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Anna kept her gaze trained on the road as she drove over the hill, her small car chugging along the dirt road to the elementary school. If you asked her what the biggest challenge of her life had been thus far, it would be raising not just one, but two rambunctious 7-year-old boys on the cusp of cultural rebellion. They were huge troublemakers, but Anna knew for a fact that her twins didn't pick fights, so imagine her surprise when she got a call from the school letting her know that Mario had gotten into a fight with a fellow student. Mario had a very short temper, but he was also good-natured and polite, so what could he have possibly gotten into a fight over?
Well, if her own Mama had taught her anything, it was that you always give your child the benefit of the doubt, so Anna forced herself to take calming breaths as she parked the car and climbed out, planning in her head how she would handle this situation.
Inside the small building, Mario and Luigi sat side by side on one of the benches along the wall, with another student on the other; A spiky-shelled koopa that Anna had never met before. Mario was absolutely fuming, his arms crossed and his cheeks puffed out, while Luigi sat hunched over with puffy red eyes, tear tracks running down his face as he sucked on his thumb.
Mario looked up when Anna entered the school house, but he didn't say anything to her, though it looked like he wanted to.
Anna turned to the teacher, a purple toad with white spots, "What happened here?"
"Well," the toad adjusted her glasses, "Mario started a fight with Bowser during recess. They were both pretty banged up by the time we broke them up."
Mario opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it and dropped his gaze to the floor, his hands on the bench between his legs as he looked like he was about to explode with anger.
Anna took a deep breath, "Mario, is that true?"
"No!" Mario jumped from the bench, stomping his light-up shoes on the ground, "I didn't start the fight! Bowser did! He hit Weegee! He tried to push him down the stairs!"
"I did not!" Bowser stood up to face him, taking advantage of his height, "Mario started it! He attacked me for no reason!"
"No! He hurt Weegee, Mama! I swear! He started it!"
"Liar!"
"Children, please!" the teacher pinched the bridge of her nose, "Mrs. Jumpman, I'm afraid I'm going to need to suspend your boys for their misconduct."
"What!?" Mario screamed incredulously, "You can't do that! Weegee wasn't even in the fight! It wasn't his fault!"
Luigi whimpered and covered his ears, rocking back and forth as he squeezed his eyes shut. Mario immediately sat next to him and hugged him tight, shushing him and uttering words of assurance.
Anna knelt down in front of her sons, placing a hand on each of their heads, "It's alright, Mario. I believe you."
Mario beamed, revealing three missing teeth, "Thanks, Mama!"
Luigi jumped from the bench to hug Anna, clinging to her fearfully and burying his face in her shirt. Anna swept him up into her arms as she stood up, holding him close as Mario gripped her skirt in a tight fist.
If there was one thing that Anna knew about her son Mario, it was that he had a strong sense of justice, and that he was fiercely protective of his younger twin brother.
"So..." Anna glowered down at the teacher toad, "You're punishing my boys for doing nothing more than defending themselves?"
The toad turned bright red.
"No!" Bowser whined, "He started it! I was-!"
"I know my boys, and they are not liars." Anna interrupted his protest, "So, are you going to fess up now or continue your nonsense, young man?"
Bowser began to shout, "WELL MAYBE I WOULDN'T HAVE PUSHED THEM IF GREEN HAT WASN'T SUCH A BIG BABY!"
Luigi clung tighter to Anna, trying and failing to hold back more tears.
"Hey! You can't say that about my bro!" Mario rose his fists, "You lay another hand on him, and I'll punch your lights out!"
"I'd like to see you try, Jumpman!"
"Koopa!"
"Mario." Anna took his hand, "Let me handle this."
Mario's rage-filled expression fell, and he hid his face in Anna's skirt.
Anna turned her newfound anger towards the teacher, "Now, I'll ask you again, as plainly as possible; Are you or are you not punishing my boys for standing up to a bully? I thought you had a no bullying policy. Are you retracting that policy? Are Bowser's feelings more important than Mario and Luigi's safety?"
"Uhh, ma'am, listen..." the teacher toad looked absolutely mortified, "I don't like it either, but Bowser is a prince. I can't punish him for misbehaving unless I want the Koopa King's entire army to descend on this school!"
"I don't care if Bowser is the supreme overlord of the galaxy! He has no right to hurt anyone else! If he thinks he can beat up children younger than him and get away with it, then he'd better be prepared for people to fight back! I'm filing a complaint with your employer. Come on, boys. Let's go home."
Anna left the building, still cradling the younger twin in her arms, while Mario trailed after her, holding onto her skirt with one hand to his mouth. Luigi began raking his nails up and down his face, leaving long red scratches behind.
Anna set Luigi down in the back seat of the car, "Hey, Bambino. What did I say about scratching your head?"
Luigi stopped, looking up at her before switching to rubbing his knuckles into his head. Not too hard, just enough to rustle his hair.
"There you go." she kissed his forehead before clicking his seat belt into place.
Mario climbed into his seat on his own, using both hands to close the car door. Once he had his seat belt on, he reached over the middle seat to take his brother's hand, who offered a watery smile in response.
Mario pursed his lips, "Mama?"
Anna started the car, "Yes, Mario?"
Mario looked out the window, "Are you mad at me?"
Anna sighed as she smiled at him through the rearview mirror, "No, Bambino, I'm not mad at you. I'm actually very proud of you. You saw someone threatening your brother, and you stepped in to stop it. Although, next time, just fight him enough to get Luigi to safety and then tell a teacher what the bully did. Same goes for anyone you want to protect."
"But what if the bully keeps trying to fight and I can't get away?"
"What do you think?" Anna pulled out of the parking lot, "You keep fighting. If you're in danger, you do whatever you can to keep yourself safe. You are very important to me, boys, and I'd hate to see you get yourselves terribly hurt because you were afraid to stand up to someone who was threatening your safety."
Mario smiled warmly at Anna before giving Luigi's hand a squeeze, "Okay, Mama! Thank you!"
"You're very welcome, sweetheart." Anna parked the car in front of their house, "Now, how about we go get ice cream?"
Mario bounced in his seat, "Oh! Can I have chocolate!?"
"Of course!" Anna looked back at them, "And I assume you want strawberry, Luigi?"
Luigi nodded eagerly.
"Alright." she climbed out as both boys did the same, "Let's go, then."
Raising two little boys was difficult, even maddening sometimes, but if there was one thing Anna knew about herself, it was that she loved her twins with all her heart.
And she wouldn't trade them for the world.
***