In Sehagaga Academy's main lobby, a young girl sat on a couch. She wore a baggy, black outfit and her hair was colored in red, green, and blue. Her eyes were a bright red, and her hood was pulled over her face.
She sighed. "I'm tired…." She glanced over at the clock. "Maybe I'll go home early…"
At that moment, a cowgirl burst through the school's front door shouting, "Yee-haw!" She was riding on a black horse. She stopped the horse, looked at the girl in black, and said, "Howdy!"
The girl in black sighed. "You might want to park your horse…" She said in a dreary, monotone voice.
"Oh, sorry 'bout that." The cowgirl jumped off her horse. "Her name's Nomad. Like her?" She grinned.
"Eh." Was the girl in black's response.
"Well someone's being a Debbie Downer, ain't she?" The cowgirl walked outside and tied her horse to a post. She then walked back in. "I'm Genesis, but you can call me Genny." Genesis had blond hair and blue eyes. She wore a black and red cowboy hat, a low-cut shirt with an American flag pattern on it, a short skirt, and boots. "What's your name?"
"Game Gear." The girl in black admitted quietly.
"Well, how you doin', Game Gear? Your hair's real purty, by the way."
"I'm tired. What time is it?" She asked.
Genny checked her watch. "It's almost 8."
"I think I'm gonna go home soon. Watch some tv. Sleep."
"But it's so early…"
Suddenly, another girl came running in through the front door. Her hair was blue and in long pigtails, and she wore a silver dress with blue buttons. She wore gold rings around her wrists. "Hi, everyone! What's going on?" She asked.
"Nothin'…" Game Gear sighed.
"You going to school here too?" Genesis asked.
"Yeah! I'm Visual Memory! What's your name? Where are you from?" She asked excitedly.
"I'm Genesis, and I'm from America." She stated proudly. "You can call me Genny. And this tired dope next to me is Game Gear."
Visual Memory rushed up to the girls and shook their hands. She turned to Genny. "Oh, you're a cowgirl? Was that your horse outside? Do you have any cows? Are you from Texas? Do you have a farm?" She gushed.
"Actually, I'm from California. But I like to visit Texas! Oh, uh, I've got some cows, and yeah, that's my horse, her name's Nomad."
Visual Memory looked at Game Gear. "Whoa, how'd you get your hair in those colors? Where'd you buy that hoodie? Why do you look so tired? Ar-"
"Stop." Game Gear held out her hand with an exasperated expression on her face. She put her head in her hands. "I think I need a nap…"
The Sega Saturn startup jingle echoed through the lobby. "Oh, that must be the bell! We're gonna go to class! I'm so excited!" Visual Memory ran up the stairs towards the classroom. She turned around. "C'mon guys, you don't wanna be late, do you?"
"I don't care." Game Gear said as she slowly stood up and started shuffling towards the door. Genny followed.
"Wow, our classroom looks so cool!" Visual Memory exclaimed as she entered.
"It sucks." Game Gear walked in, looking at the ground.
"Look, a TV!" Genny pointed out as she walked towards it.
"…Oh?" Game Gear faintly smiled and stepped closer to the TV. "I wonder what channels it gets…"
"You like watching TV, Game Gear?" Genny asked.
"Sometimes I feel that TV is the only thing that keeps me alive." Game Gear picked up the TV remote and pressed the power button.
The TV lit up with a bright green screen. In the center of the display was a pixelated rabbit. "Welcome, Sega Hard Girls." The rabbit greeted them.
"What show is this?" Game Gear yawned. She pressed the channel up button, but the display didn't change. "Huh…" She looked at the remote with confusion.
"Who are you?" Visual Memory asked the rabbit.
"I'm your teacher. You can call me Center-sensei."
"Nice to meet you, Center-sensei! How'd you get in that TV? And what's the maximum resolution of it? And what are all those shortcuts on your-"
"Everything but my name is a secret."
"Aw…" Visual Memory said with disappointment.
"Why does the resolution of the TV even matter? As long as it's made in America, it's fine." Genesis stated.
"Most TVs are made in Japan, you know…" Game Gear said.
"So, what are you going to teach us?" Visual Memory asked Center-sensei.
"I'm going to teach you about various video games. If you can complete the tasks I give you and collect 100 credit medals, you'll be able to graduate."
"Oh, sounds neat!" Visual Memory exclaimed.
"Sounds like a rip-snortin' good time!" Genny added.
"Eh." Was all that Game Gear said.
"Your first class is…Genesis, pay attention."
Genny was pulling out a hamburger from her skirt pocket. "I am paying attention!" She took a bite of the hamburger.
Center-sensei sighed. "As I was saying, your first lesson will be…Sonic R."
"Sonic R?" All three girls echoed.
Center-sensei displayed Sonic R's gameplay on the screen. "Sonic R was released in 1997 for the Sega Saturn. It's a racing game best known for it's soundtrack and- Game Gear?"
Game Gear was groaning and slamming her head onto a desk on the side of the room. "This is boring. When does class end?"
"Class ends when you complete your objectives." Center-sensei said. "Since this is your first class, I'll make today's lesson easy. Your goal is to place in the top three in a race."
"Pfft, that'll be so easy. Especially since I'm the best at racing games back in America. Well, actually, I'm the best at everything." Genesis stated confidently.
"Ugh." Game Gear groaned.
"You all are going to go inside the game for your lesson. Go ahead, don't be afraid!" Center-sensei advised them.
"Really? We are? That's so cool!" Visual Memory jumped up and down with excitement.
"You remind me of someone. You didn't by any chance know a person named Dreamcast, did you?" Center-sensei asked her.
"That name sounds familiar but…I'm not sure. Maybe we've met before?"
"Ah, I see. Well, go on now. Jump into the world of Sonic R!"
"I don't feel like it." Game Gear sighed.
"Do it, girl!" Genny pushed Game Gear into the TV, where she dissolved into light. She then jumped in after her, along with Visual Memory.
The three girls landed on the beach of a tropical island. The sounds of dance music could be heard; specifically, "Can You Feel the Sunshine?".
"Wow, we're really in Sonic R!" Visual Memory exclaimed.
"This music is too cheery." Game Gear commented. "It's too early in the morning for this."
Genny spoke up. "I like it here. Reminds me of back home in America. Ah, I miss the land of the free a-"
"Shut up." Game Gear interrupted her.
"Look, the starting line!" Visual Memory pointed out a checkered line in the sand.
"Aw yeah, it's racin' time! Back in America, they always called me "Blast Processing". We'd always run around, and then we'd go and hit McDonalds." Genny sighed. "Good times…"
Next to the three girls, two other racers arrived. One was a stuffed animal that resembled Tails but floated; another was a robot that appeared similar to Knuckles.
"G-guys…that doll is kind of creeping me out…I mean it's floating, and it's eyes are all…" Visual Memory shifted closer to Game Gear and Genny.
A hologram of Center-sensei popped up above the starting line. "Now that all of the racers have arrived, it's time you start the race. It'll be three laps. Are you all ready?"
"No." Game Gear replied.
"Well too bad, the race is going to start soon anyway." Center-sensei disappeared.
The girls heard a voice announcing, "Ready! Set! Go!" and the other two racers sped off.
Genny was the first to start running. "Yahoo! I'm so fast right now, check me out!"
Game Gear sat down in the sand. "I think I'm gonna take a nap."
"No, get up!" Visual Memory pulled her up. "We gotta win this race!" She took Game Gear by the hand and started running with her.
"What's taking you guys so long?" Genny yelled from farther ahead.
"We'll catch up!" Visual Memory shouted. "Oh, Genny! Get that item!"
Genny ran into an emblem, which gave her a speed boost. "Ooh, nice!" She announced as she ran faster. "Wait a second, how do I-?" She crashed into a wall.
Visual Memory and Game Gear caught up to Genny as she regained her balance. "What happened?" Visual Memory asked her.
"It's weird…I tried turning, but I couldn't turn fast enough. Well, that's in the past, I guess." Genny began to turn towards her right, but barely moved. "Why am I turning so slow?" She continued to slowly change her direction. "I should've brought Nomad. For some reason I'm turning like a tank."
"Let me try." Visual Memory tried turning towards the same direction, but with little success. "Wait, didn't Center-sensei say this was an easy lesson? But, it's so hard to move anywhere but forwards…"
"Wait, I think I've got it!" Genny finally managed to turn completely towards her right. She began to run ahead.
"Wait for me, Genny!" Visual Memory followed. She looked at Game Gear. "Hey, Game Gear. If you race with us, I'll pay your next cable bill."
Game Gear sighed, but then faintly smiled. "Fine." She started to run towards them.
"Finally, we're almost there!" Genesis exclaimed as she approached the finish line. She crossed it and threw her fists in the air. "Yeah! Check that out, y'all! Genny's in first place!"
"Congrats, Genny!" Visual Memory said as she crossed the line. "Oh! I'm in second!"
"Where's Game Gear?" Genny asked.
Game Gear stumbled towards the finish line, panting. "Guys, I'm gonna take a break…" She sat down on the ground.
"What are you doing, Game Gear? I h- We have to get those medals!" Genny shouted.
"Resting."
"But we're not gonna win unless you keep running!" Visual Memory protested.
Tails Doll and Metal Knuckles started heading towards Game Gear.
"Hurry up, girl! They're gonna pass you!" Genny said.
Tails Doll and Metal Knuckles ran straight into Game Gear, tripping over her and falling into the water.
"Hm?" Game Gear turned her head to look at the splash.
"Game Gear, c'mon!" Genny yelled. She took a box of French fries out of her pocket. "Do it for the fries! They're fresh, and from America!"
"All right…" Game Gear slowly walked across the finish line and took the fries out of Genny's hand.
Center-sensei's hologram reappeared. "Congratulations! You three have completed today's assignment. Follow me back to Sehagaga Academy."
The girls jumped through the hologram and arrived back in their classroom.
Game Gear lied down on the floor. "I'm too tired to stand…but those fries were good."
"For completing today's challenge, you'll each get 5 medals." On the television screen, each of the girls was displayed next to a "X5". "Class is dismissed for the day!"
"So, what should we do now?" Visual Memory asked.
"I'm gonna go home and watch TV. Bye." Game Gear nonchalantly walked out the door.
"Do you know if there's any American restaurants around here? Like, McDonalds or something?" Genny asked Visual Memory.
"Oh, I know tons! There's McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, Arby's, a-"
"Can you take me to one?"
"Sure!"
Game Gear poked her head through the door. "You're going out to eat? Will there be more fries? And does the restaurant have a TV?"
"Yes, and maybe." Visual Memory nodded.
"Then…I guess I'll come with you."
The three girls exited the school building, headed towards the nearest fast food restaurant they could find.