Chapter 15

"Mom?" asked Tails. It was the next morning and Tails' mom was driving him to school.

"Yes, Miles?"

"You've said that I'm really smart before, right?"

"Yes of course I think you're smart, you're brilliant even! Why…?" she glanced at him suspiciously and then turned back to the road.

"Do you think I'm smart enough to skip a few grades? Maybe go to high school…."

"High school? Why do you want to go there? Wait…does this have something to do with Amy?"

"She's really nice, Mom. Yesterday I got to meet her friends and they're really nice too, most of them anyways," he said the last part more quietly. "They're nicer then the kids I go to school with," he grumbled.

"I'm sure there's nice kids in your school too, Miles."

"Tails," he corrected.

"Tails?"

"Yes, call me Tails."

"You want to be called Tails, and you want to go to high school. Where did Amy take you?"

"Her and her classmates needed my help with something."

"What kind of something?"

"Something with a machine."

"You fixed their machine?" she glanced at him again.

"More like broke it," he thought.

She smiled. "I'm proud of you."

"Really?" he asked surprised. "Does this mean I can go to high school?"

"We'll have to talk to your father about that."

"OK."

Amy met Tikal outside the school.

"Did you hear?" asked Tikal. "Ms. Mannerly is out of the hospital and is principal again."

"That's great!"

They continued to walk into the school.

Tikal looked around as she walked. She sighed. "As if nothing ever happened," she said gesturing to the students around them.

"To them nothing did happen," said Amy.

"I know," she sighed again. "It just sucks."

Amy looked at her.

"I mean for once we were heroes, and now no one remembers and were back to being invisible again."

Amy nodded sadly.

They got to Amy's locker. Amy got some books out of her locker while Tikal looked around.

Rouge walked by and waved to Shadow who didn't seem to notice.

"You know, I don't actually think Shadow likes Rouge back," said Tikal. "I almost feel sorry for the girl," she looked at Amy, "almost."

Amy laughed and closed her locker.

"So what happened again?" asked Knuckles. They were in homeroom; Sonic had been explaining what happened yesterday to Espio and Knuckles.

"How many times must I explain this to you?" asked Sonic. "Eggman mind controlled the school board with his hats so they'd hire him, then-"

"How did he get the hats on the school board members?"

"I don't know! I didn't ask."

"Just forget it, Sonic, he'll never get it," said Espio.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" asked Knuckles.

"What did it sound like it meant?" asked Silver, who was leaning his head against his hand, bored.

"Are you calling me stupid?" asked Knuckles.

Espio and Silver snickered.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Sonic laughed.

Knuckles gritted his teeth.

"Aw calm down, Knuckles," said Sonic. "We're just kiddin' ya."

Knuckles calmed down. "So the principal mind controlled everyone with hats."

"Yes."

"Why weren't you mind controlled?"

"I wasn't wearing a hat."

"Who's Amy?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well she was there too right?"

"What are we? Playing twenty questions now?"

"You didn't seem to mind earlier," Knuckles grumbled.

"She's a girl Sonic rescued," Silver explained.

"Sonic rescued a girl and he's getting defensive when we talk about her," said Espio. "You know what that means."

Silver nodded, smirking.

"What?" Sonic asked, worried.

"She's your girlfriend," said Espio.

"She is not! She's a friend."

"Whatever you say, Sonic," Silver said like he didn't believe him.

"Why did you have to rescue her?" asked Knuckles.

Sonic slammed his head against his desk. "BECAUSE THE PRINIPAL WAS EVIL!"

The whole room went silent.

"Congratulations, Sonic," said Espio. "Everyone's staring at us again."

"Look it's that loser, Amy," said a cheerleader out in the hall.

"Rouge said she saw her talking to Shadow a few days ago," said another.

"Think she likes him?"

"I don't know…let's ask her," she said with a smile that said "let's torture her" more than "let's ask her".

"Uh, wait," said Rouge.

The other cheerleaders looked at her.

"She's out of the way, let's just go to class," said Rouge.

"She's just right there," she said, motioning to Amy.

"What's with you, Rouge?" asked another. "You never pass up a chance to mess with that freak."

"Well I just don't feel like it today, OK?" she said scowling at them. She turned and walked away.

The cheerleaders exchanged suspicious glances before following her.

Amy was standing not too far away. She was getting books out of her locker when Tikal walked up and leaned on the locker next to her.

"Talked to Sonic today?"

"No, I doubt I will."

"Why? He seemed to like you."

"Come on Tikal, he's the star of the school and I'm a nobody, he's probably forgotten all about me by now."

"I doubt that," said Tikal, as she saw the soccer team walking towards them.

"Why do you say that?" asked Amy.

"Hey, Amy," said Sonic, now standing behind her.

Amy nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned around quickly. "Uh, Sonic. H-hi!"

"Hey," said Sonic, not even noticing how Amy was acting. "The team's going out for pizza after school, wanna come? Personally I'd prefer chili dogs…."

"Sure!" said Amy. "But I have to watch Tails after school."

"Cool, bring him with."

"OK," she said with a huge grin.

"You can come too Tikal." The team walked away and Amy and Tikal watched them go.

"Wow," said Tikal. "Can you believe we get to hang out with the soccer team? We're not nobodies anymore! Rouge is going to be so jealous!"

Amy wasn't paying attention to a word Tikal was saying. She turned to her. "See you after school, Tikal!" She slammed her locker door shut and walked down the hall, a huge smile on her face. Girls all around her were giving her dirty looks, and for once Amy didn't care.

After school the soccer team was walking across the parking lot, talking. Sonic stopped walking but the team didn't notice and walked on.

"Aren't you comin'?" asked Silver.

The team turned towards Sonic.

"Go on, I'll catch up," said Sonic.

"OK," he shrugged and they walked off.

When they were gone Sonic looked around the deserted parking lot until he saw who he was looking for. "You still up for that rematch?"

Shadow took off his helmet and got off his bike. "I thought you'd be too scared to ask."

"Ha! Yeah right," Sonic took off his letter jacket and gently set it down in the grass.

"Alright, I'll fight you, but you'll be sorry you asked," Shadow got ready to fight.

"We'll see," Sonic readied his fists.

They charged at each other.

A/N: Well that's the end, or at least it is until I write the sequel. It will take me awhile though, so you've been warned. Thanks for reading and putting up with my cliffhangers! :)