Chapter 2: A Familiar Face
That's Sonic! Isn't it? But then… why is he sitting with those 3 jocks that I bumped into this morning? He's even wearing the same jacket they're wearing! Does that mean… no way, Sonic's not like that, he'd never! I mean, on one hand, he could just be another blue hedgehog, but on the other I wanna believe it's him, but-
"Hello…? Earth to Tails, you listening?" Charmy snapped me out of it. Right there and then, I decided the only way I can know for sure is if I talk to him, at the risk of being made fun of again. But if that guy's actually Sonic, then it's all worth it.
"O-oh, yeah… sorry. Kinda spaced out for a bit there, haha. Hey uhh, could you wait here for a sec? I gotta talk to someone," I said, walking away, mentally readying myself to talk to him.
Each step I took felt really loud and each breath I took felt heavy. But I just know that I have to ask him. 5 years have been too long and I'm not gonna let that get even longer. Never. Not anymore.
So there I was. Standing right in front of their table. Every single one of them looked at me with bad intentions shining outta their eyes, including this Sonic-looking guy. I tried to say something, but it felt like the words got jammed in my throat on their way out. I couldn't say a thing. I think I was sweating too. So they started talking first.
"Hey look, it's Doofus McDorkwad. Oh wait, that's not it. What was it again? Oh right, it's Tails," Knuckles said with a sarcastic undertone, making everyone but "Sonic" cackle again. Ugh. Just great. "See, we're good friends, we know yer name. But ya still remember ours, right?"
"Yeah yeah, it's Knuckles, Vector, and Jet," I said while rolling my eyes.
"Good boy. How 'bout this one, tho? Ya remember him?" Knuckles said, pointing at "Sonic." I wanna say he's Sonic, but again, I'm not sure if that's even him. He'd never group himself with these lowlifes.
"Oh, umm… that's… uhh- AAAH!" I saw Jet's fist flying straight for my face but he stopped it before it actually hit. I swear my heart nearly stopped. And off they go laughing again, being the loudmouthed jerks they are. I mean come on, that's not funny! I nearly dropped my lunch tray!
"Ahh, you're a riot kid. Ease up, will ya? We haven't even introduced you to 'em yet. This here's Sonic. He's the-"
"I knew it! Hey, Sonic! Remember me?" I couldn't care much less about the others and straight up cut 'em off. My mood really took a U-turn because it really is him, after being gone for 5 years I finally found him again! I seriously can't describe how happy I am!
But… I wouldn't say Sonic looked as enthusiastic as I am. He looked… gloomy. Like, he wasn't even bothering to look up at me. He just glanced at me shortly, stared back at his food and said "No."
"N-n-no? B-but… we were…"
"I said no, now beat it, dork." Sonic was quick to cut me off; this time without even taking his eyes off his food. He was just… really pissed off.
I… I don't get it. That's Sonic. Jet said it himself. So… why is he like this? Is he pretending to not know me? And did he really just called me a dork? Honestly, hearing him say that… it felt like my heart just straight up sank, all the way down to rock bottom.
"Man, what's with you? First you're a freak and now you're a weirdo too? Get lost," Vector said, trying to shoo me off like I'm some sorta pest.
"But… b-but Sonic…"
"You want me to beat on you!? Huh!? The guy said 'beat it,' so scram!" Knuckles snapped. So I made a run back to Charmy, nearly dropping my lunch again.
"Hey, what happened? Why would you walk over to their table? What did you say to 'em?" Charmy asked me.
"It's… nothing. I don't wanna talk about it. Look, can we just find a place to sit already?"
"Oh, right. Sure." Charmy scanned the cafeteria and it only took him a few seconds to find a spot. "Hey, that looks like Cream. And she's all by herself again. You think we should sit with her?"
"H-huh? Oh, yeah. Go ahead," I answered, un-energetically, as we walked over to her table and took our seats. Charmy was talking to Cream, or whoever she was, but… I didn't bother listening. I still couldn't believe what just happened minutes ago. I mean, what happened to you, Sonic? What have these past 5 years done to you? Why would you hang out with bullies like them? Is something bothering you? Or are you really just-
"Taaails? You spaced out again, man. You alright?"
"Oh, y-yeah I'm…"
Ah, forget it. Might as well tell him everything. "No, I'm not alright. Turns out one of those bullies was a good friend of mine who I knew long ago."
"Huh? Really? Which one?"
"Sonic."
"Oh, the blue hedgehog who's also the football team captain? How did you two meet? And how was he like back then?"
"Well, it's a long story… I'm not sure if you wanna hear it."
"Hey that's fine. I like stories."
"Umm… I'd like to know too, if you don't mind…" Said the beige rabbit, who is apparently Cream. She wore a collared white blouse with long sleeves tucked into a long, dark brown skirt and a pair of black shoes. Oh, and she also wore glasses.
"Oh yeah, I don't think you two met before. Tails, this is Cream. She's in the same year as us, just from a different class."
"Oh hey, nice to meet you. Anyway… about Sonic. You see…"
We met in elementary back in Green Hills. I was just a 1st grader back then, but the other kids were already relentless about my… uhh, "birth defect." I remember back then I was being pushed around by a bunch of mean-looking older kids.
"Come on, you freak! Do something!"
"Yeah, weirdo! You're gonna cry?"
They pushed me around, literally, over and over until I hit the ground. I still remember it clearly. How they all laughed at me, pointing their fingers at me while I laid down there covered in dust and dirt, trying my best not to bawl. But then, thankfully, somebody came to help me.
"Hey, leave him alone! Go pick on someone your own size!" Yup, that's him. Sonic the Hedgehog, back then a 3rd grader. Believe it or not, he used to despise bullies. He was always out there trying to protect the weak. That's why I liked him. A lot. But now that he hangs out with those guys, I'm not sure what to think about him anymore… Anyway, back to the story.
"Oh yeah? Like who? You?" One of the bullies said.
"Yeah, like me," Sonic said, shoving one of them away.
"Well, if you say so."
Then two of them grabbed Sonic by his arms while the other one punched Sonic in the gut. He fell down after they let go of him, and as if that wasn't enough, they all kicked him while he's down too. You can imagine how scared I was, still just a 1st grader but already forced to witness all that nasty stuff. Then they finally stopped and left him lying there, in pain.
"That oughtta teach you not to mess with us!" Said one of them as they walked away while high fiving each other. After they're gone, I went over there to help him get up.
"Are you okay?" I said while offering my hand for him. He took it and pulled himself up while groaning quite painfully and dusting off his shoulders.
"Yeah, don't mind me. You alright?"
"Y-yeah. Thanks. W-what's your name?"
"Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. And you?"
"Miles Prower. T-thanks again for that."
"No problem. Say, why were they bothering you back there?"
"They say I'm a freak, say that I shouldn't have two tails," I told him while starting to sniffle a bit.
"Bah, don't listen to them. They're just stupid. Anyway, can I see your tails?" The moment I heard that, I started to hug them defensively.
"Nuh-uh! Y-you'll just laugh!"
"What? Come on, I'm not like those guys. I just wanna see. I promise I won't laugh."
"W-well… if you promise…" I offered him a look, swinging them around for a bit. I was ready to hear him break his promise, but surprisingly, he didn't.
"Wow! That's super totally awesome!"
"Huh? Y-you think so?"
"Of course! You shouldn't be ashamed to have them, y'know. Nobody else here has them but you! That makes you special!" He said while giving a thumbs up. He always looked cool when he does that.
"R-really? …thanks, nobody ever says that to me."
"Say… why don't I just call you Tails instead? That way you won't be ashamed about having two tails anymore!"
"I… guess that's okay. Sure." I finally cracked a smile, knowing that I'm getting comfy with being around him.
"That's the spirit, buddy!" He said while ruffling my bangs.
And so began our new friendship. I can definitely say that Sonic was my one and only friend in elementary. Everyone else stayed away from me because of my twin tails, but not him. He was always there for me, listening to my insecurities and protecting me from the other kids. I'm not sure how I would have survived elementary had I never met him. Every weekend he'd come over to play at my house. Those were such fun days. I hoped that they lasted forever.
But, of course… that's not how life works.
Just a few days before Sonic's graduation to junior high, he promised me that he's going to spend the entire summer with me. He said we'd have sleepovers, play at the park all day, or even go to a beach outside of town if either of us managed to convince our parents. I was really excited for it. But when the 1st day of summer came, he never showed up at my doorstep. I got a bit worried, so that afternoon I dropped by his house…
…only to find that nobody was there. The door was unlocked and the place was just… eerily empty. I went in and explored a little bit (even though I know it's rude to come in without permission, but I just had to find him), and then I found his room. His wardrobe was completely empty. For little 4th grader me back then, knowing all of this was pretty scary. All I knew was that he and his parents somehow mysteriously disappeared, even though it's pretty obvious that he probably moved without telling me.
So I went home that day crying. I swear I cried myself to bed that day. That's because I knew that for the rest of this summer and all the other days ahead of me, I won't be spending any of them with Sonic. It would just be me, alone, since I had no friends back then. My parents eventually took me on that beach trip I wanted, but it felt pretty bland since Sonic wasn't there. And to make things worse, without Sonic, the older kids were free to do whatever they wanted to do to me again.
Junior high wasn't much different either because I still had no friends. As much as I wanted to approach others and make new friends, I just couldn't. I was too afraid to make friends with anybody because I was afraid they might not accept me for who I am.
But if there's one positive thing I took from Sonic's absence, it's that it made me realize that I can't always rely on others for help. It made me realize that I need to stand up for myself against all the bullies I'll encounter, to be independent. Although, I might have taken it too far when I nearly got myself into a fistfight this one time, but that's a completely different story.
"So yeah, 5 years later and after moving to Emerald Coast, I somehow got really lucky to be able to meet him again, but now he's changed. Can you imagine that?"
"Ouch. I'm sorry for you, man. Also, isn't it ironic how he turned into the very kinda person he hated the most? Wonder how that could've happened…" Charmy said.
"Yeah, I know, right!? Like, it's all still hard for me to believe right now…"
"Y'know, speaking of Sonic… I once heard from a friend of mine who has an older brother in 2nd year that when Sonic was a freshman, he got involved in a fight. Twice, one against a sophomore and the other a junior. And he won both of 'em."
"W-what!? For real?" Cream and I gasped, almost in perfect sync.
"I'm not really sure either since it might just be a rumor… but if you look at him, I guess it's kinda believable. I mean he does look tough. Probably also explains how he got chosen as the team's quarterback."
"Ah, right. That makes sense. Anyway, I guess we shouldn't talk about him for too long, heh. For now, I think it's best if I don't dwell about him too much. So, let's change the subject: what have you guys been up to lately? How about you, Cream?"
"Me? I was memorizing the script for the theater club's audition when you guys dropped by."
"Really? Oh, hope we didn't interrupt you or anything…" I rubbed the back of my head a bit shamefully.
"No, it's alright. I appreciate the company. And Charmy? What have you been up to?"
"I've been prepping up for the soccer team's tryout tomorrow. I heard it's gonna be tough, but I gotta good feeling about myself."
"Oh, yeah… all this talk about clubs just made me realize that I haven't picked a club to be a part of. Do you guys have any suggestions?"
"Oh, oh! Why not join me tomorrow for soccer tryout? I bet it's gonna be fun!"
"Thanks for the offer, but I don't really enjoy sports… sorry."
"Hmm… maybe you can try auditioning for the theater club too? Who knows, maybe acting might be one of your hidden talents."
"Uhh, I don't know… I'm not that keen either on arts and stuff. Guess I'll just watch out for flyers and posters in the hallway or something. Thanks for the suggestions, though."
And then the bell rang again, which made me realize another thing.
"Oh crap! I barely touched my lunch! W-what do I do?"
"Well… I guess I can help you finish half of it. I'm always up for seconds, haha." Charmy said.
"Ah, great. Thanks, Charmy." I then scooped half of my food over to Charmy's tray.
"Well guys, I gotta go ahead. See you guys later!" Cream went up from her seat with her script book in one hand and took off. I waved her goodbye while Charmy nearly shouted "See ya!" with his mouth still full. It's a bit funny seeing him eat that much pretty fast too. I guess being active means having a big appetite as well.
Anyway, we both finished our lunch a bit late and rushed to our lockers to exchange books before going to our next classes: geography and history. And I gotta tell you, I'm not that great at social sciences so these classes were a bit of a drag, but I still attended them well without any problems.
After the fourth and last period, it was time to go home. Charmy and I walked out together, but not before checking out the bulletin board for clubs for me to join. There were a lot to choose from, really. There are the sports teams which I'm not interested in at all, theater, band, foreign languages, but only one out of all the others stood out most to me: tech club. I guess I could give that one a shot, seeing that I'm already a nerd who likes math and physics, heh. And perfect timing too: because the tech club's gathering starts tomorrow after school. I'll have to keep that in mind. So after that, we split our paths and went home. Charmy took the bus while I got on my bike.