Gotta post this in before work, now. Miles "Tails" Prower belongs to Sega Corporation.

Now read on!

Would you be surprised to learn the class freaked out at the sight?

Sí. I didn't think so.

Christina shrieked and jumped back in her chair. Carmel yelled, "Rabies!" which didn't exactly help anyone's nerves. The last of the trio I often referred to as Las Desbaratandas (the Disruptors, in Spanish, in case you were wondering) – a girl by the name of Ellie Asura – backed away looking pale, as if afraid the squirrel might bite her.

"Vicenza Marzera," Taichov asked, "was that really your idea?"

"No," I responded. I didn't even know how it had gotten in.

The squirrel then did something else unusual. Rather than scampering all over the place, as a normal squirrel might, it skittered directly down the side of the table and, upon landing on the floor at my feet, glanced up at me, showing me the circular spec marks around its eyes. The thought came straight into my head: Bad time?

I weighed that question. We were still in class, which was never a good time for an avatar to just drop in – halfway in, in fact. And now Tails had unceremoniously dumped himself into the lab. Bad time all right.

But this time Tails didn't even wait for my response. He just shapeshifted into his normal form, which wasn't any more normal than the squirrel shape – that of a two-tailed yellow fox child, no more than eight. (Of course, he was actually eleven, but that's an explanation for another time.) His glasses, which always showed up as spec markings on his face when he transformed, materialized fully on his face.

"Do you mind?" Amos asked the fox. "We're in the middle of class."

Tails ignored him, even in spite of the fact that several – okay, all of the students – were starting to notice his presence. I could hear shouts of awe and fright – both of which were understandable. It's not every day that Miles "Tails" Prower just jumps into your classroom. One guy murmured, "What the fox?"

"What's going on?" DJ inquired, glancing at Tails. "There had better be a good reason you're disrupting our class time. And we've already got trouble from the Pride flag out front –"

"Yeah, I noticed that," Tails muttered, his tone implying, it's hard not to. I couldn't help noticing that the pan and broken eggshell from Taichov's demonstration started levitating. The fox would have to be really upset to upend the stuff on Taichov's table.

Nor was I surprised Tails had that sort of attitude towards transgenders. For one, I was struggling with it, and he was amigos with me, so it was a little more personal for him. For another, he had certain limits on his reality-altering avatar powers – one of which forbade him to shift genders, whether it was with himself or transforming anyone else. It put his purview in perspective, for sure. Besides, I was pretty sure at least one of the members of the Rainbow – the couple that had been Tails' master once upon a time – had been Catholic, and he'd been closer to that one and picked up his or her beliefs.

"Anyone know who put it out there?" Tails inquired now, his voice quivering with fury.

"No, but when I find out who it was, I'll tear them a new one," Imira replied.

"Is that why you're here?" I questioned him.

"Not exactly," the fox responded, brushing off his Cyberchase shirt. He always wore a different shirt, for reasons I couldn't explain.

Taichov had previously been staring at the mess but was now staring at Tails. The fox met his eyes with a smile and made a carry on gesture.

The teacher composed himself and went back to lecturing the class on gravity.

"Did you figure he wouldn't eavesdrop if he was lecturing?" I asked.

"Not all of us are excellent multitaskers," Tails replied calmly. His blue eyes glittered with an unperturbed light, although that may have just been the light reflecting off his glasses. I could catch a simmer underneath the surface, indicating the flag crisis either was bothering him more than he let on or was only the least of his headaches.

"What is it this time?" DJ asked in a low voice. Good call. I didn't figure it would be a good idea to let Taichov know our minds weren't on his lecture. "It had better be good."

Tails shrugged. "Just some scuttlebutt I picked up on the web. Apparently the school was on the turf of GABAFFS."

Amos coughed. "Say that again?"

"Gay And Bisexual Alliance For Free Speech."

"Gag, barf," Imira muttered. I was afraid she didn't mean to joke. "What's their deal?"

"They're claiming responsibility for the flag in front of the school," Tails said softly, his voice quivering with rage. "A protest of some sort."

At least it explained why it was the old flag. I hadn't heard of that organization in forever, certainly not here. Why was it showing up here? And now? Not to mention, people like that begging for freedom of speech had always seemed ludicrous to me. As if getting marriage rights wasn't enough for them.

"A protest. And we get caught in the middle of it. Lovely." Imira sounded infuriated, and I didn't blame her. Politics didn't belong in school, certainly not this school. What could we do to get that message across to them?

"How long have they planned it for?" DJ asked. "What do they want?"

"Second question first," Tails said quietly. "I don't really know. I got this off the internet, for crying out loud! I do know how long, though. At least for the rest of the week."

"Greeeaaat," Amos muttered. "And if Phillips takes it down –"

"They'll just pull it back up."

Imira punched the side of the desk. Hard. "I'm guessing taking a hint isn't in their nature?"

I didn't think so. I reckoned the same principle that held VLADJI together – fighting for what we believe in – was what had formed GABAFFS, and it would be ugly getting that apart. Zeal does some really unnatural things to you. Also, if they set up a flag without permission from Phillips, who was the most rational person I knew, I reckoned they wouldn't listen to reason. But I didn't know enough about them…

We were thankfully diverted by the bell, signifying the end of the hour.

"Now remember, class!" Taichov hollered out. "Tomorrow we will discuss – plate tectonics!"

"Maybe you should go, Tails," I said. "You're not enrolled in this school, after all."

"Yeah, maybe I should," the fox replied evenly. He then turned into a fly and buzzed out the open window.

As we left, I heard mutters and whispers among Las Desbaratandas. They must've eavesdropped on us while Taichov was still lecturing (huge surprise), because I caught the words GABAFFS, flag, and protest. I wasn't sure whether they were going to gossip about it or side with us over it. Either possibility bothered me.

Las Desbaratandaswere everywhere – they never seemed to get tired of disrupting class time. They also happened to be reporters on the school news blog. I would often hear them recording live about an incident in class or announcing a sport for Fairview. Christina handled the camera, mainly because the others didn't trust her to edit. Carmel, the loudmouthed and sparkly girl, was the main focus and the public face. Ellie, the quiet one of the group, did the editing later on.

As I walked over to the next class – algebra – I tried to keep my mind off my problems. I solved every one of the problems from algebra, working them out in my notebook in study hall. I took dutiful notes in English, trying to pick up every tip on my writing.

At lunch, it was still on my mind. How did I fend off a group I didn't want anything to do with when they wouldn't leave well enough alone?

"Still bothering you, VL?" Amos inquired. He's the only one who calls me VL. I don't mind it at all.

I put on my sunniest smile. Keep the interest. "They're only a group," I said.

"A group with quite a bit of influence. And all kinds of immaturity, who will stop at nothing to get what they want –"

"So, like the last time we dealt with a human problem."

The others' expressions turned grim, as often happened when someone brought up the Camford incident. That hadn't gone well for any of us, with two people being killed in a fire that had resulted from land greed. (Sí, it really happens.) I didn't want an exact repeat of that incident, and neither did anyone else in VLADJI.

"I hope not," DJ muttered. "The last time hit us pretty hard. And we had to have the mayor intervene. I'm sure he doesn't want to have to break up another fight so soon."

"And amongst those types, no less," Imira grumbled. The mayor was a pronounced Democrat.

"So, what's your idea, girl?" Amos replied, then paused. "Um, it is girl, right?"

"Sí," I replied. I didn't understand why Amos didn't just stick with the truth like DJ did, but I don't ask questions about it. Some people just aren't so stubborn. "And I was planning to find someone who knew a little something. Someone like… tu amiga."

Amos paled. "You're not serious."

"Oh, I am serious, amigo. After school, I'm talking to Miriam Stegner about the situation."

I wonder how that's going to turn out. I can't tell. Verse for the update: Habakkuk 2:12.

Please review! No flames! And stay tuned for more! Gotta get ready now.