For The Love of Speed

Chapter 20: Not Sulfurous

POV: Tails

I make my way to school after saying goodbye to Knuckles and Sonic. On my way, I think about how I'm going to ask about the posters. 'Should I ask someone casually? Like "do you know about those posters? I'm new here, and I've seen them around town and I'm just curious." Or should I ask a teacher if they know anything about the organization, acting like I'm just curious because Someome mentioned it and I want to be in the loop. Hmmmm I guess I might just do both.' I think about a few other things before I finally make it to the school. Hundreds of students are walking into the front doors, some being dropped off by their parents, some parking their own vehicles, and some walking like me. I take a deep breath and head inside, walking to the cafeteria to wait for the first bell to ring. I walk in and awkwardly stand there, some people pointing and talking about me, and some chatting amongst themselves, not paying any attention to the new-comer. I look around and see a group of mobians waving me to their table. I point to myself and cock my head, asking silently if they're talking about me. They nod and wave more frantically. I walk over to them, and sit down at the spot they have available. "Hey, you must be new here, my name is Mephiles, what's your name?" The dark hedgehog that looks eerily like Shadow, says. I twiddle with my tails nervously replying with "My name is Miles, but all my friends call me Tails."

The white fluffy hedgehog smiles and holds out a hand for me to shake. "Nice to meet you, my name is Silver, and the armadillo is Mighty. We're seniors, but we will be here to help you if you need anything. Are you a sophomore or a junior?" I shake my head and chuckle lightly "I know I'm young, but I'm actually a senior. They said I should have been a sophomore based off my age, but I scored too high for that." The dark hedgehog by the name of Mephiles smiled "Oh, so you took the placement test too? What did you score?" I sit up, proudly "I made a 97." The three widen their eyes and drop their mouths. The armadillo chuckles "Haha Meph, you got beaten by a kid. You're no longer the smartest." The dark hedgehog growls, just as intimidating as Shadow. "Oh shut up." Silver smacks him upside the head, earning an "ow" from the Shadow look-alike. He turns to me, his expression softening "Sorry. I'm impressed actually. I made a 90. I came to this school some time last year, I was still 16 back then."

((Just to make school more fun Mephiles, Silver, and Mighty are all 18 and they're seniors. Tails is also put in the senior class due to his intelligence, even though he's 15. There's about half the school year left. And yes, Mephiles has a mouth in this fic.))

I smile at Mephiles and nod my head "That's impressive too. They told me that someone just recently beat the old record when they gave me my score. Do you happen to be in the robotics or science club? I wanted to check those out as soon as I can." He just chuckles and shakes his head "Not really my area, but Silver here is in the science club, I'm sure he'll be happy to introduce you to the team after school." Silver nods enthusiastically and smiles "Of course. We're always glad to have new members. Some of them are also in the robotics club, so our schedules don't overlap." The bell rings, bringing our conversation to a halt and we all get up from the table to make our way to the class. There's a reflection of light coming from Silver, and notice what looks like more advanced inhibitor rings on his wrists and ankles. I decide to innocently question it, trying to guage his reaction.

I jog up and walk beside him, pointing to the possible inhibitor rings "Hey Silver, what are those cool looking things on your wrists and ankles?" He chuckles nervously and rubs the back of his head "Oh, these? They're uh, they're just some really cool tech bracelets I made. I'm really proud of them so I always wear them. See? they even glow." He shows them off to me and I smile and nod, not buying it, but pretending I do "Oh, that's awesome." I stop, reaching my first class and find that Silver is also stopped at the same door. "Oh, do you have Mr. Big as your first class too?" He smiles and nods as we enter the door, finding our way to our seats. "You can sit next to me, no one sits there anyway."

We sit through class and do our work, occasionally chatting back and forth. Eventually the bell rings and we head to our next class. Silver had a different teacher this time so we walk separate ways. I walk into the classroom and look around hoping to see a familiar face. Unfortunately no one I know is in this class, so I just pick a spot near the middle and pull out my pencil and paper, ready to take notes. The teacher, Ms. Raley, walks in and begins our math lesson. I don't even bother listening to what she's saying when she hands out our work, doing the math and jotting down the answers. 'Man, this is easy' as I'm writing I see the teacher tap on my desk and look up at her "Are you even listening to what I'm saying? How do you know you're doing it right?" I chuckle nervously, all eyes now on me. "Well, I mean. It's just simple math." She looks offended and walks to the front writing a complicated looking peice on the white board. "Ok, well if you can do this problem then I won't bother you again. Just make sure you at least listen while you work, in case there's something you don't know. If you can't do this problem I don't want you working on your paper until I finish my lesson." 'Wow this lady is harsh.' I think as I get up, awkwardly making my way to the board. I take a look at the problem before smirking 'this is gonna be a peice of cake' I quickly write out my steps, without having to think about it much, and finally get to the answer, circling it when I do. I put the marker on the shelf and turn to the teacher, who has a shocked look on her face. "Well, ok then. I guess head back to your seat." The students in the room chuckle, and a few give me high fives as I head back to my seat. I sit down, finishing my work quickly, and then finishing the homework she hands out. The bell finally rings and I head to my next class, History.

I walk in the class and look around, seeing a couple faces from my Math and Mephiles. I smile and wave at him and he points to the chair next to him. I walk over and sit down in the empty chair turning to him. "I'm glad you're in this class. The last class was awkward since I didn't know anyone." He gives me a small smile before saying "Well, soon enough I'm sure you'll know a lot of people in this school." We get through our class and do our work. Turns out Meph is really good at history and helped me learn the history of this world. As the bell rings, we go our separate ways with a wave and I head off to one of the classes I've been excited about. Advanced Robotics, the teachers name is the one from the teachers lounge that seems familiar, Dr. Ovi Kintobor. 'Maybe I'll figure out why it seems so familiar.' I think as I walk to the class. I walk through the doors and stop in my tracks, seeing who the teacher is. 'EGGMAN?!' I mentally scream.

((AN: Hahahaha and on that note I'm ending this chapter.))