"Hey, guys!" Natalie yelled out as she ran towards the silver BMW SUV once her twin friends and cousins, by her father's marriage to their aunt, stepped out of their stepmother's vehicle. The teen black-furred and quilled hedgehog girl smiled while she giggled excitedly for the freshmen open house. The adult females in their families had discussed this event days prior so the young teens could all go in together.
"Hi!" Russel cried as he jumped out of the front passenger seat before running up to hug his somewhat cousin, all the while neglecting to close the car door. He laughed happily, as he picked up the taller girl in their hug before placing her back on the ground. "We're almost grown-ups!" The normal-looking, yet small-minded male, said excitedly as he took his glance off of her and then focused on the large new school they'd be all attending.
"Richard." She stated plainly giving the smaller squirrel a sassy look because he didn't reply to her greeting. She put a little more effort into focusing on the grumpy boy as he slightly struggled to make his way out of the SUV before closing his door and then his brother's. Once he finished up he finally nodded his head in acknowledgment of his female friend.
"Thanks for meeting us for the open house, Mei." Rouge, Natalie's white-furred and pink-skinned bat mother, smiled at the blue-furred feline stepmother of the twin boys her daughter saw as her best friends. The adult female's greeting came off as overly friendly and fake, even to her daughter.
It was hardly a secret to the teenage girl and likely all the other adults that both of her parents weren't thrilled that she'd become so close with the challenged twin boys. She tried not to think much about it so she wouldn't have to care, or so she kept telling herself. She had a lot of fun with the boys, even though she lost a few friends years back in middle school due to her not joining in on picking on the struggling twins.
"Of course!" Mei, the boy's stepmother and likely the only real loving mother figure they'd know, stated in the same over-the-top happy way as the adult females hugged and then separated quickly as if the other was carrying a deadly virus. "The boys couldn't wait to see the new school with their favorite cousin." The cat's pleasant mood fell quickly once she turned away from the other woman to pull Russell back to the group, as he had become distracted and wandered off.
The two women obviously didn't care for one another yet still acted as if no one else could see through their forced smiles and snarky attempts at speaking with one another. Still, Natalie was grateful for their false pleasantries as she was able to keep spending time with the two boys who felt more like siblings to her than her biological half-siblings, whom she'd acquired from her father's new marriage.
"Let's get this over with." Richard sighed after stretching out his arms and cracking his knuckles before tugging up the long sleeves on his black Oasis T-shirt.
"What's got you in such a mood?" Natalie asked as she casually caused them to bump into each other while following behind the rest of the group on their way to the large brick two-story building.
"Oh, I don't know…" Richard scoffed in disbelief as he looked away from his female friend as they continued to walk out of each shot of the adults, and his mentally retarded brother. "I guess, I'm just not as excited as everyone else to be moved to the new prison."
"Oh come on, Ricky!" The teen female hedgehog laughed as she nudged him again. She then quickly tugged down on her pink and white Cranberries t-shirt. It had been a gift from Richard, and Natalie loved it to death, but it seemed her mother was correct that it was getting a bit small on her as it kept creeping up and showing her mid-drift. All thought the length likely wasn't helped by her larger chest area. "Try thinking about it as a new start." She continued to smile despite her friend's sour mood as they finally started making their way up the large staircase, right outside the school's main entrance doors.
"Great. The same old assholes with a bunch of new ones." He now looked at the female and actually cracked a short-lived smile. "At least we'll be in Hell together." He quipped earning a giggle from his friend as they made their way through the open, extra-large, double doors.