Best Days We'll Never Know

Opening the Right Doors vs. Opening a Window

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The next day, both Mario and Luigi's phones go off, so they both answer.

"Hello?" they ask.

"This is he."

"This is Luigi."

"Uh, sure, I can come in."

"I absolutely can come in today!"

They both promptly hang up, their news shining in both their eyes.

Inside the building where their mentors are waiting, the brothers fidget in their seats.

"Mario!"

"Luigi!"

They turn, mouths falling open when they see Pauline and Trish wave as they come over.

"I asked Trish here to be on the lookout for you two and had her move your applications to the top of the pile."

"Trish works with Irene and Lydia?" Luigi asks out loud.

"Well, she works in the building, so yeah, you could say that." Pauline smiles, then gets serious. "Okay so you... " she points to Mario. "Have to play up all your work on urban gardening and irrigation. That's your pitch for Irene."

"And you..." Trish points to Luigi, who jumps. "You do not come out of that interview without saying the word makerspace at least 5 times."

"Now have either of you done data collection before?" Pauline asks, and at their blank looks, she sighs. "Forget it. They ask, say yes."

"You could've told me you knew Pauline." Mario says to Trish grumpily, crossing his arms.

"Never thought to bring it up." Trish shrugs. "I didn't know anything about you two, other than all the gushing Paulie here did about you." She points to Mario, making them both blush as Pauline protests, "Trish! I did not!"

"And that would mean you knew they wouldn't be there, didn't you?" Mario's not about to forget their conversation.

"Of course I did!" Trish nods. "You can't expect them to be there right when you need them. You saw how many others were there with their potential mentors. How was I supposed to know you two were gonna show up?"

"Hey." Pauline speaks up. "The point we're both trying to make here is not everyone would just up and leave because they didn't get their top choice. That's why Trish agreed to help."

"And take those off." Trish points at their suits. "You're not butlers. Engineers get dirty."

She and Pauline leave then, and the brothers look at each other, before breathing a sigh of relief as they pull off their jackets, dress shirts and dress pants, revealing their normal outfits underneath.

"Mario?" the older brother barely has a moment to turn as someone comes through one of the doors and gestures for him to follow.

A moment later, "Luigi?" is heard, so the younger twin follows the person through the other door.

Non-Introductions:

"You're one of my idols."

"You set the groundwork for every project I've ever partaken in."

Both mentors look at the brothers' portfolios, Mario's with mockup designs for water infrastructures, Luigi's with pictures of things he's built himself, along with descriptions.

"Hm. Draw a water system."

"Intriguing. Draw up a prototype for me."

As both brothers comply, the two mentors begin the interviews.

Introductions

"Please state your name for the record."

"Mario Mario."

"Luigi Mario."

Extracurriculars

"Name's so nice you say it twice. And you did some community work on urban gardening and irrigation?"

"Luigi Mario with a nearly blank resume. But I do see your time dedicated to your high school's mechanics and robotics makerspace."

"Uh huh. I helped design irrigation systems for community gardens, as part of my community service requirement."

"I like tinkering with machines. Doesn't matter what kind."

"Why specifically irrigation?"

"Why machines?"

"It's a stepping stone towards my goal to save Brooklyn, as a plumber."

"Expands my chances of getting work if I don't limit myself to the kinds of machines I tinker with."

"And I know that doesn't sound like much, but trust me, when the city floods, you'll be glad we were there to get it under control, so you didn't have to."

"And the world's always finding new things to invent for convenience. It's an exciting time in the world of robotics."

Meeting Fellow Interns:

"We got the new design all drawn up, it's ready for--"

"No freaking way!" Mario exclaims, startling the newcomer. "You're Sarah Madrona! Your stormwater management system was revolutionary for the city!"

Luigi doesn't bother yelling, just outright gasps. "You're Alex Sinclair! I live not too far from the factory with your autonomous robotic system!"

Needless to say, both Sarah and Alex are stunned at their work being recognized.

"Wow, uh..."

"Thanks?"

"You'll be happy to know flooding in that particular area has dropped almost overnight in the rainy season."

"It's still working seamlessly, last I saw."

And so of course both fellow interns ask,

"Sorry, who is he?"

"This guy got a name?"

And both mentors reply,

"This is Mario. He thinks he's got what it takes to let me take him under my wing."

"Luigi. Apparently a little genius in his own right."

Both brothers silently thank Trish when both fellow interns ask,

"Do you know how to do data collection?"

So they both are quick to answer, "Yes I do."

The Verdict

Afterwards, both brothers meet up and grab each other in a hug, then Luigi cheers,

"The Mario brothers are one step closer to saving Brooklyn!"

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"Lu?" Mario comes into their bedroom, showing him the latest program. "I think we found our best bet."

Luigi takes a look, "City Tech?"

Mario nods, joining him on his bed. "We finish in a year, start a job in the field right off the bat."

Luigi's eyes light up, "So we can still save Brooklyn?"

"Yep!" Mario leans in to hug him. "I told ya, Weegee. We don't need a fancy school to save Brooklyn. We're gonna be okay."