Chapter 10-

The next day, Thorn, Katrina, Madeline, and Rouge met up in the cafeteria for lunch, snagging a table by the large window towards the back of the lunchroom.

"Ugh, I hate these uniforms," Rouge whined as she started poking at her Caesar salad with her fork. "I got sent to the Dean's office for showing too much cleavage."

"We can see why," Madeline said, trying not to laugh as she opened her brown paper bag and started digging through it.

"Katrina, are you entering the talent show?" Thorn asked.

"No, I'll just watch," Katrina replied, before turning towards the red-haired girl sitting next to her. "How about you, Madeline?"

"I'm hosting the talent show, actually," Madeline answered proudly, smiling as she beamed. "So you know I'll be there."

"Wow, that's awesome, Madeline!" Thorn exclaimed, patting her friend on the shoulder. "Hosting the talent show is a sweet gig!"

"Thanks, I know!" Madeline responded after biting into her ham and cheese sandwich. "It's going to be great!"

"The talent show is this Friday!" Tipper exclaimed happily, clapping her hooves with glee. "This is going to be when we take over Animon High!"

"Wheeeeeeeee! Super Bob!" Bob called out as he flew around the "secret base", swinging on a jump-rope tied to the ceiling fan in his silky red cape and black mask, when he slammed into the wall behind his cow accomplice. "Ow!"

"Quit messing around Bob!" Tipper yelled. "We've got work to do! We need to make sure that those powder puffs don't stop us, and figure out how to catch them if we need to!"

"But it's easy, Tipper," Bob said. "You just go to Dunkin' Donuts and-"

"Not those powder puffs, you imbecile!" Tipper snapped, when her mouth started to water. "But I am in the mood for some! Let's go!" So Tipper and Bob ran to Dunkin' Donuts, located behind Nook's shop, and stole a dozen powdered donuts from the back of the shop. When they got back, they hungrily shoved the donuts into their mouths like savages, before turning on the TV to watch an old rerun of General Hospital.

Later after school, Niki, Sara, and Marissa met up at Niki's house for another rehearsal, as the big night continued to loom over their heads. After finally agreeing on a song and running through it a few times, Niki and Sara ran upstairs to Niki's bedroom.

"Be right back, Marissa!" Niki called behind her, before disappearing to the ground floor. Marissa didn't have to wait long, before the two girls returned, bursting in holding flashy pink t-shirts, dark denim skirts, and black, leather boots that equaled the size of a short pair of Uggs.

"Marissa!" Sara exclaimed, handing the brunette an outfit in her size. "Check out these awesome costumes Niki and I picked out. They're totally awesome, right?"

"Uh, yeah, awesome," Marissa replied, her eyes widening as she stared at the costume in horror. "You don't think these are too girly, do you?"

"Too girly? No way!" Niki answered, grinning. "They're perfect! They're going to look great on us!"

"Whatever you say," Marissa responded, her face turning from one of horror to one of amusement, trying not to laugh as she folded up her new clothes and placed them next to her guitar case.

"Okay, girls, let's run through it one more time, and then we'll call it a day," Niki said, grabbing her guitar and her microphone. "Then maybe we can grab some pizza and see a movie."

"Sounds good to me!" Sara replied, sitting down before her drums and picking up her drumsticks. "1! 2! 3! 4!" Then they started playing.

Kitty sat alone at The Roost, sipping a cup of Brewster's famous Pigeon Blend while flipping through her history textbook and notebook. Brewster was playing and humming along to K.K. Slider's song, "Only Me", the music echoing throughout the tiny café as he washed a small load of dishes.

"Is this seat taken?"

Kitty glanced up from her studying, and standing across the table was Shadow the Hedgehog. He grinned at her as he took a seat next to her and leaned over her shoulder to see what she was reading.

"Oh, hey Shadow," Kitty said, glancing up at the hedgehog briefly. She looked back down at her notes in case she blushed to avoid Shadow seeing her cheeks turn red.

"History, eh?" Shadow asked, scanning Kitty's notes.

"Yeah, we have a history test tomorrow, you know," Kitty answered, smiling as a short giggle escaped her lips.

"Oh, right," Shadow said, chuckling. "I would study, but you know, I'm too cool for school."

"Oh, really?" Kitty questioned, raising eyebrows at him. "You think you're too cool?"

"You know it," Shadow replied, flexing one of his arms as he struck a typical, cool guy pose. Kitty laughed, almost spitting out the coffee she had taken a sip of, giving Shadow hysterics. When their laughter subsided, they gazed at each other in an awkward but not silence.

"So…do you want to hang out tonight?" the Ultimate Life Form asked after a minute of their quiet.

"Really?" Kitty asked, taken aback by this question. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

"I'll show you," Shadow answered, winking at her as he closed her books. "Come on, let's go."

"Uh, sure," Kitty responded, hurriedly collecting her books before following Shadow out of the café.