Shooting Star (A Sonic Movie Fanfic: Book 1 of the Real World Chronicles)

Ch. 14: Road "Chat"

Road Misadventure: Day 1. It seems that the tables had turned drastically and had flipped and crashed into the other side of the room. What once was supposed to be an emergency plan to reunite with my family immediately turned into a runaway trip cross-country  to San Francisco. Sheriff Wachowski and I are running from one of the government's highest tech officials, but only to help an extraterrestrial who's in desperate need to get a bag of magical rings (not the types you wear) back in order to escape to another planet.

The mint green-haired thirteen-year-old took her eyes off of her journal and glanced back at the now-silent Sonic, whose head was wandering aimlessly around the truck, before going back to writing.

Sonic (the ET) is a three-foot, three-inch tall alien blue hedgehog with glove-like hands, wearing incredibly worn-out, mismatching tennis shoes and has cosmic emerald eyes.

"Ugh. I'm so bored!" he complained to Tom. "Why did you have to take away my paddleball?"

"Because it was driving me insane for the first thirty seconds and I have to concentrate on driving!" replied Tom in the same annoyed tone.

"But there's nothing else to do except waiting till we get there!"

"You can savor the scenery, fiddle with those rubber-band balls, play a game or something."

The hedgehog sighed and gave up, so he plopped back into his seat.

Tom peered at his rearview mirror to check up on Willow, who was scribbling away while looking out the window once in a while. She hadn't let out a peep in the last hour.

"You're awfully quiet back there, kiddo," he piped up. "You sure you're feeling okay?"

"Mmm-hmm." She didn't even look up.

Sonic glanced at Willow, then looked at Tom a bit perplexed.

"Does she have a name, or...?"

"Of course she has a name." Tom turned back to his rearview mirror, raising his voice a bit so the girl could hear. Sonic looked over his carseat at her.

"What was it again?" asked Tom. "Willow... Willow Thistle, or something like that?"

"Mmm-hmm." She still hadn't hadn't taken her eyes nor pencil off the paper.

Sonic grinned, "I like that name! It compliments her hair!"

Willow shifted away from the boys towards the window and kept writing; she pretended that she didn't hear that compliment.

Sonic turned back towards Tom, feeling a bit concerned.

"Is she always like this?"

"I've barely known the kid for a day and a half. How would I know?"

The sheriff paused for a moment before adding, "Well, I mean... She did talk with me when I found her on the speed trap, but... that was just me doing my job as an officer. Other than that and when I brought her back to Green Hills, she really doesn't say much."

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The trio made a quick rest stop, refilled on gas, got any possible snacks, made sure Sonic stayed out of sight when he had to use the restroom, then went on their way.

The hedgehog's head lowered, still having nothing else to do. He slumped his head so his chin rested next to his headrest. Watching the girl should keep him occupied, right?

"Hmm?" He cocked his head to the side. He thought he caught sight of a few stick figures, one of them looked like him, and a few landscapes.

"How come you have pictures in your journal?" he suddenly spat out before covering his mouth.

Willow finally perked up, a bit startled by the sudden question. Her eyes then lowered, "Pictures usually help me remember things... and... I love to draw."

Both the boys' eyes widened hearing her speak. But Sonic was even more surprised. There was something... soothing about her voice. It was like a hushed melody.

"I... have a bit more detailed drawings, if you want to see."

She pulled out her sketchbook and handed it to the hedgehog, who kindly took it. His eyes turned into saucers as he flipped open the cover.

"Oh my..."

From page to page, there were hundreds of random sketches of mountains, lakes, towns, people and everyday objects. They were all carefully etched out, detailed, and shaded in. Some were all pencil while some were in full color.

One section really stood out, though. A few pages of manga (the style she used for people) had a couple of fighting poses. They weren't very good, yet he still liked it.

"Willow," Sonic was speechless. "Your drawings are amazing. "

"Thanks." He sensed a bit of monotone in her voice as he gave the sketchbook back. "I get that a lot."

"No, really. I've never seen anyone draw like this!"

"Remind me to get a peek at our next stop," Tom told Sonic, fixated on driving but interested.

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As the day went on, the dark green mountaintops above the valley leveled out into the grassy plateaus in the southeastern part of my home state, Washington. We just passed by a good sliver of northern Idaho before that.

From there and most of the drive though Oregon, I slowly became more chatty with the guys... mostly Sonic, that is.

I told him I was a thirteen-year-old about to make the eighth grade; the only girl, the third out of four kids. I told him about my hobbies in art and music, reading, sometimes writing, traveling, and playing video games.

What surprised me from what he told me was that not only he was an abnormally colored anthropomorphic hedgehog from another planet who was born with superspeed, but he was only a year older than me!

"So let me get this straight," Willow tried to sum up. "We're both nearly the same age, both like music, traveling, sometimes reading, and both come from very faraway places. Question is, how did you end up here?"

Sonic's smile faded, lookin a bit lost. He didn't want to go into further detail. The memory was just too painful.

She noticed the sad, dull color of his eyes and her head lowered.

"It's okay. You can talk about it when you're ready."

Sonic was surprised at her. 'How does she hardly ever talk to anyone, yet can be so understanding??? '

He decided not to ask her that and retreated back into his seat.

As Willow stared at the passing high desert mountains, she pondered, 'It may not've looked like I noticed much, but... The whole time, he kept looking back and smiling at me...' She paused for a few moments then shrugged. 'Eh, whatever.'