Wow! I got a lot of positive feedback on Chapter One, so here is Chapter Two! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, with the exception of Rhaja.
In chapter one:
"Amy? Are you alright?" Tails asked, the phone muffled from within the covers. The pink hedgehog sighed, picking up the sock she had finally found and jamming it on her foot. She pulled up the covers to find the phone, shaking them in hope it would fall out. I did, right on the number pad.
Tails looked at his phone in confusion when a tone reached his ears.
-----Sticky Wicket, Chapter Two-----
Amy frowned and sighed, picking up the phone and repacing it on its stand. She gathered up the mass of tangled sheets and placed them off to the side. She could take care of that later.
The pink hedgehog had been so tired she had slept until noon, when Tails called. Refreshed, Amy made herself lunch and took a quick shower before heading out the door again, her backpack at her side.
The field where Amy had lessons was quite large, about the size of two football fields next to each other. The grass was thick and lush, treated with the best of care. She was tempted to take off her sneakers and let the grass tickle her toes, but it was almost two o'clock. Walking to the side of the feild, Amy plopped her red backpack onto the ground and sat down on the wooden bench next to it. Leaning back, she passed the time by watching the puffy, cotton candy-like clouds float by overhead. There was a light breeze that made her pink hair billow gently, rippling through the grass and giving a fresh scent of dew to the feild.
Presently Amy heard light footsteps, muffled by the carpet of grass. She snapped out of her reverie, looking back out into the field to see her instructor making her way towards where she was sitting.
Rhajano Takashi, Rhaj or Rhaja for short, was a midnight-blue hedgehog and a pro in croquet. Her sapphire eyes matched well with the blue wooden croquet ball she was absentmindedly tossing into the air and catching. Over her shoulder was a bag, half covered by the instructor's long quills. She wore a pair of faded jeans, even in the heat of the summer, and a light blue tank shirt with "C'est la vie, c'est la guerre, c'est la pomme de terre" stamped across the front. (1) She smiled at Amy as she approached, setting down the bag which was long and semingly heavy.
"Good afternoon," Rhaja said politely. Courtesy played a big role in professional croquet.
"Good afternoon," Amy replied back, standing up and dusting off her capris. Rhaja knelt on the ground next to the bag, unzippering it. She got out nine white metal wickets and two foot-long wooden poles striped with different colors. Handing the poles to Amy, Rhaja led the way onto the field and began to set up. She placed two of the wickets three inches apart, then turned to Amy. "Go ahead and put the stake in, I'm going to set up the rest of the wickets."
"Yes Ma'am," Amy nodded, getting her mallet from her backpack. Four or five inches away from the first wicket she tapped the stake lightly, banging it down into the earth. Once it could stand on its own, Amy grabbed the other stake and headed to the other side of the field, where Rhaja had set up two more wickets, exactly in line with the first two and the stake.
"One here too, please," Rhaja nodded to the new wickets and Amy set out that pole as well. While Amy finished up, the dark blue hedgehog set out the other wickets - one in the center, lined up with the wickets and stakes on either side, two at the quarter mark, far apart enough for the center stake to be between the two when lined up, and two more at the three-quarters mark, parallel to the wickets at the quarter mark. When they were finished, the field now was set up in two joined diamond-shapes with the center wicket the joining place.
"There, all done," Rhaja smiled, "Do you have your mallet and croquet ball?"
"Yes, my ball is in my backpack," Amy pointed to where her backpack was still sitting obediently, "Should I get it out?"
Rhaja nodded. Once Amy had the wooden ball in her hand, Rhaja got her own mallet out of the bag.
"Good. Let's begin."
---
Tails looked at the watch on his wrist. It read three twenty-five.
"She should be here by now," Knuckles frowned with worry.
Rouge sipped at her smoothie, sitting down at one of the plastic tables in the food court where they were waiting. "She's probably fine. Amy did tell me that she would be here by three-thirty." Even though she acted cool, her friends could tell that the white bat was worried as well.
Dashing through the door at a run, a pink hedgehog looked around and spotted her friends. Sighing in relief, she jogged over at a slower pace.
"Sorry I'm late," Amy said, her heart racing from her sprint to the mall. She continued panting until her heart slowed to its normal rate again. The worn-out teenager flopped into the seat beside Rouge, who handed her a smoothie. Amy nodded in thanks and quickly drank half of it, gulping it down to cool down her burning throat.
"Don't choke yourself on that," Knuckles pointed out with a chuckle. Amy's widened and she swallowed, keeping the urge to laugh at bay in fear smoothie would come out of her nose. She set down her drink and smiled, still winded from the run but not as much so as before.
"So, how was pratice?" Sonic asked, speaking for the first time since she arrived.
"Great," Amy twiddled the straw around with her finger, "Rhaja is a great teacher."
"That's great!" Tails grinned, "But we should get going. The movie is going to start in half an hour," he reminded them.
"Yeah, let's go," Rouge stood up and disposed of her empty cup. Amy picked up her backpack, and they headed off to the theater.
---
"So, what movie are we seeing?" Amy asked Rouge once they had their seats. The two of them had agreed to save a spot while the three boys went to get snacks.
"It's called 'Of Love and Lies' (2). I think it's about a spy who falls in love with another spy from the other side, or something like that," Rouge explained.
"Kinda like Romeo and Juliet," Amy propped her elbows up and rested her chin on her hands. "Except with laser guns and large sums of money."
As the lights were dimming, Sonic, Knuckles and Tails entered, carrying sodas and large bags of popcorn. Tails took the seat next to Amy, handing her a drink and a bag of popcorn. Amy said a hushed thanks and turned her eyes to the screen for the movie.
---
Applause shattered the silence of the theater as the credits began scrolling across the screen. Amy clapped as well, she had enjoyed the movie very much. Soon she was filing out of the theater, squashed like everyone else. Next to her Sonic and Knuckles were debating over which action scene was best, and on her other side Rouge and Tails were chatting about the spy gadgets the hero and herione had used throughout the movie.The evening was relatively quiet in the city when Rouge and Amy returned to their apartment. Once again, the pink hedgehog dropped her bag and slipped out of her shoes. She made a quick dinner of instant ramen for herself, putting it into a bowl and sitting down on the couch to eat it. She thoughtfully chewed on her noodles, taking her time and not really paying attention. It was when Rouge tapped her on the shoulder and told her that she had fallen asleep with the bowl in her lap did she realize how tired she was.
Wearily Amy put her empty bowl in the sink and changed into her pajamas - a pair of shorts and a baggy pink tye-dye tee shirt - brushing her teeth without enthusiasm and finally flopping onto her almost-bare mattress. The tired hedgehog grumbled, pulling the heap of sheets onto the bed and streightening them before lying down again.
She soon drifted to sleep again, her last thought a faint memory of playing croquet.
-----
Ta-da! There's chapter 2! I think it's even longer than chapter one! There were a few things that need explaining -(1) "C'est la vie, c'est la guerre, c'est la pomme de terre." For those who do not speak french, this means "That's life, that's war, that's potatoes." A cute little saying my mother taught me that makes no sense whatsoever.
(2) "Of Love and Lies" is an origional story that I never got around to writing. If I have enough time it will turn into a manga.
That's it for Chapter 2! R&R please, it makes me happy and it makes sure that this story will continue :)
-YTN