A/N - If you couldn't tell from the summary, the slash pairing is Sonadow. (Eventually, at least). ^^
~Sunday, March 6
I swear, Knuckles is such a knucklehead sometimes. Lately he keeps getting sore about me "babbling all my problems" to him every chance I get. I can't even begin to fathom how much bull exists in that statement. First of all—since when did I have these so-called "problems" that I was accused of babbling? Other than normal, everyday stress that comes from being a junior, there really isn't much else I can think of.
No tragic family deaths, no child abuse, no social isolation, no alcohol or drug addiction, no relationship heartaches, not even sinking grades on the Titantic-level. In fact, last time I checked, my recent test scores are guaranteed to earn me straight Bs.
If anything, I dump all the excitement, success, and adventure in my life on that guy. It can't get any more awesome than that.
Besides, what other purposes do best friends serve?
If he wants to shut me out, fine. It's not like I don't have other attentive and loyal friends who'll listen to every word I say.
~Later
…Maybe I should make a list first. Just to be safe.
Okay, how about that guy in my english class, Silver? He's a bit weird, though.
Scratch that—I sometimes wonder why he hasn't been sent off to the "happy farm with nice people in white coats" yet. He claims he's naturally physic, and can see stuff in the future (But I'll give him credit for not playing the "I see dead people" card).
The creepy thing is, he can actually kind of prove it by spoiling the end of every class book we've been assigned so far. And unless he spent his entire summer reading Shakespeare, Dickens, Homer, and other names that I don't care enough to remember, he might really be physic.
Physic or not, he's definitely a no. Blaze might beat me up or something.
There's always those two—I think their names were Vector and Espio? They hang around near the back row of my history class. But then, Vector's never going to stop talking about computers, and Espio's pretty cool and all, but really quiet. I swear, he mysteriously disappears after you talk to him for a while. I hadn't even noticed I was standing in the hallway talking to myself for who-knows-how-long.
And not to mention their fashion sense! In a week I can see myself wearing chains and leather cuffs and bright sneakers. The mental image…it's too much to bear.
Then, I guess, that leaves me with Amy.
Oh god, no. I'm not that desperate.
There's got to be loads of others. I've just got to think harder.
~Later
Uh.
I think I broke my brain.
I don't even…
How is it possible that I, the number one, record-breaking track star of the freaking state, cannot find anyone to hang out with on a weekend? It's insanity! The world is mocking me, I'm sure of it! Or maybe it's just a coincidence. Maybe it just happens that the entire school population is busy—tap-dancing. Yeah, that's got to be how it is. Tap-dancing became a craze overnight without me noticing, and now everyone's signing up for lessons.
Well, shit.
~Later
In the end, I wasn't in the mood to see that knucklehead's smirk on Monday. And so, on a sudden impulse to want to prove myself, I drove all the way to Tails' house. All 28 miles. I was even running low on gas money.
Anyways, he's a great kid, that Tails. When I first met him, he was still at that orphanage center, waiting to be adopted. I used to live within walking distance of that place, and I visited him every chance I got. He was always happy to see me, and I'm certain it wouldn't make a difference now that he's finally found a family.
"Sonic, is that you?" Tails' eyes nearly fell out their sockets when he opened the door. I grinned like mad and ruffled his blond hair a bit. "How are you doing, little bro? Just thought I'd drop by for a quick visit." A second figure came running towards me, squealing. "Hi there Cream, are your parents home?" I had to kneel down to meet them face-to-face, but it was easier than last time, which means they've grown quite a bit.
"Daddy's out shopping, but Mommy's here." She replied in that sweet, innocent tone of hers, "Are you going play with us, Mr. Sonic?"
"You bet! But not too long, alright?" Mom might not see the small note I left on the fridge and start having a heart attack, I added mentally.
After helping ourselves to some homemade cookies, a round of flower picking in the backyard, and a tour of impressive mini models of wooden planes (Tails' treat), we finally settled down and started talking.
Most of the talking was between me and Tails. Cream had sat on the floor nearby stringing together flower necklaces, humming softy.
"What's it like, Sonic?" He asked me, his blue eyes barely able to contain his curiosity.
"What's what like?"
"You know. High school. It's just that I heard—"
I sighed. The rate at which rumors poison children's minds is ridiculous. "Listen to me, Tails. Bullies shaped like boulders will not stuff you in lockers. Or give you wedgies using a flag pole. Or flip you upside-down and steal your lunch money."
I guess my dead-panned expression wasn't convincing enough, because he the next thing he said was, "But I really like Science and engineering...and that would make me nerdy…"
"No, Tails. Labels are stupid and don't account for anything. Just like statistics." Well, it was true. Did you know that 97% of statistics are a bunch of crap? (Not including this one.)
He looked thoughtful for a moment. "But they exist, don't they?"
"Yeah…" I answered slowly. I didn't like where this was heading.
"And you can't avoid them. You just have to live through it, right?"
"Yes." I said, except it sounded like the word got stuck in my throat on its way out.
"Then what would people at your school consider you to be?"
I'll admit, I kind of just…stared at him for a few seconds in bewilderment. With Tails, things tend to backfire as a result of his freakishly bright mind.
"A jock with a hero complex, I guess." I reached over to stuff my face with the last cookie. "'M pretty athletic 'n all." Tails raised his eyebrows in a silent question. I paused to swallow, before continuing, "Didn't I tell you? I had this crazy reputation in freshmen year of being everybody's 'savior.' You wouldn't believe how many problems our school had before I came along. There was cheating, bribing, stealing, damaged property, dishonestly, corruption—even among the staff! I really shouldn't be taking all the credit, though. Knuckles bailed me out in a couple of tight situations, and even Amy, Vector, Espio, Blaze, and that sci-fi Canadian dude chipped in to help." I yawned loudly, purposely making it seem like it wasn't a big deal. When I turned around, I almost burst out laughing at Tails' face.
"No way! You never explained it in that much detail before!" He said, still gaping in amazement. "You have to tell me more! And who was the Canadian? Was he a robot?" My chest started to hurt, and by the time he got to the robot part, I was choking on snorts and giggles. "I'm afraid that Silver isn't a robot, Tails. He's got physic powers, sorry to disappoint." That wasn't a lie, according to Silver himself.
It turned out the mention of physic powers made the kid even more enthusiastic. I wouldn't be surprised if I found an entire box full of comic books stashed away in his room.
I glanced at my watch. 4:13pm. I've already been here for two hours, but that puppy-dog stare was too much, and I had no choice but to give in to his pleads.
It wouldn't hurt, I figured.
~Much later
Shit, shit, shit. Curse my lack of immunity to puppy-dog eyes. Curse the stupid car for running out of gas in the middle of nowhere. Curse my parents for not giving me a higher allowance to pay for gas. Curse my math teacher for giving me a shitload of homework. Curse my putrid, rotten, shitty luck that hadn't been shitty until now.
Ugh. It's past midnight, and I still haven't finished these math problems. On top of that, my stomach is practically eating itself from not digesting tonight's dinner yet. I screwed up, I really did. I got carried away telling stories to Tails and Cream, and before long the sky was already dark. It's great that they're having pleasant dreams of foiling the villain's evil plan to give out *gasp* homework on Fridays right now, but c'mon…
Why can't those teachers go and find x on their own? Why do they have to force their students to do it?
~2 Minutes later
You know what? Screw the educational system. I'm circling x on the diagram.
TBC?
To be clear, the story itself is kind of composed of journal entries. It's up to you to decide if they're mental or actual entries. Reviews, anyone?