Chapter 3: Blues n' school

The streets were quiet as Shadow walked towards school. 'Nobody's going to think I'm a freak.' He thought. 'Dad's wrong.' He winced as he remembered today's earlier events. 'And he's a bit weird.'

A few people stared at him. They whispered things like "Shouldn't he be in school?" and, "where's his parents?" Shadow frowned. They were right. He had a father, but no always wondered why?

Shadow dismissed that thought and continued his walk. Little did he know, there was a grey, shoddy van following him.

He jumped when a deep voice called out, "Hey, kid!"

Shadow turned as the old van pulled up beside him. "Yes?"

"I seem to have lost my dog, and I was wondering if you'd help me look for him."

"Sure, what does he look like?"

"Well…" The man thought a while, thinking of a good lie. He then noticed Shadow's fur color. 'Perfect.' He thought. "He has black fur with white spots, and has blue eyes."

Shadow nodded. "So what you're saying is he's basically a backwards Dalmatian?"

"Yes, wait what?"

"Is your dog black with white spots, or white with black spots?"

"Does it really matter?" The man asked.

"It does matter because we'll never know."

"Just get in the van."

Shadow sighed. "Okay, fine."

The van smelled like sweat. Shadow wrinkled his nose with disgust. "Is the smell from the missing backwards Dalmatian?"

The man laughed then locked the doors.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Shadow asked, while mentally cursing himself for getting into the van in the first place.

"Making sure you don't fall out." The man replied. "The doors open real easily, and I don't want you getting hurt." He smiled, giving Shadow a good view of his teeth.

Shadow tried hard not to vomit. The man's teeth were as black as Shadow's fur, and his breath smelled to high-heavens!

The man leaned closer to Shadow's face. "Like my teeth? It took me two years to get them this black."

Shadow managed a smile, and said, "That's nice. Can we go find your dog now?"

The man sighed. "There was never any dog! That was only an excuse to get you in my van!" He chuckled and pulled out a switchblade. "Any last words?"

The man suddenly yelped and pulled back, covering his face, while muttering, "He hit me. However, I did not see him strike me. All I saw was a blue blur…"

Shadow turned to see a blue hedgehog kneeling between the two front seats.

"Who… who are you?" Shadow asked.

The hedgehog winked and wagged his pointer finger, then in an instant, he was gone.

Shadow quickly unlocked the door and scrambled out of the car, and sprinted towards school.

The secretary jumped as Shadow burst into the office, and said, "No running!"

"Sorry," Shadow said, suddenly finding the ground very interesting.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" She asked, while rearranging the notes and files on her desk.

"I wish to enroll here." Shadow replied. "Isn't enrolling new students your job."

"And where is your parent/guardian?"

Shadow eyes widened. I need my dad for this?

"Um, hello?" The secretary asked, waving her hands to get Shadow's attention. "Where is your parent?"

"Uh, he couldn't make it. He said it was… uh… family emergency!" Please let her fall for that.

"You know I have been a secretary here for ten years." She wagged her finger like the blue hedgehog did in the van. "And I believe I've become an expert at picking up on lies when I see them."

"But it's true!" Shadow cried.

"What happened?"

"My… mother died." There, Shadow thought. That's perfect.

"Hey, Mrs. Parker!"

Shadow turned to see a boy around his age grinning from ear to ear. But not just any boy.

No way! Shadow thought. It can't be!

To Be Continued…

I FINALLY finished this chapter. J So sorry for the wait. L Who is this boy and why Shadow so shocked? Find out in chapter four. Please review! J