. I held out my hand, gesturing for him to shake it.

"Oh!" The kid began, taken off guard. He didn't shake my hand, but he high-fived it. I guess that's what was cooler around here.

"My name is Mallow! Hi Bowser!" Mallow joyfully laughed, happy to have met more people.

My mom turned to look at me and smiled. In the doorway was none other than my teacher, Ms. Koopakaim.

I fixed my eyes on her in wonder. "Hello students! Welcome to 1st Grade! I'm your teacher, Ms. Koopakaim! Now, parents, you can stay for up to the next 10 minutes, but after that, you have to leave. Okay, students, come inside!" She cheered. I hovered around Mallow, locking him into my sight as we entered the classroom.

A large, colorful carpet with letters of the alphabet was placed in the middle of the room. Surrounding it were tables of four combined desks.

"Hey, Bowser! Let's sit here!" Mallow yelled across the room, pointing to two desks near a fish tank.

"Okay!" I replied, placing my backpack down onto the chair. My mom smiled at me from across the room, then walked over to me. "Have a great first day Bowser!" She waved, a nervous smirk on her face. "Have fun!" She left the room.

Other kids were crying up a storm as their parents left, but I was a brave, independent, mature kid who wouldn't let something as small as that get in my way.

I watched as several parents left, and other kids entered. A red-capped boy and an almost puppet-like kid sat down at our table.

"Oh, hi, I'm Geno." The puppet-like kid shyly announced.

"And I'm Mario." The red-capped kid half-shouted. I could tell he was much more confident than the others.

"I'm Bowser, and this is Mallow." I responded, beginning to pull out supplies from my backpack and place them in my desk.

"Good for you, loser." Mario chuckled, the other members of the table eyeing him suspiciously.

"Good Morning class!" Ms. Koopakaim was standing in the middle of the carpet, so everyone could see her easily. "Welcome to Fire Flower Elementary, and more specifically, 1st Grade!" He glanced around the room, as if searching for someone in particular.

Of course, her eyes stopped and widened when she saw me. "Students, we have a new kid who wasn't here for Kindergarten. Come on Bowser, you get to come onto the carpet with me!" I stood up out of my chair, as Mario stared at me with a sly grin on his face.

"Fatty!" He mumbled to me, then uncontrollably burst out with laughter.

I sighed. He was just a bully, nothing more to it. And if my dad has ever taught me one thing, it's to block out the people you hate in your life. That actually was the only thing he taught me, before he would get drunk five times a day.

I shyly stepped onto the carpet, my classmates eyeing me in awe. "Hi! It's nice to meet you! What's your name?" Ms. Koopakaim asked me.

"Bowser." I told the class, adjusting the lens in my glasses. "I actually made some greeting cards for the class. It just has some facts about me."

Ms. Koopakaim smiled. "What a good idea! Bowser, let's have someone help you pass them out." Multiple hands shot up into the air, Ms. Koopakaim scanning the room for a familiar face. "Peach!"

A blond girl wearing a light pink sundress stood up. She strutted over onto the carpet, her golden hair swaying behind her. I pulled out my cards anxiously. A perfect smile approached me, as my heart started to beat faster.

Don't screw this up! Don't screw this up! Don't screw this up!

"Hi! I'm Peach!" She squealed.

"Hi, I'm Bowser." I replied as calmly as I could, handing her some of the cards. We split up, passing out the cards.

I sat back down at my desk as the other kids at my table read my cards. "You play soccer?" Geno asked. "I love soccer!"

"Yeah, we should totally play at recess!" I responded.

"Soccer is for fatty's. The only cool sport is Football. All you guys are fatty's." Mario smugly interrupted.

Geno frowned. He was obviously hurt by the response. "Just ignore him. He's a jerk." I whispered into his ear. He nodded, then continued looking at his card.

"Oh, I almost forgot, we have recess at 9:15!" Ms. Koopakaim shouted, looking at her watch. "Line up, everybody!"

I eagerly stood in line behind Geno and in front of Mallow. We walked down the hallway, out the main doors, and onto the turf field.

"We line up at 9:30, or else we'll have a shorter recess tommorow, okay?" Ms. Koopakaim ushered us away, as she sat down to talk with the other teachers.

I immediately found Geno and Mallow. "Hey, let's play soccer! I have a ball!" I told them, plopping the ball on the ground.

"Yeah!" Geno replied, kicking the ball between his feet.

At that moment, I heard a shout. "Now!" A familiar voice erupted, as several faces flashed before my eyes.

Before I knew it, I was plummeting to the ground. My head banged onto the concrete, blood and tears staining my polo shirt.

Scraps of my greeting cards fell onto my face, as a familiar red-capped boy snickered.

Mario.

"We don't need any more stupid fat kids like you." He added, other kids kicking me around.

"I'm not even fat!" I screamed back, now filled completely with rage. I placed my hand on the back of my head, and lifted it in front of my eyes. It was completely drenched with blood.

"Oh, shut up." He pounded a fist against his palm. "No one messes with me."

Before I knew it, a fist was hurdling at my face, but what was even worse was the impact.

Who knew 1st grade was so terribly awful?