Rotor didn't like summer. It was much too warm. Especially here, at Kent State, where hundreds of bodies were studying, hanging out, making out (yes, they were. He had heard them all night long and realized it was much less fun when you're not doing it yourself), and some wishing they had dodged the draft.
Rotor himself was in that last category, but he didn't want to think about it now. In fact, all he could think about was how darn hot it was. Sweat rolled off his forehead and arms down to what little belongings he was carrying. The sweat dropped off of all that and he swore it was going to make a new Grand Canyon with such a big pool on the ground.
Rotor focused intensely on the puddle. His bus wouldn't come for fifteen minutes; he had time to lose himself in it. A fly came and went, leaving a ripple in the pool.
Some more flies buzzed in and around the pool. One landed on Rotor, but he couldn't be bothered to care, and it left to check out the pool soon afterwards.
A pebble made a new ripple appear. It was a pear-shaped pebble, so it made a pear-shaped ripple. The puddle had grown at this point so that only some grass growing around Rotor's bus stop could contain it.
Another pebble. Rotor wondered what was causing this.
"Rotor," the pebble-kicker observed. Rotor looked up.
"Tails," Rotor said in greeting. "I'm glad you came to send me off."
"It's no problem. Friends do things for each other, yeah?"
"You look terrible," Rotor said, changing the topic. "Book must be coming along."
Fistfuls of paper sat crumpled in the pockets of Tails' jeans. Tails didn't seem to mind. "It's coming, anyway," he said. "I need tape."
"Tape?"
"I forgot to make pages out of my manuscript and it turned into a scroll. It's quite long."
Rotor laughed. "It must be a dozen times taller than you."
"Yeah. ...It's hot." Finally, Tails had given in to the heat. Rotor wondered if Tails would push his papers further into the pockets of his jeans to protect them from the incoming sweat wave. Would that just make it worse?
"My bus comes in ten minutes. You should move on from the small talk," Rotor told him.
"I guess so." Tails fanned himself a little. It didn't help. Both of them swore they could smell burning asphalt. "So you're really just going along with the draft?"
"Yeah," Rotor answered. "They told me I should, that it beats jail. I guess I couldn't argue with that."
"You believe in this war?" Tails asked.
"Not at all," Rotor said humorlessly. "I just believed too strongly in jail to dodge the draft."
"Don't fancy your prospects in Mexico?"
"I don't think so."
"I guess I should've known that. You were never much for independence."
"You could say that," Rotor sighed resignedly.
"I still don't know how you got involved with Sonic."
"You know the story," Rotor reminded him.
"I know, I just...it's weird that a guy like you ended up with guys like us."
"It is," Rotor agreed.
"...You don't want to talk about Sonic, I guess."
"Yep. You brought him, didn't you?"
Tails' slightly guilty look told him yes. "I don't know if Sonic is going to let me get a word in edgewise, so I came first. If I don't get the chance to say it later...good luck in the war. Don't get hit."
Rotor nodded.
"I respect your decision," Tails offered.
"Thanks."
"I don't," Sonic muttered, sidling up beside Tails.
"I know," Rotor sighed.
"You know what this war is about?" Sonic pressed.
"I don't like it either," Rotor pressed back.
"Then fight. Dodge the draft."
"Can't."
"You're too scared."
Rotor offered no arguments.
Sonic arched an eyebrow.
"Not all of us are like you, Sonic," Rotor shrugged.
"I guess not all of us have values."
"Sonic…" Tails started.
"Sonic, you need a reality check," Rotor said tiredly. "In the real world, people fail you. We had our run with the anti-war stuff. Now I'm sucking it up and facing the consequences."
"You had your run," Sonic said. "I'm out to Mexico."
"I knew you would be."
"Where people don't abandon what they stand for."
"I'm doing the only thing I can do."
"You betrayed your ideals, Rote. You said no war. You said screw the government. You said screw the draft."
"I didn't betray anyone," Rotor asserted. "I did what you didn't want, and you didn't like that."
"What I don't like is-"
The bus arrived.
Rotor looked at Tails, who offered a smile and handshake. Tails looked at Sonic, who offered the cold shoulder.
Rotor also looked at Sonic. The cold shoulder softened a little bit.
"So this is it?" Sonic mumbled.
"Yeah."
"Sorry, Rote. I didn't mean all that."
"Yeah. Listen, you got a cigarette?"
"They let you smoke in the army?"
"Heck if I know. If I get kicked out for smoking it doesn't bother me."
"You're all right in my book, Rote."
"I know. So you don't have one?"
"Sorry, no." Sonic shook Rotor's hand. "Don't die out there, man. You were a good friend."
"Gotcha. Thanks for coming to see me off."
"Don't mention it."
Rotor stepped into the bus and took a seat. It was still hot. Undoubtedly, he would form another pool of sweat, this time on the seat. It would give him some time to kill in the absence of a cigarette. Sonic waved from outside, as did Tails.
Good golly. The pool was already starting to take shape. Rotor waved back, and began to think about how stuffy the bus was. It was worse than outside.