Donkey Kong: The Fan-Adapted Novelization

Chapter 1: Hello, New Neighbor!

It was 8:00 AM when a mop of dark, wavy hair popped over the top bunk and greeted his brother. "Buon giorno, Luigi!"

The twin in question shoved the tail of his green nightcap out of his face. "Mario..." he grumbled. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Do you have any idea what DAY it is?"

His groggy frown deepened at the playful retort. "...il sabato?" he finally asked after rubbing his eyes.

"CALENDAR day, bro." He slunk off of the top bunk onto the floor. "È il primo di febbraio. Do you know what that means?"

"Uhhh...Groundhog Day? Wait, that's tomorrow...non lo so..."

"As of today, it's been six years since we first arrived in New Donk! AND it's the exact same time we landed in the airport from our flight!"

Immediately, Luigi straightened up, his eyes widening as he fully processed this last statement. "Sei anni...has it really been that long?"

"Sì! We should do something to celebrate the occasion!"

"Like what?"

"Catch a film, eat out, go see a show, visit the art museum..."

"We visited the art museum last year, Mario. We could always just...eat in this year? We could make one of the family dishes. It's the weekend; we have time to buy potatoes and make mamma's gnocchi from scratch–"

"Are you saying this because you still don't like the city crowds?" Mario stood there, dumbfounded. "I don't believe this! After six entire years, the only real friend you've made here was Stanley O'Neill from next door? Our exterminator?"

Clearly not wanting to carry on the conversation any longer, Luigi groaned, pulling the covers over his head.

"Come on, bro. There has to be something we can do to get you out of your shy shell." Mario's eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Stanley did say there was someone new moving into the other apartment next door today," he offered. "Maybe we can introduce ourselves to our new neighbor and show them around! That way, there's one more person in our little crowd of friends we can go places with!"

A loud thud resounded through the walls, presumably the aforementioned new neighbor setting down a stack of boxes. Upon hearing the noise, Luigi bolted out of bed, his nightcap dropping from its comfortable perch on his head. "What was that?"

"That," the red-clad twin indicated towards the direction of the sound, "is our cue to welcome our new friend!" He grabbed his brother's green cap and slapped it onto his head.

"Mario–"

He was powerless to stop his brother from getting ready to greet whoever was moving in next door. Within less than a minute, Mario emerged again, clad in a blue shirt and red overalls. On his head was the same hat Luigi wore, but in a bright red instead of green. After straightening his hat, he headed towards the door out of their apartment, with Luigi scrambling behind as he struggled to get dressed.

***

Truthfully, Mario had expected another man like Stanley to occupy the apartment next door. Instead, what greeted him was a bleach-blonde, wavy-haired woman about his age holding a stack of boxes with a small purse strap slung over her wrist. If anything, she seemed just as curious about the pair of twins before her, peering at them through an unruly mess of choppy bangs.

From what he could tell, she seemed oddly out of place at this particular apartment complex. Most of its tenants worked modest, working-class jobs, but her sleek magenta dress and matching pumps definitely did not reflect a blue-collar background whatsoever.

In some ways, she almost reminded Mario of Princess Peach, but with a few differences. Peach was considerably fairer-skinned than the lady. She was also the only person he knew that had violet eyes. Conversely, their new neighbor's eyes were grey, and by the looks of it, her skin carried the same tan hue as that of the twins. Other than that, they were so similar it left him at a loss for words.

"You gonna lend a hand, or what?"

This last remark was barely enough to snap him out of his silent stupor, only to be met a smug half-smirk on that lady's face. Almost immediately, he felt his face flush a bright red. "Oh...uh..."

She laughed. "I'm totally kidding. These are the last boxes I need to unpack. But they're a little heavy, which is why I saved them for last..."

"That's okay," he answered, almost hastily. "We can help you."

She tilted her head to the side. "We?"

"My brother and I." He gestured to Luigi behind him. As if on cue, the latter of the twins stumbled over one of his shoelaces, falling face-first into the hallway on the other side of the door.

The lady nearly dropped her boxes as she stifled back laughter. "I'd definitely appreciate that," she replied. "Thank you so much."

Together, the two brothers grabbed a box. As the lady shifted the weight in her hands, Mario grabbed the door and pushed it open. "Where do we put these?"

"Just on the kitchen table," she replied as she released the hold on the heavy weight in her arms. Together, the brothers followed suit.

"You weren't joking," Luigi huffed. "These boxes...what's in them, anyway?"

"Just the rest of my kitchen supplies. I'm always on the hunt for new recipes to make at home, and I thought moving closer to the city center would give me some more inspiration. All I needed was somewhere cheap to live if I was gonna be going to a lot of these expensive hipster joints. That...and I needed to move closer to work."

"Where do you work?"

"Well, before this job, I was a paralegal. When I graduated from law school, I got a job as a lawyer at a firm a block away from New Donk City Hall. What about you guys?"

Mario once again felt his face grow red. "Oh. That's impressive. We just...repair pipe fixtures for a living. We run a plumbing business...nowhere near city center, but it puts bread on the table."

The lady's eyes lit up. "My parents needed help getting something in their bathroom repaired a month ago. When I told them I would be moving here, they told me that the business was nearby. It's a family business, run by a pair of brothers, but I forgot the name. I know it was Italian...diMarco? I might be wrong..."

"diSegale?" Mario piped up. "And we're actually twins."

"That's the name! Wait...what do you mean 'we'?"

"Because WE run the business." He spread his arms out wide in a sheepish gesture. "Surprise!"

"Really?" Her hands went up to her face in shock. "Wow! That's amazing! I can't believe my first friends at this apartment complex are the guys who fixed my dad's sink!"

"Uh-huh," Luigi nodded along, also sheepishly. "That's us!"

She laughed. "Well, since I've been told the fixtures here aren't that great, this is super lucky!" The lady held out her hand. "I'm Pauline, by the way. Pauline Verducci."

For a brief moment, Mario stared at Pauline's hand before he finally shook it. "Mario. And this is Luigi, my younger brother."