Luigi is not in this game.

Chapter One

Andres sat contently in his chair that was moved to the middle of the living room. His hands frantically fiddled as he focused intensely on the game he was glued to. He controlled Mario like a puppet on strings to defeat the massive King Koopa. He was so close, one throw and he was free. Spin, spin, spin and...

"MOOMM!" Another teenage boy around Andres's age walked directly in front of him. He stumbled over the wire of the controller, ripping it straight out of the console. The game froze and crashed. "Hey! Why are you in my way?"

"Are you kidding me?" Andres shouted. "I literally purposely made sure there was no room for you to walk in front of me!"

"Sorry, but I wasn't the one in the way." Kaleb sneered.

Andres stood up, face red and blood pumping. "I told you a million times to go around! What are you, three?"

He grabbed the collar of his shirt. "Sorry I ruined your little baby game."

"Get the HELL off of me!" Andres reeled back his arm and slammed his fist right into his jaw. Kaleb's grip was released as he stumbled back. Before he could catch his balance, Andres threw another swing and shoved him to the ground.

"BOYS!" A shout from behind startled the two. Despite his hands getting clammy, he held Kaleb tightly. "What is wrong with you?" His stepmom grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him off of Kaleb.

"Oh, so you're taking his side again?" Andres snapped. "Ok, take your real son's side. Don't listen to me!" He didn't wait for a response as he shoved past Lacey. He tore the wires from the TV and took the console upstairs. He slid it into his drawer and slumped on his bed, his heart still pounding. He forced himself to lay frozen, but his fists shook with tension. His anger melted into misery. I was so close. He sat up when he felt his eyes start to water. Whatever.

Andres opened his phone and navigated to Discord in hopes of finding a friend to talk to, but they were either offline or already occupied with something else. I won't bother them. He closed his phone and lay back down. He wanted to call it an early night, and so he did. He was too tired to deal with anything else. No way was he going to show his face either after the scuffle with his stepbrother.

It was still dark outside by the time Andres stepped onto the bus. He found his seat, then dug through his bag and pulled out his old 3DS. He lived furthest away from anyone, a long ride ahead of him. At least I can make some progress. He thought as he leaned his head on the seat in front of him, hunched over the game. After a few stops, he leaned his back against the wall of the bus and pulled his knees up to cover his face and chest. Little Miss "I'm better than everyone" crawled onto the bus with a special pep in her step. She sat behind Andres and poked her head above the seat.
"You still playing that game?" She asked with a snarky tone. "What, are you twelve?"

"At least I'm not a freshman." He sneered back. "You know no one actually likes your grade, you're so immature. I know how to mind my own business."

"Wow, way to be a bully." She slumped back in her seat. He could feel her knees driving through the seat against him and he resisted the urge to shove them back. He wasn't about to end up in the principal's office for "assault" again.

Walking through the school hallways, he kept a lookout for his friend. She was leaning against a wall instead of sitting at their usual table. Andres approached her, eyes on the table with different people sitting there. "Were they giving you a hard time again?" He asked.

Rose huffed and put her phone in her pocket. "Yeah, but whatever. Just as long as they don't hate crime me." She started to wander off to her locker, Andres following behind. He spun the lock and shoved a few binders in his hand. Rose leaned against the locker next to him, waiting with her own binders.

"How's the new house situation going?" She asked.

Andres shut his locker a little harder than usual. "My stepmom is an asshole." He said.

"Oh, I'm sorry." There was sympathy in her eyes, but there could never be empathy. There's never empathy. Her mother was still alive and incredible. She was lucky to be close to her. Sometimes he could tell that she felt guilty for having a mother.

"It's not your fault." His temper softened. "We should go before we're late."

On and off throughout the day, he played his game. On his one-hour commute back home, he completed the final level. No pride or joy flooded over him. "I did it, Mom." He whispered. Andres didn't dare to set up the game console again when he got home. He hid in his room away from Kaleb. He had a nasty bruise along his jaw from the previous day and was still furious about it.

Andres woke up early Saturday the next morning. He made his way downstairs, knowing his dad would be in the kitchen. He could smell the eggs from a mile away. "Morning, Andy." His dad said without looking up. "You hungry?"

"I said please don't call me that, Ken." Andres sat at the table.

"Alright, alright." He chuckled. "Only if you don't call me Ken."

Andres smiled weakly. "No, I'm not hungry."

His dad turned off the burner and placed the eggs on a big plate. "Hey, I heard what happened between you and Kaleb." He said.

Andres's heart skipped a beat, but he continued to sit still. "Yeah? And?"

"Listen..." He sat down in front of his son. "I know it's hard with the new situation and... mom and whatnot, but you can't hit him like that."

"He grabbed me first!" He said defensively. He started to bite the collar of his shirt and tear at it. "It's not my fault he's a dick." He added under his breath.

"Hey."

"Whatever, are you gonna take his side too? How come I'm the only one who gets in trouble when it was his fault to begin with." His dad placed a flat palm in the air, signaling Andres to breathe. He instinctively inhaled deeply.

"I spoke to him and Mom-"

"Lacey."

"And he apologized, and I gave him repercussions."

"Maybe he should apologize to whom he did it to and not you."

His dad stood up to get a paper towel. "Maybe we should talk about this when you're in a better mood. You just woke up."

"Fine." I didn't want to talk about it anyway.

"On another note..." He glanced over with a worried look. "Maybe you could get to know her better. I know it didn't start on great terms in the beginning, but I think you guys are stuck in a rough patch."

"She's not making an effort."

"I know, and I talked to her about that too. She says she will start to treat you better and try to get to know you since we all live together now."

"And Kaleb?"

"As of Kaleb..." He paused, then whispered under his breath, something that was meant for only his dad. "Yeah, he's kinda a dick."

Andres heard him. He smiled.