Chapter 4: More Trouble? Bring It On! Part 2
A person can meet over a thousand people in their lifetime. Some will befriend them. Others will enrage them. Then, there are those who downright stupefy them. After the initial reaction of meeting them, how two people start a relationship is very vital. The first time they talk, play, or work together should make things clear on whether they should be friends or not.
"You're lying to me. There's no way I could've tied with...him." Shadow gave a Sonic a sharp look and turned back to Mephiles. "Tell me the truth." Mephiles shook his hooded head.
"I'm not lying, Shadow. You didn't win against Sonic, and Sonic didn't win either. It was a tie."
For Sonic, things were just getting more confusing.
He stared at Mephiles in utter shock. Him, Sonic Maurice the Hedgehog, the popular teen who was nicknamed "The Fastest Thing Alive", the blue hedgehog who never lost a race to anyone, had just tied with another hedgehog. An overwhelming feeling came over Sonic as he stood there. I didn't win? He blinked a couple of times at the thought surfacing in his head. Shadow didn't believe it either. A similar thought and feeling were moving inside him as well. Both hedgehogs stood in silence. Mephiles broke the silence.
"Alright then. Sonic, take a few more laps around the track before you call it a day. Shadow, go do a couple more lunges in the training room. I'm going to leave now." Shadow gave Mephiles a vexing look while Mephiles began to walk off the field.
"Where do you think you're going?" Mephiles turned his head back at the black hedgehog.
"I'm going to take a nap. If you want to join, feel free to do so." With that blunt yet strange remark, Mephiles left the field. It took Shadow a couple moments to compose himself, and then, he proceeded to storm off the field after his hooded friend, muttering curses under his breath. Rouge stepped up to Sonic and waved a hand in his face. He didn't move. Rouge knew how much winning meant to Shadow and figured Sonic was the same. With a small sigh, she gave Sonic a small push in the back.
"Go on. Go do your laps. Hurry up now. I'll go make sure Shadow hasn't slit Mephiles' throat or something." Rouge walked off, and Sonic stumbled up to lanes. Regaining his posture, Sonic began his laps, but his mind was clouded. I didn't win, but I didn't lose either? This has never happened before. Indeed, it hadn't happened before.
It happens to athletes time after time. They think they're unbeatable, indestructible, on top of the world. People who win and win and win again do not know the meaning of losing. It is like being sprayed with cold water when you are at your hottest. It is like giving your very best on a test, but you end up flunking it. It is like having everything you could ever want for one moment, and it is stripped away from you, leaving you naked and bare of value.
In short, it is the worst feeling in the world for Sonic the Hedgehog, but the thing was he didn't lose either. But, I still didn't win. Sonic jogged along with his head in the clouds. He wasn't exactly angry or disappointed, just shocked and confused. Sonic continued to jog in a weary stupor until a voice from above called out to him.
"Sonic!" Sonic glanced up at the sky and saw a large shadow passing the sun. The slightly bulky silhouette and strong voice could only belong to one Mobian teen he knew. Disbelief and slight happiness crossed his face as a familiar red echidna landed in front of him.
"Knuckles!?" Knuckles grinned and crossed his arms over his chest.
"The one and only!" The fiery furred Mobian was wearing a tan t-shirt with worn out blue jeans. A piece of his white crest birthmark poked out at the top. Sonic smiled down upon his familiar red shoes. They had a yellow stripe across them, silver plates with bolts on both, and lime green cuffs. Strange taste, but Sonic always thought they were the coolest. Only someone like Knuckles could pull them off anyway. Knuckles gave Sonic a bear hug while the slightly slimmer and shorter Mobian laughed.
"Jeez! What's with all the affection? You miss me that much?" Sonic was joking, but he couldn't deny in his heart how happy it made him to see his friend again. Sonic squeezed Knuckles back and pulled out of the hug. "Oh boy. You got taller too! You're a giant, Knuckles! A giant!" Knuckles waved him off.
"I'm like three inches taller than you. Get a grip!" They laughed and smiled at his words. "So, I take it you go here now, huh?" Sonic's mood dropped a bit, but he still smiled. He wasn't sure how any of his old friends would react to him going to Chaos, so he didn't contact anyone or anything. He knew he'd face the music sometime, but he just wasn't quite ready yet. He shrugged despite his stomach churning dangerously within him.
"Heh. Yeah, what can I say? It's not Emerald, but it's close enough." Knuckles nodded and didn't say anything. "So, why are you here anyway?"
"Oh. Me? I was just doing errands for my dad. He's always got something for me to do, I swear." Despite saying that like a normal teen would, Sonic knew better that Knuckles loved to do work for his dad. He was a very traditional and family-oriented young man regardless of how people saw him to be. Knuckles enjoyed being on his lonesome and having time to himself, but he would always hang out with Sonic and their friends and do work for his dad and other family members when he needed to. "He needed me to drop off some car parts at a partner's house. Nothing major. It was just two engines, an exhaust system, and two mufflers." Sonic's jaw dropped.
"Two engines!? You carried two at the same time!? How far did you carry them!?" Knuckle scratched his head before answering.
"A couple miles or so, I guess." Sonic shook his head. Knuckles was blessed with super strength. It was a very rare and powerful ability, but for some reason, Knuckles had too much of it. Should a five year-old be able to pick up a vending machine with ease? Even if they weren't, Knuckles did and could do so much more. Sonic remembered how his dad would tell Knuckles' dad to get Knuckles checked up on. A strength ability like his shouldn't have been unlocked at such a young age, but Knuckles' dad would brush it off and focus on training Knuckles in handling his strength. Sonic was never really worried about him, but one could only imagine what would happen to someone who made Knuckles mad.
"Of course it was a couple miles. Seriously, Knuckles, your dad needs to buy you a car." Knuckles sighed wearily. Even though he was a little more than half a year older than Sonic and in the same grade as him, Knuckles already received his license by mistake. His height and build made him look older than most would believe.
"You know he's never going to do that. That old man's so stubborn sometimes." They walked over to the edge of the field and leaned near the fence. Knuckles frowned lightly. "This isn't a fence. This is barbed wire. Seriously, Sonic, why are you here?" Sonic groaned internally. It wasn't fair to keep Knuckles in the dark anymore. Sonic explained everything to Knuckles. He explained his problems with his parents, Silver, Espio, Shadow, and Mephiles. As he finished, Knuckles stared at him with a frown on his face. "Well, your life got crappy real fast." Sonic narrowed his eyes.
"Geez, thanks, Knuckles." Even though he said it bluntly, you could still hear the hurt in his voice. Knuckles, being a good listener, heard this and sighed.
"That's not what I meant, Sonic. What? You want me to say, "Boo hoo! Poor you!"? Life happens, Sonic, and sometimes we aren't always in control of it. Now, I do feel bad for you, but I'm not gonna apologize and get all depressed with you. Yeah, that would make me good friend. But, a great friend would tell you to stop crying, pick your sorry butt up, and keep going. Understand me?" Sonic blinked and smiled lightly at his fiery friend.
"Well, geez, thanks, Knucklehead." Knuckles smiled back.
"No problem. Besides, you got Silver now! Lucky! Hey, how's he doing?" Sonic's smiled vanished at the mention of Silver's name. He quickly gave Knuckles the dish on Silver. Knuckles frowned again at the mention of his old friend's moody attitude. "I bet this has something to do with his parents."
"Why would you say that?"
"When Silver moved away, I asked my dad about him. He told me Silver's parents were pretty unstable. They'd be together one moment and separated the next. They were always fighting and doing meaningless crap, and they had no time for Silver." Sonic's heart dropped. Silver... "I guess I can relate to him, you know?" Knuckles' parents were divorced, and Knuckles lived with his dad. He hasn't seen his mom since he was three. Sonic gave Knuckles a sad look.
"Are you ever going to even try to see your mom again?" Knuckles bristled at the question crossed his arms. Pain and confusion seemed to seep into his violet eyes.
"I... I don't know. Can we not talk about that anymore? Please." Sonic didn't say a word. There aways was this big deal about his parents' divorce. Sonic never knew but didn't really have the heart to ask. He stood next to his friend in an understanding silence. "Thanks. Anyways, I'll talk to Silver. Talking to him might actually be sort of nice." Sonic noticed the slightly disheartened tone of Knuckles voice and looked at him straight in the eyes.
"What's up with you?" Knuckles shrugged heavily.
"I haven't been feeling so hot, you know? Things haven't been so cool after you left."
"Why? What happened?" Knuckles didn't speak. "Knuckles, you can tell me. What the heck's happening? Does it have to do with Emerald?" Knuckles sighed, and then, he groaned to himself.
"Fine, I tell you." He took a deep breath in and blew it out slowly. "Honestly, ever since you left, things have been utter crap. I got kicked off the football team, I got dumped by my girlfriend, I'm flunking TechEd, and I've lost my favorite CD. You know it. It's the "Freelance Ferrets' Flight" CD album remix I begged my dad to let me go get. I waited for five hours in a sweaty, congested sidewalk with hundreds of other Mobians to get. I waited so long to get that freaking CD, and now, it's gone!" Knuckles covered his face in his fists. "I just can't do it. Everything and everyone are being so crappy." Sonic smirked.
"Welcome to the club, brother! As a great friend, let me tell you to stop crying, pick your sorry butt up, and keep going!" Sonic smiled at Knuckles, who rolled his eyes and laughed.
"Guess I'm a hypocrite then, huh?" Sonic shook his head.
"Nah, you're just a teenager." Knuckles laughed while Sonic smiled. "But, why did you get kicked off the team? You were great! You were the best quarterback Emerald had ever seen, and when you played center," Sonic whistled. "You were unstoppable. You tackled those guys like you were a pro! What happened?" Knuckles shrugged.
"I don't know. Like, when you left, things got weird." Sonic cocked an eye ridge and made a face. "I'm serious. The minute you left I was out! My dad's all disappointed in me, and I hate to admit it, but I'm a bit bored without football." Sonic nodded. He felt the same a bit until he joined cross country. If only I could get Knuckles to join a sport... Then, an idea struck him. It was weird-no, scratch that-it was insane, but it would help Knuckles and someone else he knew. Sonic spoke without thinking anymore on it.
"Do you wanna join the football team here?" Knuckles blinked and looked at the blue teen.
"You mean Chaos' football team? I mean, do you even have one here?"
"Yeah, we do. A friend of mine, Jasmine, is starting one. You should help set it up!" Knuckles thought for a moment in silence. "Come on, Knuckles, please!? People here would definitely listen to you more than me. Trust me. I'm not popular in a good way here. Plus, it will make Jasmine really happy!" Knuckles looked at Sonic.
"Is it even possible? Sonic, I go to a different school." Sonic knew this and brushed it aside. If there was someone who could pull the strings around that, it was Rouge. He waved it off.
"Don't worry about that. I got it covered." Knuckles still hesitated, but Sonic was insistent. If there was someone who could make a winning team, it was Knuckles. Speaking of Rouge also, out of the corner of his eye, Sonic spotted her walking back onto the field. She climbed the bleachers, paying Sonic and Knuckles no mind, and sat back down. She placed her headphones back on, turned up her music, and resumed reading. Another idea popped into Sonic's head, and he smirked lightly. Jerking a thumb at Rouge, he spoke.
"And, I'll toss in a date with her as an added bonus." Knuckles glanced on over at the albino bat girl. Her long, tan legs poked out of her black denim skirt. Her curves were suitably outlined by her black sweater. Her dark teal eyes glimmered elegantly against her snowy fur. In short, she looked stunning, and Sonic knew it. Knuckles stared at Rouge in utter silence. Knuckles usually never dated girls for looks, and he had just got out of a relationship, but there was just something about Rouge... Knuckles gulped and looked at victorious-looking hedgehog.
"When does practice start?"
Sonic was feeling good. He was currently hanging up flyers for football tryouts in his school's hallways. After chatting with Knuckles a little bit more, they decided to have tryouts Friday afternoon at the school. Sonic told Jasmine, who was over the moon in happiness, and printed out a bunch of flyers for the tryouts. Rouge was also excited, and when Sonic explained Knuckles' "student-from-another-school" situation, she said, "Don't you worry. I got it covered.". Sonic forgot to explain to her about promising Knuckles a date with her but decided to worry about it later. After all, he was Sonic. Matching up pals on dates wasn't too hard for him. Smiling to himself, Sonic rushed down the hallways, pasting on more flyers.
It was 5th period, and Sonic received permission from his teacher to post up posters for football. Excited and quick, Sonic dashed around a corner only to be stopped by something incredibly large. He bounced off the large presence and fell to the ground. The posters flew from his hands. What the-! Was that a brick wall or something!? Sonic sat up and observed the teens in front of him. They were large and powerful-looking. Menace and rage steamed off their muscles. One Mobian bear, in particular, looked down on Sonic. His fur was jet black, and his burnt orange eyes stared at Sonic. There were scars on his face, and his wounded, darkened skin poked through. A black, leather jacket and blue jeans dressed his bulging body. Sonic quickly glanced at his dark hiking boots with spikes. A growl erupted from the bear's throat.
"Who the hell are you?" Sonic blinked up at the teen. Menacing, he was, but Sonic couldn't afford being looked down upon. He was starting to get the hang of things at Chaos and wasn't going to be looked at as weak anymore. Sonic picked himself up and stared up at the bear. He had to be a good six inches taller than the blue teen, but Sonic stood tall.
"Name's Sonic. Who are you?" Sonic's voice was cool and plain. He didn't want to seem startled by the bear and his friends' presence. The bear narrowed his eyes at the cool-toned hedgehog.
"Brick. The name's Brick. And, you, Sonic, have some explaining to do." Brick and his friends stared down on the hedgehog. Sonic was clearly smaller than them, but he knew he could always run if the situation called for it. He didn't want to pick a fight at school, especially if the school was Chaos. Sonic held up his hands as if to feign defeat.
"Oh, just now? Sorry 'bout that. I was in a bit of a rush." Brick sneered at Sonic's response.
""In a bit of a rush"? Well, maybe you shouldn't "rush" so much. Wouldn't do so well in a bedroom performance if you know what I mean." The group of larger teens laughed while Sonic grounded his teeth. That was SO uncalled for! Sonic narrowed his eyes at Brick.
"Look man, I'm not here for your stupid jokes. I'm leaving." Sonic quickly picked up his posters and made move to walk around Brick. Brick seized the hedgehog's upper arm and tossed Sonic back. Some of the bear's friends pushed Sonic forward, causing the hedgehog to lose his breathe for a moment. Sonic gasped and glared at the Mobian bear. "The heck was that for!?" Brick growled loudly at him and raised his grey claws.
"You don't go anywhere until I'm done talking to you." Sonic clenched his fists. He really didn't want to pick a fight. He knew a fight against him and the powerhouses in front of him would not end well. Brick's friends started to jeer and threaten the silent hedgehog in front of them.
"Let's give this little hedgie a dunk in the garbage can out back!"
"Nah, I wanna beat him up until he cries for mommy."
"Hey, how about we kick his ass then hang him from the third floor windows?"
"Oh! I like that idea!" The larger Mobians started to agree on what to do with him, and Sonic felt even more nervous than before. He could sense a scuffle about to break out and didn't want any part of it. Brick nodded at his friends suggestions until he saw the posters in Sonic's hands.
"Hey." Sonic, who was about ready to bolt, looked back at Brick. "What are those for?" He pointed to the posters in Sonic's hand. Sonic hesitated a moment before handing one over.
"They're for football tryouts after school. We're making a team, and they're being held at the field." Brick took one while Sonic silently thought to himself. I don't like this guy, but hey, who knows? If he joins, maybe Knuckles will put him in line or something. Sonic almost laughed to himself at that. Brick was still reading the poster. Then, he tore it to shreds before the blue hedgehog's eyes. Sonic narrowed his eyes at the bear. "What was that for!?" Brick sneered down at him.
"Like anybody would join such a pussy sport like football!" Brick's pals agreed and laughed at that. All Sonic could think about was how much time Jasmine and him had spent making the flyers. Rage seeped into his veins quickly, and Sonic finally snapped.
"You! You're such a-" An angered growl ripped at Sonic's throat, threatening to be let out. "Whatever! Just get the hell out of my way!" Sonic pushed past Brick and began to stalk off. Brick turned and glared at the hedgehog's back. He charged at Sonic with a claw raised. Hearing someone come up behind him, Sonic quickly side-stepped out of the way and turned on Brick. "Now what!?" Brick growled at the fast blue teen.
"You're dead meat." Him and his friends started to go at Sonic. Sonic grounded his teeth again. Because of his anger, the situation had taken a turn for the worse. Brick slashed at his head, but Sonic simply tucked and ducked under it. Two of his friends, an alligator and an elephant, charged at the blue teen with full force. Sonic dashed out of the way just in time and narrowly dodged another horizontal hit from Brick. He looked at Brick and narrowed his eyes.
"I don't want to fight, Brick!" He was still ducking and dodging, but they were enclosing him in a circle. This isn't good! Brick grinned and flashed Sonic his sharp primitive teeth.
"Too bad, hedgie! Because now, you're all mine!" They went to grab a hold of Sonic, who was trapped in the middle. Sonic resisted to yell as rough hands tried to grab at him from all sides. He was held in the middle and struggled for freedom. The posters dropped to the floor, but Sonic couldn't pick them back up. Twisting and pulling, Sonic tried to escape but with no avail. "Give up already!" Sonic was about to snap back when another voice sounded in the hallway.
"What is going on here!?" All heads snapped to the left as a teacher came into view. It wasn't just any teacher though. Sonic gulped when he saw Zavok walk up. He was wearing another brown suit and had a briefcase in his hand. He glared hotly at the group of teenage boys. "Well!? Did you not hear me? What's going on!?" The larger teens jumped back from Sonic in fear almost and gave the blue teen room. Sonic's clothes were tattered. His jeans were wrinkled, and his navy blue jacket was ruffled up while his white shirt underneath was torn a little. Even his trademark red shoes had a couple scuffs on them. Sonic smoothed out his jeans and spoke up first.
"They attacked me! That's what happened! I was trying to get away, but they still went after me!" Sonic knew being a tattletale was totally childish and preferred to settle his problems on his own, but he didn't want to get into any trouble. Brick glared at Sonic and spoke.
"Not even true! The little hedgie started it." Sonic felt a vein tighten somewhere on his head.
"And, would you please make his stop calling me "hedgie"?" Zavok looked at the teens for a moment. Sonic almost felt triumphant. With the way he looked compared to the way the others looked, he knew Zavok had no reason to not believe him. Things were looking good for him. Zavok stared at all the teens for a moment more before answering. He crossed his arms at the students with authority.
"I have a just enough mind to suspend you for your derogatory actions." Sonic let out a breathe of relief while Brick glowered at him. Zavok cut his eyes at Sonic. "I meant you, Mr. Maurice." Sonic's eyes widened. Evil teacher say what now!?
"M-Me? What did I do? Mr. Zavok, I was attacked!"
"Oh, really? You were? Is that what happened, Mr. Wilde?" Brick blinked at Zavok. It took him a moment to understand what was happening, and he instantly liked it. A sincere yet plainly evil smile appeared on his face.
"Why, yes, Mr. Zavok. That is exactly what happened." Sonic couldn't believe his ears. "Sonic here messed with us, so it only normal that me fight back. Right, guys?" The other members of his group caught on and nodded along. Sonic cut in quickly.
"No! That's not what happened! They're lying! They're not even supposed to be here!" Zavok looked back at Brick.
"Why are you boys out here? You have permission from your teacher, I presume? Setting up a project or doing a errand?" Something wasn't right with that last statement, and Sonic knew it. He's giving them an alibi, isn't he!? Brick nodded and cut his eyes at Sonic.
"Actually, we were setting up posters for football tryouts for this afternoon." The blue hedgehog grew cold at his words. "We were doing a pretty good job until the hed-oh. Sorry, I meant Sonic appeared. He trampled on the rest over there." Brick gestured over to the flattened posters on the floor. Zavok nodded, pleased with the answer he received.
"I can see that. Well, good of you boys. What of you, Mr. Maurice? Skipping class? How distasteful." Of all people, it was Brick and his friends who were skipping. Sonic's jaw fell, and he shot back.
"No! I was not! I was setting up posters! They interrupted me! Can't you see that!?" Zavok ignored his disrespectfulness and shrugged lightly. He was about to leave too.
"Oh, really? It seems to me you cut class, offended your peers, and started a little fight that you couldn't quite win." Zavok clicked his tongue. "Typical of you ego-inflated hedgehogs." Sonic stood there in utter silence. Rage and disbelief coursed through him like electricity. Zavok had no right to accuse him of wrongdoing or insult his species. The young hedgehog's face grew slightly red as he spoke to the mean teacher.
"Hold it right there." His voice was almost deadly, and anyone could hear the anger in it. Zavok, noticing this, looked at the teen in slight amusement.
"Yes, Mr. Maurice? You're going to apologize to your classmates?" Brick and his gang stared at Sonic along with Zavok. Sonic breathed in and out slowly.
"First off, you have no right to disrespect my species like that. I don't care if you're a teacher or the freaking King of Mobius! You have no right! Second, I'm not apologizing for anything. I did nothing wrong, and you know it. Third, do it." Sonic threw up his hands and gave Zavok an irritated yet bored look. "Give me a punishment. I know you're going to. You might as well get it over with." In all his life of teaching, Zavok never encountered a student like Sonic. All who faced him were either intimidated or scared witless. Zavok narrowed his eyes in disgust at the defiant Mobian teen in front of him. He'd have his rightful revenge soon.
"Seven thousand words. Three thousand synopsis. You already know the conditions. Bring it on Monday." He turned to Brick and the others, who watched Sonic talk back to Zavok in shock and surprise. There were rumors of there being a kid who stood up to Zavok, but none of them figured it was Sonic. "As for you boys, come to my classroom. It's my planning period, so I'll be much obliged to write you all passes to class. Your peer will be picking up the trash on the ground." By trash, he meant the flyers. Sonic crossed his arms and grunted.
"Whatever." Zavok flinched but didn't say anything back. Clenching his fists, he stalked down the hallway. Brick and his friends shot Sonic a mix of disbelieving and dirty looks before following. When the hallway was empty, Sonic dropped to his knees and slowly began to pick up papers. He never had to deal with crap like that back at Emerald. A teacher defending the students, who were at wrong, was completely unfair. Even worse, Sonic was insulted and punished again by Zavok. A bitter taste filled his throat, and Sonic tried to swallow it back, but he couldn't deny how upset and hopeless he felt at the moment. Will things ever go right for me again? Suddenly, Sonic heard something to his right. He looked right and saw a Mobian teen leaning against the hallway wall.
He was a bear, just like Brick, but he was different. He had light golden fur and cool gray eyes. His snout was covered in pale fur, and he had long pieces of fur acting as a fringe while the rest stuck out like a wild ponytail from his red and orange cap. He wore a taupe brown jacket and russet brown jeans. His hands were engulfed in brown yellow tipped mitts. Sonic glanced down at the copper and sepia winter boots with a red strap over them both. The bear had his arms crossed at Sonic and was looking at the hedgehog with a bored expression on his face. He was large and buff like Brick and his gang, but he was different than them. He seemed slimmer and more laid back than the others. Sonic gazed at the mysterious bear in front of him.
"Um, shouldn't you be heading over to Zavok's with the rest of your pals?" The Mobian bear said nothing, which only made Sonic more suspicious. Thinking back, Sonic didn't see that bear attack him like the others did. He didn't remember seeing him even harass him like the others did too. Was he just standing there while everything went down? Sonic thought of this and jerked suddenly when he saw the bear move. He slowly walked over to Sonic and kneeled down in front of him. Silently, the Mobian bear picked up all the posters and handed them all except one to Sonic. "T-Thanks?" Sonic took the posters, and the bear nodded. He picked up the last one and waved it while giving Sonic a sly yet friendly smile. Tucking it in his pocket, he got up and walked off towards Zavok's room.
Sonic wasn't sure what just happened, but he believed he just recruited someone on the Chaos football team.
"Come on, Knuckles! It's your time to shine!" Jasmine pushed Knuckles over towards the group of Mobian teens. Knuckles looked at them and planted his feet firmly in the ground.
"How about not now?" Sonic shook his head at his friend and pulled Knuckles' arms.
"It's now or never, buddy! Come on! You can't be that shy!" Knuckles groaned while Jasmine laughed. School had ended, and Sonic was outside with Knuckles and Jasmine, ready to begin football tryouts. When 5th period ended, most of the posters were tore down, crudely drawn on, or plainly ignored by the student body of Chaos. Sonic was a bit discouraged until he saw some Mobian teens talking about actually going to the tryouts. Now, there was a sizable amount of teenage boys, who were ready to give it a try. All they needed was for Knuckles to make a little speech and start the tryouts. Knuckles looked over at the group and sighed. He wasn't really afraid of the group of Chaos High students, but he was afraid of speaking in front of such a large crowd. Being a quiet loner, Knuckles was never really good with public speaking but was starting to get the hang of it by hanging out with Sonic.
"Fine, fine. I'm going." He pulled away from the two hedgehogs' grips and approached the teens. Everyone quieted down as Knuckles stepped forward. The red Mobian cleared his throat. "Welcome to football. Today, we're going to test all of you on your strengths and weaknesses, so let's get this started. My name's-" A deep, gruff voice cut him off.
"Lame!" Knuckles looked out at the crowd.
"Who said that?" Sonic already knew and gazed over at the bleachers. Sitting there was Brick and his crew. He narrowed his eyes as Brick stood up and approached them. Not this time, Sonic thought, and he walked up too.
"If you're not here to try out, you don't have to be here, Brick!" Some guys gave Sonic room as he walked up. Brick glared at the blue teen.
"Shut up! I didn't come here to hear the shit from your mouth." He turned to Knuckles, who looked confused by the bear's presence. "I came here to hear the shit from his." His pals laughed as Knuckles clenched his spiked, gloved fists. Jasmine stepped up with a blank look on her face, but anyone could see the menace in her eyes.
"Leave now like good little boys, or bring your heads down to my feet and get crushed." She threatened evenly. Brick showed no signs of being fazed and brushed her off.
"Don't make me laugh." Him and his crew walked closer, and he bumped Knuckles. Sonic quickly made a grab at Jasmine before she could try to tear Brick's head off. The action almost wretched his arms out of his sockets, but he managed. Ow! Jeez! Silver! Does it really take this long to go to the bathroom!? He better hurry up before we have mass murder on our hands! Brick's men circled up on the red echidna and glared down on him. Knuckles didn't move. Brick looked out to the teens trying out. "What's the point in trying out for such a lame sport like this? All you're gonna do is run around like chickens with their heads cut off! Especially with a captain like that!" He jerked a beefy thumb at Knuckles. "This scrawny-looking mole ain't gonna help you any!" Sonic paused at that comment.
Now, echidna's and hedgehogs are almost like cousins in the family of mammals. Moles are close to them too, but there is a huge difference. Mobian moles tend to be very unsanitary, have foul sets of teeth, and have snotty yet demeaning attitudes. Brick calling Knuckles a mole, which is a very offensive insult that echidnas do not take lightly, is like him calling Sonic and Jasmine moles too. Jasmine glared at Brick with unwavering anger while Sonic simply dropped his arms from her. With an annoyed expression set deep on his face, he pointed a finger at Brick and commanded Jasmine.
"Sic him, Jaz." Jaz shrieked and charged at Brick, but one of his pals got in her way.
"Not so fast, Ms. Hazard!" Jasmine stopped and raised her fist up at him.
"MOVE NOW OR BLEED NOW!" The Mobian teen laughed and narrowed his eyes at her.
"No chance! Mr. Zavok said if a certain "Ms. Hazard" caused any trouble, he'll be writing up her suspension like that!" Jasmine froze and gaped at the teen. Sonic couldn't believe his ears. They have support from Zavok to do this!?
"T-That's not fair!" Jaz whined. Brick and his men laughed at the powerless female hedgehog, and Sonic gritted his teeth. Before he could do anything, someone cleared their throat. He looked over at a steely Knuckles. Knuckles pushed past Brick and approached the group of teens ready to tryout again. As he spoke to them, his voice grew louder and commanding.
"Student representatives for the Chaos High football team. Are you really gonna stand there and take this?" He looked out to the group of teenage boys. "Man. Never in my life have I ever met a group of sorry-faced wusses!" As if on cue, all the teens gave Knuckles deadly glares while he smirked lightly. "What? Got something to say?" Growls erupted from the group as Sonic and Jasmine watched in curiosity. What was Knuckles doing? Knuckles held up his hands in fake defeat. "Oh. Sorry. Did I hurt your little feelings?" A wolf barked out at Knuckles.
"Take that back!" Knuckles turned on him and barred his teeth.
"Take back what!? The truth!? Like heck! Listen up!" He stared down at all of them. "If you're going to stand there and take all that crap, then get out of here. However, if you want to work hard, kick some other schools' football teams' snotty butts, freaking dominate the competition, and show EVERYBODY what happens when they mess with Chaos High, you better stay the fuck where you are!" All the guys roared and cheered at Knuckles. Determination and competitiveness shot through them all. Knuckles' words had spoken to them. Jasmine jumped up and cheered.
"Alright!" A wide grin broke out over Sonic's face. Him and Knuckles exchanged excited glances. Knuckles turned back and raised his hist in the air.
"WE'RE GONNA TAKE THIS SCHOOL TO THE TOP! WHO'S WITH ME!?" Knuckles boomed. A roar erupted from the newly-made team, and every one of them smiled and cheered. Sonic looked back at Brick with triumph on his face. Brick growled and retreated with his sullen crew at his side. Just then, Rouge and Silver came running onto the field. Sonic gave them a happy grin.
"Man, did you guys miss the fun or what? Had a fun potty-break, Silver?" Silver rolled his eyes at Sonic while Rouge looked out the boys and Jaz.
"I guess we did." She paused and gazed admirably at Knuckles, who was chatting animately with the wolf from before, and turned back to Sonic. "This is amazing." Silver nodded.
"I'll say!" Before Sonic could say anything more, a certain light gold bear appeared in his view.
"Hey!" The bear turned, smiled, and walked towards Sonic. Sonic smiled at him. "So, you really did come? Awesome!" Rouge looked up at the bear and smiled too.
"Well, I didn't know you liked football, Bark." The golden bear, Bark, shrugged and smiled a bit. Silver joined in.
"Yeah, me neither!" Silver gestured to Bark for Sonic. "This is Bark. He's in our grade." Sonic stretched his hand out to the bear.
"Name's Sonic! Pleased to meet ya!" They shook hands, and Sonic continued talking. "By the way, thanks again for helping me with those flyers the other day. It's good to see you're joining though." Bark nodded while Silver gave Sonic a confused look.
"Flyers?" Sonic then remembered he never got to tell Silver about his first encounter with Brick and his goons. He waved it off.
"It was nothing. Just Brick and his pals being jerks while I was setting up posters for football. At least one bear I know has a heart!" Rouge and Silver stared at Sonic silently. "What?" They turned to Bark, who was staring at the ground sheepishly. Rouge, who was clearly agitated by his silence, swatted Bark on the arm.
"Brick's back!? Why didn't you say anything!?" Bark flinched at her tone, and Sonic blinked at Rouge.
"Whoa! Rouge, calm down! What's the big deal?" Silver shook his head.
"The big deal is that Brick is back." Sonic looked confused then Silver explained. "Brick is bad news, Sonic. Sure, Shadow is bad too, but he won't harass you and make your life a living hell like Brick will. Some students have been sent to hospitals for what Brick's done to them. He's even put some in comas! Let's not forget the few but known cases where there were guys who tried to take their own lives and almost succeeded. Yeah, Sonic. He's that bad. He once ran down this teacher with his truck for giving him detention." Rouge shook her head.
"Poor Mr. Jenkins." Sonic's eyes widened.
"H-He's not..." Silver shook his head.
"Of course not. That would get Brick expelled at most." At most!? That should get him sent to prison! "He's paralyzed from the waist down and had a serious concussion. I also heard that Brick's tires ran right onto his face, so it's messed up too." Sonic stared in horror at Silver's statement.
"How the heck is he not expelled!?" Rouge huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.
"It's Chaos High. There's really no penalty for beating up a bunch of students here and there. He's also in cahoots with the really twisted teachers here. They let him get away with all sort of crap, and they basically give him hit-jobs to do too. Hmph. And, I thought I connections." Never in his life has Sonic heard of such a twisted scenario at a high school. Brick was trouble, and everyone knew it. Silver began listing off things on his fingers.
"Mess with Brick? You're dead. Talk back to Brick? You're dead. Scratch up Brick's car? You're dead. Rat out on Brick? You're dead. Get involved with Brick's brother? You're dead." Sonic blinked at Silver.
"Brick's brother? Who's the poor soul that's related to that guy?" Silver and Rouge silently stared up at sheepish-looking Bark. Sonic looked at Bark and gaped. At that very moment, he began to see the resemblance. Rouge placed her hands on her hips and spoke to Bark.
"Have anything to say for yourself, Mr. Bark Wilde?" And, at that very moment, Sonic realized Bark might be more trouble than he was worth.