AUTHOR'S NOTE: I would not advise you to read this chapter while you're eating since something gross is coming up (no, not gross enough to warrant this story an M rating, relax, just general toilet "humor", if you consider bullying others amusing, that is).

Chapter 5: The Old Norm of Victimization

A couple of days had passed since Silver gave me a hand in doing the jocks' homework and thankfully, they were all done right on time. Earlier this morning I met up with them by the school's entrance, as usual, and gave them their books back. After that, I felt really good knowing that they won't bother me again for a while, at least not until they come back with more homework. I was hoping I didn't jinx myself back there, but… unfortunately, I did. Sorta.

Because after lunch time, I went back to my locker, but then I heard a bunch of footsteps that stopped behind me. So I turned around and got a mini heart attack when those guys appeared outta nowhere, arms all crossed and with this sorta disgruntled looks on their faces. Well, that can't be good.

"Man, for a dork who wears a brain on his t-shirt, ya sure ain't got none in that head of yours," Vector said, apparently not knowing what a double negative is. But, that's no surprise, really.

"Umm… what are you guys talking about?"

"None of us got an A for the homework, pal! Take a good look!" Jet said as everyone showed me a page from their book with their grades on it. And they were right, all of them got a B (7 out of 10), but that's exactly what Silver and I went for, with what limited capability we had. But… I guess these guys are just that dense to figure out why. So, I sighed out of annoyance before schooling them.

"Are you guys seriously expecting an A for that? Do you know what grade you're in!? You think you're all still in middle school so it's okay to give your homework to a high school freshman!? Come on, just think for once! Besides, wouldn't your teachers notice something's off if people like you guys suddenly become straight-A students? In math too!? The different handwriting alone should be enough of a giveaway! You guys are lucky they graded it right away instead of asking who did it!"

At that point, I was already expecting another gut slug or something else worse…

…but surprisingly, they all just looked at each other and nodded slowly, muttering "Oh yeah, he's right…" under their breaths. Wow, looks like I'm somehow getting outta this one unscathed. …well, at least that was until I slipped up.

"Of course I'm right! You guys are just too stupid to-"

I stopped right there and then, covering my mouth and realizing the screw-up I just made, because soon, those guys were staring right through my soul with this evil-looking smile, as if they're actually happy that I said that because now they get to do what they're best at: humiliating other people.

"Ooh, what's that? We couldn't hear ya back then…" Knuckles said in this really low, threatening tone.

"N-n-nothing, it's fine, I-I'm sorry… please, I-I-I have to g-go to class now…"

"Well, ya ain't goin' nowhere, chump. Sonic, do it."

Sonic then walked behind me to hold my locker door wide open while the rest shoved me in all at the same time. They then tried to close the door, but I tried to fight back, pushing the door and struggling my way outta the cramped, metal coffin. But… guess who'd win in a 4-against-1 pushing contest. At first, I saw a gap for me to slip through, but dumbass me forgot that letting go of the door meant certain death for me and eventually, I got my fingers painfully squashed between the sharp edge of the metal door and the frame. I yelped in pain while pulling my hand back (with what little space there was for my arm) and finally, I heard the lock go click. It was all over for me.

"Hope you ain't scared of tight spaces, wimp," Jet said. They all laughed while high fiving each other before leaving for class (or more like hang out in the bathroom or something).

Sigh… Stuffed in a locker… yeah, right. Very original, you morons. Well, at least the door had 3 narrow slits that let me see and breathe. But obviously, that's as far as the bright side goes.

Now, this isn't the first time this has happened to me (unfortunately), but at least back then I was small and short enough for the locker to have at least a bit of space. But now? I'm forced to bend my legs a bit to make my head fit, even to the point where my knees are uncomfortably pushing against the door. Hell, I could barely even move my arms. Is this how people develop claustrophobia? Sheesh, I feel sorry for them. Those guys should really know that this kinda stuff can scar some people for life.

Wait a minute… oh crap! Class is starting soon and I gotta get outta here! …aww, but there's nobody on the hallway… they all must've gotten into class already. I can't be late, how the hell am I gonna explain myself? That I got stuffed into a locker? No way, I'll be the laughingstock of the entire class! Argh… gotta think of another way…

Hey, what if I shout for help? There's a class nearby and somebody's gotta come out to check. …wait a minute, no, that's even worse 'cause then I'll be the laughingstock of another class. Ah, dammit. I guess I'll just have to- oh thank goodness, it's Cream! I wonder what she's doing out in the hallway, though…

"Cream! Hey, Cream!" I half-shouted at her.

"H-huh!? Who's there!?" She looked around wildly. I guess I must've startled her.

"It's Tails! I'm stuffed in my locker! Please help me out!" She then walked up to the sound of my voice.

"O-oh, okay… uhh, what's the combination?"

"03-14-15."

She spun the dial on the lock and soon, the door opened. I didn't expect it to happen that quickly, so once that happened, I fell face down onto the floor. Nice. As if getting stuffed in there wasn't embarrassing enough, now I had to faceplant in front of a girl too. Well, at least she didn't laugh at me and helped me get back up instead.

"Oh, thank you, thank you so much. You have no idea how grateful I am. I would've had to shout louder if you weren't here, hehe."

"No problem. Are you okay? Who did this to you?"

"Meh, you know who. Them. Anyway, what are you doing out here?"

"I was going to the bathroom."

"O-oh, right. Guess you better go, then. I should hurry too. Thanks again!" I said, running to class…

…before I immediately turned back because I forgot my book. Not to mention I forgot to close the locker again. Silly me. Cream tried to call me back for it too, apparently, but I was already too far at that point, so I didn't get to hear her. Thankfully, when I got to class almost outta breath, the teacher still hadn't come. Second stroke of luck, I guess. Now I won't have to ridicule myself in front of class.

The end-of-school bell just rang. Charmy and I left class together, chatting as we walk out towards the school's entrance. But on the way, we saw those bullies again, already up to no good even though it's only been like what, less than 5 minutes after the bell? But at least this time they were picking on somebody else, backing them against the lockers as usual. Now, I'm not saying I don't care about the poor victim, I kinda do, but… I don't think I wanna risk getting my face pummeled in because I stood up for them. …well, at least that was until I knew who the victim was.

"Come on, just give it back already!"

It's Cream! Okay, I definitely have to do something. So, after passing by them quietly, I stopped for a while to whisper to Charmy.

"Dude, we gotta do something."

"W-well… okay, but what?"

"Well… uhh, tell them to stop, I guess…?"

"What!? B-but what if we both get beat up? And will they even listen to us?"

"I know, they most likely won't, but… what else can we do? Straight up fight them and make the beating even worse? Come on, do it for her. She's our friend too, right? Besides, you're not doing this alone, I got your back."

"Umm… o-okay, I just hope you know what we're getting ourselves into."

And with that, I took a deep breath and readied myself mentally. I know I'm putting a lot on the line, but it's only fair since Cream helped me get out of my locker earlier and now it's time for me to pay back the favor.

"Aww come on, can'tcha jump higher? I thought you bunnies were made for that," Vector said while holding up a bunch of papers just outta Cream's reach, much to everyone else's amusement.

"Hey, leave her alone! You guys should-" I shouted at them, but then I stopped when all four of them suddenly shot this sharp, menacing stare at me before walking towards me and Charmy.

"I'm sorry, ya said somethin'? Come on, nerd. Spit it out," Knuckles said while nudging my shoulder for a bit.

I'll be honest, that made me swallow my saliva out of fear. But… I can't back down now. I gotta finish what I started. For Cream.

"Y-you guys should really… pick on someone your own size!"

"Y-yeah! Picking on girls is just… pathetic, y'know?" Charmy said, backing me up.

"Oh yeah? Someone our own size, huh? Like who? You?" Jet said.

I was about to say no, but then I had a déjà vu: that's what the bullies from years ago said to Sonic when we first met. If I say the same thing as Sonic did before, I bet he'll remember too.

"Yeah, like me," I said, trying my best to look and sound confident.

I looked at Sonic, hoping to see at least the tiniest of a reaction, like raised eyebrows or something. And he did in fact raise his eyebrows at what I just said. It's just that… the other three did the same too before looking at each other, trying to hold back their laughter only for it to burst out, including Sonic's. Unbelievable. Has it really been that long? Has he really just… forgotten about how we met? Or both? Argh, I dunno…

"Man, you're a funny kid, y'know that? I mean, ya ain't even bigger than any of us. But y'know what? Since ya asked for it…" Knuckles said before nudging Sonic on the shoulder.

Sonic then slowly walked towards me with this mean-looking smirk that I've never seen on him at all. It was enough to get me running and abandoning the entire thing, but before I could do that, he suddenly grabbed me by my shirt and stuffed me into the nearest trash can, butt-first. And… eww! What the hell is that!? I'm sitting on something wet! That better not be someone else's puke or something! Anyway, I tried to wriggle myself out of it, with my legs being up in the air and all, but… as embarrassing as it is to say… I got stuck. In fact, wriggling only made the situation even worse because it made the trash can tip to the side along with me. And by then, it was still stuck on my… ugh, bottom.

"Just takin' out the trash," Sonic said, inviting another wave of laughter and high fives from his cronies. After seeing all that happened, Charmy also looked like he was ready to make a run for it, but too bad Knuckles grabbed him by his back collar first.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where's this little twerp goin'?"

"What should we do with 'em, man?" Jet asked.

"Ooh, I got a really nasty idea. Watch this." Knuckles then pulled Charmy in to lock his head by his left arm and- aww, gross! Knuckles just spit on his own hand and…

Oh no. No, no, NO! That's just wrong! He's smearing it all over Charmy's face! That is just… eugh! Disgusting! Not to mention Charmy's muffled scream too… it's stressful for me to hear, but those brutes were clearly enjoying it, laughing along as this poor soul is being tormented in front of them. If I wasn't stuck on the floor with a trash can on me, I'd straight up punch their faces for being such savages, and this time not excluding Sonic.

After those few agonizing seconds, Knuckles finally let Charmy go and he really lost it, screaming in terror as he tried to wipe all that disgusting filth off his face with his shirt. Poor guy, I couldn't stand watching him freak out like that.

"You're lucky your boyfriends care aboutcha that much," Vector said before shoving Cream's papers onto her chest. After they all walked away, Cream immediately threw her papers aside to help get the trash can off me.

"A-are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just help me pull this thing off me."

Cream then went ahead to try and pull the can off with both her hands. She was clearly struggling though, so Charmy (after he was done freaking out) gave her a hand too. A few uncomfortable seconds later, the thing finally came off, spilling its contents out on the floor. I got up, and… ugh no, looks like I just jinxed myself again. Turns out there was someone else's puke on top of the trash pile. Just looking at it already makes me sick, not to mention the smell. I'm not even sure how my pants are gonna get washed after this. But… on the bright side, at least Cream's okay. Those morons should really know better than to pick on girls. Seriously.

"Phew. Thanks, Cream."

"N-no, no, I should thank you guys. You shouldn't have gone through all that trouble just for me… it's my fault this happened to you."

"Nah, don't say that. Think of it as me returning the favor for helping me outta my locker after lunch, heh. By the way, why were they bothering you back there?"

"Well… I was on my way to the auditorium for theater rehearsal, reading my script while walking, but then… I accidentally bumped into those guys, then they started teasing me and throwing around my script."

"Sheesh… the nerve of those guys. I mean, I know you never even meant to bump into them, yet they still treat it like it's completely your fault. Anyway, I think I'm gonna hit the showers. Looks like I'll have to go home in my gym outfit…"

"Yeah, I could use a shower too…" Charmy said.

"Well… okay then, thanks again, you two. Sorry this had to happen to you…"

"Hey, don't mention it," I said, before Cream picked up her script and continued walking towards the auditorium.

Charmy and I, on the other hand, went to the gym to have a shower. And yes, we left the pile of trash and the can as they are, because if anything, it should be those guys who clean that up. Now, normally I tend to avoid even going near the gym (unless it's class time, obviously) because… y'know, the football team, jocks, those guys again. But luckily, they were all busy in the field practicing so the showers were practically empty. But we knew they wouldn't be for much longer, so we hurried up, washed off any disgusting substance that was on us, and got dressed. Charmy only had to change his shirt while I had to change my entire outfit, save for the shoes. After that, we found some plastic bags to put our spare clothes in and went home, hoping that things like this will never happen again.

Also, today's events made me think: Blaze was right. Sonic's a lost cause. He had the nerve to shut me in my own locker, shove me in that filthy trash can, and laugh at someone having spit rubbed on their face without any remorse. I guess I'll just have to accept the fact that the old Sonic is dead. Whatever remains of him is some jerkass jock-bully that I've encountered lots of times in my life before. He's just like the rest of them. Hell, he's one of them now. And I won't miss him.

Hopefully.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been playing a lot of Bully lately, so if you've played that too, you can see where I got the inspiration for the humiliation techniques.