"Choke me like you hate me~" the speakers softly boomed.
"M.. m.. MJ.." I heard Roy groan aggressively through the door. Wait, wasn't she that girl I met at the diner?
'Wow,' I mouthed. "Am I interrupting something?" I said as I opened one of the hotel bedroom doors.
He removed his hand, giving me an open view, glancing at me in surprise. I whipped my head to a random window in the room, blushing.
Too late. Way too late. My eyes already longed to escape my head. Why did I even walk in?
Slapping around, he found the phone and paused the music and closed out the picture he had pulled up of her. "You know what?" He started. He yanked the lotion off the nightstand and stood up, facing me. I covered my eyes quickly even if there was no use. "You already caught me so I don't care, really," he grumbled.
"You're gross," I rolled my eyes from under my hands. "This is still a hotel,"
"And we are still the only two here," He said. He was right. Bowser and the rest went out to get breakfast. He took whoever was up and that left the two of us. "Plus you've seen me in the shower already," He shrugged, digging through his expensive bag.
"It isn't the same," I shuddered, flustered. "Well you would've been in for it if you would've seen me finish. And it was to that hottie too? Wish she went to our school," he groaned in disappointment.
Roy shrugged on basketball shorts and left himself shirtless. He hopped back on the bed. Unfortunately, he was stuck with me so he never got any privacy. He slipped the bottle of hotel-branded lotion back into the chasm called the nightstand drawer.
"Come sit next to me," he whipped out his phone.
"Hard pass," I scrunched up my face. Someone knocked on the door and I glanced at Roy.
He shrugged, "You're closer," he gestured to me in place at the threshold.
I rolled my eyes, exiting the room. I strut over to the door and opened it.
"Guys!" I gladly let everyone in. Every family member was here, but the question was.. why?
"Taemin, where's your d-" DK was cut off by Roy and King Boo arguing.
"Put a damn shirt on!"
"Look who's talkin' gravestone!"
"Fuck you, brat!"
"They do this a lot," Mario sighed. "Too much,"
"Anyways, whe-"
"Squeeee! This kitchen is so tiny and adorable!" Peach squealed from the next room.
DK facepalmed.
"Where's your dad?" DK asked, bringing me to the side.
"Getting food. Why did everyone show up all of a sudden?"
"Because we were going to help you guys get moved in but someone mistook the time,"
A. Byzmal forked his arms up in surrender.
We heard the clicking of the room key, signaling Bowser's arrival. I drooled at the delicious waft of breakfast.
As everyone blended into the conversation, I noticed DK and my dad talking on the side. I enter the hallway and noticed my dad's stressed features. I held my arms out to him. To my surprise, he picked me up.
"What's up, buddy?"
I sighed. "You looked a bit stressed. I just wanted to make sure everything's alright," I gazed at his glossy orbs.
"I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me, little man," My lips curled into a frown.
"I don't. That's right. But I'm over here because I want to," I shot him a concerned look as I hopped off. "Let me know,"
I headed over to the table. I grabbed a plastic tray of food because we all had the same thing. I choked my food down hungrily.
Once I finished, I shrugged on a pair of slides I found at the door. They legitimately could be anyones. I went out into the hallway. The door shut behind me but reopened quickly.
The door shut as I turned behind me.
"Morton?" I waited for him to catch up to me.
"Where you going?" He asked. "Coffee," I started. "My mouth's dry," I said. "It's free, right?" He asked. "Duh, I couldn't get any if it wasn't," I said. He frowned, pulling me close to him as we got into the elevator.
I was one of the only 4 that didn't keep a safe. I paid the price for that. Literally.
$1,500 down the drain. Whoop-Dee-Doo!
"Walk across the street with me," He said as the elevator stopped. I walked through the lobby and over to the coffee machine. "Sure, where do you need to go?"
"I know it isn't on everyone's mind, but papa needs a new phone," he pointed to himself.
I shrugged, taking my coffee and walking with him. He stopped at the front door, pointing at some sunglasses. "These would look good on you," he smiled. "Yeah," I returned it, walking out of the sliding glass door. I marveled at the incredible skyscrapers and how clean this place was compared to America. I couldn't find a single lick of litter even if I tried.
Morton came out with a bag in one hand, coffee in the other, cheesing dramatically.
He handed me the bag, it had an expensive branding melded onto it. "Morton!" I hissed. He laughed in response. "Put them on!" He said. I pulled out the glasses and put them on my head because it wasn't too bright out.
"What do you think of dad's new car?" I asked as we crossed the street. We traversed down the sidewalk as excited onlookers gathered to take pictures. With these sunglasses on and a bag around my wrist with the coffee in my hand, I felt like a supermodel.
We turned into a store, you guessed it; a phone store. Common US brands like Apple and Samsung lined the aisles, but companies I never heard of were on display as well. Morton walked over to the Samsung display and grabbed an S20 Ultra.
"Dude!" I whisper-yelled, whacking him in his chest. "What?" He seemed genuinely confused. I waved my hand in dismissal. I walked with him to check out and he suddenly stopped.
"Where's your phone?" He asked me. "Where our house used to be," I deadpanned.
He turned to me and motioned for me to pick one. I instantly disagreed. We whisper battled for a few minutes before he quite literally shoved me in the direction of the phones.
I grabbed a 13 Pro Max from under the display and he nodded in satisfaction.
We walked up to checkout. He grabbed himself a case and motioned for me to get one. He snagged a charger from the Apple accessories under the Apple cases as I grabbed a MagSafe.
"How you are guys doing today?" The cashier asked. It was a grey fox. He smiled at us as he rang up the items. 'Timby' was printed across his nametag. It was colorful and beautifully customized.
Morton held up a finger at me and came back with two small white boxes. "You like music?" He asked. I squinted my eyes at the bo-
Oh hell no.
"You're not getting me that. I'm not kidding," I said, crossing my arms. He smirked and threw them on the counter. Timby smiled as Morton wrapped his arms around me from behind as I went to go yank them off. The budgeting spirits inside me died as Timby read off the bill. "And that comes to $3,636.19," he smiled. My soul left my body completely. He let me go and paid the bill in cash. To my surprise, he still had some leftover.
"I'm your older brother! You're supposed to listen to me! I whined as we re-entered the hotel. He just snickered in response, satisfied with helping me. Morton had finished his coffee a while back and I had just got done with mine. I tossed it in the bin on the way to the elevator.
"Did you get the watch?" Bowser asked. Morton nodded and handed him a bag. "I owe you one big guy," Bowser smiled toward Morton. "I didn't see you sneak that on the bill," I said as Bowser walked over to a drawer, pulling his safe out and handing Morton a wad of cash.
"That's the whole point of sneaking!" He chuckled, giving me my bags. I gratefully hugged him, which caught him off guard. He hugged me back, squeezing me. "You want some money too?" Bowser pointed at me. I shook my head wildly.
"Come on, trooper," He said, grabbing my hand and taking me with him down to his new truck. It rested in VIP along with his other one.
We got inside and Bowser sighed heavily, letting his head fall to the steering wheel. He lifted his head at me as I stared in concern.
"We go make your name change official," he said, opening the well-organized glove department. He pulled out some folders. "But I also need to do something else," he started the car, "We need to do something else,"
I grew worried, taking to opening my things as a source of fidgeting.
"The court case," He said, looking at me. I dropped everything in my hand.
"Dad, should we be on that now? After everything?"
"So you think he should just go free? After that- that... display?!" He asked aggressively. "That's not what I'm saying-"
"Yes, it is, son. And that's what that's saying too," He pointed to my bruise on my nose. I looked down in shame, I hated not having the heart to stand up for myself. I knew how to, I'd just feel bad for being mean.
He let loose on the gas, speeding down the narrow town streets skillfully.
"I didn't mean it like that Trooper," he sighed. I nodded, knowing he wasn't trying to hurt my feelings. Honestly after what the guy said at school I don't care what my Dad does anymore.
Coming to a red light. I took back to opening my bags, which instantly brightened my mood. I'd never had anything like this if it wasn't for this family. I probably would've committed suicide by now. Harsh, but I was spiraling with feelings of loneliness and abandonment.
The way the system works, is essentially a photographer takes a portrait of you and an author writes a brief, happy description of your backstory. You go onto the website and scroll through the pictures and descriptions. You can click on the kid and their image is enlarged, with more about their likes and dislikes.
Once you do that, you click on one of two buttons. Foster or Adopt. If you click foster, it's a straightforward process. Takes like 2 days. But it takes about 3 weeks for the adopt option. I think in the US you have no choice but to foster a child, you can't adopt them on the spot.
I turn to dad, remembering something that sank my heart.
"Your cars!" I said. "What?" He asked. I started flipping my hands as if it was helping anything. He drove for a while until the buildings started to thin out. Soon enough we were on a nearly deserted road.
"The cars! Did they survive the fire?" I hadn't been paying attention to the garage when it went down.
He shook his head. "The ones in the garage were destroyed. I'm gonna have to replace them, son,"
"Which ones?" I ask him. "Roy's Rolls Royce, Wendy's Fer- WOAH!!" He was cut off as a truck came from the side of the intersection, dashing through the lanes as fast as the yellow light ticked red. I looked over a split second before he hit my side and sent us spiraling.
"Trooper, you alright?" He asked. The impact sent me into a daze. We knocked smack dab into a pole. I prepared to nod until I realized my arm...
I... I couldn't feel it.
"I'm fine," I lied smoothly. "Are you guys okay?!" The man approached our window but paled once he realized who he'd hit.
"Get the hell away!" Dad boomed protectively. "Just fucking go, before I change my mind," The guy nodded as if he was a 10 year old told off by his parents.
He hoisted himself in the damaged 18 wheeler and drove off. Thankfully, the back road he took wasn't busy so no one saw us.
Bowser moved a claw through his thick, red follicles. He went in his pockets for his phone and groaned, nothing but an empty crevice separating his jeans and his thigh. "I need another phone,"
"Can you call Ludwig?" He asked. "Yup!" I chirped. I promptly set up my phone and went to my contacts. Desolate. I should've figured. I began to ask him for his number.
"What's the-"
-number?" he finished. He rattled off the number to me and I called it. "Hello?" He answered over the phone. "Ludwig?"
"No, Santa Claus,"
"Dad wants to talk to you Smartass,"
I quickly got used to the sarcasm in this family. It took me a few days to be able to make comebacks. I passed dad the phone and went to twiddle my fingers.
The absence of feeling in my arm propelled me into worried disaster. I tried to lift my arm, but nothing. I made an effort not to panic but my dad caught my frightened look.
"Trooper, what's wrong?" he questioned. I kept my composure as I smiled, shaking my head. He reluctantly turned his attention to Ludwig. I didn't really find myself slipping off, but I just let it happen. The drowsiness hit me like the truck that sent us into that pole, and out of nowhere, I was gone.
~
"Dad, where are we?" I drowsily opened my eyes. I was sitting in an dark, opulent office. I turned around but my sight was met with nothing besides my fathers chest. I turned back around and laid my head on him drowsily. I kept my eyes half-lidded. I couldn't fall asleep again.
"We did it, buddy," he smiled down at me, a fatherly smile. A soft, ginger smile. But as soon as the agent walked back in, folder in hand; his demeanor shifted. So much so in fact, that I became worried. I was too tired to do anything, so I moved my arms a bit and found a comfortable position on his lap in order to try and drift off.
HOLY SHRIMP SKIN! DID YOU SEE THAT?!
I somehow managed feeling in my arm again! I just knew panicking wasn't the move. I applauded myself mentally as my dad put his chin on my shoulder to reach the paperwork.
Soon enough he stood up and shook the koopa's hand. The koopa smiled as my dad took the papers with the one hand he wasn't using to hold me. "It's official," he smiled. He bowed, and my father smiled an evil smile. His eyes glint a brilliant red.
"Have a nice day," he smiled and bowed once more before leaving the room.
"Ready to go, trooper?" He looked at me, his demeanor changing instantly.
I nodded in drowsiness, still half asleep.
Despite all the fighting to remain awake, I gave up and just let myself kick back into slumber.