As I put my hand on the door handle, my heart began to race. The place we had arrived at wasn't somewhere I hadn't been to before, but it almost felt like it. I didn't even remember the last time I had been there. We were at my favorite mall. There were many awesome places here, like a shop with posters and comics, a pet shop that actually housed real puppies, and my favorite: a video game store.
Ever since Christmas, I had begged my mother to get me here somehow. I had gotten a $50 gift card to this game store. While it does sound stupid to spend it only 9 days after I got it, hear me out before you think so. I had gotten an Xbox 360 for Christmas. Ever since the previous May, I had my sights on getting one someday. And my Dad granted my second-greatest Christmas wish (my first being a laptop or computer of some kind). I did rent Minecraft for it, and I had a blast. I had to return it 5 days later. But it almost hurt to touch the box for the last time. That's not a feeling I get with most video games. I knew that that was my second priority for this gift card I had.
My first priority? Before I tell you anything else, you must know that my favorite series of anything ever was not Minecraft, but Sonic the Hedgehog. I have been crazy about that franchise ever since September of 2012. I got excited whenever it was mentioned by anything or anyone.
You know how some people get attracted to fictional characters, claiming them as theirs, writing fanfictions, and things like that? Do not worry, I am not criticizing this behavior at all! In fact, this behavior describes me almost precisely. Now, most fangirls of Sonic go for either Sonic the Hedgehog or Shadow the Hedgehog. Well, I've seen almost all the Sonic characters being fancied by someone. And yes, I fancy one of them as well. But the bloke I am in love with is not one that is loved by many others. Because of that, I have declared myself as his #1 fan.
Who is this boy, you ask? Silver the Hedgehog. That's right. The time traveler himself.
When I fell in love with him, which was in September 2012, I thought I knew everything about him and Sonic the Hedgehog. But compared to now, I was completely clueless of the knowledge I'd face. I didn't even know about the game where Silver originated, a PS3 and Xbox 360 game called Sonic the Hedgehog. To avoid confusion with the very first Sonic game Sega ever created, most refer to it as Sonic 06.
Ever since I saw the majority of it on YouTube for the first time, I dreamt of having it. Now that I had an Xbox 360, I finally had the chance to have the game in my possession. But you'll probably only hear those words from me. Ever. To everyone else, the game is an abomination. A memory they only wish to evict. But those people were not diehard Sonic fans such as myself. Instead of retching at the thought of it, I strongly desired it.
But that's enough about me. My aunt had taken me to the mall. My mother just didn't want to, probably because it was always so cold and gloomy outside. She had also broke her wrist the previous October, so we didn't have much money, meaning that even gas seemed like a heavy cost.
There was a video game store even closer to my house, but my aunt also had a chore at the mall. She had to pick something up from the Bath and Body Works there… or is it Bed, Bath, and Beyond? I forget. Anyway, we figured that coming here would kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Also, we'd get our daily dose of cute from the pet shop. Just looking at those puppies is heartwarming.
So I stepped out of the car, breathing in some of the heart-calmingly freezing air. We walked into the mall, and after following her while she got some shampoo and soap, we arrived at the game store. We would have split up, but it was just too busy to take the risk. Getting lost is not a pleasant experience, even at age 15.
I was able to search out both Minecraft and Sonic 06 easily. My heart raced yet again as I took them up to the cashier, handing him my gift card. I had glanced at the pricetags of both games, and yes, they were under $50 thanks to Sonic 06's surprisingly low cost.
As he set Minecraft down and picked Sonic 06 up, he got the most utterly confused look on his face.
"…Ma'am," he said. "I don't mean to criticize, but… Sonic 06? Why this game?"
"Because I wanted it," I answered.
"But…" he continued. "…Haven't you seen the ratings? The website I looked at rated it 4.8 out of 10."
"Perhaps I'll like it better," I countered. "I happen to be a diehard Sonic fan. Why do I have to base my decisions on what other people say?"
"Suit yourself," he finally told me, putting both games into a bag.
"Chris!" a shockingly deep voice roared from the back room. "Do I hear you criticizing a purchase?!" That must have been the boss.
"N-no, Rob!" he timidly replied.
"I'll just be going," I said.
As we drove down the road back home, I held the two games in my hand. I do that with every new possession I get that wasn't a gift, simply because I was so happy that I could get them. I absolutely couldn't wait to wake up the next day and play them. See, I had to visit a relative tonight, and we'd be getting home at around 11. I didn't want my first experience with a game to be a groggy one!
This relative… was my father. He had just gotten surgery to amputate an infected toe, and my mother really wanted to visit him. He wasn't terminally ill or anything, but nevertheless, we had a nice conversation with him and didn't leave until midnight. We pretty much left because my parents noticed that I was dozing off in the standing position. That was pretty bad.
When I walked in the door, being greeted by my dog and my niece's dog (fleas had taken over their house, almost killing this dog), I noticed something strange. I had set the 2 games I had gotten by, well, my Xbox 360. I thought I was just seeing things, but I noticed that the small space between each game (they were stacked) was glowing. It was a bright cyan light. I figured it was a hallucination of some kind and climbed upstairs and trudged to my bedroom, crashing almost immediately.
I couldn't wait to play both of these games tomorrow. But then again, I got a little worried. I began to wonder what that light was that glowed from my games. There wasn't anything behind them that could shine a light that bright. A light that bright could never be the result of only 2 hours of fatigue. I seriously began to think that there was something going on. Some sort of surreal magic.
Well… I would see tomorrow.
I'd find out that I was right.
Author's note: Not much about the characters, but it pretty much sets up the reasoning and background behind the main conflict. If you'd like, you can review, but I'm a sensitive person, so please keep it to either praise or positive criticism. Thank you for reading!
