Matthew walked home today. The city of Westopolis was colossal. Skyscrapers were everywhere in this futuristic city. A global city, it was one of the financial capitals of the world with strengths in business, international trade, science, culture, medicine, research and technology. Its population was just over 6 million. It had also become one of the most corrupt cities in the U.S. The mob controlled some of its banks, ragging in lots of money. There were a few corrupt officers in the police department, easily bribed by criminals with lots of cash. But worst of all, the mayor was corruptible. He made no efforts to stop crime in the city. In his speeches and press conferences, he viewed Westopolis as "a place where evil does not prevail." He failed to see that evil was everywhere. The city was about to enter a depression thanks to the crime lords. Crime would eventually drain Westopolis until it was dry.

Nearly all of the citizens of the metropolitan area, including Matthew and his mother Maria, wanted something to be done about all the crime. Just a few days ago, the mayor released a statement saying he would take care of the problem. B.S., everyone thought. Corruption would bring the city to its demise. Yet no city officials seemed to care!

Walking through the city by yourself was dangerous, no matter what time of day. Criminals hid in the alleyways, waiting for someone who was: a) carrying a purse/handbag, b) wearing a suit/dress or c) walking home from school. Teens were so gullible, so naïve. All it took was some manipulative talking & a few punches in the gut, and the criminal inside them was born.

Westopolis, once known as a land of opportunity, was one of the least safe places in the world.

But Matthew didn't think so. He deeply loved this city. He grew up here. He knew there was good in it. The people who weren't making a living on crime were hardworking citizens. They were the ones who kept the city going. He knew that one day, someone would rise up and change people's lives forever. A hero would eventually come to save the city.

"The night is darkest just before the dawn" he would always say.

Matthew learned a good technique for walking home: look pissed off, and no one will touch you. Thanks to his black clothes, black hair and red eyes, he could fool anyone. He made it home safely around 4:20. He still lived in that same small, barely-supportive house since he was 8. When entering the one-story house, you could immediately turn right to go to the kitchen. The dining room was also there. Or, you could turn left to see a small hallway with Maria's room, the bathroom and Matthew's room. A small, old-looking TV sat in the living room.

"Mom?" the teen yelled. No answer. She was probably on her way home from work. He grabbed his laptop from his room and logged on to Facebook. Sure enough, there was a notification that he was tagged in a photo by Amy Rose. He thought it looked pretty good. Amy was making a funny face (while still maintaining her beauty) while Matthew was smiling charmingly. He was surprised to see it had 16 Likes. He clicked "Like" and turned shut the laptop.

His mom came in a few minutes later. She was struggling to carry some grocery bags. Without any of them saying a word, Matthew took and carried some for her.

"Thanks, Matt," she said tiredly.

"Yep."

Around 6:40, it was time to eat. Maria had prepared some chicken alfredo. It was one of Matthew's favorite foods. They had a nightly dinnertime conversation.

"So… Amy Rose likes you?" Maria began.

"Yep."

"Do you like her?"

"I can't think of one person who doesn't."

"Tell me what happened."

"Well, it was really awkward, but it felt good afterward. She came up to me and asked to help her with her homework at lunch…"

"Isn't she a sophomore?"

"Yeah. She said I'm the smartest person she knows. So, lunch comes, but she doesn't have any books or anything with her."

"Oh. She made up a reason to be with you at lunch."

"That's what I thought, but I wasn't too sure."

"I'm sure that's what it was. It probably would feel weird for her if she asked you directly if you wanted to."

"Mm-hm. So I say yes, and she squeezes my shoulder."

Maria look surprised. "Really? For how long?"

"Like, a second."

"Well, when a girl likes a guy, she might do anything to touch him. To see how 'toned' he is."

Matthew snickered. "I'm not toned."

"Sure you are, Matt! I know that girls stare at you every day."

"That can't be true. Then why don't they come up and talk to me?"

"Because girls fear rejection. Just like guys do."

"Interesting. Moving on. So lunch comes, she doesn't bring anything, and we have a weird conversation."

"What'd you talk about?"

Matthew though for a moment. "Well, nothing, really. She said my eyes are pretty. And she called me mysterious."

Maria grinned. Her teeth were straight and white. "Well, you are pretty mysterious."

"But, my eyes… Mom, why are my eyes red?"

"I don't know, okay?" She was sounding very defensive, like he'd just asked her a very personal question.

"Okay…" he said, hurt in his voice. "Forget I asked."

Maria took a deep breath, calming down. "So, what're you going to do?"

Matthew shrugged. "What do you think I should do?"

"Ask for her number," his mother replied, sounding like an expert. "Tell her you'd like to talk to her more."

"But isn't her cell in the phonebook?"

"No, no, no. Well, yes, it is, but that's not what you do. Just do it. If she likes you, she'll say yes."

"What if she says no?"

"Then just take it and act like you understand. Be okay with it."

"Huh. That's some pretty good advice."

"Yep. And if she says yes, don't forget to tell her your number."

"What is my number?"

Matthew went to bed around 10. He was too excited for the next day to sleep. Just think, he thought. You'll be the next boyfriend of Amy Rose.

The buzzer went off around 6 am. He lay there for a few moments before rolling to his side, saying aloud, "Ugh! Waking up sucks!"

Time to hit the shower, he told himself. Gotta look nice for Amy…

Matthew got to school around 7:40. Amy would occasionally go early to do her makeup and eat lunch.

"Please be there, please be there, please be there, please be there!" he begged to God.

His prayers were answered. She was sitting at a table by herself, since none of the popular kids came before 8 sharp. Instead of heading to his locker like usual, he went to go talk to her. She was about to witness his smoothness.

"Hey, Amy," he said casually.

She looked up at him and smiled. "Matt! How're you?"

"I'm great," he said sitting down. "Tired, but great. How're you?"

"I'm pretty good." She talked about how excited she was that cheerleading was over and how badly she wanted school to be done. Matthew listened to evry detail, wanting her to know that he was interested in what she was saying.

"Is being a sophomore hard?" he asked.

"Probably won't be for you, but for the others, yeah."

Matthew peered at the clock. It was almost time for class to start.

"Are you up for lunch again today?" he asked. He immediately regretted how he asked her that. He didn't want to sound too friendly. What if she thought he was a creep?

He needn't worry. She said yes. She even asked him if he wanted to go to Subway with her.

Matthew was very surprised, and he tried his best not to show it.

"T-today?"

"Yeah. I'm sick of the food here. I don't think I'll eat breakfast or lunch here ever again."

Now Matthew was scared. He felt safe in this school. He was worried that he'd turn into a nervous wreck if he hung out with a girl outside of school.

He didn't realize he wasn't answering. "Matt? Amy said.

He snapped back to attention and looked at Amy blankly.

"Did I lose you?" she asked, a look of amusement on her face.

"No. I'll go with you. To Subway. With you. Just us. As friends and whatnot."

"Good. Here's my cell number." She tore a slip of paper off her notebook and wrote down some numbers. The bell rang as she gave it to him.

"See you," she said. She gathered up her things and headed to the hallway.

Matthew just sat there, exasperated. Hell yeah, he thought. She must really like me. I didn't even mention phone numbers. Plus I'm gonna eat out with her!

"Commander, we found something."

"What?"

A man was standing in front of a large screen. It had a map of the globe, with eight red dots on it. Said commander, the G.U.N. Commander, walked up to it, looking at it in awe. "You found…"

"The seven Chaos Emeralds, plus Matthew Martin-Robotnik."

"How did you…"

"We tracked the signature left by the Chaos Emeralds."

"I see. You found the Chaos Emeralds. But we also need Gerald Robotnik."

"Professor Gerald has possession of one the Emeralds, doesn't he?"

"Yes, he does."

"So we believe the professor's either here—" he pointed to Central City's location—"or here—" he pointed to Westopolis's location.

"I see. And the rest of the Emeralds are across the ocean," the Commander said, looking at the rest of the map.

"Yes, sir."

"Hmmm… We'' go to Westopolis first. If the professor's not there, at least we'll have picked up Matthew. Then, we'll take a trip to Central City."