Rouge woke up to the sound of her alarm clock. "Another day of highschool."
She got out of bed and walked to her closet.
"Hmmm…What should I wear?" she muttered to herself as she scanned all the clothes in her closet.
Then she spotted the perfect outfit. A white low-cut tank top and a red mini skirt would surely impress her friends today. Along with a pair of high heels and her favorite red purse. "I am gonna look hot in this."
She changed, and then went into the bathroom to put on her makeup. She tip-toed out of the house so she wouldn't wake up her parents. Her mother was a model and her dad was a scientist. They both worked very hard all day, and deserved a good night's sleep. Rouge walked to her white Cadillac and stopped to admire it. It was much better than Amy's pink sedan or Cream's peach bug. It was even better than Sonic's blue mustang. Feeling proud of her car, Rouge hopped inside and ran her hand across the dashboard.
"Pure gold," escaped her lips and she pulled out of the driveway.
As she was pulling out, she heard a crack outside and the car stopped. "Crap," she said. "Let's see what I ran over."
She stepped out of the car and walked over to the back tire. There was glass all over, and the tire was flat. "Oh no, one of Dad's test tubes," she said nervously. "He must have dropped it when he got home. And now I've got a flat."
She looked at her watch. It read 7:00. "Damn, I'm gonna be late!"
Rouge bit her lip, and turned to the garage. "I know, I'll just use Mom's Cadillac."
Fortunately, Rouge's mother also drove a white Cadillac. Rouge went to the garage and grabbed her mother's keys. She got in the car, pulled out of the garage, and sped down the street.
She glanced at the built in clock. "7:05…I can still make it!"
She drove in before the gate closed and parked in a spot marked "reserved". She looked in the mirrors, combed her hair, and touched up her makeup, then slowly opened the door and stepped out of her mom's stylish prize.
"Hey, look! Rouge is here!" Sonic said, and the group turned, smiles on their faces.
"Hi, Rouge!" Cream said cheerfully.
"Where were you? It's 7:15 already!" Amy scolded.
"I got a flat," Rouge said, not mentioning that the beauty she had arrived in was her mother's.
"That's terrible," Tails commented. "Were you able to fix it?"
"Of course she was, Tails," Amy said. "She drove in it, didn't she?"
"I guess you're right," Tails said, and put his hands in his pockets.
Just then, a black sports car parked in the space next to Rouge's. They all turned their heads as a black hedgehog with red highlights stepped out of the car.
"I've never seen him here before," Cream whispered to Amy. "Is he lost?"
"I don't know, but he's cute," Amy replied, not taking her eyes off the smoking hot hedgehog.
"Is this Station Square Highschool?" he asked in a deep, sexy voice.
"This is it," Amy answered.
He looked at Amy, confused.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Amy Rose."
"Pleased to meet you," he said as he shook her hand. "I'm Shadow."
Amy blushed as Shadow turned to Sonic and Tails.
"I'm Sonic."
"I'm Tails."
"And I'm Knuckles," Knuckles said, shoving the other two aside. 'If you want a tour of the school, I'm your guy."
"Thank you," Shadow said. "I would appreciate that."
"I'm Cream, and this is Rouge," said the little rabbit.
Shadow looked at Rouge and she crossed her arms.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Shadow said, and Rouge looked away.
He turned back to everyone else. "I guess I'll see you later," he said, and walked off.
"Did you see that?" Amy screeched. "And he touched my hand!"
"What are you doing, guys?" Rouge shouted. "He's a new kid!"
"So?" Sonic said.
"So, the most popular group in the school doesn't talk to newcomers!" Rouge was clearly furious with them.
"Why does it matter?" Knuckles asked.
"Because, if we greet newcomers with open arms every time one shows up, the other kids won't think we're cool anymore," Rouge explained. "They'll think we're not picky enough!"
"Well, it is nice to be popular," tails said, and stood next to Rouge. "I'm with Rouge."
"Me too," Amy said, and joined Tails.
"Well, we're not," Sonic said, Knuckles and Cream standing behind him. "We like the guy."
"And it's not right to be mean to someone just because you're worried about your popularity slipping," Cream added.
"Fine then! We'll just go our separate ways! Goodbye, Sonic!" Amy said, and followed Rouge and Tails inside.
Sonic glanced at his watch. "It's 7:30. We'd better get to class."
'That bastard!' Rouge thought as she took notes. 'How dare he come to our school and think he'll fit in with the popular group! I bet he's screwin' with us, being all sweet and innocent, then, when he's got our trust, he'll start acting like his real self, wanting to be treated like a fucking prince!'
"Rouge?" the teacher called. "What's wrong? You seem to be upset."
"What?" Rouge said, her cheeks turning pink. "Oh, nothing…"
"All right," he said, turning back to the board.
Rouge continued taking notes, embarrassed about being called out in front of the whole class. She knew that they must have been laughing at her in their minds, although no one in the school would dare laugh at the most popular girl at Station Square High. She vowed to herself then that she would keep control of her emotions from now on.
"That Shadow! Who does he think he is?" Amy whispered to Tails. "And to think I liked him!"
"Him and Sonic, Knuckles, and Cream are gonna slow us down," Tails whispered back. "We can't hang out with them anymore; we'll stay with Rouge from this point on until the others come to their senses."
The teacher walked up to their desks, a slightly annoyed look on her face. "Amy, Tails, you know there is no talking allowed in my classroom," she said rather loudly. "See me after class…Both of you."
"Yes, ma'am," Amy and Tails responded in unison.
They looked at each other, knowing that they would be staying after class for a long while. Mrs. Gargy did not play games; she was very strict and severe with her punishments. Even some of the other teachers were scared of her—even Mr. Carinsky, the toughest teacher of them all! His most popular excuse for being afraid of her was that she reminds him of his mother. Amy and Tails always wondered how a tough guy like that was still being controlled by his mom.
"Hey, Knux, why do you think Rouge doesn't like that new guy?" Sonic whispered to Knuckles.
"No clue," Knuckles replied.
"She's usually cool about stuff like this," Sonic added.
"Yeah, I don't know what's gotten into her," Knuckles said. "Maybe she's jealous."
"Rouge? Jealous?" Sonic replied. "There's no way Rouge could be jealous of anyone."
"hey, it's possible," Knuckles pointed out. "After all, we greeted Shadow pretty warmly."
"I guess so—but it still doesn't make any sense…" Sonic said. 'Rouge…Jealous…But why? Could it be? Naw…Not jealous…Not Rouge…'
'I gotta admit, I started off pretty good at this school,' Shadow thought. 'The guys I met got style, and the girls were pretty cute. Especially that bat girl; although, I think she has something against me. Other than that, I'm starting off on the right foot.'
Suddenly, a neatly folded piece of paper flew onto his desk. He looked over at Cream, and she smiled real big. He gently unfolded the paper and read the note.
Shadow,
If you wanna meet some cute girls, I can introduce you to my girl friends. They are really looking forward to meeting you.
—Cream
Shadow looked over at Cream again; she smiled just a cute little smile this time. He smiled back at her and nodded.
'So far, so good,' he thought.
